The Eternal Time Out

THE ETERNAL TIME OUT

LUKE 16: 14-15, 19-31

SUNDAY OCTOBER 14, 2001

INTRODUCTION: A note from Jesus: You say you will never forget,...

TRANSITION THOUGHT: Our text for this day speaks of the reality of the afterlife. The only problem with our text is that it is predominantly bad news. It seems that Jesus is trying to make a point with those that don’t see things His way and with graphic detail He lets them in on a scene from their not so distant future. As well as for the Pharisees, this text may be for us a picture of the not too distant future. SO, with great fear and trembling let’s look into this text to try to avoid the outcome of the ETERNAL TIME OUT that Jesus has so painfully spelled out!

THESIS SENTENCE: Failure to understand and accept Jesus and His teaching results in an eternity of separation from Him and His comfort.

THE ETERNAL TIME OUT COMES FROM

I. A MISINTERPRETATION OF GOD AND HIS WORD (VV. 14-15)

A. The Pharisees misinterpreted the Law and the Prophets

1. Jesus is now talking to the Pharisees and not the general populace.

2. The Pharisees where among the Religious right of the Jewish Faith (Judeo Synagogue). They believed in Life after death, therefore they were not sad, you see (Sadducee).

3. The Pharisees had read Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 and had surmised that since they were people of wealth, they must be obeying God fully.

4. Jesus begins to tell another story.

B. The Pharisees misinterpreted Jesus and His Message

1. In verse 14 it says, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.’”

2. The Pharisees or at least some of them, no stereo typing here, where more concerned with how men viewed them than with HOW GOD VIEWED THEM! 3. In Mtt. 9:34 the Pharisees believe that Jesus heals by the power of demons. In Mtt. 12: 2 they see Jesus’ disciples picking heads of grain on the Sabbath and accuse them of doing something Wrong. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says repeatedly, “You have heard it said…” From whom would the people have heard it said?

4. The real point here is that people who want to follow after the Living God can get so caught up in the world around them, that even though they are very very religious, they can misinterpret everything they should have seen and known.

5. One of my biggest fears is that one day I am going to look back over these years of ministry and say, “Oh, NO!” I missed it completely. This is why we have to yield to the HOLY SPIRIT in everything. He is our guide!

6. HOW are you at interpreting God’s word and the reality of the life of Jesus? Are you walking as Jesus did? Do you even know anything about Jesus? How is your Sunday school attendance? How is your Scripture reading Going? HOW is your Prayer life? Do YOU GET IT?

7. The misinterpretation becomes clearer as Jesus tells the parable.

THE ETERNAL TIME OUT IS MADE EVIDENT BY

II. A MISTREATMENT OF OTHERS (VV. 19-21)

A. The Pharisees mistreated their own people.

1. In Matthew 23 and Luke 11 we have the seven and six woes concerning the Pharisee.

2. In Verse 42 of Luke 11, Jesus tells the Pharisee, “Woe to you…because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.”

3. In Matthew 23 Jesus says of the Pharisee, “But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not will to lift a finger to move them (verses 3 & 4).”

4. There is even a scarier verse in this passage. In verse 13, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. They blocked the reality of Heaven, eternal life from God from those who wanted to enter therein. May it never be said of you or me!!!!

B. The Pharisees mistreated Jesus

1. In Mark 12: 13 it tells us of the Pharisees seeking to catch Jesus in his words. This attempt was to discredit him and prove his blasphemies.

2. In Luke 11: 53 it tells us that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say.