 Today we're in chapter 16 and we're going to be looking at verses 18 through 31 as we continue our verse by verse study here in the Gospel of Luke. And what we'll do is we'll take verse 18 and touch on that and then move into verse 19 to the conclusion of the chapter because what we see in verse 18 is teaching Jesus gives related to divorce. And then in verse 19 following he gives a story concerning a rich man and a man by the name of Lazarus. And so let's look at verse 18 we'll look at that for a few moments then move into the story of the rich man and Lazarus. And so in Luke chapter 16 verse 18 Luke writes whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery. Now what we need to do is we need to put this in context and we need to remember what's taking place here. Jesus is addressing Pharisees. These Pharisees are listening to the teachings that he is giving. And according to verse 14 here in chapter 16 as they are listening to Jesus give his teaching they deride him. And so as they're listening they're actually scoffing at him. The Bible in Proverbs chapter 14 verse 9 says fools mock at sin and that's exactly what these Pharisees are doing. These Pharisees are mocking or deriding the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously they are unreceptive to the things that he has to say. They have no desire to learn the things of the kingdom. They're absolutely self-satisfied with their own lives. And so they don't want to hear what God has to say concerning how they could be right with him. It reminds me of what the writer of Proverbs in chapter 1 verse 22 when he asks the question, how long do you simple ones? Will you love simplicity? Scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. Well that's what's taking place here. The Pharisees are listening to Jesus Christ speak and as they are listening to him as it says here in verse 14 they begin to deride him. So as they're deriding him Jesus begins to address them personally and he is speaking to them and he's telling them things that are very personal. He says that you justify yourselves. But God is looking at your heart and as God looks at your heart he is repulsed by it. You see in the rejecting of the things that the Lord is saying they're rejecting God himself. They hadn't received the witness of John the Baptist though God sent him. And so they are rejecting God's witness to them and how they could get right with God. And so as Jesus is speaking to them he continues and in verse 18 picks up another topic by speaking concerning divorce and he says in verse 18, whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. Whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery. And so not only do the Pharisees love money and not only do they reject Jesus Christ and the witness of John the Baptist. They are also reducing the ordinances of God as it relates to marriage. Now in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus gives grounds for divorce and he says that the grounds for biblical divorce is unlawful sexual intercourse or adultery. In Matthew 5 verse 32 he said, I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. And so he's saying a person with no biblical right to a divorce has no right to remarriage. And so he's saying that the biblical grounds for divorce would be adultery. Now in 1 Corinthians in chapter 7 the Apostle Paul actually gives to us another legitimate ground for divorce and it can occur when an unbeliever wants to end the marriage. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 15 Paul said, if the unbelieving one leaves let him leave. The brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. And so if an unbelieving spouse deserts or divorces a believer the believer is no longer bound and is free to remarry another believer. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7 he says in verse 27, are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. It's not as if you are going to divorce so that you can find something better down the line. If I'm a Christian married to an unbeliever and the unbeliever desires to depart God has called me to peace and therefore I allow them to depart. But that doesn't mean that I go out seeking for a Christian mate so that I can be fulfilled. It simply means that they don't want to be with me any longer. So when Jesus is speaking here in verse 18 he's basically saying you have taken God's word and you've begun to change it so that it suits your purposes. But you need to understand something about marriage he's saying and something that you have reduced and that is this. If a person out of convenience divorces somebody and remarries that is not the biblical grounds for divorce and therefore it's a sin. And so that's what he's speaking about in verse 18. Now he moves on in verse 19 and gives us parable or this story actually concerning a rich man and a man by the name of Lazarus. Let's pick up at verse 19 and I'll read to the end of the chapter and we'll look at this together. 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 a far off in Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said son remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he's comforted and you are tormented and besides all this between us and you there's a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot nor can those from there pass to us. Then he said I beg you there for 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 he said no father Abraham but if one goes to them from the dead they will repent but he said to him if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. The rich man and Lazarus. In order to understand the story we need to remember what Jesus has been speaking and how that he has been sharing concerning the fact that there was a steward who had been wasting his employer's goods and when he had been brought into accountability and was fired because of his malfeasance he had done everything that he could in order to secure himself for his future. And what Jesus had been saying it's found here in chapter 16 at verse 10 was that financial stewardship is a test of one's character and then he went on in verse 13 to point out that you cannot serve God and dwell simultaneously living for the flesh and excluding the spirit always ends up in destruction. The Bible in Proverbs 11-28 makes it clear he who trusts in riches will fall and Ecclesiastes 5-10 says whoever loves money never has money enough and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income this too is meaningless and so the Lord has already spoken concerning that and he's been sharing concerning what is really true wealth in all and so to illustrate this he gives this story concerning a rich man and a man by the name of Lazarus. Now this is the only parable where Jesus actually uses somebody's name and so there are many commentators, conservative commentators who believe that this is actually a real event that Jesus is speaking about and not simply a parable. We need to remember one thing for sure and that is the Pharisees who are lovers of money and its advantages are the ones who are being addressed in this and so what you have is two characters, you have a rich man and you have a poor man a rich man who was unnamed and a poor man who has a name, the name is Lazarus and so first we are introduced to this rich man and remember with me how Jesus described him this man was clothed in purple and linen and he fared sumptuously every day so the way he has spoken about tells us that he is a very wealthy man because when he says that he was wearing purple, purple is an expensive garment it was dyed with a rare and precious dye, this was something that was worn by royalty or nobility when he speaks about linen that's an undergarment that is brilliant white and it's worth twice its weight in gold and when he speaks of him faring sumptuously or eating daily in such a way he had daily banquets and in those banquets he had servants as well as a multitude of guests and so the picture that he is drawing for us is an extremely incredibly extremely incredibly rich man somebody who has got so much money that none of us probably in this room could understand it I most certainly can't and I am assuming that most of you can't either I can't understand that I mean I hear about these fellows who have lots of money you know once you get past a million to me that is so far beyond my comprehension I just don't get it so when I hear that Oprah has like 1.5 billion dollars billion dollars I haven't got a clue what that means you know it's just so far beyond me I just wish he tied to this church but anyway you know I don't get it and do you get it? I mean can you get it? I just cannot relate to that I mean like Bill Gates and others like that who have such an incredible amount of money that if they dropped a hundred dollar bill and stopped to pick it up they're wasting their time because they're worth more than that hundred dollars per second I can't relate to that at all but that's the picture Jesus is giving to us he's giving us a picture of a man who is incredibly wealthy a man who eats banquets every day a man who wears clothing as undergarments that are worth a king's ransom this is somebody that Jesus is portraying as an incredibly rich man who lives like nobility he lives in royal luxury but the problem is this is a man who's filled with selfish greed you see he's got a neighbor somebody who actually lives at his front gate somebody he doesn't even really know a very poor man who is there and this man who is having a banquet every day in his house doesn't have a clue that there's somebody right outside verse 20 says there's a certain beggar named Lazarus well a source who's laid at his gate desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table this is somebody who's got absolutely nothing going for him at all now you see in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament chapter 15 verse 11 when God was giving his law to the nation of Israel God said the poor will never cease from the land therefore I command you saying you shall open your hand wide to your brother to your poor and your needy in your land you should be generous to those who are in need is what he is saying here those who have genuine need you ought to be compassionate towards and you ought to care for them this man had somebody at his gate the gate of his estate who was laying there who was saying I don't have any food I'll eat the crumbs anything that falls from your table I'm willing to take now this man is named Lazarus now the name Lazarus means God is my help which gives us insight concerning this man because his name is intended to contrast with the unnamed rich man this is a man who has a genuine faith in God and we'll see that in just a moment but he has a genuine faith in God James in chapter 2 verse 5 says it like this he says listen my beloved brethren has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him while Lazarus is an example of somebody who though he is materially poor is rich in faith and he's a person who's given Jesus gives as a description of complete poverty he says that he's a beggar a poor beggar that word beggar speaks of somebody who is completely destitute he describes him as being full of sores this is a person who has continual abscesses in his flesh that are not healing this is one who is laid at the gates by his friends undoubtedly but that tells us that he is a homeless man this is somebody who desires to be fed he's starving and so the servants are actually feeding him the table scraps this is a person living on the welfare of other people and then he goes on to describe him as one that the street dogs are licking his sores some would say this is something to show us how repulsive his life has become there are others that would say that that was the only medical treatment he was getting when the dogs would come and actually lick his sores is a form of medicinal treatment and so the point he's making is he has no medical aid he's incapable of having anything for himself because he's poor, he's destitute he relies on the welfare of other people has absolutely nothing going for him he is one in complete poverty and so you have the contrast between a man who is incredibly rich and a man who is incredibly poor that's the whole picture that Jesus has given to us now as is true with all flesh verse 22, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried and so as is true with all human life it ultimately comes to an end Lazarus dies and as he dies he's buried in an unmarked popper's grave but he's carried by the angels the rich man dies he's buried extravagantly carried by men the bottom line is all the riches this man had could not prevent him from dying though he had every advantage he's gonna die just like anybody else does the psalmist in Psalm 49 verses 16 and 17 says do not be overawed when a man grows rich when the splendor of his house increases for he will take nothing with him when he dies his splendor will not descend with him and so this is a very extravagantly rich man who had a king's funeral whereas you have Lazarus who's got nobody to even attend to him at his death and he goes on and it says in verse 23 being in torments in Hades he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame and so he's in Abraham's bosom I'm gonna look at that with you for a moment and give you some details Abraham's bosom is what is called the temporary abode of the righteous dead it's a compartment of what is called Hades the righteous would go to Abraham's bosom this is a place that was a temporary receptacle prior to the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and according to verse 25 it's a picture of a place where you are comforted because that's what is said there now he is comforted and so it's a place of comfort it's a picture of that it's a comfort and arrest now after Jesus' resurrection and ascension the place of the righteous dead is now heaven if you were dying and being buried if you were a righteous individual you had faith in God and you died you'd go to this compartment that was referred to as Abraham's bosom Hades was divided Hades being a temporary receptacle of human souls Hades was divided into two compartments you have one compartment that is the abode of the righteous dead called Abraham's bosom the second compartment that is where the unrighteous are reserved and you'll see this in a second in this but that's the temporary place now Jesus Christ dies on the cross he's buried and he's resurrected this is what we are celebrating this season as we are now in the Easter season so Jesus dies he's buried and he's resurrected when that takes place he enters into Abraham's bosom the abode of the righteous dead and he takes them with him to go to heaven Ephesians chapter 4 verse 8 says when Jesus ascended on high he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men and so the Lord Jesus Christ went and took those who were righteous awaiting this moment with him to heaven and now we have a place that we go to when we die and we can now know that we go directly to heaven there's no in-between place for us there's no waiting place for us you see as I grew up I was taught that there was a place that you had to go to between heaven and earth and it was a place called purgatory how many of you have heard that purgatory how many were you taught that that's a place of they would say in the catholic church that it was a temporary place where a purging took place and normally it was by fire a purging would take place and the residual effects of your temporal sins was dealt with in purgatory and all of that and that's what I was taught as a bible-believing Christian called purgatory though junior high ministry is pretty close to purgatory it's theologically similar it's a place of purging but the bible tells us that we are not purged by fire we are purged by the blood of Jesus Christ and there is no in-between place there is no stopping over place I was also taught that the souls of unbaptized infants go to a place called limbo how many of you heard of that and not the chubby checker saw and limbo was a place of beauty and wonderfulness but it's not equal to heaven because unbaptized infant souls that's what I was taught I don't know if there's been any changes since I was practicing the catholic faith and all perhaps I have some in this room who could let me know but that was where the unbaptized souls of infants would go and so you had a place called limbo you had a place called purgatory and neither one of those places exists those are inventions unfortunately and sadly inventions of man and man's traditions but not scripture you see prior to Jesus's deathberry on resurrection there is a place called hades hades answers to sheol in the Old Testament hades is a compartment or a receptacle if you will of the dead souls some are reserved for judgment others being reserved for everlasting life prior to deathberry on resurrection of Jesus Christ but after Jesus Christ dies buried and is resurrected if I as a person who has faith in him when I go home I go home to be with the Lord I go to be with him how do I know that well 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 through 8 says that Paul said we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord we live by faith we are confident I say and would prefer to be away from the body and to be at home with the Lord so when I close my eyes here it's only to open them up there I behold the face of the Lord Jesus Christ when I close my eyes here in sleep and death I'm actually just going directly to be with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven in Philippians chapter 1 verses 21 through 23 Paul said to me to live is Christ and to die is gain if I am to go on living in the body this will mean fruitful labor for me yet what shall I choose I do not know I'm torn between the two I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far I desire to depart and be with Christ now where is Jesus Jesus is in heaven he ascended and he said it at the right hand of the father saying I desire to be with Christ it's another way of saying I want to go to heaven because Jesus said I go and prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself where I am there you may be also and so for me I have a hope of heaven I have a place that I know I'm going to go to not by my own works of righteousness of course not when I first got saved I was so overwhelmed with that as a brand new believer that I was going to go to heaven it was so beyond me because again in my own religious heritage I was never taught that I could actually know that I was taught that one of the ways to secure heaven would be to make sure I made a good confession on my deathbed to have absolution and then to have people praying for me so that I might exit from purgatory early I even knew of prayers that you would pray for the souls of those who were departed and there are masses that are given even to this day for the souls of those who have departed so that they might have some credit and reduce their sentence if you will in purgatory and that's how I was raised I had no hope of heaven I didn't know you could go to heaven and so when I found that the word of God actually says absent from the body present with the Lord that Jesus said where I am there you may be also blew my mind and so I tell people I'd say man I'm going to go to heaven this is back in 1970-71 so people at that time still knew that there should be some quality in your life that demonstrates that you're a person who's heaven bound and so they would say to me I had this happen more than once they'd say what gives you the right to say you're going to go to heaven you're not that good you're not that good as a matter of fact you're not good at all what gives you the right to think that you're going to go to heaven and I would answer that question I would say it's not based on my own goodness I was taught this from the very beginning it's not based on my own goodness it's not that I'm good it's that Jesus is good and Jesus paid my price he died on the cross for me he took my sin upon himself and his blood has washed me and cleansed me freed me from my sin so yeah I'm going to heaven not based on works of righteousness which I have done but according to his mercy he saved me by the washing of regeneration the renewing of the Holy Spirit so I have a relationship with God in that way no it's not because I'm good God knows that there's none good no not one so you can know that you can know that you're going to go to heaven in 1 Peter chapter one verses three and four Peter says praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ in his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade reserved in heaven for you and so I can know and you as a believer can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that heaven is your home not because you're so good or because I'm so good but because he is so good because Jesus Christ paid the price because he's the righteous one who made it possible and when he ascended he took captivity captive and gave gifts to men and so I can know that heaven's doors are now open unto me and I can enter in through faith in Jesus Christ and stand before him wearing robes of righteousness that I have gained by putting my faith in him and this righteousness is called in Scripture an imputed righteousness it's given to me it's something I don't have in my own but he has given it to me he's clothed me in that robe and so I can stand before him made in the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ and I can enter into heaven through faith in him you see and so as we're looking at this this is prior to Jesus's death burial and resurrection and so it speaks concerning it in that way you see sometimes when you read the Scripture if you have a King James Bible it usually translates the English word and the single English word is how but there are various words that you find in both the Old and the New Testament that speak concerning this one place that the King James unfortunately normally will translate with a single word but there are different words like I mentioned there's the word Sheol that you find in the Old Testament in the New Testament you have the word Tartarus and you have the Abuso and you have you have Guiana and you have you have Hades and Hades is what is being referred to here in this Scripture you see Hades is not the place of final judgment as I said earlier it's a temporary receptacle people actually remain in this place called Hades until final judgment so if you're in this room tonight and you're not saved you're not a Christian and you die you don't go to heaven you go to a place called Hades Hades is a temporary receptacle for human souls awaiting judgment in 2 Peter in chapter 2 verse 9 the apostles said the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment so the unjust being reserved are in a place called Hades ultimately the final judgment or the final place of judgment is called the lake of fire Jesus also uses the word Guiana Guiana during the time of Christ is there in the valley of Hinnom it was a place where the refuse was burned that's why Jesus would speak of it and say it's where the flame is never quenched and the worm die at the knot the reason he referred to hell in that fashion is because that was a picture of a continuing judgment and so if you died tonight unsaved you go into a place called Hades and you are there being reserved into judgment ultimately at the final judgment you are going to be standing before the throne of God and you will receive the due penalty for a life of sin in Revelation 20 verses 13 through 15 the apostle John writes 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 death and Hades being the temporary receptacle of bodies and souls is now swallowed up by that which is permanent the lake of fire he said this is the second death and anyone who has not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire and so when Jesus is speaking here I want you to know something about the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ he spoke about hell as a literal place he spoke of it and gives to us and we will see this in a moment a little more detail but he spoke of it as a literal place as a matter of fact I know you know this already but perhaps you don't when you study the gospels you read through them in hell then he ever did about heaven I find that interesting that's because he doesn't want us to go to hell so he talks about hell because in avoiding hell and coming to Christ then you go to heaven so he warns several times throughout the different gospels concerning this final judgment what you have here in Luke chapter 16 is actually a story that relates to that because he's making it very clear now remember in context to those Pharisees who are trusting in their riches they've been financially quote unquote blessed they're trusting in their riches deriding his teachings and Jesus is now bringing them into an accountability that's what he's doing you know we look at Jesus sweet meek and mild but Jesus was very strong and as Jesus is speaking he's very to the point very cutting and he's speaking to these people who do not like hearing what they're hearing but he's telling them the story and they're listening and so as this is taking place you have again in verse 23 being in torments in Hades he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham a far off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said father Abraham have mercy on me send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue notice for I am tormented in this flame now again he's in Hades this rich man this is the temporary place of the unrighteous dead and I want you to see this Jesus makes it clear that those who go there have a continuation of existence they are conscious they possess memory and are in constant torment that word torment speaks of torture or pain agony it speaks of grief and so that's where he is but I want you to see something about this man because even though he is there in torment notice how it says in verse 24 father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus he's still giving orders he's still giving orders you know there he is telling father Abraham what to do he's still giving orders because that is part of his character and so as he says that have him come dip the tip of his finger in water cool my tongue I am tormented in this flame but Abraham said verse 25 son remember that in your lifetime you received your good things likewise Lazarus evil things but now he's comforted and you are tormented and besides all this between us and you there's a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot nor can those from there pass to us Abraham says listen bro he didn't quite say it like that he said in your lifetime you went for the gold in your lifetime you went for the pleasure in your lifetime you accumulated as much as you could because you wanted to enjoy your lifetime and you did you had everything money could buy you had food you had fine clothing you had servants you had everything that a human being could want there was nothing that if you wanted there was nothing you couldn't have nothing you could have it all again isn't that difficult to understand it is for me those of us who live on budgets though we are artificially rich we call it plastic we're artificially rich but we eventually have to pay for all the stuff that we buy and then we forget at the end of the payment what it is that we've been paying for they usually break at the conclusion of their warranty and trash cans are filled with treasures that people just had to have and were willing to do almost anything to get and every week the trash man comes and picks up that thing that I just had to have that thing that just meant so much to me every week they come and dumps are filled with human treasures filled with it and the things we had to have we had to have those shoes we had to have those clothes we had to have that whatever it may be had to have it and they always become obsolete the minute we buy them because there's always this new and improved thing that comes out well a rich man doesn't really care because a rich man can walk in and say well he goes into a car lot and he sees this 1.5 million dollar Bugatti gas mileage is on it he doesn't care he doesn't care about the insurance because he's only going to drive it once in a while anyway he's not going to drive it every day it's not a grocery getter it's not something he's going to put the kids in and take them to soccer practice this is a car that he'll have just to show to his friends and I've seen sometimes I've seen some of these very wealthy men buying these cars that you know they'll never drive spending $600-$700,000 on a special vehicle for over a million dollars on a Duesenberg and I've seen them in the auctions doing that these are cars that they're just going to put in a garage and every once in a while invite a friend over to look at it and walk around and say look what I have and I don't ever start it you know I never drive it all I do is polish it you know but it's really cool look what I've got they're so rich they don't even remember they have that I heard about a guy who was looking for a particular painting he had seen this painting in a magazine and he was an art collector and he said I really want this painting I've got to have it so he had a fella who would go and acquire his paintings for him and so he calls him and he says look I want this Picasso and this is what it's called and it's worth this much and I want it I want you to hunt it down until you get it because I'd like to have it and so few weeks later he gets a phone call from this guy who hunts down this artwork and he says I discovered where it is I found that painting and the man says to him great where is it and he says you already own it this guy had so many things he didn't even catalog him he already had the thing that he was looking for and that's the way it really works when you're rich when you're overly abundantly rich in this fashion when you've got so much you don't even think about anything you walk into a store and you can buy anything you can buy the whole store if you want you walk and say I want that I want this store you can buy the store you can buy and see we don't understand that but this rich man would and in his lifetime even as Abraham was saying you received your good things you had everything that you wanted nothing that you saw that you kept yourself from getting but on the other hand you are now going to reap what you've sowed you know Paul tells the Galatians in chapter 6 verses 7 and 8 be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man sows that also shall he reap and so if we sow to the flesh from the flesh we reap corruption if we sow to the spirit from the spirit we reap everlasting life and that's the law of sowing and reaping and he's simply saying to him you're getting what you wanted this is what you wanted you're simply just cashing in your chips now and so in your lifetime you received your good things Lazarus evil things now he's comforted 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 to pass and so people who die without the Lord end up without him for eternity and even if they had everything they wanted on the face of the earth it still wasn't enough and so what does he do verse 27 he says I beg you there for a father that you would send him to my father's house I have five brothers that he may testify to them unless they also come to this place of torment those who die without the Lord don't want those whom they love to die without him interesting as it's being portrayed here interesting atheists ultimately believe in God because they see him face to face it's too late when they ultimately do believe but they do ultimately believe the Bible says every knee shall bow and tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father so these people in the picture here is him coming to his senses too late but he doesn't want his family to end up where he has ended up he doesn't want that he doesn't want them to end up there I've done a number of funerals over the years and the very first funeral to many of the others following that I ever did was a funeral for a person who died without Christ and I have to tell you it's very awkward when you as a biblical minister when you do a funeral because people come to funerals and they want to hear good things they want to hear hope they want to hear positive things they want to hear wonderful things about this guy and as a pastor I'm not going to lie to him I'm not going to have them walk out thinking they're okay if they don't know Jesus Christ it's very awkward guys the very first funeral I ever did was for a man who was a pretty pretty sinful man to be honest with you and those who were at the funeral were his friends or without demeaning them because I'm not intending to I'm just describing well when I grew up I heard the term ladies in red I don't know if any of you have even heard that term before prostitutes were called ladies in red that's what they used to be called a long time ago and if my mom were talking to me she might use that phrase they're ladies in red ladies in red spoke of a prostitute these ladies who were at the funeral at a funeral were prostitutes they were literally dressed in red you know and bleached hair and I'm looking at them and the other ones, well they were gamblers they were racetrack junkies I mean that was his friends that was who he hung around with and I remember my very first funeral that I ever did was to a crowd of people who had no relationship at all with God in any way shape or form and I still still remember walking out and I've done this many times since and I've said we're here to remember and I gave the name of the person you know he lived this long he left behind these relatives and I said at this point if he had an opportunity to share with you I think this is what he would share with you fear God depart from evil gospel message about how to get saved how to be right with Jesus Christ because I know that if this man who's in this casket had an opportunity to share with you he'd have the same heart that this rich man has and I want you to see that when he says I beg you there for father that you would send him to my father's house I have five brothers that he may testify to them lest they also come to this place and repent warn them that they not come here send Lazarus perhaps a voice from the other side can bear witness of eternity send him to tell him do not come here do everything you can to stay from here but what is Abraham's response verse 29, Abraham said to him they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them he said no father Abraham they will repent but he said to him if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead they have the scriptures they have Moses and the prophets Moses representing the law and the prophets they have the law and the prophets let them hear them let them read the word of God let them trust God's word the law and the prophets point they are pointers to Jesus Christ they point you to faith in him let them read the word of God in John 5.45-47 Jesus said do not think that I shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you Moses in whom you trust if you believed Moses you would believe me he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words you already have the witness it's the witness of God's word so he says they need to simply come to faith that's what they need but what's his response he says no in verse 30 if one goes to them from the dead they'll repent they need a sign not God's word they need a sign not the Bible they need a sign well in Matthew 12.38-40 some of the scribes and Pharisees said teacher we want to see a sign from you but he answered and said to them an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth the most amazing sign you'll ever have is going to be the resurrection and the word of God points to that the word of God directs our attention to that so he says listen the law and the prophets are sufficient to cause your brothers to have a saving faith in God let them trust God's word no we want a sign well listen verse 31 if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead signs will not convince them only God's word can sometimes people even in this day as a matter of fact especially in this day are looking for signs are looking for miracles are looking for something outside of God's word they don't want to trust the word of God I find it interesting and I'll just say this briefly I find it interesting this controversy that's going on right now and controversies are stirred up every political election year and here we have another one relating to this quote-unquote pastor in Chicago and the things that he said from his pulpit that he says and you know the argumentation either way and I've been listening perhaps some of you have too but I listen as a pastor I'm not listening as somebody is going to vote for this person I'm listening as a pastor I want to see what the world thinks about somebody standing up and saying the things that are being said by this pastor and I find it interesting and one of the things that I was just reading today concerning that was where a woman was saying I'm alone because he has a right to his own opinion even as an opinion that none of us really most of us do not agree with and as a pastor I read that and I think well you know it's really not that simplistic now is it because as a minister of the gospel I have a responsibility to give you the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God that's my responsibility to not change it so I can appeal tears, tickling ears as Paul would say but rather let's just divide the word and allow God to work in our hearts that's what a minister is supposed to do guys that's what ministers did for many years that's what ministers used to do habitually unfortunately we live in a time now where somebody will defend a minister who's not even given the word of God and saying he has his right to his opinion well I'd say sure of course we all have our opinions but when I'm behind this pulpit I need to be careful to restrict my opinions and so from that aspect I would disagree when I would say yes he has his right to his opinions of course every person has their own opinions that's just the way it is, people do but when you're there ministering to 8500 people you ought to be giving them God's word you ought to be encouraging them in the things of God you need to teach them to hunger for the word of God and encourage those who do and feed them the word of God so that their lives can be blessed by God that's what ministers are supposed to do we're not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ we're not to be ashamed of the word of God presented because his word is truth and that's how you're saved and that's how you're kept and that's how you grow and that's how you mature and that's how God works through you and that's what motivates you to go out and talk to other people about the truth of Jesus Christ because the truth sets you free and if we adhere to the truth God will bless our lives that's what ministers are supposed to do so I don't minimize that at all because it's really something that relates to heaven and hell for me to enter into the kingdom of God I have a very poor man here by the name of Lazarus who's being used as an example of somebody who goes into heaven and is comforted by God and I have a rich man who's got everything every social thing that he needs every financial thing that he needs who ends up in torment which would I rather be well if it's an either or I'd rather be Lazarus because I have eternity before me you see this man here if this is a true event for the last 2,000 years Lazarus has been comforted now which do I want to be I want to be the person who's being comforted I want to be the person who's being blessed by God they're receiving from God consolation and if it means I have a short time on earth that I don't really live a life that perhaps is as beneficial as others if I don't have the things well you know what when I'm in heaven I don't think I'll think about that I don't think that's going to be something I'm going to want to talk to the Lord about I don't think I'm going to take him aside in the corner of heaven and say to him excuse me why didn't you give me more I rather doubt that I think that when I'm with him in heaven I'm going to say man am I blessed to be here in the first place does it really matter to me what I had on earth those things are they're all forgotten he wipes the tears from your eyes there's no more pain there's no more sorrow there's no more discomfort there's no more illness there's no more anything there's only joy at the right hand of God pleasures forever more why would I worry about the riches on earth when I've got pleasures in heaven that are stored up for me you see and that's what we're supposed to be looking at that's what we're supposed to be desiring and that's what Jesus I believe is saying he's saying you guys are lovers of money I already spoke concerning the fact that there was an unjust steward who was wiser in this age than the children of light are because he he feathered his nest here on earth well let me emphasize this a second time because you're lovers of money let me tell you that this rich man had all the money in the world and ended up going to hell and by the way that's what he's saying to these Pharisees that they're going to end up doing and he's basically giving to them a choice what's it going to be he's saying to them you have a choice you see in the resurrection of Christ which we to this day continue to preach Jesus who was resurrected we preach a living Christ and yet what does he say he says if they do not hear Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead what are you saying Jesus it would seem that Jesus is saying Moses and the prophets are pointing towards my resurrection I will be resurrected and they will still remain in unbelief even though one rise from the dead because they are lovers of money rather than lovers of God because they're lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of the Lord and as long as they're in love with pleasure and money they're not even going to see the wonderfulness of God and so he's actually calling to a choice which is it going to be heaven or hell which is it going to be and that's the purpose of this particular story of Lazarus and the rich man which is it going to be