HELL IS REAL, HEAVEN IS REAL
Luke 16:19-31
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
V:19-21"Now
there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen,
joyously living in splendor every day.
20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate,
covered with sores,
21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling
from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his
sores. "
A. In life there will always be classes of people.
1. There will be
those who are rich and those who are poor and man in between.
2. God blessed the
rich with the resources to serve the poor.
3. To much is
given, much is required. Luke 12:48
B. We are our brothers keepers
1. God expects us
to show compassion to those in need.
2. Proverbs 14:31 states, "31 He who oppresses the
poor shows contempt for their
Maker, but
whoever is kind to the needy honors God. "
3. Proverbs 28:27 states, "27 He who
gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who
closes his eyes
to them receives many curses. "
C. You don't have to go far to be in the presence of someone
in need.
1.God places the
needy in plain view.
2. We may not be
able to help everyone, but we are responsible to do what we can.
GET PREPARED TO DIE
V:22-23 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by
the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment,
and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. "
A. There is a day when we are born and an appointed day when
we will die.
1. Ecclesiastes 5:15 states, " Naked a man comes from his
mother's womb, and as he
comes, so he
departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand."
2. Death is an equalizer.
3. What we gained
between our birth and death will be left for others to enjoy.
B. Heaven is real and hell is real.
1. It is what we do
while we are alive on earth that determines our final destination.
2. Those who except
Christ has heaven as their destination.
3. Those who reject
Christ, has hell as their destination
C. A man is known by the fruit he bears.
1. The man in the
text had been blessed by God, but ignored the needs of
a poor man in
plain sight.
2. according to the
text showed no compassion for the poor man.
3. Assuming the
rich man was a Jew, he rejected God's command to provide for
the poor.
a. Deuteronomy 15:11 states, " There will always be poor
people in the land.
Therefore I
command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the
poor and
needy in your land."
b. Leviticus 19:18 states, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear
any grudge
against the sons of your people, but you shall love
your neighbor as yourself;
I am the
Lord. "
D. The rich man lack faith in the Word of God, therefore
rejected God.
1. The evidence
that the poor man believed in God is his final resting place
in heaven.
2. God is not a
respecter of person. The rich and the poor receive the same
judgment.
3. At some point
in the life Lazarus, he had been drawn to God.
4. It could very
well be that Lazarus poor condition was the cause
of his faith
in God.
5. It obvious
that the rich man had a love for money, the root of his evil
mind.
BE MERCIFUL TO OTHERS AND GOD WILL BE MERCIFUL TO
YOU
V:24-25 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham,
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'
25 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your
life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he
is being comforted here, and you are in agony."
A. The text makes it plain that the rich man knew of God
while he lived, but
the world his
master.
1. Everyone has a
chance to accept or reject Christ before their death.
2. Notice in, hell
the rich man was not concerned about anyone but
himself.
3. All he wanted
was to be comforted in hell.
4. While he lived,
he showed no mercy on the poor. But in hell
he wanted
mercy.
B. You will reap what you sow.
1. The rich man
lived in luxury before he died and ignored the needs of
poor around
him.
2. Now in his
death, was ignored by God.
C. There is no chance to be redeemed after you die.
1. No one knows
the hour of their death
2. The best we can
do is establish a relationship with God while
we have
breath in our bodies.
THERE IS NO REDEMPTION AFTER DEATH
V:26-27. "And besides all this, between us and you
there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to
you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'
27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him
to my father's house —
28 for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn
them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment."
A. There is no communication between heaven and hell.
1. The living will
not receive communication from the dead whether they are
in heaven or
hell.
2. The dead don't
serve as guardian angels for the living.
B. Not only was the rich man a poor role model for his
community, but he was
also a poor role
model for his family.
1. In hell the rich
man was selfish.
2. He was concerned
about his brothers, and not his community.
3. At death, your
communication with the world cease.
EVERYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY
TO ACCEPT CHRIST
V:29-30 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them hear them.'
30 "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone
goes to them from the dead, they will repent!"
A. The Bible is closed.
1. God has given
us all the information we need to know about heaven and hell.
2. The only
inspiration we will get is from reading the Bible for ourselves.
3. Today, everyone
who has access to the internet has the Bible in there reach.
4. No one has an excuse for not reading the
Bible.
B. God has preserved the Bible in it's original languages
for thousands of years.
1. Jesus said
heaven and earth will pass away but my word is eternal. Matt 24:15.
2. If you don't
believe the Word that God has preserved for you, there is
no hope of
redemption.
3. Faith come by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
4. Along with the
Bible, God has given us preachers and teachers
to
proclaim the
Gospel.
5. If you choose
not to believe, we choose the eternal hell.
THE WORD OF GOD IS ALL THE WISDOM WE NEED
V:31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to
Moses and the Prophets, they will not
be persuaded even
if someone rises from the dead."
A. The miracles of God are all around us.
1. Waking up in
the morning is a miracle.
2. The sun and all the planets points to the miracles of
God.
3. Everything on
earth was created by the miracles of God.
4.We can choose to
believe that all we see just exists or believe
that a God
created it all.
B. In order to believe that the world and all it contents
just exist by itself ,
you have to
believe in something.
1. Most none believers will claim that there is a mother of
nature.
2. I now who the mother of nature is. He is Jesus Christ
TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED, ACCEPT CHRIST NOW
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on facebook, and visit my blogs,
revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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