Once Life Is Over
(LK. 16:19-31)
Joke: The End Is Near
None of us know when the end is. We do not have privy to how much time we have left before we meet God......that is why how we live our life is so important. Prov. 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth ! There are some valuable lessons to be learned from our account in scripture.....not just about heaven, and hell.....but about life ! Will you join me in looking at them ?
I. Once Life Is Over You Cannot Salvage Things.............Share Them Now !
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. (Luke 16:19-21)
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood
street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.
The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?” The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister...please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,”sss sssssssssdHe pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop...” With tears dripping down his face
and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
“It’ my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his
wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the
stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his
wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.
He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.
A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.. “Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message “Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!” God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It’s our choice to listen or not.
God was trying to get the attention of the Rich man. He threw a brick at him everyday. The brick’s name was Lazarus. Everyday Lazarus laid at the gate of the rich man hoping that the rich man would have compassion upon him.....and everyday the Rich man ignored the brick that God threw at him. He looked out his window.....and there was Lazarus. He walked out the gate, and right passed him.......ignoring him........and in doing so ignoring God. God was trying to get him to stop........to pay attention ! It was a opportunity to him to use the things that God had given to him....but he never slowed down enough to notice........all the things that he had obstructed his view. Is there a Lazarus laying outside our gate this morning ? Is God trying to hit was a brick ?
Story:
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root beer and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.
He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? He’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, “Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.” However, before his son responded, he added, “You know, He’s much younger than I expected.”
When life is over......we can not salvage the things that we have now.........
the Rich man had the opportunity to have lunch with God......to minister to the needs of a man in need......and yet he was too busy......every day was a party to him while Lazarus suffered at his gate. Even the wild animals that roamed the streets were kinder to him than the rich man.
II. Once Life Is Over You Cannot Seize Opportunities.......Seek God Now.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 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 cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25 “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. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ (Lk 16:22-26)
Illust.
The story is told of a Persian prince who was about to ascend the throne. Acutely aware of his need for more knowledge (to be a good ruler), he summoned his wise men and commanded them to prepare a history of humanity (, leaving nothing unrecorded, for him to read). Twenty years later the scholars brought him 6,000 books.
Too busy with the affairs of the state to wade through that many books, the (busy) king told his wise men to edit their work and to condense their findings in one book.
Another twenty years passed, and the scholars presented the king with the one book he had asked for. The king, (alas,) was dying and not able to read it. From his deathbed, he (the sad king) looked up at the wise men and cried, “Then I shall die without knowing the history of humanity!” One of the group, (seeing how heartbroken the king was,) said: “Beloved King, I will sum it up for you in a few words: ‘They were born; they suffered; they died.’” (Ralph Spencer).
People prepare for life on earth, but seldom for life after life. The contrast between the rich and the poor man couldn’t be any greater (v 22). The story is now reversed in death. The story after death now begins with Lazarus, instead of the rich man, as before (v 19). Lazarus had a smooth ride and a soft landing - he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom (in Greek). Lazarus had died without fanfare; his burial was not recorded, whereas the rich man had a decent burial.
Why did Lazarus go to heaven ? We can find the answer in the definition of his name. His name is Lazarus......it is the same name as “Eleazar” and means “God is my helper” ! Though poor as a church mouse...and lacking the essentials of life......though poor in health......so sick in fact that his body was full of sores, though lacking the ability to probably even walk since the Bible says he was “laid” at the gate.......yet still he trusted in God.
He only hoped that the rich man would help him.......but bottom line was he trusted God to meet his need. At some point in life.....maybe it was before his sickness or maybe it was because of sickness........for whatever reason came to a personal relationship with God. He may have felt that God had deserted him, betrayed him, or maybe cursed him, but he never left God, denied or cursed Him. Bad things followed him (v 25) but they did not shape or define or harden him. He did not blame or resent God and man, including the rich, for his lot in life. He had bad hygiene but not bad deeds or bad theology. He believed in a better tomorrow, a glorious future, and the everlasting life that is awaiting believers like him in heaven - a deliverance from death, hell, and separation from God.
It was not because of his poverty that he went to heaven....but it was because of his faith in God. Why did the Rich man go to hell ? Was it because he was rich ? His riches did not land in hell any more than did the poverty of Lazarus give him a free ticket to heaven ! Lazarus went to heaven by faith in God......the Rich man went to hell because of his lack of faith in God ! His riches were his god........and everyday he had the opportunity to turn to the Lord. He had a witness sent from God laying at his gate looking for a morsel of bread but also willing to share the bread of life with the rich man and yet he did not seize the opportunity.
Let me ask you this morning........do you know where you will spend eternity ? Do you have the assurance of heaven......of eternal life with God ?
Hell is not cool. It is pictured as a place of intense suffering and unceasing sorrow. The word torment (v 24) means suffering and the word agony (v 25) means sorrow. Suffering is physical and the sorrow is emotional. The word fire (v 24) is an understatement. The usual word for fire is pyros but the word here is phlox - a blaze or an inferno. Hell hath no fury; verse 24 records howling cries (“and he cried” in Greek), wailing souls, and leaping, swirling, crackling flames. The Rich man in his life had everything he needed. But now he can’t even get a drop of water to cool his tongue.
III. Once Life Is Over You Cannot Save Others.........Speak Up Now.
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:27-31)
Don’t you know that the Rich man has regrets......he wishes a thousand times over.....and is still to this day suffering the torments of hell......part of it being the memory of missed opportunities. Oh......I wish I had turned to the Lord........I wish I had noticed Lazarus......I wish I had paid attention to the witness the Lord sent to me.........but the Rich man not only has regrets over his on missed opportunities.....but now he wishes that he had known the Lord so he could have shared him with his five brethren. The Rich man could not send out any warnings from hell to his brethren........they had the same opportunity that he had. Just as the rich man could not influence people from hell........neither could Lazarus have any influence over those he left behind. If we’re going to love someone we better love them now.....if we’re going to share Christ with someone we better speak up now. There is no salvaging of things.......no seizing of opportunities......no sharing of Christ once life is over !
