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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man rich man the wording there indicates that this was a crippled man he was not there because he necessarily dragged himself there but somebody had laid him there he was unable to move he was laid at his gate notice what the Bible says full of sores and if he was a crippled man then we know that he would probably have what we would refer to as bed sores which are sores that develop on your body unable to move or lying on a bed or a cot or something like that and here Jesus tells us he wants to bring into light these two different worlds of these two different men one was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day the other man was a beggar named Lazarus who was laid it seems to indicate that he was placed there he was put there at his gate full of sores verse 21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and for whatever it's worth I just think it's interesting because I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I think obviously he's the greatest teacher that has ever lived and that Jesus describes these lives of these two individuals in such a way to remind us that life no matter how many slogans and political slogans we want to chant this life does differentiate between the classes you may not like it I'm not saying I like it but there is something in human beings that want equality and I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong that goes about it the wrong way people can go about it the wrong way people can go about it the right way but we all want equality socialism which I don't agree with socialism believes that there should be an equal start to everyone's life that everyone should start in the same place that there should not be a rich man and a beggar that they should both begin in the same place in life I don't necessarily agree with that but I will say this we here in the United States of America as Americans believe in capitalism and even capitalism has an egalitarian view in the sense that not everyone should be given equal rights but that excuse me, not that everyone should be an equal start but that everyone should be given an equal opportunity and that we should all have the same opportunity and I agree with that I think we should all have an equal opportunity but I think something that we need to maybe just fight with a little bit or struggle with a little bit especially us as American Christians is this, that just because we believe everybody should have an equal opportunity does not make it so so we like to talk in America about oh, God bless America and equal opportunities for all and praise God for that but what about the Christian that was born in China? What about the Christians that are living in Pakistan? They don't have the same opportunity that you and I have and Jesus, whether you like it or not just acknowledges the fact that he doesn't give a comment on it, he doesn't say this is right and he doesn't say well this is wrong we got to put a stop to it, he just acknowledges the fact that in life there are people that have it better than others there are some that are cold and purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously and you say well he worked hard for it, well maybe he did or maybe it was inherited we don't know but there are others who are beggars like Lazarus and you might say well he was lazy and he deserved it or maybe he was a crippled who lived in the first century and life for him was to be laid at his gate full of sores desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table we just see a lesson from Jesus about this current life and it is this that life does differentiate between the classes unfortunately whether you like it or not the type of vehicle you drive the type of brands that you wear the neighborhood you live in does say something and thus does differentiate us in our classes or in our status now you say why is Jesus highlighting this and why is Jesus making a big deal about it I believe that he is highlighting it to contrast it to another truth because whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not whether you want to give your life to politics to try to change it or not the truth is that life does differentiate between the classes but Jesus highlights that in order to make another truth extremely clear and it is this that though life does differentiate between the classes death does not discriminate between the classes look at verse 22 and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom now you might speak to dispensationalists and they'll go off on some tangent about Abraham's bosom and not ever get to the truth of this story because they go off into fairytale land and I'm not going to take the time to preach against dispensationalism right now but I will just say this Abraham's bosom is a body part not a location it simply is a reference to the fact that Lazarus died and was carried by the angels and he was standing at the side of he was next to Abraham you say why would Jesus make a big deal about that remember for the Jews this would be an extremely big deal because they had this hope we've been learning about this through the Gospel of Luke that they would be invited to this great supper with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Jesus has already told them that to their dismay they will one day look upon those that come from the east and the west and as they sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Jesus gives us this detail to emphasize that this guy Lazarus, though he did not live the life that you and I would want to live, this is Jesus speaking remember we saw this on Wednesday night he was speaking to the Pharisees the Bible tells us who loved covetousness these were people who were rich and they were in love with wealth they saw prosperity as the blessing of God and Jesus is telling us a story about this man named Lazarus who was a beggar who was laid at the gates, who was full of sores who was desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table who's dogs licked his sores and he says this man died and went to heaven and was standing next to your hero he was carried into Abraham's bosom this is the point that Jesus is making and along with that point, though that point would have been shocking to the Jews of the first century, he makes an even more shocking point and it is this, the rich man also died and was buried and in hell, he lifted up his eyes and what Jesus shows us here is that both the beggar died and notice the last part of verse 22 the rich man also died so the life does differentiate between the classes and in this life, whether you like it or not, some people have it better than others, some people live better than others, some people are better clothed than others and drive nicer vehicles than others and take better vacations than others and live in better neighborhoods than others though in this life, life does differentiate between the classes something that Jesus wants us to know and wants us to remember is that death does not discriminate, death comes for us all the beggar died and the rich man also died doesn't matter how much money is in your account doesn't matter how nice your clothes are doesn't matter how much wealth you've got, you will one day die go with me if you would to the book of Ecclesiastes of the Old Testament Ecclesiastes chapter 9 keep your place in Luke chapter 16 that's our text for this morning but if you would go to Ecclesiastes if you open your Bible just right in the center you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms right after Psalms you have Proverbs and then the book of Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes chapter 9 Ecclesiastes 9 highlights this idea that death comes for us all Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and verse 1 Ecclesiastes 9 the Bible says for all this I consider it in my heart even to declare all this that the righteous and the wise and their works I love how the Bible highlights this we've seen this recently throughout scripture here the writer of course Solomon in Ecclesiastes says look the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them look at verse 2 verse 2 is what I wanted to highlight for you all things come alike to all now you would read the story of the rich man and the beggar in their lives and say well this is not true all things are not alike to all one here was clothed in purple and fine linen and fair subjectively and the other one was laid at his gate full of sores designed to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table and their lives were very much different but in death all things come alike to all all things come alike to all notice what he says there is one event what is that referring to it is referring to death there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked see death comes to us all you say I'm righteous I'm a Christian great you're going to die you say I'm wicked I don't believe in God well you're going to die too there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the good and to the clean to the unclean to him that sacrifices to him that sacrifices not to the religious to the non-religious the Bible says as is the good so is the sinner as he that swereth as he that feareth an oath look at verse 11 skip down to verse 11 just for sake of time I returned I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong neither yet bred to the wise nor yet richest to men of understanding nor yet favored to men of skill notice it but time and chance happeneth to them all and don't misunderstand me when it comes to status and success I believe the Bible teaches to work hard I believe the Bible teaches that we should work hard that we should be disciplined and that God blesses hard work let me tell you something you may be here this morning and be highly successful and part of that is due to the fact that God gave you a brain and God gave you strength and God gave you talents but part of that is also due to the fact that time and chance happeneth to them all because you could have the exact same brains and be born crippled and may not have the same opportunities that you have right now and to some extent taking responsibility away from any of us we're all responsible to do what we can do with what we've been given but to an extent time and chance happeneth to them all I often say this I think about it often because I was not born in the United States of America I was born in Venezuela my family moved here when I was 4 years old I'm an American citizen for those of you that are Republicans that need to know that but many of you say well time and chance no I'm successful because my hard work I think and I'm not taken away from that but let me tell you something part of the reason you're successful is because you won the lottery and you were born in the United States of America or you were brought here and I'm just here to tell you when it comes to this life time and chance happeneth to them all verse 12 for man also knoweth not his time knoweth not what time again a reference to death the Bible says and as it is appointed unto men wants to die but after this the judgment and you don't know when that day will come for you it may come today for man also knoweth not his time as the fishes are taken in an evil net this is how God equates our lives he says the same way that a fish does not realize that he's going to get caught in a net the day that he gets caught in a net he says as the fishes that are taken in an evil net and as the birds that are caught in a snare the same way that a bird does not wake up and think to himself today I'll be caught in a trap and be somebody's dinner he says as the fishes that are taken in an evil net and as the birds that are caught in the snare he says so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when what falleth suddenly upon them when what falleth suddenly upon them death because I'm here to tell you something that death comes for us all life differentiates between the classes whether you like to admit it or not whether I like to admit it or not life differentiates a Pakistani citizen and a Pakistani citizen whether you want to acknowledge it or not a 36 year old Venezuelan kid has a different life being brought to the United States of America than the same 36 year old Venezuelan kid who stayed in Venezuela I'm not saying that as any sort of way other than to just realize that there is a difference there is a difference between those of us that had the wonderful privilege of being born into the home of Christian, Bible-leaving Christians and many out there who were not life life differentiates between the classes but death does not death does not discriminate death doesn't care if you're religious death doesn't care if you showed up to church on Sunday morning death doesn't care how much money you had death doesn't care how healthy you are hey, one day you say I'm pretty healthy I'm not as healthy as you want to be and I'm all for being healthy but either way you're gonna die when it fall suddenly upon them death comes upon all of us you say why would Jesus be teaching this why is Jesus saying this and here's what I believe Jesus is telling us go back to Luke 16 if you would but Jesus is telling us this that no matter how different no matter how great or how bad no matter how much or how little death comes for us all and the goal of every person on this earth ought to be not necessarily to get the most out of life but to prepare for death because death comes for us all so here's a question I have for you are you prepared to die? are you prepared for death? well no, I'm prepared for a rainy day and I've got thousands of dollars that's good, I'm glad are you prepared to well I'm prepared for the economy to crash and for the dollars to crash, well good, I'm glad I've got all the gold that I need praise the Lord I hope it tastes good when you eat it, I don't know I'm not against you being prepared for all I want you to be prepared for all the things of this life but more than that you ought to prepare for the day of your death because death comes to us all remember Jesus is teaching this within the context of stewardship what will you do with what you have been given and one thing that we have all been given is life so we see lessons about this current life what are they? life does differentiate between the classes and death does not discriminate between the classes death is coming for us all I'd like you to notice secondly this morning not only do we see lessons about this current life but Jesus teaches us lessons about the afterlife and this is what we'll probably spend most of our time this morning I'll give you five statements and we'll go through it as quickly as we can about the afterlife I like this passage of Scripture the story because Jesus not only gives us insight into this life which if we were honest you and I would already know all those things but he also goes beyond the veil and then looks into the afterlife or the other life, the next life the spiritual world and he gives us some lessons about the afterlife let me give those to you as quickly as we can this morning five statements regarding the afterlife number one persons exist in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state you say what do you mean by that that's a fancy way of saying this there is an afterlife you're not going to go off into nirvana you're not going to get reincarnated into a slug in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state, notice Luke 16 verse 23 Lazarus dies, the rich man died and was buried verse 23 and in hell the rich man lifts up his eyes, being in torment and seeeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom I want you to notice that in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state notice that the rich man knew where he was in hell, he lifted up his eyes and the rich man knew where Lazarus was not because he knew that he was bosom, again to the side of Abraham or embracing Abraham one thing that we should know about the afterlife is that it is an afterlife in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state notice in verse 24 here's a second statement about the afterlife first statement is this, in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state here's statement number 2 in the afterlife, personalities survive from one realm to the other look at verse 24 and he, the rich man cried and said father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus notice that in the afterlife, not only do persons exist in a conscious state but in the afterlife personalities survive from one realm to the other, not only did the rich man know where he was and where Lazarus was or where Lazarus was not, but the rich man also knew who he was and he knew who Lazarus and Abraham were he knew who Lazarus was which tells you something about the rich man, because it's not like you know, he cried out and said hey, there's that beggar that I saw once in my life and I recognize, no no, he says hey Lazarus, he knew who Lazarus was, he knew that Lazarus was laid at his gate he recognized him, the rich man knew who he was the rich man knew who Lazarus was the rich man even knew who Abraham was, now how did the rich man know who Abraham was? I don't know maybe he had a name tag on, I don't know maybe once you get into the spirit world you just are aware of who everyone is, I don't know but here's what I do know, he knew who he was he knew who Lazarus was he knew who Abraham was and here's what I do know and here's what we can learn about the afterlife is that there is coming an afterlife and in that afterlife, whether you end up in heaven or hell this is true of everyone in heaven or in hell, that persons exist in a conscious state in hell, he lifted up his eyes and personalities survive from one realm to the other he knew who he was and he knew who Lazarus was here's statement number three not only in the afterlife do persons exist in a conscious state not only in the afterlife do personalities survive from one realm to the other but statement number three is this in the afterlife, people are sustained by God in two different places notice what the Bible says, Luke 16 23 and in hell I'd like to point out to you and we've already read this entire passage in this context I'd like to point out to you that there is no purgatory mentioned there is no other state there is no Mormon third heaven or second heaven or first heaven there are two places mentioned verse 23 and in hell, he lifted up his eyes I want you to notice there's two states, people are sustained by God in two different places you say, what are they? one is hell today in Christianity, people don't like to talk about hell Joel Osteen, one of the most famous preachers in America today said that he purposely avoids talking about hell or sin in his sermons which is a sad state of so-called Christianity today because Jesus preached a lot about hell Jesus brought up hell a lot this is just one example and in hell, Jesus tells us he lifted up his eyes being in torment and I don't want to spend a lot of time on the subject of hell because I've preached a lot about hell specifically from this passage even recently, but let me just make the point that hell is a place of torment it is a state of torment and in hell, he lifted up his eyes being in torment the word torment means to be afflicted greatly, great bodily and mental suffering and sees Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said here's a cry from hell father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus I dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame hell is not only a place of torment but it is a place of fire and again, I realized today Billy Graham said I don't know that hell is actually a place of fire I think it's just a place where you're separated from God well, that's fine if you want to listen to Billy Graham but that's not what Jesus said Jesus said that in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment and he cried he said, please send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame hell is a place of torment it's a place of flames it's a place of punishment it's interesting to me just to backtrack to the second statement personality survived from one realm to the other it's interesting to me once you're a successful rich guy it's hard to take that you can send the guy to hell notice, he's still giving orders and he cried and said, Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water he's still giving orders no, no, you don't understand you're in hell Luke 25 remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth like good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted, notice the words and thou art tormented I'm here to tell you something especially if you're here this morning and you happen to not be saved you say, what does that mean, to be saved? it means that you know for sure that if you die today, you're on your way to heaven if you can't answer that question if the question is asked, do you know for sure if you die today, that you're on your way to heaven and the answer is, I'm not sure well, then please, keep listening and talk to one of us after the service and if the answer to your question is oh, I think I'll go to heaven because I'm a good person keep listening because that's the wrong answer this man went to hell and was in torment and I don't have to do a lot to try to prove to you hell because here's what I know about you if you're not a reprobate, here's what I know about you that God has placed his law in your heart that there is a conscience in your heart and in your mind, and deep down inside you know there's more to this life than this current life and the fear of God should be in you of hell so we see that in the afterlife people are sustained by God in two different places the first we see is hell, a state of torment but I want you to notice that there's a second place which Jesus talks a lot about and it is heaven, it is a state of comfort look at verse 25 again remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, and likewise lies with thy evil things notice a little statement here but now he is comforted that's a little statement it's a beautiful statement but now he is comforted we're talking about a man who presumably was crippled laid at the gate of the rich man the Bible tells us, Jesus tells us the wording indicate he was laid there, he was placed there he could not put himself there, someone had to carry him there because he was crippled but now in the afterlife we see him standing, embracing, hugging Abraham in this life he was crippled in that life he is whole in this life he was hungry desiring to be fat of the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table in this life he is full in that life he was lonely we didn't see him with any, nobody was there to comfort him, nobody was there the only friends he had were the dogs that would lick his sores but in this life he is embraced by the father of faith Abraham hell is a place of torment I'm here to tell you something heaven is a place of comfort no matter how good or how bad your life is it will not be anything in comparison to heaven and what's interesting to me just to make the point because sometimes I like to upset the you know republican christianity I got past three minutes you're supposed to be a fundamental christian why are you against the republicans I'm against all politicians I hate them all I shouldn't say I hate them all I highly distrust them all so how do you know what a politician is lying, if he's speaking you know he's lying what's interesting to me is that in the current life we had no equality no egalitarianism one fared sumptuously while the other one suffered but society beyond the grave is no more egalitarian than society was before the grave because now one is comforted while the other one's in torment and I'm just here to tell you there's never coming this day it's not going to happen there's never coming this day where we're just going to have this beautiful world where everyone is the same and we're all equal it's not happening even in the afterlife some people go to heaven and some people go to hell I don't like that well then you don't like Jesus and you don't like the Bible that goes against my American philosophy then get rid of your American philosophy and become a Bible believing christian because the truth is this that in the same way Jesus says which Jesus does not comment favorably or negatively he just says in the same way that there's no equality in this life some people have it better than others and as there is no equality in the next life some people die and go to hell and some people die and go to heaven one was in hell in a place of torment the other one was in heaven in a place of comfort and again I would ask those of you who say well I don't think this is a real story I think this is a parable okay fine if it's a parable then what is it a parable about? I mean I think it's obvious the truth is if it's a parable and these individuals were not real people it's a parable about the fact that real people die and go to heaven and are comforted or die and go to hell and are tormented in flames so either way God wins the point is made we see the lessons about the afterlife we saw that in the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state we saw that in the afterlife personalities survive from one realm to the other we saw that in the afterlife people are sustained by God in two different places why don't you notice fourthly verse 25 in the afterlife look at verse 25 but Abraham said son remember the rich man he's giving all these directions send Lazarus to get me some coffee and dip his finger in water and dip his finger in my tongue that I might be pulled from this flame but Abraham said son remember that thou the rich man in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things he said hey remember that your life was good and likewise Lazarus evil things Lazarus had a bad life he says but now he is comforted and thou art tormented here's statement number four in the afterlife prior status has no bearing on our future state in the afterlife prior status has no bearing on future state so people that were successful and had a lot of authority and had a lot of power and were used to just getting into wherever they wanted to go and getting the corner office and getting the nicest table and having people just bend over backwards to make sure hey that's not going to happen in the afterlife your prior status will have no bearing on your future state by the way this coincides with the teaching that Jesus has been teaching about stewardship that because prior status has no bearing on your future state we should be less focused on our current status and be more focused on our future state with that said let me say this also to those of you that want to reject the gospel and you just refuse to get saved and you want to die and go to hell if that's what you plan on doing and that's what you'd like to do then you better make this life the best you can possibly make it because this is all you're getting you better make the best out of it have the most fun you can are you telling I'm telling unsaved people who are not willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that they better have as much fun as possible because eternity is hell and flames and torment remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted thou art tormented so we see that in the afterlife prior status has no bearing on our future state here's statement number 5 look at verse 26 and besides all this Abraham says besides all this between us and you there is a great golf fix so that they which would pass from hims to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thems here's statement number 5 well let me just recap real quickly statement number 1 was in the afterlife persons exist in the conscious state statement number 2 in the afterlife personalities survive from one realm to the other statement number 3 in the afterlife people are sustained by God in two different places statement number 4 in the afterlife prior status has no bearing on our future state here's statement number 5 in the afterlife positions are permanent whether heaven or hell and beside all this between us and you there is a great golf fix he said I can't send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch the tip of your tongue why? well Abraham said for lots of reasons but the main reason is this because between us and you there is a great golf fix so that they which would pass from thems to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thems what is it that Abraham is saying? here's what he's saying when you get to hell it's permanent it's forever the doctrine of annihilation is not true that you'll just burn up and cease to exist no the Bible is clear and again I won't take the time to go through all the verses I've preached sermons like that but the Bible is clear that hell is forever everlasting fire you will exist permanently in a position of death constantly dying and never ceasing to exist because in the afterlife positions are permanent and by the way hell is the same way just in the opposite constant life never ceasing to end because in the afterlife positions are permanent whether heaven or hell so we saw the first heading lessons about this current life life does differentiate between the classes death does not discriminate between the classes we saw lessons about the afterlife persons exist in a conscious state personalities survive from one realm to the other people are sustained by God in two different places prior status is no bearing on future state positions are permanent whether heaven or hell but now let me just quickly give you a couple of lessons from our third heading and it is this lesson about how to live your life lessons about how to live your life because maybe you hear this when you say well wait a minute I'm not I'm the person you're talking about I don't know if I died today I don't know that I would go to heaven or I was thinking well I'm a pretty good person then you said that was the wrong answer and I don't really understand what is it that Jesus is teaching in this story Jesus gives a lesson in the story for the unsaved I want you to notice it I'm going to read a couple of verses to give you the context because I want you to have the context verse 26 and beside all this between us and you there is a great gold fix so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou would have sent him referring to Lazarus to my father's house for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment we'll come back to those verses here in a minute look at verse 29 unto them unto him cause this guy said he said I have five brethren if Lazarus can't come to me can you at least send him to my five brothers because I have five brothers and I do not want them to come to this place of torment verse 29 Abraham saith unto them unto him they referring to his five brothers that are still alive that he wants Lazarus to go and be a soul winner for he says they have Moses and the prophets he said what does that mean? because at the time of Jesus most of the prophets were already dead and the term most of the prophets is not a reference to the individuals Moses and the prophets it is a term that is used in scripture in reference to scripture itself Moses and the prophets is a reference to the Old Testament sometimes referred to as the law and the prophets Moses of course gave us the Pentateuch the first five books of the Bible referred to as the law, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy, the prophets gave us the rest because even beginning with Samuel even historical books were written by prophets and the response from Abraham to this man is they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them and he said verse 30 the rich man, nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent he said don't tell them they can just read the Bible don't tell them the Bible has the answers don't tell me that they have Moses and the prophets if somebody would raise from the dead then they would repent he said if Lazarus would just go back from the dead they know my five brothers they came in as they came in through parties they have to step over Lazarus they know who Lazarus is they know Lazarus died if Lazarus resurrected from the dead then they would hear him and they would repent what's interesting to me and I don't want to spend a lot of time on this what's interesting to me is that I believe Jesus tells a specific story and gives us the name of this man for a certain reason because there was actually a guy in the Bible named Lazarus who actually died and resurrected from the dead now that Lazarus, let me be clear is not this Lazarus those are two different Lazarus's but it's just interesting to me and I don't think that anything is in the Bible by coincidence that here we have a story of a guy saying if Lazarus were to rise from the dead they would believe Jesus is telling the story to the Pharisees who are about to see a man named Lazarus get resurrected from the dead and they did not believe not only that not only was a guy named Lazarus actually different Lazarus but a guy named Lazarus resurrected from the dead but Jesus himself resurrected from the dead and they did not believe look at verse 31 and he said unto him if they hear not Moses and the prophets referring to scriptures if they don't listen to the Bible if they don't listen to the scriptures neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead and here in we find go to John real quickly John chapter 5 here in we find the answer to the question you say I don't understand you say I don't understand is Jesus teaching some sort of socialistic communistic teaching here is he telling us that the rich man went to hell and the poor man the beggar went to heaven because the rich man was rich and the poor man was poor no is Jesus telling us that the rich man went to hell because he was a bad man and the beggar was a good man and that's why he went to heaven and the answer is no because the Bible says there is none that doeth good there is not one for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God you say well then I don't understand why did one go to heaven and one went to hell for the same reason that anybody goes to heaven and anybody goes to hell it has nothing to do with how good of a person you are it has nothing to do with how successful of a person you are this rich man might have given lots of money to charity he might have given lots of money I mean I don't think so we have a crippled man laying at his gate he is not feeding him but even if he wouldn't have that would not have got him to heaven or hell you say then why do people go to heaven and why do people go to hell people go to hell because they reject the Bible you say what got this man in hell the fact that and Abraham is highlighting and saying your five brothers have the same thing that you had they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them let them hear them let them hear them say why is it that anyone will go to heaven not because they are good not because they are better than anyone else not because they are richer than anyone else or poorer than anyone else the only reason anybody goes to heaven is because they believe the Bible John 5 verse 39 I just want you to see it John 5 39 verse 40 why do people go to heaven because they believe the Bible why do people go to hell because they reject the Bible but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent neither will they be persuaded the one rose from the dead if they won't believe the clear scriptures they won't believe anything if you won't believe the Bible you'll be damned why do people go to heaven because they receive the testimony of the Bible the testimony of Jesus Christ why do people go to hell because they reject the testimony of the Bible they reject the testimony of Jesus Christ the testimony of Jesus Christ so let me just give you a little hint for those of you that are not saved if somebody were to walk up to you if somebody were to knock on your door if somebody were to stop you at a street corner or after a church service and ask you may I show you from the Bible how you can know for sure you are on your way to heaven please don't reject that please don't say well I don't have time you know I gotta get to I'm busy because the reason people go to hell is because they refuse to listen to Moses and the prophets because they reject the word of God and the only reason that those of us that are gonna go to heaven are so assured of our salvation you say you sound a little cocky and arrogant you know for sure you're on your way to heaven not because of anything I've ever done not because of who I am or because I'm the pastor of a church but because one day somebody took a Bible and showed me from the Bible that I was a sinner and I deserved to go to hell but Jesus loved me and he died on the cross and he paid for my sins and he wants to give me eternal life and all I had to do was believe on him and call upon him for salvation I didn't have to earn it I didn't have to go to church I didn't have to repent of my sins I didn't have to get baptized I didn't have to do anything I just put my faith in Jesus Christ alone and I have assurance you say why? because of you? no no because of the Bible if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead so we see a lesson for the unsaved what's the lesson for the unsaved? the lesson for the unsaved is this listen to the scriptures listen to the scriptures they are they Jesus says which testify of me but just real quickly as we finish this morning let me give you a lesson for the saved in this story and you if you've heard me preach out of this passage you've heard me highlight this I won't belabor the point but I will make the point there's not only a lesson for the unsaved but there's a lesson for the saved the lesson for the unsaved is listen to the scriptures the lesson for the saved is this notice there in verse 26 in verse 26, 27, 28 we find a lesson for the saved we can place those under two different categories one is a regret in heaven you say I thought you said heaven was a place of comfort it is a place of comfort I thought you said heaven was a place of joy it is a place of joy I thought you said heaven was a place of peace it is a place of peace but let me tell you something there is one thing that we will have in heaven that is a negative thing and it is regret which is why the Bible tells us that Jesus has to wipe away our tears from our eyes when we are already in heaven in our glorified states it's highlighted for us here in the story look at verse 26 notice what Abraham says to the rich man the rich man made a request will you send Lazarus down dip his finger in water to cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame and Abraham is explaining why that cannot happen verse 26 and beside all this between us and you there's a great goal fixed notice what Abraham says so that they which would pass the term would pass means those that would like to pass from hence now the word hence is an older word that we don't use a lot in our modern vocabulary the word hence means from here so Abraham says so that they which would pass from hence meaning from here from where? from where Abraham is in heaven with Lazarus from here to you referring to the rich man who's in hell cannot Abraham says look those who would like to go from here to there cannot from heaven to hell cannot then he says neither can they pass to us us referring to the people in heaven neither can they the people in hell pass to us or come to us that would come that would like to come notice what he says from thence the word thence means from that place he says from hence from this place to that place we cannot go from thence from that place to this place they cannot come now that's interesting to me because of the fact that if somebody were to say if Abraham were to say now the people that are in hell that would pass that would like to come from there to here from thence to hence he said they cannot come now that makes perfect sense to me because if you're in hell wouldn't you want to get out of hell and go to heaven what's peculiar to me is that he says that there are those who would pass from hence he says from here to you he says he says look rich man here's the problem people that want to come from hell to heaven can't and he says I'm getting the same request up here people are asking up here can they go down there and the answer is no and you've got to ask the question why would anybody in heaven be making a request to go down to hell I think the answer to the question is this that when you are in heaven and you see your five brethren in hell when you are in heaven and you see your wife or your husband or your mother or your father or your children or your neighbors or your co-workers in hell you will want to go from heaven to hell to rescue them but there's one thing that you can only do on earth and you cannot do in heaven and it is this be a soul winner and it is this be a soul winner see today it's like pulling teeth to try to get Christians to be motivated enough to give up of their this current life their time, their energy their resources pastor you don't understand I can't go soul winning on Saturdays I work on Saturdays and I've got to work because I like to drive a nice car I have to work because I can't go you can't go soul winning on Saturdays you can't go soul winning on Thursday you can't go soul winning on Friday you can't go soul winning on Sunday you can't go soul winning on Monday you can't go soul winning any time because you're selfish that's why because you're living for yourself but Jesus is teaching us in these lessons on stewardship that there's more to life than this life one day we will all learn with terrifying clarity if we should have spent more time reaching people with the gospel but instead of spending your time in heaven regretting that you never preached well Jesus would tell us why don't you live your life today trying to keep people from hell only one life so soon shall pass only what's done for Christ shall last notice a regret in heaven and then just just to finish up a request from hell Luke 16 27 then he said the rich man I pray thee you may think this is a parable I think this is a real story either way you should put yourself into the story here's a guy who is too busy too successful too involved in whatever he was doing to listen to Moses and the prophets and what happened to him is what happens and what will happen to us all he woke up one day in hell what will happen to all of us is we will all die he died and this unsaved man woke up in hell and he realized he realized that he was in hell and that Lazarus was not in hell he was a far off and it became clear to him that this state was permanent there is a great gulf fix what's interesting to me is that in the afterlife everyone's a soul winner in the current life almost no one's a soul winner almost no Christian goes soul winning or tries to reach people with the gospel or tries to share the gospel with anyone else I mean isn't that true? only if you go to a church like Verity Baptist Church where the pastor's like trying to tell you like hey there's more to life than this life you gotta be a soul winner you gotta make sure you're saved and try to get your family saved the reality is that most Christians are not doing anything to spread the gospel to anyone but in heaven everyone becomes a soul winner and by the way in hell everyone becomes a soul winner because when he realized that his state was permanent and there was nothing he could do about it he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldst send him to my father's house and here you have a heartbreaking cry from hell the cry from hell is this for I have five brethren I'm just here to tell you that if you and I could dip a microphone into the halls of hell and listen in to the cries from hell we would hear cries of torment and cries of regret the most terrifying thing as a soul winner is that we would hear people say I have a daughter I have a son I have a sister I have a mother if someone would just go and tell my husband so he doesn't come to this place of torment he says I have five brethren please send him that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment so you've got to ask the question are you preparing yourself for death? because death comes for us all and if you're not saved you will spend eternity in hell and if you are saved and not living your life to try to keep people from hell you may spend eternity in regret that we did not do more to reach people with the gospel let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer heavenly father lord we thank you for this story it's an amazing story it's really the story of all humanity we will all die and we will spend eternity somewhere heaven or hell lord I pray you to help us to prepare for that day lord I pray if there's somebody here today who's not saved in a room of 200 and some odd people chances are there's somebody here who's not saved they don't know if they died today that they're on their way to heaven they've never called upon Jesus in faith for salvation they've been trusting for the wrong thing lord I pray I pray that you would move in their hearts help them not to leave here today without allowing somebody to show them from Moses and the prophets from the word of God that there is a heaven and there is a hell help them not to leave here lord I pray that you would motivate some saved people they're a little lazy and a little selfish we all get that way living for ourselves focused on ourselves lord help us to make a decision today to become soul winners to give our lives we realize we have to live in this world we have to work we have to make money we have to pay bills help us to do all that to be able to live for what we truly want to live for Jesus Christ to reach people with the gospel of Jesus to disciple new believers in the matchless name of Christ we pray amen I've been doing this a lot to you guys lately and I don't know I promise I'm going to try to stop but I'm going to change the last song for you if that's okay it's a song but don't go anywhere brother Matt I'm going to have you lead some of these dances but I'd like for us to take our song books and go to a little song called so little time so little time the harvest will be over if you take your song books and go to page number 396 page number 396 and somebody can let me know if there's a baptism let me know there's a baptism please 396 so little time the harvest will be over let's sing it out together on the first so little time the harvest will be over our reaping dung we reap first taken home we put our work to Jesus Lord of harvest and hope He'll smile and that He'll stay well done today we reap O'er Mr. Golden Harvest, today is given us lost souls to bear. O'er then to save some near ones from the burning, today we'll go to bring some scenery. Three hundred ninety-six, sing it out on, on the second. How many times I should have strongly pleaded. Listen to the words. I feel too swiftly warmed, the Spirit moved. O, had I applied for Jesus, the grain is fallen, last we learned. Today we reap, o'er Mr. Golden Harvest, today is given us lost souls to bear. O'er then to save some near ones from the burning, today we'll go to bring some scenery. Sing it out on the third. Despite the heat, the ceaseless tore the hardship, the broken hearts, o'er those we cannot win, misunderstood because we're a peculiar. But for our sin, today we reap, o'er Mr. Golden Harvest, today is given us lost souls to bear. Some near ones from the burning, today we'll go to bring some scenery. Notice these words. Notice the words. A day of pleasure or a feast of friendship, a house or car or garments fair or fame, will all be trashed when souls are brought to heaven. And then how sad to face the slacker's play. Three hundred ninety-six, sing it out on the fourth. We'll sing it out together. I'll have brother Matt come up and lead us in the chorus. Three ninety-six. A day of pleasure or a feast of friendship, a house or car or garments fair or fame, will all be trashed when souls are brought to heaven. And then how sad to face the slacker's play. Sing it out. Today we reap, o'er Mr. Golden Harvest, today is given us lost souls to bear. Notice these words. A day of pleasure or a feast of friendship, will all be trashed when souls are brought to heaven. Sing it out. Are we on the last? All right, let's sing it out on the last. The harvest life with keepers few is wasting, and many souls will die and never know. The law of Christ, the joy of sins forgiven, will let us reap and love and pray and know. Today we reap, o'er Mr. Golden Harvest, today is given us lost souls to bear. Golden to say, that there was never a day. Today will come, to this our soul will bear. Three ninety-seven, three hundred ninety-seven. Three ninety-seven on the first. Can the harvest feel the right wind? There's a word for all to do. Hark, the voice of God is calling, to the harvest call his name. There is much that God has hidden, labored of the wealth and pain. There's a God that you will bear, with the power of Jesus Christ. Let's get a picture right here. You want to screw it up a little bit? There you go. Let's get a picture right here. All right, well this morning it's my pleasure to have Stefan coming for baptism. Stefan, have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior? Yes. All right, Stefan, by your profession of faith, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in newness of life. God bless you, Stefan. All right, well thank you very much, everybody, for being here this morning. We want to encourage you to come back tonight, 6 p.m., for the evening service, and of course tonight we're not going to be in our Journey with Jesus series. I'm going to be preaching just a stand-alone sermon. I'm actually going to be preaching this as a guest speaker at another location later on, but I'd like to preach those sermons to our church family first, and tonight's going to be a little bit of a different sermon. I recently took my sons and some of the guys from our staff. We did a little bit of a survival training and overnight survival training camp that we went to, and while I was there, I kept just seeing all these spiritual applications to some of the very practical things that were teaching us. So tonight I'm going to be preaching a sermon called Spiritual Applications from Survival Training, and I think you'll find it interesting. I want to encourage you to be back tonight, 6 p.m., and of course if you are here and you're a first-time guest, please make sure you don't leave here without grabbing one of our guest gift bags. I want to encourage you to invite someone to come back to church next week, bring a co-worker, bring a neighbor, invite a friend, bring someone with you next Sunday as we continue our Journey with Jesus. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Don't forget that there are sign-up sheets in the foyer for cornbread and for desserts for the Harvest Party. But Matt, would you mind dismissing us with a word of prayer? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, Lord, I pray that we would all be wise stewards and take heed to your Word this morning. I pray that we would be not just soul winners at the soul-winning times, but throughout our days, Lord. I pray for this day that you bring us back to church safely tonight. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.