Luke 16:14-31

Now what you have this morning is a story from Jesus about a man who goes to hell.

And if there's one thing worse, there's something worse than going to hell, here it is.

It is being certain that you're going to heaven and ending up in hell.

And the story ends with this man absolutely desperate to get a warning back to his family.

And what he wants to say to his family is the main point of the passage, I think.

Here is what Jesus wants to say to us this morning.

And the man wants to say to his family, people like us go to hell.

People like us go to hell.

And he begs for the chance to tell his five brothers, people like us go to hell.

Luke's gospel as we've studied it is full of surprises.

It's full of surprises about who is going to heaven and about who is not.

There's people who you think they've got no hope at all, and yet they find themselves in.

And there's people who you think are going to heaven, and they find themselves out.

And that's what we've got today.

We've got this opposites, this great reversal.

Jesus with his coming is not saying, with my coming everybody's going to heaven.

He's not saying that.

He's saying there's going to be surprises in both clues, the queue going up and the queue going down.

And chapter 15 is the heart of these chapters, the heart of this section.

And in chapter 15 we saw that heaven is for people who repent.

Heaven is for people who say sorry.

Heaven is for people who turn away from their sin and turn to God.

And hell is for people who do not repent.

Hell is for relatively good people and relatively bad people who repent.

Hell is for people relatively good, relatively bad, who do not repent.

And so we here have one of these great shocks.

And it is the story of a made up man.

It's a made up story.

It's a made up story with an entirely factual warning.

To the group of men that Jesus meets in verse 14.

Can you see them?

The Pharisees.

It's a warning to those people.

To people like them.

To people like them.

And people like him go to hell.

And I think if you're going to go on listening, I've got to say a little bit about hell, haven't I?

And we all know there have been preachers.

Not really today.

But there have been preachers, particularly 200 years ago, who exaggerated about hell.

And they tried to frighten people emotionally.

With hell, fire, preaching.

And because of that, people are really wary, aren't they?

They are very, very wary.

Maybe you are.

Of listening to a preacher talk about hell.

And what's happened is churches have stopped talking about it entirely.

But when you come to a passage like the end of Luke 16, what I've got to do, and what you've got to do, is ask yourself, what is my job?

Okay?

Do I work for you, as the congregation?

And do I have an obligation to tell my clients what it is they want to hear?

Or do I work for the Lord Jesus?

And I have an obligation to tell you what my master wants you to hear.

Which one is it?

Jesus taught about hell carefully.

He taught about hell often.

And he taught about hell consistently.

And it was a very important part of his message.

And the message of Jesus loses its coherence if you take the doctrine of hell out of it.

And you can see actually in the passage, Jesus is not like one of those hellfire preachers shouting his head off.

Jesus is not trying to whip up emotions or exaggerate.

He's not doing that.

He does twice use the word torment.

And he twice uses the word anguish.

But there are no descriptions, are there, of devils with pitchforks prancing around.

No sadomasochistic descriptions of torture.

There's none of that.

He just thinks hell is a real place.

And he thinks that physically and mentally it is a dreadful place.

And his warning is frightening.

But he wants your brain to be frightened, not just your emotions.

So that you'll do something about it.

And I think we also need to say here that what Jesus says about hell here is a story.

It is a story that has been made up.

And I think that means that we need to be very careful about taking any of the details in Luke 16 literally.

So let me give you an example.

For example, the rest of the Bible doesn't seem likely that people in hell will be having conversations with people in heaven across the divide.

That doesn't seem likely.

Like the rich man has a conversation with Abraham.

It doesn't seem that is the way that things will be.

From the rest of the Bible.

But Jesus uses it in this story to make a point.

And his point is this.

What would somebody in hell want to say?

What would Abraham want to say back to him?

So let's listen in on this conversation.

So he tells this story about a made up person in picture language.

In order to deliver to you and me a real warning about a real place to real people.

And the warning is this.

People like you go to hell.

And before writing this off as all fashionable or objectionable or horrific.

I think we better be sure that Jesus really doesn't know what he's talking about.

So let's have a look at these three main points.

The first one is going to be the longest.

It will feel like it goes on forever.

But the other two are quicker.

The first point is this.

You cannot write your own ticket in advance.

You cannot write your own ticket to heaven in advance.

The people who think they go to heaven are there in verse 14.

Can you just look at that?

Verse 14.

And Jesus describes them in verse 15 which is the key verse.

You are those who justify yourselves before men.

That in five or six words is why they will be shocked when they find themselves in hell.

It's because they think they've got the ticket.

They think they've got their ticket in their back pocket.

But Jesus says that ticket that you have is written yourself.

And it will not work.

You see to justify yourself before men is to get just about everything in life that is important wrong.

So the focus on human beings and what they think as the big thing is wrong.

Whose opinion matters more to you this morning?

Human beings?

Or should it be God?

The Pharisees have got this life sorted.

They are really good at looking good.

They're really good at looking good where people can see them.

But what people think does matter, does it?

It doesn't matter if all your friends think you're going to heaven.

Because God sees them as well, doesn't he?

Look at verse 15.

God sees their hearts.

God knows their heart.

And what God sees matters more.

And this idea that you can justify yourself.

Well that's wrong as well.

Justifying is something that a judge does.

And I think it comes built into every human being that we are good at justifying ourselves.

I cycle.

I might not cycle very much this winter.

But when a cyclist goes into a white van or into a car and there's an accident.

You've seen it on the X-Bridge.

It happens kind of every five minutes.

But there's a cyclist goes in and the cyclist falls off.

And there's the aftermath.

The cyclist gets up on the road.

His clothes are ripped.

The bike is slightly mangled.

And everybody stands there and looks around.

And all the parties justify themselves.

I'm a cyclist.

All cyclists justify themselves.

We know that we're in the right.

No matter what has happened.

No matter if we've jumped a red light.

The cyclist is always in the right.

But actually.

Deep inside.

If you took the name of the cyclist.

Or the white van driver.

And you set up a meeting with a judge.

They will know.

They will know.

That cyclist will know who jumped the red light.

That things will not go so well.

The same thing is here.

It doesn't matter whether you can justify yourself.

What matters is whether the judge will justify you.

It doesn't matter whether you think you're in the right.

It doesn't matter whether you think you're in the right.

What matters is what God thinks.

What God will say.

So let's say next Saturday you want to go and watch England vs Wales at Tokenham.

And you wish that you had tickets.

It will not be okay, will it?

To take out an A4 from your pad.

And write on it.

Four seats near the halfway line.

Pitch side.

Signed Levy.

That's not going to work, is it?

That will not do.

You turn out at Tokenham next Saturday.

You hand in the A4 pad.

That A4 sheet.

And security will be tight.

They'll tell you to clear off.

And they won't let you in.

Now that is obvious, isn't it?

It's not obvious.

So why is it that you think that it's so easy to write tickets for heaven?

That it will be okay.

That you've done them yourself at home and they will let you in.

I would not, and neither would you, let somebody into their house with an admission slip signed by themselves.

You wouldn't.

The Queen certainly would not let anyone into her house.

With an admission slip signed by themselves.

If you wrote a ticket and said, I'm allowed in, I've written Levy on it.

Would that be alright?

Why is it that we think God would, why is it we think that God is so easily fooled by self-justification?

I'm in the right.

It fools men.

But look at verse 15 again.

God has got technology that none of your friends do.

God knows your heart.

And Jesus gives them two specific areas to examine.

He wants them to shift from self-confidence so that they can go to heaven instead.

The two areas are what you do with your money, which is the story of Rich Man and Lazarus.

And what you do with the opposite sex, which is why that verse is there in the middle of Luke 16.

The Pharisees are moralists.

They self-justify because they think they're good enough to go to heaven.

They've done enough to get to heaven.

They don't want any bad people in there.

And that is why they're so cross, aren't they, in chapter 15 and verse 2.

Just look there.

They grumble.

They complain.

They're angry.

And they say, this man receives sinners and eats with them.

Jesus, stop letting all these bad people in.

We are the ones that are good enough.

We are the ones that are working hard.

These people, they don't, they shouldn't be in.

But also, the Pharisees don't want the pass mark raised even higher.

They don't want that.

They don't want the standard raised higher either.

That is why they're so cross in chapter 16 and verse 14.

Because they have a problem.

Jesus has just said, doesn't he, the end of verse 13,

you cannot love God on money.

But they have a problem because in verse 14,

the Pharisees were lovers of money.

And they think loving money, that's alright.

Don't be too strict, Jesus.

Jesus just said, it's only people who don't love money who get into heaven.

And they say, that's too high.

Everybody loves money, Jesus.

Jesus, you're just you turning.

You're you turning all the time.

You were too soft on morals in chapter 15.

And now you've gone too hard in chapter 16.

Stop it with the U-turn in.

Get a grip and tell us, Jesus, what is really going on.

But Jesus hasn't gone soft on morals at all.

He hasn't done a U-turn.

What Jesus is teaching is,

forgiveness always goes along with high moral standards.

And moralism has always gone along with low moral standards.

So if you think men will get to heaven if they get over the pass mark,

what you do is the pressure is always on to lower the pass mark.

If that's what you think,

I'll get into heaven if I reach this certain standard,

well, you'll always want to lower the standards.

If it's about moralism,

how good we are,

then we need to push it down.

So that you can jump over it and get in.

But if you think that people only get into heaven

because they're forgiven,

that's the only way in,

then you can let anybody in.

And you can keep the pass mark where it belongs.

Right up at the top.

With the morals that God thinks are important.

And that is what verses 16 and 17 are all about.

Jesus says,

yes, you can now get to heaven.

Without keeping the law and the prophets.

Since John the Baptist came

and he announced his message of repentance

and forgiveness for sins,

it's been clear that any sinful man or woman

can force their way in.

The Pharisees taught wrongly, didn't they?

That it's keeping the law.

But Jesus says,

you can get to heaven by being forgiven.

But you cannot self-justify

keeping every single last thought of the law.

If you want to be...

If you want...

If you want something that you've made yourself.

If you think it is by keeping the law,

you've got to keep the whole law.

And the good news of the kingdom of God

is that it is for people who want to be forgiven.

If you want to write your own ticket

and say that you are good enough,

well then you've got to keep the whole law.

So the question is,

how have you treated the members of the opposite sex?

And so you come to verse 18.

If you want to know what Jesus says more in detail

about divorce,

you go to Mark 10.

You'll chat with me later about that.

But in Mark 10 it is expanded.

And the Pharisees taught,

well actually you don't need to be married for life.

Being married for life is just too hard.

You can keep away from just grossly mistreating your wife.

If you're not happy with the woman that you're married to anymore,

by all means divorce her,

but do it legally

and you're fine.

Sort the paperwork out.

There's the pass mark.

Jesus says,

well okay,

you might have got the paperwork right,

but you've forgotten the one important thing,

that God can see your heart.

And in Mark 10 he reminds them of what the divorce laws were.

And divorce laws are only needed

because sinful people cannot live together with their problems.

When you put two sinful people together,

there are going to be problems,

always.

And sometimes those problems

mean that people need a way out.

And it's good to have a legal route

that protects the wife's interest when that happens.

It means she doesn't end up destitute

and without property

and without the support of her family.

But if you've gone down that route of divorce,

the one thing that you know for certain,

and I think everybody would agree with this,

is that you are a sinner.

I don't say that from a self-righteous point of view.

Divorce is for sinful people.

And we are all sinful people, aren't we?

Every single one of us.

And you may end up there.

But you cannot come out at the end of that route

and say,

you cannot, can you?

Those of you who struggled with this,

you cannot come out at the end of that route

and say, well I'm a very, very good person.

It is redeemable.

To know that you're a sinner

if you can be forgiven.

But if your whole game

is about saying and proving

I've never done anything wrong,

then the Pharisees with their easy divorce laws

are just kidding themselves.

People like you, he says,

who keep the rules on the inside,

on the outside,

who have all the right paperwork,

go to hell.

And then verses 19 to 25,

he says, how do you use your money?

And they love money.

And they think that you can love money

and be okay with God.

And Jesus tells them a story

that is designed to make them wince.

There was a rich man,

verse 19,

can you see him?

And he was very rich.

His clothes and his gait

would have given that away

to the original hearers.

But even if we miss those feasts,

even if we miss those details,

the way that he eats

gives it away.

He eats sumptuously

every day.

It's ten course meals

every evening.

This man is loaded.

He has the staff,

he has the building,

he has the resources

to feast sumptuously

every day.

And he is meant to be

an example of what it means

to be a lover of money.

Somebody who the Pharisees

could really look up to.

Their culture made the assumption

that there are lots of cultures

who are around the world.

But if somebody has cash,

God must like them.

And God must bless them.

So this man is rich.

He and his family,

they all assume

that they have a place in heaven.

But people like you,

which Jesus says,

who enjoy their money

without any obvious corruption

or fraud,

go to hell.

And in his case,

it actually takes the journey

to hell

before he realises

God sees his heart.

So there he is

in verse 23,

in hell.

And that is a surprise to him.

But even more than that,

when he lifts up his eyes,

he sees Abraham afar off

and Lazarus at his side,

which is an even far

greater surprise.

That is the beggar

who used to live

at my gate,

he says.

And he assumes,

doesn't he,

he's got some

angle,

some capital

to spend.

So he asks Lazarus

to do him a favour.

And that is why in verse 25,

Abraham opens up his heart.

But Abraham said,

child,

remember that you

in your lifetime

received your good things

and Lazarus

in like manner

bad things.

But now he's comforted

here

and you are in anguish.

All your life

good things,

all his life

bad things.

And now God

has reversed the accounts.

And that isn't saying to you

that having money

is a sin,

it's not.

But it is throwing

the light back

onto what this man

did with his money

when he was alive.

All God has done

is swap the places around.

You never had a problem

with money

all those years

that you were alive

with there being

one person in comfort

eating very well

and then another person

kind of six pieces

away from you

who had nothing.

You had no problem

with that rich man.

And all that has happened

is the great reversal.

And if you want to

justify yourself

using the law

well you better make sure

that you've read

all of it rich man.

It's the same point

as divorce.

You better make sure

that you've read

the bits about hospitality.

That you've loved

your neighbours yourself.

You better have read

the bits about

treating and caring

for the sick

and the needy

and the poor.

This rich man's

life

it wouldn't be

in a headline

about bankers

or something

more scandalous

than that.

It wouldn't be that.

He isn't going to

have done a deal

on his tax.

This rich man

may have even

had a wing

of a local hospital

named after him.

He may have devoted

lots of time and money

to lots of charitable

things that people

approved of

but every day

he sat down

in purple

while a man

sat at his gates

closed with sores.

Every day

he sat down

to stuff his belly

and the poor beggar

shuddered with

longing

to even have

the crumbs

that fell from

his table.

And he took

notice of Lazarus.

He never sent

in anything.

He even allowed

the wild sweet dogs

to go after his

injuries and lick

his sores.

God sees your heart.

And so you can

fool your family

or your neighbours

but they are the

ones who walk

over Lazarus

on the way

to your party.

God can see

what you think

about money.

And God can see

in what ways

you are using it

to help someone

in need.

Now I think

it is easy

to apply this

today.

Don't get

tied up in detail

as I have

for most of the week.

Verse 18

is not Jesus'

final word

on divorce.

Verse 25

is not Jesus'

last word

on giving.

The big point

is this.

That people

who think

they have

their own

ticket written

because they

are good enough

have no idea

how far short

of God's

standard they fall.

Because God

sees the heart.

Everything

can be forgiven.

Relationship

breakdown

and meltdown

divorce

can be forgiven.

Greediness

can be forgiven.

Callousness

hard heartedness

can be forgiven.

But if you think

you are good enough

you are never

going to ask.

You are never

going to ask.

And that applies

to modern

moralists

doesn't it?

Let's try and

tease this out.

Both the

religious kind

and the

secular kind.

The religious

kind

are shrinking

aren't they?

There aren't

so many of them

around anymore

I want to argue.

The religious

kind are shrinking.

You go to church

on Sunday

you have very

very strong

opinions on

pretty much

everything.

There is very

very clear

blue water

between you

and sinners.

You are a cut

above the

average church

member

let alone

anyone else.

You are one

of the good

people who

is balanced.

but unless

you are

somebody

seeking

forgiveness

by repenting

then Jesus

has very

hard questions

to ask

your heart

and mine.

The secular

moralist

is beginning

to take

the place

of the

religious

moralist

in our

society.

So just

think who

would be

invited to

this kind

of rich

man's

dinner

party

today.

Who would

be at the

dinner party

with him?

They'd be

the rich

people

but they'd

be the

good rich

people

with the

right opinions

on everything.

They'd have

the right

opinions on

the agenda

that counts

today.

Good people

who hit

all the

right moral

buttons of

their culture.

They wouldn't

put it so

boldly as to

say well you

should let me

into heaven

because I

recycle.

Or you

should let

me into

heaven because

I've got the

right opinion

on all the

equality

agendas.

I believe

in human

rights.

But I

want to say

it is the

same

outward

man

focused

behaviour

religion

actually

as the

people

Jesus

meant.

And Jesus

says to us

this morning

but he also

says to the

cultural

moralists of

our day

what do you

do with

your money?

And how do

you treat

the opposite

sex?

God sees

your heart.

So you

cannot write

your own

ticket.

That's the

second thing

and the

longest

thing.

The

second

thing

is this

you

cannot

do

deals

later.

Now I

think you've

got to

reserve

some

admiration

for the

rich

man.

He's

really

tenacious.

He's

had a

very

bad

day

isn't

he?

He dies

he's

buried

and then

contrary

to all

his

expectations

he wakes

up to

find

himself

in

hell.

It's

a

very

bad

day.

But

look at

him.

He's

not lost

the ability

to cut a

deal

has he?

He's

a

trader.

He could

work in

the city

and he

has three

separate

goals

at doing

a deal

with

Abraham.

He will

not give

up.

So he

uses every

single

bit of

negotiating

skill

he's

got.

Verse

23

he's

dead

he's

in

hell

he sees

Lazarus

and

generally

he thinks

bingo.

Here is

somebody

that I

know

on the

inside.

In

fact

there's

two

people

verse

24

he

scratches

his

link

to

Abraham

doesn't

he?

So what

we've

got

is

somebody

who used

to live

on my

street

and

somebody

I'm

descended

from

and he

thinks

I've

got a

way out

there must

be some

kind of

deal we

can do

is that

how we

negotiate

Abraham

and he

asks the

poor man

Lazarus

to do

something

because in

his world

that's the

way it's

always been

isn't it?

And Lazarus

has always

longed for a

tiny scrap

of food

but the

rich man

now longs

for a

tiny drop

of water

so surely

we can

do a

deal

Abraham

there are

many many

people out

there

maybe you

you're very

used to

getting your

own way

in life

you pull

every string

you're willing

to do any

deal you want

to get what

you want

but men and

women who are

self made in

life tend to

assume that it's

going to work

like that after

death

there's always

been a deal

to be done

I've always

been able to

do so

and God

will be the

same

so look at

verse 26

Abraham says

and besides

all this

between us

and you

a great

chasm has

been fixed

in order

that those

who would

pass from

here to

you

may not

do so

and none

may cross

from there

to us

it's too

late

there are

no deals

and if you

are without

forgiveness

and repentance

in this life

then you'll

be without

them in the

next life

and by the

time you

meet your

maker

it will

be too

late

and thinking

about this

passage

I wonder

if any

of the

people

that I

count as

my friends

believe that

quite a lot

of my

friends believe

in God

but none

of them

show any

urgency

some of

them are

interested in

what happens

after they

die

but none

of them

show any

urgency

about what

will happen

when they

die

it's for

some of

them

they've

got a

point one

problem

they think

they're good

enough

that they'll

be fine

they think

their hearts

will stay

secret

and all the

things that's

in their

hearts will

stay secret

but for most

of them I

think it's a

point two

problem

death will be

something that

you'll face

when you come

to it

death is a

great adventure

as somebody

once said to

me in an

intensive care

ward

it's not just

young people

is it that

think they've

got a long

time until

they die

and I

think most

of us

think

well once

we're dead

there'll be a

lot of

time to

sort it

out afterwards

there'll be

a way to

cut a deal

there'll be a

second chance

but verse 26

says to you

no

there's a

great chasm

that is fixed

and specifically

there will be

no travel

from heaven

to hell

not even

with a drop

of water

and there will

be certainly

no travel

from hell

to heaven

and none

from heaven

to hell

it is the

fact that

we will

all die

and for

us our

time is

running out

that makes

this urgent

it makes it

urgent to

get forgiveness

from Jesus

and that should

be the most

urgent thing

that we can

think of

you cannot

cut a deal

all that

matters is

whether you've

repented in

life or not

that is what

will matter

riches in

life may be

one reason

why it's

such a

surprise for

this group

do you see

they've been

able to do

deals all

their life

and if that

is you

then you're

more likely

to assume

that you're

going to be

able to do

a deal

in the

future

the Christian

gospel is

all about

second chances

isn't it

wonderfully it

is

isn't it

and that is

why there

is forgiveness

that's why

people like

the lost

son

who stuffed

up life

completely

will be

in heaven

and I

suppose you

could imagine

a world

where there

goes on

being second

chances and

third chances

and fourth

chances after

you've died

but Jesus

says very

very clearly

that is not

the way it

is

get it

sorted now

before you

die

because there

are no

second chances

third point

very quickly

you have

everything you

need now

and you

may think

this is a

very miserable

sermon

your ticket

might not

work if

it's

homemade

and you

won't be

able to

do deals

later

but actually

in verses 27

to 31

the man tries

a second

time with

another deal

and it is

miserable for

him because

he does not

get what he

wants

Abraham says

no twice

but if you

can listen

for five

more minutes

more

five minutes

more

you get

what he

asks for

five minutes

that's what

I'm asking

for

you are

about to

get

what this

man asks

for

which means

you have

everything you

need to

know

you see

verse 27

he is the

great deal

maker

but the

moment he's

been knocked

back

immediately

he's after

his second

best

well we

can't do

that deal

let's do

the second

one

and what

he wants

is something

for his

brothers

look at

verse 27

for I

have five

brothers

verse 27

then I beg

you father

send him to

my father's

house for

I have five

brothers

I have five

brothers so

that he may

warn them lest

they also come

into this

place of

torment

he wants

something for

his brothers

it's really

clear thinking

he's caring

about his

family

it's a strong

attempt to do

a deal

send Lazarus

because my

five brothers

they are in

exactly the

same position

as I

am

they are

moral

enough

they are

rich

enough

they are

thought of

well enough

and yet they

have no idea

they have no

idea that

they're going

to be in

hell

so please

Abraham

send

Lazarus

to my

brothers

I wonder

what you

think a

dead

person

would say

it's a huge

industry in

that isn't

it

the

spiritualist

church on

Uxbridge

road

I

cycled

past it

in despair

that they

managed to

build it

spiritualism

is big

business

isn't it

have you

wondered

what a

dead

person

would want

to say

to you

well here

it is

look at

verse 28

for I have

five brothers

so that he

may warn

them lest

they also

come into

this place

of torment

everybody

you know

who has

died

regardless of

what they

believed in

life

in death

they have

met the

God

who made

them

they have

been exposed

to the

person

who knows

their hearts

and has

been cracked

open

and to a

man and a

woman they

would say to

you this

morning be

warned

be warned

and be

forgiven

that is what

dead people

would say

he can't

go

the man

can't go

but he wants

Lazarus to

go and

Abraham says

no but it's

not a vindictive

no he says

there's no need

for him to go

and it would do

no good

look at verse

29

but Abraham

said they have

Moses and the

prophets

let them hear

them

Moses and the

prophets

that was the

whole bible

in Jesus'

day

even the

books before

John the

Baptist

would let

you know

that you are

not moral

enough

that though

you are

maybe moral

and though

you are

maybe rich

you are

not good

enough

but the

rich man

is desperate

look at

verse 30

he says

that's not

true

father Abraham

that is not

true

this is what

would make

them to

repent

send them

a dead

man

and then

they listen

and Abraham

says no

again

he says

their lack

of repentance

is not

because they

don't know

that they

need it

even looking

at their

money and

their treatment

of the

opposite

sex

would be

enough

to make

them realize

that they

need to be

forgiven

they know

that there's

a problem

but it's

because they

have a

heart

problem

that they

won't

believe

and Moses

and the

prophets

are enough

to meet

that need

the bible

Abraham

says is

certain

and it's

powerful

and if they

have Moses

and the

prophets

they have

everything

they need

do you see

he's implying

that he's been

treated unfairly

listening in

verses 27

and 28

the rich man

is saying

it wasn't

clear enough

it was never

big enough

you didn't

send me a

dead person

and Abraham

says but you

had the bible

you had the

bible

what more

do you want

you had Moses

on money

and poverty

and you had

Lazarus at your

gate and you

stepped over him

every day

and it never

occurred to you

that you may

need forgiveness

from God

and if you're

not going to

listen to those

two things

nothing else

will shake

you

it's not that

God is making

things difficult

but it's

look how much

trouble God

has gone to

to make it

easy

you've had

1500 years

rich man

of Abraham

law and

prophets

pointing out

that you

cannot keep

the law

it cannot

be done

it cannot

be done

and you

have messenger

after messenger

saying God

is a forgiving

God

and a loving

God

and he will

receive back

anybody who

is humble

enough to ask

him for

forgiveness

and again

how easy

for us

just by the

standards

there are

Bibles

everywhere

aren't there

and you

have everything

you need to

know in

this book

do you get

the dreadful

end of the

story

the dreadful

end of the

story is that

the brothers

have got a

Bible in

their house

and he

knows that

his brothers

aren't going

to pick

it up

and read

it

they're

like him

they're

going to

ignore it

you can

change the

story for

yourself

can't you

you've

just got

to pick

it up

and read

it

and find

out what

forgiveness

is all

about

but there's

more

let me finish

with this

there's more

because we

actually have

what the rich

man asked

for don't

we

he has

said let

my brothers

hear the

warning voice

of a dead

man

and you

can hear

his voice

you can

hear what

the rich

man would

say in

Jesus'

story

and actually

Abraham offers

us something

even better

even if someone

should rise

from the

dead

well the

words of

Jesus are

the words

of somebody

who died

and was

risen from

the dead

they killed

Jesus but

he came

back to

me

and he

proved

Jesus knows

what he's

talking about

with life

and death

you often

hear

I often

hear

nobody

knows

what

happens

after

death

nobody's

ever

come

back

but that

is the

point

somebody

did

Jesus

knows

what he's

talking

about

and when

Jesus

came

most

of them

did

what

Abraham

suggests

they were

no more

convinced

by the

living

presence

of a

man

that

they've

killed

than

they've

been

by Moses

and the

prophets

which

means

in reality

not in

the story

they go

into the

situation

of this

man

they die

they are

buried

and they

go into

the shock

of realising

they are

in hell

not heaven

they realise

they cannot

do a deal

that everyone

they care

about

and everyone

they've

taught

that it'll

be all

okay

in the

end

is in

the same

place

but

actually

wonderfully

when

Jesus

rose

again

there

are

some

people

who

forced

their

way

in

in the

language

of

verse

16

can you see that

forgiveness is

offered

and if

forgiveness is

an offer

for people

who repent

then get

out of

my way

I'm

going to

force

my way

in

I'm

going to

repent

my heart

is in a

miserable

stage

and that

is something

that I

want

I want

to be

forgiven

so the

only question

is which

of these

groups are

you in

will you

rely on

your

homemade

ticket

will you

rely on

doing a

deal

after you're

dead

or will

you take

hold of

the offer

that is

available

and brutally

force your

way in

by repenting

what will

you do

today if

you hear

his voice

pardon

not your

heart

let's pray

Thank you.