Luke 16:19-31 -- “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:” “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,” “And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;” “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth 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 the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:” “For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” “And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” “And he said unto him, If they hear not
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
l. INTRODUCTION -- THE BOOK OF LUKE
-When we look at the book of Luke as a whole unit, one discovers that some of the main interests that the writer focuses on are the teachings of the Lord on riches and poverty.
-Some of the people touched by poverty are found within the pages of Luke.
He doesn’t attempt to cover their meager ways.
He doesn’t attempt to make them something they are not either.
He simply presents them as they are, and as the Savior entered their lives.
The Centurion’s Servant who was ill -- ch. 7
The Widow of Nain -- ch. 7
The Woman who had the Alabaster Box of Oil -- ch. 7
The Demoniac of Gadara -- ch. 8
The Woman with the Issue of Blood -- ch. 8
The Household of Jarius -- ch. 8
The Good Samaritan -- ch. 10
-Then in Luke 14, one finds a chapter rife with the lessons that come to the “haves” and “have nots.”
The Lord teaches lessons of humility.
He speaks of honored seats and points of exaltation but also of points of abasement.
-In Luke 15, one finds the poverty of the small shepherd who lost one sheep and was willing to risk all to save it.
•One finds the poverty of the woman who lost a single coin and turned over her world looking for it.
•One finds the poverty of the man who lost one of his sons.
•If the shepherd had been a large rancher, nothing would be lost over one sheep.
If the woman would have had plenty, nothing would have been lost over one single coin.
If the man would have had a small heart, he would have forgotten the lost son.
But all of them were steeped in the ways of the lowly.
Therefore their small losses were much more highly valued.
-Then, and only in the book of Luke (Luke 16), the Lord starts with the shady story of a crooked manager who shrewdly used his master’s money to buy friends for himself after he lost his job.
The moral of this sordid tale struck the hearts of the Pharisees because they were covetous and lovers of money. . . . . they scoffed at Him (16:14).
Then He concludes Luke 16 with the most troubling tale of all, the rich man and Lazarus.
ll. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
A. Life’s Greatest Loss
-Within this riveting story that the Lord would give of the Rich Man and Lazarus, one finds lodged within the greatest gain of all, which is Heaven.
But one also finds the greatest loss of all, the soul of a man.
-Each of the Evangelists (Mathew, Mark, Luke) thought it important enough to mention the words of the Lord:
Matthew 16:26 -- “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Mark 8:36 -- “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Luke 9:25 -- “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”
-Your greatest losses in this life are not the things that you possess.
-Your greatest and most guarded possession must be your soul.
-Life is made up not of what you possess but what possesses you.
-Jesus spent twice as much time preaching and teaching on Hell as He did on Heaven.
The doctrine of Hell was not a doctrine that was developed by Paul, or Peter, or even John.
The certainty of Hell was clearly established by Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:27 -- "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"
-The first and the last sermon of Jesus have the same message. In the first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus calls for us to choose between the rock and the sand.
-In the last sermon (Matt. 24-26), Jesus calls for us to choose between Heaven and Hell.
B. Lets Talk about The Rich Man for a moment
-This rich man lost his soul gradually.
The accumulation of the things of his life came over the course of time.
The Bible never mentions that he was dishonest about how he had gained a temporal kingdom.
But his greatest mistake appears to be the fact the he invested himself in things confined to time, while negligence nibbled away his time when it came to the crucial matters of the soul.
-There was nothing that he could not afford in this life.
He had it all and what he did not have, he had access to it.
But while he was down here, there was an unseen world above that he was seemingly unaware of.
-I don’t think that the rich man was necessarily a bad man.
In fact it appears, if anything, he was somewhat concerned about Lazarus.
Every day, crumbs were sent out to him.
These crumbs must have been large and tasty because the Bible declares that Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate for an extended period of time.
1. Let me show you something, and hopefully bring you some enlightenment today, how many of you know what a Caddis Worm is?
In many of the rapid flowing streams in the countrysides of England there is a very slender worm called the caddis worm.
It gathers around itself a compact cocoon of little bits of sand, rock, sticks, and any substance that happens to float past it.
In this casing it hides itself, and will attach itself to the bottom of the stream and resists the force of the current.
This casing is many times the size of its own body and when you reach to pull it into pieces, in order to reach the worm inside, you will be very surprised to find how thin and small it really is.
How little living material there is at the heart of all this great mass of sand and rock.
It is often so of those who pass in this life.
The things that encase our lives are the bulk of our existence.
Take away the casing and you find how tiny and small the life really is.
-Obviously those who carried Lazarus to the gate thought that this was the best place for him.
They had probably tried other places but found that this was the best place for Lazarus.
You need to be aware that no matter what place life brings you to, there is a Lazarus at your gate that needs your assistance.
-Our holdings in this life are on a very short tenure.
Death will strip them from us, as robbers steal from a traveler.
-Often the concept of a man investing here with the payoff to come in the afterlife is foolishness, at least to most.
This is the reason why most people never invest in things that they cannot see growing.
Men invest in buildings, properties, businesses, and in the trading of stocks, because those are things that they can track the growth in.
-This is the reason why the majority of this world and sometimes that majority of the church never invest themselves in avenues of prayer and fasting.
•Never open up the treasures in the Word of God.
•Never are concerned with efforts of witnessing.
•Never a hunger for revival, and never a hunger for growth.
Let’s just stay right where we are, stay comfortable, stay secure, and keep what we have.
-But there came a day that the rich man died.
The man who gained the whole world ended up losing his soul.
When he died he left it all behind him.
He is torn from the body that he had pampered.
He is torn from the treasures that he had amassed and now they amount to nothing.
He is torn from the forms that he once worshipped for they are lost.
He is to enter into a world of spiritual and eternal realities with which he has nothing in common and he has not prepared himself to face.
C. The Contrasts Between the Rich Man and Lazarus
-In their external circumstances:
One was rich, the other was a beggar.
One was clothed in elegance, the other in rags.
One was fed sumptuously, the other existed on crumbs.
One in health, the other in a wretched physical state.
One moved in the high social circles, the other in beggarly isolation.
-In their spiritual conditions:
One exulted in his wealth, the other content in his poverty.
One satisfied with his earthly possessions, the other longing for a heavenly treasure.
One selfish and ungodly, the other a self-sacrificing believer.
One had great possessions but one thing he lacked and that one thing was needful. The other “as having nothing, yet possessing all things.”
-In their eternal destiny:
One cast into hell, the other carried into heaven.
One tormented, the other comforted.
One associated with demons, the other in fellowship with Abraham.
One in absolute anguish, the other in permanent peace.
-Another of the greatest lessons that we learn from this story is that Lazarus very easily could have been in Hell with the rich man.
His temptations were just as great as the rich man’s. He could have very easily became embittered and complained with such a wrath as to find fault with both man and God.
Lazarus had Asaph’s temptation of Psalm 73 over and over again, which was, to consider the prosperity of the wicked and allow it to overcome his soul.
-In Mark 9, Jesus spoke of a place that will be without the moving and conviction of the Spirit that some of us may be feeling now.
Mark 9:44 -- "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:46 -- "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:48 -- "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
-Three times in a single passage, reiterated for us.
When we find these statements of repetition in Scripture, it gives a more weighted importance on such words.
-The word used there is SKOLEX, which has reference to an actual worm, maggot, or grub that feeds off of dead things.
-The words of Jesus here are figurative for actual worms.
We know that no actual worm could survive in the fires of Hell.
So we must understand that the worms that Jesus is talking about are those that eat away at the soul, as a canker.
-Just as a dead body appears to produce the worms, which consume it, so will the soul that is dead in trespasses and sin, produce the causes of its own misery.
A multitude of miseries will the soul in Hell have to absorb.
-These worms of the soul are covetousness, envy, emulations, strife, pride, ambition and on we could go.
They make men miserable in this life.
In the world, there are things that can sooth and ease these particular deadly passions that exist.
But in Hell, these worms of the soul will eat away with a voracious appetite.
There will never be a minute of relief in dealing with your anger and your hate.
-Another worm of the soul will be the conscience.
Such terrible agonies, will the soul have to endure.
Look to the life of Judas after his betrayal of the Lord.
•He was in great bitterness and sorrow of spirit.
•His conscience tormented him.
•His conscience drove him to take a rope and cinch it about his neck to his own death.
But in Hell there will not be rope to strangle the conscience.
-In this life the conscience speaks at intervals.
It speaks only when we find a slippery path of temptation that we are trying to navigate.
In Hell, there is no intermission from the voice of the conscience.
-The voice of the conscience will remind you of a God offended, a Savior spurned, and the Heaven lost.
-The conscience will remember every note that distracted you when conviction was trying to get your attention.
-The conscience will prompt us of the people who we allowed to stand in our way of greater commitment.
The conscience will never rest, it is the worm of the soul in Hell.
-Ordinarily, the worm consumes the dead body and then dies, but not in Hell because the soul lives forever.
Ordinarily, the fire consumes the fuel and then goes out, but not in Hell for the soul lives forever.
Please keep in mind that everyone’s soul will live forever somewhere.
lll. THE FOUR FLAMES OF HELL
The Lord uses the symbol of the flame, the blistered tongue, and the cry for water, the separation, and the unanswered prayer.
Revelation 20:14-15 -- "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
The word "lake" denotes a body of matter having liquid form. This eternal fire must be in liquid form.
The very simple proofs of Scripture lies in the existence of the singular phenomena of the skies known as the midget or white dwarf stars.
A midget star is one that because of some things which have happened to it astrologically, should be some 5,000 times larger than what it is.
To gain the proper reference, we must imagine the earth has having shrunk from it’s diameter of 8,000 miles to 400
miles.
This enormous density has a great deal of power in it.
The sun, which is our nearest star sits at between 25 to 30 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Atoms can be exploded at such temperatures.
At such high temperatures all matter would be in the form of gas.
At the white dwarf star because the size is much smaller than what it should be, the gases are liquid fire.
Before it could become a normal star it would have to cool off and expand to natural size.
However the midget stars never cool off and because of the compression it can never burn out.
Astronomers and scientists recognize the high heat intensities and can fully document what has been said.
-In hell there will be four distinct torments that a man will have to endure and never have relief from.
-Just to think that everything that you have now, you will trade it for a glass of water in hell.
A. The First Flame -- Pain -- 16:24 -- I am tormented in this flame. . . . .
-You will be burning but never be consumed.
•Falling into a bottomless pit.
•There will be weeping and wailing and the gnashing of teeth around you.
-Unbearable pain but never any sense of relief.
•Nothing to stop the flames.
B. The Second Flame -- The Memory -- 16:25 -- Son, Remember. . . . .
-He will remember everything about this life.
Locked away in the mind will come-forgotten things.
•He will scrutinize his earthly life.
•He will weigh and measure every single motive.
-What will be remembered ???
All of the times spent in the house of God.
All of the times the Spirit tugged at the heart with conviction.
All of the times that you prayed and someone prayed with you.
All of the times that you shrugged off the call of commitment.
All of the times that you sat uninvolved and preoccupied during the moments of worship.
All of the times that you laughed it off.
All of the times that you watched others find spiritual relief and blessing.
All of the sermons that you ever heard.
All of the Sunday School lessons that you heard.
All of the excuses you used about why you could not serve God.
All of the times that you were wandering about the halls when Church was going on.
All of the times that you said that there were problems with the Church.
Nothing will escape your memory.
-The memory is so powerful.
Who will be the Judge? The memory.
Who will be the Accuser? The memory.
Who will be the Witnesses? The memory.
Who will be the Jury? The memory.
-These words sum up the power of the memory:
I’ll tell thee what is Hell--thy memory Still mountained up with records of the past, Heap over heap, all accents and forms,
The best occasions trifled o’er or spurned; All that hath been that ought not have been, That might have been so different, that now
Cannot but be irrevocably past. Thy gangrened heart, Stripped of it’s self-worn mask, and spread at last Bare in it’s horrible anatomy, Before thy own excruciated gaze.
-The words, “Son, remember. . . .” is a voice of warning for this life.
C. The Third Flame -- The Separation -- 16:26 -- A great gulf . . .
Luke 13:26-28 -- “Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” “But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”
-In hell, apparently its inhabitants will have a limited view of the rests that are present to those who are in heaven.
-This view will be a living illustration to you of the lost opportunities in this life and the chances that were not taken.
But you will not be there, you will be separated from God, from the moving of His Spirit, and from those you knew in the Church.
D. The Fourth Flame -- An Unanswered Prayer -- 16:27 -- I pray that you would send. .
-The rich man had five brothers who were on the road to ruin.
If somehow Lazarus would just return from the dead and preach and witness to my brothers.
But it was an unanswered plea.
The answer was given that there are others who are right now working toward reaching the lost.
-The man in hell suddenly had a change of heart about preaching, particularly earnest preaching.
-As I have preached, you probably have given me more of your attention than any time in the past when I have preached.
But I tell you that you have not been nearly as attentive and reaching as some have been.
Those you cannot see.
-As I have preached they have been as the rich man.
•Please preach with passion.
•Please preach like you believe.
•Please preach with an anointing.
-No doubt somewhere there are mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and grandparents who are begging that someone should reach their families right now during this message.
Please warn them of the pain.
Please tell them about the separation.
Please tell them about the memory that never stops speaking.
Please tell them about the remorse for even the simplest of sins.
lV. CONCLUSION
-I only have one question to ask you before these altars are opened:
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
