The Rich Man and Lazarus

Pastor Mbewe is going to come now and come brother, we welcome you and hear you gladly. As you turn in your Bibles to Luke and chapter 16, let me begin by bringing you greetings from the Caboata Baptist Church, as you heard Earlier on, that's the church that I am pastor of, and as we meet this morning, They are also meeting, only that theirs is the evening service right now. And when the Lord willing, we meet later on this evening, they should be somewhere in dreamland, enjoying a good night's rest. I hope my body will not be in Zambian time at that time, but in American time. We will read together Luke and chapter 16, the story of the rich man and Lazarus, commencing with verse 19. The Bible reads there, There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of souls, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in heads, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off. and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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 in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus, evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot. nor can those from there pass to us. Then he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you will send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, no, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded the one rise from the dead. Let's pause for a brief word of prayer. Eternal God in heaven, we do ask that as we turn our hearts to your word, you will be pleased to speak to each one of us concerning the things that belong to our welfare, our eternal welfare. You have loved us, and therefore given us your son, and you have given us your word. Grant that we may now take heed to its counsel. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. At the beginning of this month, 22 years ago, I commenced my own ministry at Kawata Baptist Church. And consequently, round about this time every year, I preach what is called my anniversary sermon to the congregation back home. However, at the commencement of my 20th year, I deliberately decided to preach a whole year of anniversary messages. And on that particular occasion, I preached through our own confession of faith, which is the 1689 Baptist Confession. The very first message was on the importance of the scriptures. And that's the message that I want to share with you this morning. Because ultimately, that's what a preacher does. It is to expound the truth of God's Word. God has spoken through His Son, through various prophets across history, and his truth has been brought together by his inspiration and his providence into the book that today we call the Bible. It is important that all of us should take the time and trouble to know what God's mind is for us in the midst of all the activities of life and living. We overlook his word to our own cost, at our own peril. Because ultimately, life is a journey and we need a compass, we need a map. We need that which will help us to arrive at our desired heaven. We don't simply continue doing anything and everything we want to do. We don't simply listen to anyone who tells us which way to turn because ultimately we do need to get to the right destination. God has been gracious. And He has given us that compass, He has given us that map, and it is in the Holy Scriptures. The passage that we have read together, although it's one that gives us a most solemn sin, is at the same time one that brings very clearly to our hearts the importance of the scriptures. To begin with, we have an account of a man who lived a life in luxury, feasting sumptuously, caring not about the fact that he's got an eternal soul that must finally be either in heaven, in eternal joy, or in heads, in eternal suffering. According to this account, he ended up in the wrong place. The main reason why he ended up in the wrong place, as far as we can see from this passage of Scripture, is not that he was vehemently opposed to God and to religion, but rather he was too preoccupied with the temporal things of this life. That's what we read in that first account. In verse 19 we are told that this man was clothed in purple, referring something to the amount of wealth that he had. For in those days, purple spoke of royalty. It was a color, a dye, that was extremely difficult to get, and therefore extremely expensive. He was also clothed in fine linen, and we are told he fared sumptuously every day. And isn't it true that the main reason why so many people are not in church, are not listening to God's Word, are not prepared for heaven, is because they are carried away with the dew and the mist of life. The activities that at the end add absolutely nothing to their eternal welfare. The many toys that are produced literally every day to keep us from dying of boredom. Toys that entertain us for now Perhaps digital toys that have nothing to do with reality. We press buttons, press buttons the whole day. And it doesn't produce food from the soil. It doesn't put clothes on our bodies. It doesn't pay our bills. It simply wiles away our time. And then, because time is lost and never regained, one day, like this rich man, we are swept from this life into the next, only to find ourselves absolutely unprepared. This man, we are told, in verse 22, that he died and was buried. And in verse 23 we are told that he was in torment in his heads, looked up, saw Abraham and Lazarus, and in verse 24 began to cry for help. Well, it wasn't long before he realized that his torment was not temporal. He was to be in that place of agony and excruciating pain for some time to come. pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to help and realizing that he was not going to get any relief whatsoever because there was a great gulf fixed between him and the place of torment he was in and Abraham and Lazarus in the place of joy they were in, his mind immediately went to his father's He began to think concerning his own brothers. He knew that they were also blind to the fact that there was a place they were to find themselves in before long, and they were absolutely unprepared. And consequently he pleads, as we notice, that if only Abraham could send Lazarus to his father's house. Verse 27, I beg you therefore father that you send him to my father's house for I have five brothers that he may testify to them lest they also come to this place of torment. In other words, as he went through the experience of pain, a heart of filial affection caused him to say, my brothers dare not come here. But while carried away with the temporal fun of life, the way they are going about life right now, If nobody stands in the midst of this road of life with a red, big banner spread out, warning them that if they continue the way they are going, they will end up in the same place of torment, he said, please, send Lazarus there. to put up this big banner so that they may wake up to the realization that if they continue the way they are going, they will pay for it forever. It was a concern, a concern that was rather too late. And really, All of us in this life must have that concern before it is too late. We must ask ourselves the question, how can I escape going to hell? What answer have I got to that question that is truly satisfying, truly assuring? So that as I'm continuing in the hustle and bustle of life, I know that if death visits me today, I will not be in excruciating pain, I will be in a place of joy. Now, there are a lot of people that tend to this story and refer to it as a parable. And that's a very big mistake. Because a parable, as we often teach children in Sunday school, is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. In other words, a parable speaks about earthly things, about a farmer who is going to plant seed, a fisherman who is spreading out a net, a son who abandons home and goes into the far country, and so on. It's about life on earth. And then, out of it, we draw spiritual lessons. We say the kingdom of heaven is like this earthly story. And therefore, the farmer who is sowing a seed is like a preacher who is preaching the word. A fisherman who is spreading out a tent is like angels at the end of time who will draw in all human beings and some thrown into perdition while others brought into heaven. A son abandoning home to go into the far country refers to something in the spiritual realm as we all abandon the ways of God and go in the ways of sin and finally destroy ourselves. But this story is not only about life on earth, in fact there's very little in it about life on earth, it's largely already about life in eternity. It's already talking about this man dying and going to hell. And another, Abraham, rather Lazarus, going into the presence of God, into the place where the righteous are, into the place where Abraham is. So it's not an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It's already a heavenly story that has a lot to teach us on earth. But the second reason why we ought to realize that it's not a parable, but a real account, is because in the parables of our Lord, he doesn't mention names of real people. He speaks about a certain man had two or three sons and a certain man went and discovered a piece of land with a lot of wealth there and consequently sells everything he has to buy off that land. It's always a certain man or a certain family. He doesn't mention names. Because those are fictitious stories that we identify with and the whole idea about them is to give us a sense of the things we are related to so that we can identify by reason what life in the spiritual realm should be like. Well, in this one, we have names of real people. We have an individual called Lazarus who is talked about. We have individuals like Abraham being mentioned. We have Moses and the prophets being referred to. This is a real story. Jesus is warning us already in this account concerning the need for us Now to be prepared, now while we are still living in this life, so that when we die, we do not end up where this man ended up, but that we should be with Lazarus. Very well then, what answer does this man receive? We've been told that he has made a plea on behalf of his five brothers. Please, he says, put this red big banner in front of their eyes, lest they also come to this place of torment. Well, Abraham gives them some bad news. And the bad news is that they have Moses and the prophets. His immediate answer is something we need to think about. And he argues this way. He says in verse 30, nor father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. In those words, he betrays the way in which many of us think. We think that if something extraordinary can happen, it's going to make people to wake up and consequently avoid going to the place where they must be punished for their sin. In his own thinking here, he was saying, look, if Abraham Brother, if Lazarus could come out of this tomb walking and go to the home where his five brothers are and say to them, look, I saw with my own eyes your elder brother in excruciating pain. in the midst of fire and black smoke, screaming out his heart, pleading for relief, but not getting it. Please, don't go there. Turn from your sins. Abandon your evil ways, your selfish little lives, and give yourselves to Jehovah, that these people will listen to Him. Because this is a big story, a heart-rending account. And we often think like that. that if somebody can give some extraordinary testimony, people will listen and amend their ways. And consequently, it is true to some extent that when society is trying to draw attention to some big theme that they will pay our football stars, our movie actors, a lot of money which they don't need because they already have a lot of money anyway, to appear on commercials and to speak to us if they want to sell us what we don't need. they get these actors to tell us that that's what they eat, or that's how they spend their time, so that we can also do the same thing. And we tend to think that that's what we should also do in religion as well, because people tend to listen to popular individuals in society, to politicians, to philosophers, to scientists, football stars, in Zambia we'll be speaking about soccer stars. Therefore, these are the people that we also ought to bring in to speak to our young people about things that are eternal. Well, Moses thinks differently. Rather, Abraham thinks differently. He says they have Moses and the prophets. In other words, they have the Bible. Moses referring to the Pentateuch, the first books of the Bible. And then, of course, the prophets referring to the large chunk towards the end of the Old Testament. They have the Word of God, he is saying. Let them listen to it. Now, why is this book the book that we ought to listen to? It is because it's the only book on this planet that God, the Creator, has inspired. He calls it to be written for us. You see, when you buy a gadget, an electronic gadget, you will often find in the box a little book sometimes referred to as operator's manual, sometimes owner's manual, sometimes manufacturer's manual, or whatever it is called, but there it is in that box. You will be a fool to overlook that little manual. It's been the experience of those of us who travel between countries, A very bitter experience that we buy a gadget across in America, ferry it all across the Atlantic. Finally, upon getting there, some hyper-excited child sees this gadget and immediately puts it into the wall socket. Daddy, what happened? It's obvious. You didn't read the manual. The voltage is completely different. It's gone, son. You can't repair it. It's gone. All the money and all the effort of carrying it across the ocean has gone to waste. Taking a few moments, and they're usually few, because don't worry about the fine print. The more important things are right there at the beginning, staring you in the face. We'll save you from that bitter experience. God has done exactly the same thing for us. He's given us this manufacturer's manual called a Bible. In this book, you have the explanation for who we are. That we did not simply evolve over millions and millions and millions of years, and our tail was getting smaller and smaller and smaller, and now we are able to stand upright. No! That we were created by a Creator, and that He made us not as simply another animal, but He made us in His own image. We therefore have characteristics about us that are unique. He made us accountable to Him. He's given us a conscience that alerts us when we sin against Him so that we are aware that we've got a judgment to undergo. It's a matter of time. This same manufacturer's manual explains why our world is in the mess it is in today. It explains why you and I are born with a tendency towards evil and sin. It explains why we end up yielding to temptation and consequently sinning against God. It goes right back to the beginning of human history and points to the fall. That when God made us, He made us upright. When we came from the hands of the Creator, we were perfect. However, Adam and Eve, our four parents, yielded to temptation and consequently sin. And in their sin, there was a constitutional change that took place so that those of us who are born of them, and that includes all of us across history, are born with this tendency towards sin. We are born totally depraved. In other words, with all the potential within us to commit all the sins possible. And that that corruption has invaded our hearts, our minds, and our wills. That's bad news. But thankfully, in this same Creator's manual, he also tells us how we can escape being thrown into the rubbish heap where that electronic gadget carried across the Atlantic finally found itself and instead continue to be on the shelf being useful to Him who has made it. And it is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Summarized in that wonderful verse, John 3.16, which if you haven't memorized by now, you are a stranger, a terrible stranger to the manufacturer's manual. For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but instead have everlasting life. In the Old Testament, in all forms and shapes and shadows, And in the New Testament, the truth coming out in all its brilliance. It is all there in the manufacturer's manual. Are you reading it? Have you taken time to listen to its contents? Abraham is saying to this man in hell, this is the book that your five brothers should be reading. And most likely, it was not as available to them as it is to you and me. They probably had a few scrolls in a synagogue somewhere or in a temple. You and I have many of these copies. in our homes, collecting dust. May God have mercy on us. The appeal that Abraham makes to this man ends with these words. Verse 29, they have Moses and the prophets Let them hear them. Let them hear them. I am not, he is saying, going to send some extraordinary individuals with extraordinary stories to go and put up a big red billboard in front of their eyes. Because God has already done that. And therefore, instead of them being carried away with the meaningless toys of this world, let them hear them. The voices are already speaking in the corridors of life, in the highways and byways of life. The voices are speaking of Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them. If I could use a more modern paraphrase of that, he's saying, let them read the Bible. Let them study the Bible. Let them meditate on the Bible. Let them apply the teachings and lessons of the Bible to their lives. Let them go week by week to a church where the Bible is faithfully preached, that they may listen to it being expounded. Let those who are parents teach the Bible to their children, again and again and again, through times of family devotion. Indeed, let the young not only listen to pop stars and listen to football stars and listen to movie stars, but let them take time to listen to the Bible. It will preserve them from ruin on earth and much more ruin for all eternity. Let them hear that. Are you concerned about your eternal welfare? In the midst of all the noises of life, are you aware that you've got an eternal soul that must either be with God in heaven or in hell in torment and agony forever? Are you aware of it? Don't allow the noises of this world to drown out the voice of the living God through His word. The scriptures are important. Nay, they are vital to our eternal joy. I therefore plead with you to put your nose into this book. and make sure you not only listen to its contents, but you also apply it to your life. And the most basic application, the plea that is there in these pages, that is the most basic, is to turn from your sin and to cry to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He may save you from your sin. that the blood that is shed on the cross may avail for you, may be sufficient for you, may wash away your sins, that God may pardon you, not because you have lived a good life, but because the righteousness of His own Son has been imputed to you, put to your account by faith. Have you applied that lesson yet? If you haven't, I want to plead with you today not to let this billboard in red and black letters to be lost because you are looking for some powerful testimony of a music star, but oh, that having listened to the clear word of scripture, you may bow your heart to Christ and own Him as your Saviour today. Let's pray. Eternal God in heaven, we thank you that you have given us a manufacturer's manual. Forgive us For the many times we deal with our lives as though we just grew out of the ground or a product of a big bang eons ago, we plead Almighty God that we may take to heart the basic message of Moses and the prophets. and thus turn from sin and trust in a crucified Savior. Oh, Father, if there are any among us this morning, and there must be, may they heed this warning and consequently be saved from the place where the rich man went. the place called hell, the place of torment and agony forever. Prevail upon some soul by your spirit, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.