God Provides-​My Heart Decisions Affect Eternity

​My Heart Decisions Affect Eternity

SERIES:  God Provides

PREACHER: ​LENIN KUMAR​

DATE: November 16, 2014

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:  Luke 16:19-31

Introduction 

One of the latest in a long list of reality shows on TV these days is hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and is called:Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who will become a Millionaire; popularly known as KBC) is an Indian television game show based on the UK game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Advertisements for the show promise stories about real people who have made a fortune. I’ve never seen the show myself but apparently the TITLE is also the PLOT. Amitabh Bachchan hosts this game and interviews various to be millionaires and asks them out how they are going to use all their wealth.

Here’s some examples of the types of people Amitabh Bachchan has interviewed for his show thus far:

• In one episode one of the Contestants of season 8 of Saptakoti Mahasamman Kaun Banega Mahacrorepati Antar Singh from Haryana shares his achievements and also fulfills his Mother's dream.
• In another he meets Wasim a man who started off penniless but  hopes to contribute to building a better Kashmir where medicine and education are a priority.
• He also interviews Om Prakash successfully wins the money he needs to fulfil his dreams.

You get the idea. It’s a show about real people whose sole focus in life is the accumulation of wealth—and whereas it may be a new SHOW… it’s not a new PHILOSOPHY. I mean, human beings like you and me have been focused on the accumulation of wealth since the beginning. In fact, today’s text is a prime example. It’s the story of a person who lived thousands of years ago and his goal in life was to ACCUMULATE and ENJOY vast quantities of the best this world has to offer. 

Bible Reading

Let us rise to our feet and Take your Bibles and turn to 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.

This is the word of God.

Thanks be to the LORD.

May the sweet Holy Spirit add His manifold blessings to our text this morning.... Amen!

You may be seated in God's Presence.

SERMON

Okay — with your Bibles open, let’s go back and review this familiar story verse by verse — and I want to hang our review on three CONTRASTS.

A. First, I want you to note that in this story there is a contrast in LIFE.

On the one hand we have someone who is incredibly RICH. Verse 19 says he,“…was dressed in PURPLE and FINE LINEN and lived in luxury EVERY DAY.” This sentence means that this man was VERY wealthy — wealthy enough to have been a prime candidate for KBC show Celebrity Play. Let me explain why I say this. First, when Jesus said, he was dressed in “fine linen” he was referring to his undergarments and saying they were the best of the best. In other words, he was not a “fruit of the loom” kind of guy. No — this linen that he wore was produced from the flax that grew on the banks of the Nile River. It was white. It was very soft. And on top of that it kept him very cool in that warm Palestinian climate. Since this imported linen underwear was so expensive, it was only worn by those who were really rich. Only kings and queens could afford it and this guy had drawers full of the stuff!

But his OUTER garments were equally costly. Jesus tells us that his robes were made out of purple, a fabric that was normally reserved for royalty. You see, the process to get the purple dye from shellfish was very expensive, but that didn’t concern this man. He had so much cash he didn’t care how much it cost. As it didn’t bother him to throw his cape away after Lazarus’ touch “infected” it. He had closets full of those jewel-encrusted purple capes so he tossed it away without a care in the world. But,  not only were his CLOTHES expensive — so was his HOME. It was a palatial estate filled with servants. I mean, this guy had it all. He lived in dazzling splendor every day. And he wanted everyone to KNOW how rich he was. While some people are quiet about their wealth, this man strutted around like a peacock. While some are able to splurge once in a while, he lived in opulence and feasted on exotic gourmet food every single day.

Now, on the other end of the economic spectrum we have Lazarus… a beggar whose “home” was a series of places like that portion of the sidewalk outside the rich man’s front gate. Jesus says that he laid there every day. And that word “laid” means Lazarus was not able to walk — so, as the clip showed, someone had to carry him to the gate every morning. Perhaps he was carried other places to beg the rest of the day. I don’t know… but suffice it to say that in contrast to the rich man who HAD everything, Lazarus was IN NEED of everything. He had no home; he had no health; he had no food so he was forced to beg for the scraps from the rich man’s table — and please understand — these were really LESS than scraps. You see, this phrase in verse 21 referred to the bread that rich people used as napkins to wipe the grease and gravy from their mouths and hands. So the only food Lazarus got was the first century version of dirty paper towels.

And — whereas the rich man was clothed in purple, Lazarus was “clothed” in oozing ulcers. Instead of servants, Lazarus’ only companions were other outcasts — stray dogs, who came and licked these oozing sores that covered his body — no doubt adding to his agony. And if that agony weren’t enough, his contact with these dogs made him unclean in the eyes of the Jews of his day which is why the film showed a passerby spitting on Lazarus. So on every level this story was a definite CONTRAST IN LIFE.

B. And this contrast continued in DEATH.

 

Verse 22 said that both men died. When Lazarus died his body was probably carted away to the city dump and burned along with the trash. When the rich man died he would have had a glorious send-off — the best funeral money could buy, because in that culture, when wealthy people passed away, the family hired mourners, purchased costly spices for the body, and used an elaborate tomb for the burial. The whole town turned out and listened to the shrieks and lamentations of the professional weepers and the litany of praise heaped upon the rich man by countless eulogies.

But death changed everything — and this leads to our third contrast in this story…

C. ... a contrast in ETERNITY.

 

Look at verses 22 and 23.“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 Hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.”

Some of your Bibles say that Lazarus was carried to “Abraham’s bosom” but whatever your translation, this phrase means Lazarus was taken to Heaven. A banquet was held in his honor and in that culture the most honored SEAT in a banquet would be the one next to the host who in this case was Abraham, and the honored one would recline in such a way that his head was near the host’s chest. So, Lazarus, the one who had yearned to receive crumbs and scraps was now feasting at Heaven’s table seated next to Abraham himself.

But in an amazing reversal — no angels carried the rich man to Heaven. Jesus said he found himself “in Hell, where he was in torment…” Verse 24 says that he cried out in a parched voice, “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.” What a contrast! Before he died, he could have anything he ever wanted to eat or drink. Now he would be satisfied with just a drop of water! And, even though he was indifferent and apathetic toward Lazarus when they were both alive, he has no problem now treating Lazarus as if he’s his personal servant. How ironic to ask for a favor from the very person who never received a favor from him!

Okay; what can you and I learn from this familiar story?

(1) Well, the first very obvious lesson we should see is this: Everyone DIES.

Jesus’ account shows us that it doesn’t matter how rich you are — how much material wealth you accumulate. 

EVERYONE — rich and poor alike — everyone dies. As the rich man learned, death is in essence the “great leveler…” because he who dies with the most toys… still dies. So one fact we must take from this story — one thing we must program into our thinking is the sobering truth that this life is temporary. As Hebrews 9:27 says,“It is appointed to EVERY man to die and then to face the judgement.”

I read this week that there is are several versions of a website called “LIFE CLOCK.” You can go there and log on and answer questions about your weight and height and then they compute how long you will live. They even put up a clock that begins to tick off your remaining time on earth in hours, minutes, and seconds. I logged on — and according to LIFE CLOCK, I’ll live until 2052(of course This is not GOD). I may squeeze a few years more out of this aging body — but unless Jesus returns first, I’ll die one day. I know — it’s kind of creepy to think about that — but it’s true. All of us have a limited time on this earth. All of us will die sooner or later and Jesus’ story shows that neither the size of your bank account nor how famous you are has any impact on that fact. Death is indeed the great leveler.

David Seamands ends his book, Healing Grace, with this story:

“For more than six hundred years the Hapsburgs exercised political power in Europe. When Emperor Franz-Josef I of Austria died in 1916, his was the last of the extravagant imperial funerals. A processional of dignitaries and elegantly dressed court personages escorted the coffin, draped in the black and gold imperial colors. To the accompaniment of a military band’s somber dirges and by the light of torches, the cortege descended the stairs of the Capuchin Monastery in Vienna. At the bottom was a great iron door leading to the Hapsburg family crypt. Behind the door was the Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna. The officer in charge followed the prescribed ceremony, established centuries before. ‘Open!’ he cried. ‘Who goes there?’ responded the Cardinal. ‘We bear the remains of his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, Franz-Josef I, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Defender of the Faith, Prince of Bohemia-Moravia, Grand Duke of Lombardy, Venezia, Styrgia…’ The officer continued to list the Emperor’s thirty-seven titles. ‘We know him not,’ replied the Cardinal. ‘Who goes there?’ The officer spoke again, this time using a much abbreviated and less ostentatious title reserved for times of expediency. ‘We know him not,’ the Cardinal said again. ‘Who goes there?’ The officer tried a third time, stripping the emperor of all but the humblest of titles: ‘We bear the body of Franz-Josef, our brother, a sinner like us all!’ At that, the doors swung open, and Franz-Josef was admitted.”

Friends, neither wealth nor fame nor earthly position can open the doors of Heaven — only the grace of God does that — and it’s given to ANYONE — rich or poor — anyone who will humbly confess their sin and their need of the salvation that is found in Jesus.

This leads to a second fact we can glean from this familiar story.

(2) Not only does everyone die—everyone LIVES — after they die.

Jesus said that neither the rich man nor Lazarus ceased to exist when their bodies ceased to function. They just left this world and entered eternity where they continued to live. There was no lapse of time — no pause in the action — no break in the narrative. They both went right on living — but in a different place. Plus — in this change of residence, they retained their personalities and character. Lazarus was still Lazarus and the rich man was still the rich man.

Lazarus, who’s name means, “God is my help” rejoiced at being in the presence of the God he had worshiped and relied on during his life on earth. And the rich man was still ordering people around. He was still thinking only of himself. Remember? He asked that Abraham help HIS family… HIS brothers… not a single thought for the rest of the world. In their new home, both of these men could see, hear, feel, recognize, remember, speak, reflect, etc. So — no doubt about it — they went right on living after they died.

You know, we refer to this world as “the land of the living” but its not. This world is “the land of the dying.” We are all gradually dying and on the day that we die we will enter the true land of the living. On that day, we will wake up in either Heaven or Hell where we will live throughout eternity. And we love to talk about the former — HEAVEN — but we hate to even THINK of the latter. It’s a horrible word that describes a horrible place, which is why it makes such a popular curse word. It’s the best way to wish the absolute worse on someone we dislike.

In fact, let’s be honest — one of the reasons this story makes us so uncomfortable is it’s graphic description of the horror and suffering that takes place in Hell. But ignoring it — refusing to talk about it — well, it makes no difference because Hell is a real place… and whether you realize it or not the greatest PREACHER on Hell who ever lived was not a “Hell-fire and damnation evangelist” like Reinhard Bonnke or DGS Dhinakaran. No — it was Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, our Lord had more to say about Hell than all the other Biblical writers combined. He had more to say about Hell than He did about Heaven.

The great preacher, Vance Havner once told of a time he preached on the subject of Hell and after his sermon one of his listeners criticized his message by saying, “Rev. Havner, I don’t think you should preach any more fire and brimstone. You should preach about the meek and mild Jesus.” Havner replied, “But, He’s the one Who gave me all the information about Hell in the first place!” And Havner is right. Most of what we know about Hell comes from the lips of our loving Lord. He REPEATEDLY warned people not to go to this horrible, place where in Matthew 8:12 He says, “…there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

I’m reminded of the evangelist who was encouraging people to accept Jesus as Savior so as to avoid Hell. He said, “I warn you! There will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth there!” Suddenly an old woman in the balcony stood up and shouted, “Sir, I have no teeth!” to which he replied, “Madam, teeth will be provided!”

I don’t know about that — but I know that when we our bodies cease to function — we go on living. I also know that people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord — Christ-followers who die — continue to live in a place called Heaven a place so wonderful even our imaginations can’t come close to describing it’s beauty. But people who don’t accept the salvation that Jesus freely offers… go on living apart from the Savior they have rejected. In fact, I believe it is the absence of God that makes Hell… Hell — a place of physical and emotional anguish that goes on and on and on. As Erwin Lutzer points out, “The most sobering thought that could ever cross our minds is the fact that the rich man in Hell has not yet received the drop of water for which he so desperately longed.”

Now — I know that many SOLID Biblical scholars say that the fires of Hell is a metaphor. You have to  disagree with that — but the fact we all need to understand is that if it is a metaphor —  a SYMBOL —then Hell is WORSE than flames — because reality is always worse than that which symbolizes it.(Many People saw the Heaven and Hell. Ill. Dr. Bailey)

So — according to our text — everyone DIES… and when they die everyone goes on living in with God in HEAVEN… or without Him in HELL.

Let me just stop and ask, “If you died right now, where would you go on living?” Be honest with yourself — and if your reply is the latter — then I URGE you to ask Jesus to save you. Use the free-will that our loving Heavenly Father gave you to confess your sin and ask for the forgiveness He freely offers through Jesus’ death on the cross. God doesn’t want to you to spend eternity separated from Him! This is why Jesus had so much to say about this horrible place. God loves all people — but He values our free-will so much that He lets us chose where we will live after we die… in the Heaven of His presence or the Hell of His absence.

(3) And this leads me to point out a third fact we can see in this story. Everyone gets a CHOICE.

 

No one HAS to go to Hell. It is our decision. As Isaiah 59:2 says,“It is our sin… not God… that separates us from Him.” The rich man CHOSE to reject God. Apparently so did his siblings. Like him, we make our choice in THIS life — not the next. Once we cross over into our selection of the two lands of the eternally living we can’t change our minds. This is what Abraham was getting at when he told the rich man in verse 26, “…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.”

Now, the word “fixed” here, means that in Hell everything is permanent… immovable. There is no growth, no change, and worst of all, there is no HOPE. As Proverbs 11:7 says, “When a wicked man dies, his HOPE perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing.”  This is because THIS LIFE — the one we are living now — has an END but eternity lasts FOREVER — which is why they call it  “ETERNITY!” 

Dr. James Kennedy writes,

“Every  Hebrew and Greek word which is used to describe the eternality of the existence of God and the eternality of the blessedness of the redeemed in Heaven is also used to describe the eternality of the sufferings of the lost in Hell.”  

Death marks the final separation between time and eternity so, it’s not what happens AFTER you die but what happens BEFORE that makes all the difference.

So to review… everyone dies… everyone goes on living after they die… and whether they go on living in Heaven or Hell is their choice. But, there’s one more fact we should take from this story.

(4) Everyone should use their God-given resources to HELP OTHERS.

 

Don’t get me wrong. We don’t get into Heaven based on our good works nor are we kept out of Heaven because of our LACK of good works. As I said, the rich man was in Hell because he had rejected God — but one basic but very important fact this story underscores is that our blessings are not an end in themselves. God blesses us so that we can then use that blessing to bless others.

You see, how we use God’s blessings is a sort of mirror that reflects whether or not we have a growing relationship with God. If we truly love God — we’ll be like Him in our compassionate acts toward the needy.

In his commentary on this text William Barclay underscores this fact by pointing out that the sin of the Rich Man is not so much what he did as it is what he didn’t do. I mean, he didn’t kick Lazarus as he walked by his stretcher ever day. In the text he was not deliberately cruel to him. No — he just accepted Lazarus as part of the landscape. He thought it perfectly natural and inevitable that Lazarus should lie in pain and hunger while he wallowed in luxury. His sin was that he did nothing to help this poor man — when he had vast resources to do so. Let me put it this way. His rejection of God’s love is seen in the way he refused to love Lazarus.

As we have said repeatedly in this series, God is our provider. Well, in this text and others like it, He challenges us to use His provision to help those in physical need. 1 John 3:17-20 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” James 2:15-17 says,“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says, ‘God, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed.’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” In Luke 3:9-11 Jesus said, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” So, the Bible’s clear teaching is that we are blessed to be a blessing. In his book, Primal, Mark Batterson writes, “God doesn’t want to bless you so you can drive an expensive car… The blessings of God are always a means to an end. And the end is blessing others. We are blessed to bless.”

INVITATION AND THE FINAL CHALLENGE

Listen friends, true joy — true wealth — REAL abundance in life — is found not in GETTING but in GIVING. Unfortunately our culture encourages the former and not the latter. Like the rich man in this story, we tend to spend our lives seeking happiness in the accumulation of temporary things. Years ago, a study in USA that consisted of two questions was done with college students. Here are the questions they were asked: First, “How happy are you? and second, “How many dates did you have last month?” In this FIRST test group, the researchers found a weak correlation between the level of happiness and the number of dates. But then the researchers got another group of students and they flipped the order of the questions. This time they began with: “How many dates did you have last month?” and then asked, “How happy are you?” When they did this they found a strong correlation between their level of happiness and their love life — because the sequence of the questions forced students to focus on their dating status. In short, focusing on how few dates they’d had sabotaged their general level of happiness. Psychologists call this “focusing illusion.”

Well, do you suffer from this kind of illusion? I think I do. So many times I have looked for happiness in getting what I don’t have. Anyone else want to make that confession? Not to excuse our actions — but part of the problem is our culture — where malls and shopping centers, and on-line stores tend to warp our focus. They make us think we need more than we really do — such that our wants grow. And before we know it we are focusing on satisfying those wants in the belief that this will make us happy. Here’s an illustration of my point. Have you ever been in a house built 50 years ago? Do you know the main difference? It’s in closet size. The older the house the smaller the closet. These days new homes have closets bigger than bedrooms used to be — and this is because of our focusing on accumulating things we don’t really need. Our abundance makes us like this rich fool — in that all we think about are getting more of the things of this world. Pastor Batterson calls this “the mall effect” and says a cure for it is to go on a mission trip to a third world country where we tend to find the Lazaruses of our day and age. I would agree.

Those kind of experiences have a way of correcting our focus such that we see the need to use God’s provision to help others.  What about you? Are you focused on this world or the next? Are you so focused on self that you are blinded to the needs of others? 

Batterson writes, 

“The bottom line is this. Your focus determines your reality. If you focus on your wants, enough will never be enough. And your heart will get smaller and smaller. If you focus on the needs of others, you’ll discover that you have more than enough. If you focus on the here and now, you’ll try to hang everything on everything you have. But if you focus on eternity you’ll give away everything you’ve got.”

I know this story is shocking — especially it’s description of Hell — but I thank God for this text — because I know that at times I NEED to be shocked. I need to be jolted because that’s the only thing that will correct my FOCUS such that I get my priorities straightened out. Well, have you been shocked this morning — jolted out of complacency — in some way? Perhaps our study has helped you see the need to share your faith with someone who doesn’t know Jesus personally. You love this person and don’t want them to spend eternity separated from God. Or — maybe this story helped JOLT you into becoming more serious about showing your love for God by loving people — especially those who have tangible physical need. If you are here this morning and aren’t a Christian — then God may have used our study to shake you up a bit — enough to help you see your need for Jesus. I don’t know how God has shocked you this morning but if He has don’t shrug it off. As we sing I encourage you to talk to God — and then make decisions in accordance with His leading. Sunita and I will be here at the front to speak to you.​

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The Rev. Lenin Kumar
The Potter's Home International Church
The Christian Living

Preparing the Bride...For Christ's Coming!
www.pottershomeinternational.org