“Dead Man Talking”
Luke 16:19-31
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 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;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 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.
25 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.
26 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.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
King James Version (KJV)
How many of you know what a séance is? The word itself is French for “session” and is a practice associated with occultism where people seek to communicate with the dead. These activities usually take place in a darkened room because strong light is said to hinder communication. It generally involves 6-8 people led by a medium that “channels” the spirit of the deceased. There has always been a fascination with this type of communication with the dead and a quick study of the Bible gives an example of this type of activity. In 1 Samuel 28 we have King Saul seeking to communicate with Samuel the prophet who has been dead for some time. He does this by consulting a “witch” who possessed a “familiar spirit” which is translated doppelganger or personal demon in Wikipedia.
This was not the spirit of Samuel but a demonic presence and the Scripture makes it plain that this type of activity is an abomination to the Lord and is very dangerous for those who get involved in it but that still does not stop folks because of the interest there is in our culture in the supernatural. In my opinion most if not all of the so called out of body experiences or NDE’s reported today involve this same type of demonic activity but in our text today we have something different. For almost 2,000 years we have had this account in Luke 16 of contact with the dead told by our Lord. Scholars have speculated that this is a real actual glimpse into the world beyond the grave. It is literally a dead man talking and we ought to listen for he says some things that should be considered by all of us. As I studied this passage it came to me that what we have here is the example of a man who was not a believer in life but became a believer in death. His experience in hell led him to make several statements that I wish to examine this morning. First, let me say something about the place where this scene takes place: HELL, LITERALLY
Now the word for "hell" is interesting. According to William Barclay, it literally referred to the Valley of Hinnom, to the South West of Jerusalem. William Barclay says "It was notorious as the place where Ahaz had introduced into Israel the fire worship of the heathen god Molech, to whom little children were burned in the fire. ... (2 Chronicles 28:3). Josiah, the reforming king, had stamped out that worship and had ordered that the valley should be forever after an accursed place. ...(2 Kings 23:10). In consequence of this, the Valley of Hinnom became the place where the refuse of Jesusalem was cast out and destroyed. It was a kind of public incinerator. Always the fire smouldered in it, and a pall of thick smoke lay over it, ... So Gehennah, the Valley of Hinnom, became identified in people’s minds with all that was accursed and filthy, the place where useless and evil things were destroyed. That is why it became a synonym for the place of God’s destroying power, for hell.
(Source: The Daily Study Bible p. 141)
In hell the lost evidently realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the unutterable preciousness of salvation as, on earth they never realized these things. F. W. Boreham
In his dialog with Father Abraham he does something that he never did while he was living:
1. He reveals his belief in the power of prayer. V. 27 “…I pray thee…”
He never prayed because he was rich and self-sufficient and didn’t need anything but now he feels the need to pray.
C. H. Spurgeon said, “Great numbers of persons have no concern about eternal things. They care more about their cats and dogs than about their souls.”
2. He reveals his belief in the power of preaching. V. 28 “…that he may testify…”
He had no need for preachers or preaching in his earthly life but now he wants Lazarus to be sent back from the dead to preach to his brothers. What he found was that “Hell could not undertake the task and heaven would not.”
F. W. Boreham
THE BOAT IS ON FIRE
The Robert E. Lee pleasure boat steamed out of Vicksburg with hundreds of people on aboard. After midnight the boat caught fire. The captain discovered it and told his first mate to rush down through the saloon and down every corridor to wake everyone up. He didn't have time to make explanations.
Strangely some became angry at haven been awoken rudely. They thought it was a drunkard or a practical joker.
Some were amused. They laughed until you could here them screaming in terror as the flames overcame them.
Others heard the warning but just couldn't believe it and waited to here it again more clearly. But as the young man ran down the corridor his message was harder to hear. In another few minutes they were swept down into a frightful death.
But there were some who heard the warning and believed it to be true. They awakened from their sleep and made their escape to safety.
This is exactly the way the world is treating the warnings of God. Some become angry with the straight gospel. Others are amused. They get entertained. Then there are those who hear the gospel and then they gradually cease to hear, waiting for a convenient season to set things straight with God.
There are some though, who here God's warning and accept Jesus into their lives, putting on the garment of salvation and escaping a burning hell. And it is for their sakes that we must keep on proclaiming the gospel.
We must understand. THE BOAT IS ON FIRE. Time is running out.
3. He reveals his belief in the power of penance. V. 30 “…they will repent…”
He saw no need to repent himself in this life but he believed that it was necessary for his brothers to repent to avoid the place that he was in.
Hell is a terrible place for a family reunion!
The forgotten doctrine of our day yet Jesus declared that without it all men would perish! What is this thing called repentance? It is an about face that involves our emotions, our mind and our will. The prodigal is a perfect example of what repentance means. First, he said that he did like the hog pen; next, he said things are better at the Father’s house, and finally he said I will arise and go to my Father’s house. That about face is repentance in a nut shell. We turn from a life spent of selfishness and sin to a life of selflessness and surrender to the will of God.
Real repentance is life changing: "Repentance is always difficult, and the difficulty grows greater with delay."
Repentance of Chuck Norris
I was reading about a martial arts fighter. He came forward at a Billy Graham crusade and accepted Christ as his Savior when he was 12 years old. But he never really committed his life to serving Christ. He went on to become the karate middleweight champion of the world for eight straight years. He appeared in karate movies, and in one movie, he fights against Bruce Lee in a death match!
Years later, he starred in the hit TV series Walker, Texas Ranger. He was successful in almost every area of his life. But he never had a relationship with God.
One day, he came home from work, and he saw his wife Gina reading the Bible. He says “You’re not getting religious on me, are you?” She said “This is good stuff! You should read this.” So he sits down on the couch and reads the Bible with her. And the Spirit of God starts working him over. He says “You need to come back to Christ. You need to finish what you started when you were 12 years old! You need to make Him the Lord of your life.”
And so Chuck Norris surrendered his life to Christ. Except this time, Norris’ life was transformed. If you watch the last two seasons of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” you’ll see a much stronger emphasis on faith in Christ.
After the show ended, Norris and his wife got involved in all kinds of ministries. He helps out with the Trinity broadcasting network, the Billy Graham Association, the Make a Wish foundation.
He also began the Kickstart program, which ministers to at risk students in junior high schools across America. In other words, Norris doesn’t just mentally acknowledge Jesus Christ. His life is changed for the better because of Jesus Christ!
From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, Jesus Came to Preach Good News, 11/23/2009
Billy Graham’s hands often go clammy and his knees shake before he preaches. While most would agree that standing in front of a crowd of people is probably not their favorite occupation, this is not a confession one would expect from the man who has preached the Gospel to more people than anyone else in history. It is, however, a confession that should encourage a great many of us. "Every time I stand before a crowd I feel so unworthy to preach the Gospel," Graham admitted. "I feel fearful that I may say something or do something that may mislead someone, because I’m talking to eternal souls who have the possibility of living in heaven (or hell) forever."
