Future Investment Luke 16v19-31

A man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table.

Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.

The rich man also died and was buried.

In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.

So he called to him,

Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,

because I am in agony in this fire.

But Abraham replied,

Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things.

But now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place,

so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.

He answered,

Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers.

Let him warm them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.

Abraham replied,

They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them.

No, Father Abraham, he said,

but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.

He said to him,

If you do not listen to Moses and the prophets,

then they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.

Well, let's pray together.

Father, as we come to your word, to your truth,

we pray that it would shape our hearts,

challenge us where we need to be challenged,

and that it would cause us to see

that Christ is enough,

and that Christ is sufficient.

Father, do a work in our lives today.

Make us that we would become more like the Lord Jesus,

in every way.

We pray this for your glory and for our good.

Amen.

Well, if you won the Euro Millions,

what would you do with it?

What do you dream you could do?

Would you pay off your mortgage?

Maybe buy a new car,

or take a holiday,

do a world travel trip?

Well, you mightn't win the Euro Millions.

It's a very slim chance that we will.

But what if you were to suddenly have access to a little extra cash?

Maybe some money is left to you in a will.

Perhaps you get a promotion,

start a new job,

and it's got a better salary.

Or some savings account has matured.

But what do you fantasise about

if you just had a little bit more money?

A bit more spare cash in the wallet

at the end of the week?

What would you do?

Would you get a new phone?

An upgrade,

or decorate the house,

or just treat yourself,

and go shopping,

and buy something for me?

Well, money's not a bad thing.

It's not wrong to have money.

Money is actually a good gift from God.

But we need to be so, so careful.

Money is powerful.

It has the power to control us

and consume us.

Look at what Jesus says back in verse 13.

This comes actually at the end of another parable about money.

So verse 13, it says,

No one can serve two masters.

Either you will hate the one

and love the other,

or you will be devoted to one

and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and money.

The Pharisees, who loved money,

heard all this

and were sneering at Jesus.

So in response,

Jesus tells a story.

Now as we go through this story,

I know it's familiar to a lot of you,

but as we go through it,

I want us to be asking this question.

Who am I in the story?

Not who would I like to be,

but who am I?

First,

in the story,

there are two kinds of people.

First we have the rich man,

verse 19.

There was a rich man

who was dressed in purple and fine linen,

which was kind of the designer clothing of the day,

and lived in luxury every day.

He's Mr. Giorgio Armani.

That fine-cut suit.

A Versace watch hanging loose on his wrist.

The bling.

Gated playhouse for all his parties.

And of course, his pride and joy,

his personalised Lamborghini.

He's a wealthy man.

Now before you say,

that's not me,

I'm not rich,

I'm not in that category,

consider this.

More than a billion people

live on less than a dollar a day.

Almost two billion others

live on less than two dollars a day.

Nearly half the world's population

are struggling to have adequate food,

water,

and shelter.

Most people live and die in poverty.

In the eyes of the world,

we are Mr. and Mrs. Rich.

And living here in Ireland

means we're actually in the top 20%

of the world's most well-off.

Second, we're introduced to the poor man.

Verse 20.

At his gate,

this great mansion,

with a gate to keep certain people out,

was laid a beggar named Lazarus,

covered with sores,

and longing to eat

what fell from the rich man's table,

the scraps.

Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

He's a neglected,

malnourished,

homeless beggar.

Today, we might think of him

as being one of those two billion

who live on less than a couple dollars a day.

His family,

more than likely,

live beside a disease-ridden open sewer.

He rummages through the city dump,

hoping to find someone's scraps.

No access to clean running water.

No toilet.

No access to medicine or a doctor.

The contrast between these two characters

couldn't be greater.

One lives in luxury,

the other in great poverty.

One dressed in fine clothes,

the other dressed in sores.

who are the rich

of the world today,

and who are the poor.

But this is a story

so much more than just physical

or material wealth.

You see,

while the world longs to be materially rich

and chase after money,

we are to strive

to be spiritually poor.

Mike McKinley,

one author,

puts it like this.

A person's economic condition

has the potential

to help or hinder them

when it comes to having

the spiritual characteristics

that God values

and rewards.

Let me read that again.

It's important.

A person's economic condition

has the potential

to help or hinder them

when it comes to having

the spiritual characteristics

that God values

and rewards.

Let me explain that.

So, if you are materially rich,

it's much harder

to see your spiritual need.

Because if you are rich

and wealthy,

well, you're self-sufficient.

You're independent.

You don't need anybody's help.

You can do it alone.

But if you're materially poor,

then it is much easier

to see your spiritual need

because you are others reliant.

Your economic condition

means that you are dependent.

You desperately need

the help of somebody else

to intervene.

Now, think about

the spiritual characteristics

we should have

when coming to God.

We are to come

like the poor,

desperate,

in need,

longing for help,

begging for mercy.

We are to come

like the lost son

back in chapter 15.

Have a look back there

to chapter 15.

Again, another well-known story

about the lost son

and the elder brother.

Let's pick it up

in verse 17.

Here we have an example

of what it is to come,

begging for mercy,

desperate for help.

Verse 17,

so the son,

when he had spent everything

that he had had

and he had nothing left,

when he came to his senses,

he said,

how many of my father's

hired servants

have food to spare

and here I am

starving to death.

I will set out

and go back to my father

and say to him,

Father,

I have sinned

against heaven

and against you.

I am no longer worthy

to be called your son.

Make me like one

of your hired servants.

So he got up

and went to his father.

You see,

that's the condition

we are to go to God.

We are to go

as hopeless,

helpless,

dependent,

completely reliant

on God's grace

to be spiritually poor,

longing for God's intervention.

There is no place,

there is no room

for self-righteous,

arrogant,

hard-hearted attitudes

when coming to God.

So as we read

through this story,

who are you

in the story?

Are you the rich

or are you the poor?

Are you somebody

who seeks material wealth

or are you striving

for spiritual poverty?

Second,

there are two ways

to live.

The two men die,

don't they?

The rich man

goes to Hades,

we'll come back

to that in a minute,

and the poor man

goes to heaven.

Now,

again,

we need to be clear

about this.

It's not their economic status

that determines

their fate.

It's not because

one has more money

that he ends up

in one place

and one has less

that he ends up

in another.

It's not that at all.

The Bible is much broader

than that to say

that those who

are rich

do go to heaven

and some who are

materially poor

don't.

It boils down to

how we live

in this life.

That's what will

determine

our fate.

And there's two ways

we can live.

First,

there's the way

of faith.

Look at verse 22.

The time came

when the beggar died

and the angels

carried him

to Abraham's side.

Again,

we're going to get

back to what

that means,

but for now

I want us to see

that Lazarus

was a man

who lived

by faith.

Lazarus

means

the one

God

helps.

That's what

his name means,

the one

God helps.

Lazarus

knows he's

in desperate

need.

He's a man

in poverty

and in response

God helps.

And even

though he's

lived in poverty,

even though

he dies

in poverty,

he never

turns away

from God.

There's nothing

in this story

that tells us

that he curses

God and

is giving off

and he's bitter

and angry

about his life.

No,

it seems

that Abraham

was a man

of faith.

You see,

true faith

is not determined

by what I have

and what I can get.

This kind of

attitude that says,

oh,

I'll believe

if you get me

a better job.

Or I'll follow

you,

Lord,

if you can make

me more

financially stable.

True faith

always says,

God is enough.

God is sufficient.

Even when I have

nothing,

even if I should

lose my job,

even if I can't

afford the mortgage

this week,

even if I should

end up sick,

true faith

will always say,

God is enough.

God is sufficient.

I will trust

him.

And Abraham

is a man

who has said,

God is

enough.

So there's

the way of faith

and then we have

second,

the way of self.

In contrast,

the rich man,

it seems,

lives by his

own resources.

He lived

by his means

and he is

trusted in

his means.

He shows

no

genuine

desire

to repent.

Look at

verse 24.

So he's

in Hades,

he's looking

up,

he sees

Abraham

and Lazarus

by his

side,

verse 24,

so he

called to

him,

Father Abraham,

have pity

on me

and send

Lazarus

to dip

the tip

of his

finger

in water

and coo

my tongue

because I

am in

agony

in this

fire.

verse 27,

he begs

the Father,

send Lazarus

to my

family.

Now,

how arrogant

is that?

The rich man

is still

thinking about

himself.

He's been

judged for

how he's

living or

how he has

lived,

but he still

can't see

the mistakes

he's made.

Rather than

show any

kind of

remorse,

he's too

busy expecting

people to

come and

serve him.

Abraham,

why don't

you go and

tell Lazarus

to come

down here

and give

me a

bit of

water?

Abraham,

tell Lazarus

to go and

tell and

warn my

brothers.

He's still

dishing out

orders as

if Lazarus,

the poor

man,

somehow owed

him a

favour.

It's so

tragic.

He's being

judged,

unabashed,

and he

still can't

see it.

Rather than

see how he

has lived

all his

life,

and repent

if that

were still

possible,

he is so

self-absorbed

with his

own needs.

There is

no genuine

desire to

repent.

And

second,

he has no

practical love

for the

poor.

Look at

verse 25.

Abraham

replied,

Son,

remember that

in your

lifetime,

you received

your good

things,

while Lazarus

received bad

things.

But now he

is comforted

here,

and you

are in

agony.

The rich

man was so

blessed during

his lifetime,

but yet he

gave nothing

to relieve the

suffering of

Lazarus.

Every day he

would have

driven out of

his gates in

his flashy

car.

Every day he

ignored the

beggar as he

renovated and

redecorated his

gated mansion,

and laid on

his lavish

parties.

He did

absolutely

nothing with

the resources

at his

exposure.

He lived

as if the

beggar never

even existed.

In fact,

the dogs

showed more

compassion to

Lazarus as

they came and

licked his

sores.

The rich

man has

lived a

self-absorbed

life,

thinking only

of himself.

You see,

true faith

has this

genuine desire

to repent

and give

practical help

to the

poor.

So if I'm

saying,

oh yes,

I'm a

person of

true faith,

well,

true faith

prays this

kind of

prayer.

Lord,

forgive me

for my

selfish greed.

Have you

ever thought

of ourselves

as being

greedy?

I'm sorry

for ignoring

those in

desperate need.

Forgive me

for wasting

my money

on things

I don't

need and

stuffing my

life with

things I

will never

use while

countless

millions

starve and

die.

Lord,

change my

heart from

a greedy

hoarder

to a

generous

giver.

James,

who wrote

one of the

letters in

the Bible,

put it

this way,

religion

that God

our Father

accepts as

pure and

faultless is

this,

to look

after orphans

and widows

in their

distress.

You see,

the orphan

and the

widow were

categories for

those who

are most

vulnerable

and most

poor,

those who

have nothing,

those who

can do

nothing for

themselves.

So true

religion,

true faith

is expressed

in giving

to the

750 million

who do

not have

access to

clean water.

Think of

that every

time you

turn on

your tap

to wash

your teeth.

True faith

is expressed

in helping

the 24,000

children who

will die

this very

day because

they don't

have enough

food.

And if

we're finding

it hard to

kind of get

our head

around these

figures,

to put

that into

perspective,

thus the

total population

of our

nation's

children wiped

out in just

over a

month because

they don't

have enough

food.

Think of

that as

we stuff

our face

on Christmas

Day.

Stephen

Um,

who is a

pastor and

author,

puts it

like this,

children of

this world,

as in those

who live

for self,

ruthlessly

manage their

resources to

secure their

future.

Children of

God, those

who live by

faith,

graciously manage

their resources

because their

future is

already secure.

power.

So how do

you live?

Who are you

in this

story?

Do you

live for

self?

Or are we

people who

live by

faith?

So there

are two

kinds of

people,

two ways

to live,

and two

eternal

destinies.

Well, what

happens to

every person

happens to

them.

The time

came when

they died.

Rich or

poor,

plenty or

in want,

we will

all die.

and how

we have

lived our

life on

this earth

will determine

our eternal

destiny.

The two

destinies

are spelled

out for us.

The first,

those who

are spiritually

poor,

those who

know they

desperately need

God's

intervention and

help,

those who

live by

faith can

look forward

to eternal

pleasures.

Look at

verse 22.

The time

came when

the beggar

died and

the angels

carried him

to Abraham's

side.

Abraham,

of course,

was the

great father

figure of

God's

children,

the man

of faith.

And so

to be at

Abraham's

side is

really in

a sense a

picture of

saying this

person,

Lazarus,

is now in

the presence

of God.

And he

now receives

a rich

welcome

into God's

heaven.

A place

of unceasing

joy and

eternal

pleasures.

Everything

that Lazarus

had experienced

in life

has now been

completely

switched and

reversed.

Again, look

at verse 25.

Abraham replied,

Son, remember

that in your

lifetime you

received your

good things

while Lazarus

received bad

things.

but now

Lazarus is

comforted

here and

you are in

agony.

He's gone

from a

lifetime of

agony to

an eternity

of comfort.

Remember how

the psalmist

put it.

We read this

at the very

beginning

this morning.

Psalm 16

Psalms 16:11

verse 11,

you made

known to

me the

path of

life.

You fill

me with

joy in

your presence,

with eternal

pleasures

at your

right hand.

That is the

wonderful

destiny

of those

who are

spiritually

poor and

those who

live by

faith.

but there

is another

destiny that

is spelled

out.

For those

who live

for material

wealth,

for those

who live

for self,

will experience

eternal

suffering.

Look at

the second

part of

verse 22.

The rich

man also

died and

was buried.

in

Hades

where he

was in

torment.

Hades

simply means

the realm

of the

dead.

In other

words,

he's talking

here about

hell.

And while

we don't

know everything

about hell,

just as we

don't know

what everything

is going to

be like in

heaven,

there are

three things

here I think

in this

text that

tell us

what we

can be

sure of

about hell.

First,

hell is a

conscious

reality.

It's a

conscious

reality,

verse 24.

Do you

see what he

cries out?

Father

Abraham,

have pity

on me

and send

Lazarus to

dip the tip

of his

finger in

water and

cool my

tongue because

I am in

agony in

this fire.

many people

think that

when we

die,

that's it,

we just

die.

It's an

eternal

unconsciousness.

There's no

more feeling

or anything

else.

Believers,

yes,

they live for

eternity,

but those

who do not

believe,

they just

die and

it just

finishes.

But that's

not true.

The rich

man is in

hell and

he can feel

his senses

are working

and he

longs for

relief.

It's a

conscious

reality.

second,

it is

unending

suffering.

The rich

man twice

describes where

he is as

torment

and agony.

Look at the

end of verse

28.

He's

pleading,

he says,

so that they

will not

come to

this place

of torment.

It's a

place of

unending

suffering.

Now,

it's hard

for us

to imagine

what that

would actually

be like.

But we

can be

sure it

is the

absence of

peace and

rest and

contentment.

No

kindness,

no

compassion,

no

mercy.

An

endless

cycle of

doing wrong

and

punishment

and

doing

wrong

and

punishment

and

doing

wrong

and

punishment

and

no

end.

On and

on it

goes.

Year

after year.

It's

life

without

God.

Which

shows us

the third

picture.

it is

eternal

separation.

Verse 26.

He says,

besides all

of this,

between us

and you,

a great

chasm has

been set

in place

so that

those who

want to

go from

here to

you

cannot

and those

who want

to cross

over from

there to

us

can't.

Hell

is

separate

from

heaven.

There's

no point

in trying

to think

that somehow

through the

course of

eternity

they're

somehow

going to

merge.

They're

not.

People

who are

in hell

will be

in hell.

People

who are

in heaven

will be

in heaven.

It's

separation

from God.

And

separation

from God

is separation

from all

that is

good and

beautiful

for all

eternity.

imagine

an

eternity

without

the

good

gifts

of

God.

Laughter,

creativity,

joy,

happiness,

love,

peace,

and friendship

and comfort.

Imagine

an

eternity

without

any

justice

or

forgiveness.

happiness.

It's

what we

all

deserve

because

we are

all rich

and we've

all been

greedy

and we've

all wasted

the resources

that God

has given

while

countless

millions

starve

and die

every

single

day.

You see,

Jesus has

already told

us about

these

destinies.

Have a

look back

at

chapter

6.

Luke

Luke 6:20

chapter

6

verse

20.

Luke

20.

Luke

Luke 6:20

6

verse

20.

Jesus

looking at

his

disciples

said,

blessed

are you

who are

poor

and the

context

here is

those who

are

spiritually

poor,

those who

come with

empty hands

pleading and

knowing their

needing of

mercy and

grace.

Blessed

are you

who are

poor for

yours is

the kingdom

of God.

Blessed

are you

who hunger

now for

you will

be satisfied.

Blessed

are you

who weep

now for

you will

laugh.

Verse

24.

But woe

to you

who are

rich.

Woe

to you

who live

the way

of self.

For

you have

already

received

your

comfort.

Woe

to you

who are

well fed

now for

you will

go hungry

and woe

to you

who laugh

now for

you will

mourn

and weep.

hell is

eternal

suffering

but

heaven

heaven

is

eternal

pleasures.

Who

are we

in the

story?

What

is your

destiny?

What

is my

destiny?

destiny.

The next

heading I

changed so

it should

read

secure

future.

Secure

future.

As we

think about

these two

eternal

destinies

we

mustn't

think that

God is

somehow

unfair.

That

somehow

well

God is

not told

me and

God never

warned me

and if

I knew

that life

would end

up like

this then

I would

have done

something

about it.

If God

wanted me

to believe

if God

wanted me

to change

how I

thought about

my money

and the

resources

that I

have

well then

he would

have done

some

miracle

and I

would have

changed

my attitude.

Well

God is

not

unfair.

God

has been

crystal

clear.

look at

verse 27

he

answered

the rich

man

answered

then I

beg you

father

send

Lazarus

to my

family

for I

have

five

brothers

let him

warn

them

so that

they

will not

also

come to

this

place

of

torment.

Look

if I

had

known

how

my

life

was

going

to

end

then

I

could

have

done

something

about

it

so

why

don't

you

go

and

tell

my

brother

so

that

they

don't

end

up

in

the

same

way

verse 29

Abraham

replied

they

have

Moses

and

the

prophets

let

them

listen

to

them

the

point

is

the

rich

man

had

the

same

message

too

he

had

the

same

scriptures

the

message

of

the

Moses

and

the

prophets

that

was

the

Old

Testament

it

is

not

that

no

one

told

him

it

is

that

he

just

never

listened

verse

30

no

father

Abraham

the

message

of the

scriptures

aren't

enough

but

if

someone

from

the

dead

goes

to

them

they

will

repent

then

they'll

change

their

lives

why

don't

you

do

a

miracle

just

make

somebody

rise

from

the

dead

then

they'll

certainly

change

their

ways

and

they'll

certainly

believe

verse

31

he said

to

them

if

they

do

not

listen

to

Moses

and

the

prophets

they

will

not

be

convinced

even

if

someone

rises

from

the

dead

now

don't

we

have

the

message

of

the

Bible

before

us

is

not

what

we're

holding

in

our

hands

right

now

and

and

and

didn't

someone

rise

from

the

dead

you

see

God

has

not

left

us

without

excuse

remember

where we

are in

Luke's

account of

the

gospel

as we've

been working

our way

through

remember

that

turning

point

in

Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter

9

Jesus

says

I'm

on my

way

to

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

is going

to be

the

place

of

execution

in

Jerusalem

Jesus

is

going

to

die

Jesus

is

going

to

the

cross

these

are the

sorts

of

things

Jesus

is

teaching

with

urgency

as he

makes

his way

to the

cross

and

after

Jesus

dies

on the

cross

I want

us to

look at

these

extraordinary

words

that

Jesus

speaks

go to

Luke

Luke 24 · chapter mention

chapter

24

just a

few

pages

on

Luke

Luke 24:25

chapter

24

verse

25

so all

the while

Jesus is

saying I'm

going to

the cross

I'm going

to die

and then

when we

get to

Luke

24

we've

already

read at

this

stage

that

Jesus

has

died

and now

he is

risen

again

and now

he speaks

to his

disciples

verse 25

he said

to them

how foolish

you are

and how

slow to

believe

all that

the prophets

have spoken

did not

the Messiah

have to

suffer these

things and

then enter

his glory

and beginning

with Moses

and all the

prophets

he explained

to them

what was

said in

all the

scriptures

concerning

himself

so Jesus

takes them

through the

big story

of the

Bible

and says

listen

guys

it's all

about me

if you

read your

Bibles

carefully

it's all

about my

death

and it's

all about

my

resurrection

because when

I suffered

for you

on the

cross

I suffered

for you

and I

died

for you

the reason

why I

went to

the cross

was that

I would

die in

place of

the rich

man

so that

you might

enjoy the

eternal

pleasures

of the

poor

man

the reason

I came

for you

is that

I would

suffer

hell

for you

so that

you would

never have

to suffer

hell

so that

you could

enjoy the

eternal

pleasures

of heaven

forever

and forever

and forever

Jesus came

to take

the blame

for all

of my

greedy

hoarding

and the

tight fist

that we

have around

all our

resources

and in

his mercy

and in

his grace

has given

me the

riches

of his

righteousness

that's

the message

of the

scriptures

are we

listening

to what

they say

and in

case we

don't quite

believe that

that's true

Jesus did

rise from

the dead

God has

given us

the ultimate

sign

the greatest

miracle

an empty

grave