Those who find it easy to ignore Scripture will find it equally easy to ignore anyone who preaches Scripture to them.
Sermon Title: THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Sermon Text: MATTHEW 24:1-14 ESV
Sermon Series: LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
LUKE 16:19-31 ESV
20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house -- 28 for I have five brothers -- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
PERSONAL ESCATHOLOGY
“What happens when we die?”
“Pause my friend, as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, soon you will be;
Prepare, my friend, to follow me.”
“To follow you is not my intent,
Until I know which way you went.”
Death is unavoidable.
LUKE 16:14-15 ESV
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
I. Don’t Assume You’re Going to Heaven
LUKE 16:19 ESV
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
Their theology:
If you’re rich, you’re blessed by God. If you’re poor, you’re cursed by God.
LUKE 16:20-23 ESV
20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
Hell will be full of people who did not expect to be there.
JOHN 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
It’s not about your performance. It’s about a Person.
2 CORINTHIANS 13:5 ESV
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
II. Hell is Real
LUKE 16:23-24 ESV
23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
1. HELL IS NOT A REMEDIAL
HEBREWS 9:27 ESV
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
2. HELL IS A PLACE OF CONSCIOUS SUFFERING
MATTHEW 5:45 ESV
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
PSALMS 145:9 ESV
9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
LUKE 16:25 ESV
25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
anguish | Greek: odunaó
“to experience intense emotional pain, i.e. deep, personal anguish expressed by great mourning.”
Hell is a place of endless torment, agony, separation, with no hope and no relief.
REVELATIONS 14:9-11 ESV
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
3. HELL MARKS THE FINAL SEPARATION
LUKE 16:26 ESV
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
Eternal destinies cannot be changed. Once in hell, always in hell; once in heaven, always in heaven.
LUKE 16:26-27 ESV
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house -- 28 for I have five brothers -- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
It’s not what happens after you die but what happens before you die that makes all the difference.
III. God’s Word is Enough
LUKE 16:27-31 ESV
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house -- 28 for I have five brothers -- so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Those who find it easy to ignore Scripture will find it equally easy to ignore anyone who preaches Scripture to them.