Date: 17.5.17
Text: Luke 16:19-31
Place: Rhema
Title: What would convince you?
File: Luke 16b – Rhema #15
Preacher: Stephen Taylor
I wonder what I could do to convince you of your need to take God seriously. What could I say, what pictures could I show you, what arguments could I muster to wake us all up and realise that we all need to take God more seriously that what we currently do? For this is God’s world, we have been made by God for a reason, a purpose. Many of us would call ourselves Christians, because we have repented of our sins, grabbed hold of Jesus offer of forgiveness and now seek to live for him.
But the initial joy wears off doesn’t it? The enthusiasm to follow Jesus loses its lustre, its shine. The demands of our job, our home, our school, our family are always before us so bit by bit we don’t actually reject our faith, we just don’t put it in the centre of everything that we do. Soon it becomes routine, we go through the motions, it becomes one of our many priorities.
So what could I do to convince you and let’s be honest here, what could I do to convince myself to take God more seriously? And what could we do as a Church to convince the people of our area to take God more seriously? Could I read books from the greatest minds, the greatest Christian thinkers so I could marshal their arguments this morning? Do we need a touch of the supernatural to awaken ourselves to God’s power and presence? Do we needto see miracles, God actually at work to wake us up? Do we need to be frightened bythe possibility of going to hell?
Well I think the answer to that question will be found in Luke 16, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Let me briefly highlight its three act structure before looking at the four possible answers it highlights to us about how to take God more seriously.
- The Three Act Structure
Act 1 presents a contrast in life. For we are introduced to the two main characters in the parable, the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man is dressed in the latest fashion colour, purple, a sign of wealth and a sign of class. Along with that he has the best underclothes, made of fine linen. He lives in the lap of luxury.
Yet outside his gate sits a poor beggar, Lazarus. Covered with sores because life has been particularly rough for him and tough on him. He doesn’t have anything to eat and so he hopes to get the scraps off the table of the rich man. But his hopes are dashed each day. For it is like the rich man doesn’t even know that he is there. The only objects that seem to know that Lazarus is there are the dogs. Now these are not household pets but wild, mangy animals. They lick his sores which I don’t think would be particularly helpful or hygienic.
So act one gives us the contrast in life between the rich and the poor. Now that is a contrast that every society has to live with. But in recent times commentators have noticed that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. And that is true here in Newcastle, you just have to drive along Warners Bay or Merewether and you see some fabulous homes, with great big gates out front. And yet not far from there at Windale or Mayfield are some of the poorest suburbs around. And yet the gap between rich nations like Australia and poor nations like our neighbours East Timor is also getting even bigger.
But Act 2 gives us not just a contrast in life but a contrast in death. The first to die is the beggar which is hardly surprising really. The angels carry him to Abraham’s side. Lazarus which means “the one God helps” doesn’t seem to have been helped much in this life but when the end comes, he is given a grand entrance to Abraham’s side. To where he will spend eternity. Don’t worry about the low social status of Lazarus, God pulls out all stops and treats him with incredible dignity in death.
And that contrasts with the rich man who is buried, there was no mention of burial for Lazarus was there? The rich man is buried and ends up in hell. Suddenly the roles are beginning to reverse aren’t they? And it becomes even more clearer in Act 3 which is a contrast in eternity.
For there it is Lazarus who has spent all his life getting the bad things now getting the good things. Getting God’s comfort. Being honoured. Being in the very presence of the Lord and all his followers. Just as an aside people often ask if we will recognize each other in heaven. I believe we most certainly will. The rich man looked up and recognized Lazarus and Abraham. If they can recognize us from hell, then I think we’ll recognize each other in heaven.
But the contrast to this bliss in heaven is sheer agony in hell. The rich man is in torment. He pleads to Abraham to have pity on him. If he could just send Lazarus to wet his finger in water and cool his tongue. Now how desperate is that? For where did the rich man last see Lazarus fingers? Looking for scraps amongst the rubbish bins? In dirt outside of his gate? Pushing away dogs trying to get to his scabs? The rich man will try anything to relieve some of his pain.
Now this is the parable that Jesus tells. Some say it’s just a story & so we can’t take all the details as gospel. Especially this stuff about the people in hell seeing the people in heaven. But normally in Jesus parables he talks about sowing and reaping and the details are still true even if they are not the main point of the story. And so I personally believe that this is an accurate picture of what is to come, even if the moral is going to point us in a different direction.
Slide 8
- Four possible solutions
So what is the moral of the story? What is its big idea? That the Pharisees need to take God more seriously and to do that they and us need to consider four possible solutions. Firstly
a)That our lives matter. For that seems to be the thrust of this parable. It’s about two men.
One is rich, the other poor. And what each of them did while they were alive mattered. It
was important. One helps himself, the other looks to God for help. One loves money, the other has no money. One has no identity and the other one is known personally by God.
So think about it for a second, which would you prefer to be? The rich man or the poor man? The one with all the food, the clothes and the connections or the one who knew God? The one who received the good things in this life or the one who received the good things in the life to come? Which would you like to be? It’s one or the other? There’s no sitting on the fence.
You see Jesus gives us these pictures of two men because he is saying that our lives matter to God. No it doesn't matter ultimately whether you are rich or poor, but it does matter, what you do with what you have got. You see Lazarus misses out on all the breaks in life, everything seems to go wrong for him and yet he trusts in God, he looks to his Father for help and he receives his heavenly reward.
But the rich man, it’s not that he is described as evil but he is blind. He doesn't even notice Lazarus at his gate, he walks straight past him every day and refuses to give him the help he needs. Now before we give the rich man too much of a hard time, let us realise that he is not condemned for being rich, for a little later on who turns up with Lazarus in heaven, but Abraham, one of the richest men in the Bible. No he is not condemned because he is rich but because he fails to love his neighbour, he fails to see a hungry Jesus in the poor man at his gate, he fails to make good use of his money so that when his wealth is gone, he may be welcomed into eternal dwellings.He fails to share with others what God has given to him.
The story could have featured a politician with his power, an academic with his brains, a teacher who failed to teach, a student who failed to share - anyone in fact that possesses some gift, some talent, some blessing from God who keeps it to themselves. Who failed to reach out to another in their need and who was more interested in self than others.
You see we all have our Lazarus at the gate. We all come across those who are poor, we just normally brush them off quickly. We all mix with people who need our help, we just often aren't looking for them. So will we ignore our Lazarus? Will we use what we have to build eternal relationships? Or will we use these things for ourselves?
You see this parable, tells us that what we do in this life matter, it matters to God. So will that convince you that at times you have fallen short of God's standards? Will that ensure you repent of the times you have failed to love you neighbour? Will the fact that your life matters, ensure that you chase eternal life with a passion? Or will something else convince you? For the parable then goes on to talk about the fact that God will judge us, it tells us the truth that we will all die and go to either heaven and hell.
b)That there is a hell.Now most people today believe that there is a heaven. Surveys say
most people believe in heaven but only a third of people believe in a hell. And almost nobody actually thinks they are going to hell. So I wonder, will me telling you that there really is a hell convince you of your need to repent and become a Christian? Will that make you believe?
I've read articles and sermons where preachers try and hold people by their legs over hell, so they can get a sniff of it. So they can smell the stench, so they can fear the consequence of their sin. If I were to do that would you be convinced? If you and I were out there in our community describing the awful realities of hell would that make a massive difference?
Because trust me, there is as much chance of there being a hell as there is a heaven. If there is a reward for those who follow Jesus, there will also be a punishment for those who don't. You can't have one without the other. And this parable tells us this. So let’s look again at this passage, for it describes to us what hell is like.
For while the rich man is in hell, he is in torment. He is in eternal agony. He is in the midst of a fire that doesn't go out. He is in great need of water, to put out the fire, to quench his thirst. Hell is agony & Abraham says, the rich man is beyond help. He has made his bed and now he must lie in it. There's no escape, for there is a great chasm between them. He can't tunnel out, he can't hijack a helicopter to safety, there will be no jail break from hell. He's stuck with it.
But in hell there will be memories. Note that Abraham says "Remember. Remember you had all the good things and Lazarus had all the bad things. Remember you missed your chance. Remember you could have been one of God's children if you had listened to the Moses and the prophets. But you blew it." People's memories will be part of their punishment in hell.
Friends don’t be led astray, hell is real. And hell is where we all deserve to go. All of us. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the book of Romans says. All of us have sinned. We have chosen to turn our back away from God and make ourselves the supreme god. And that road leads straight to hell. I remember seeing a tract once with the title, “What you have to do to go to Hell.” When you open it up, the inside was totally blank. You don’t have to do anything to go to Hell…just continue as you are.
So does the fact that Jesus talks about a hell and a heaven convince you of your need to make friends with God? Do you want to avoid a future punishment so much that you would do anything to avoid hell? Does the contrast in this parable about our future destiny will that wake us up to treat God seriously? Or will you only be convinced by the miraculous?
c)That God can do the miraculous
If God was to heal your cancer would that convince you? Or if he failed to heal it would that convince you that there was no God? If you saw a miraculous sign from heaven - the seas were to part in front of you, you were to hear God speak to you in a vision, would that convince you? Do you actually need to see physical proof to turn to God?
If you are like that, then you are not alone. For people today don't cope very well unless they see things with their own eyes. They demand a sign, a healing, something spectacular before they will even start to believe. They demand that God answer their prayers, their specific prayers before they will acknowledge that there really is a God. People today want proof. So is that what I should do, is that what we should do, give them the proof that they want?
The rich man tried this one on Abraham. "Abraham if you won’t help me, please help my five brothers. Send Lazarus to talk to them from the dead. Do something miraculous. Give them a sign and then they will turn from their sins, and avoid the place of torment that I am in."
Sounds realistic doesn't it? After all didn't Jesus and the apostles do miraculous signs in front of the crowds? Isn't the Bible full of miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, the raising of men and women from the dead, the defeating of enemy armies in impossible situations? Surely the Bible is chock a block full of miracles, and it is these miracles that bring people to faith, isn't it?
Abraham doesn't agree. He says "No..if they do not listen to Moses and to the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead."You see miracles don’t lead to faith. What happened to those who crossed the Red Sea - only two of them had the faith to reach the Promised Land! What about the thousands of people who saw the miracles of Jesus, wasn't there only 70 still meeting together after Jesus death and resurrection?You see miracles may look spectacular, they may draw a crowd, they may cause great joy and emotion, but no miracle, not even the raising of the dead will bring faith.
That the Bible is God’s Word
You see warning you that your lives matter may have some effect, telling you to avoid hell may give you some fear of God, showing you a miraculous sign may cause some emotional response but it’s not going to save us. As Paul says it’s only when we preach Jesus, that’s when the invitation to be saved becomes real. If people refuse to listen to Moses and the Prophets, if they are never open to the Bible's message, then nothing, nothing will save them.
You see God doesn't primarily speak through angels, or miracles, he speaks through his word. A messenger from the dead or a miracle can say no more than what God has already said in the Scriptures. If God’s prophetic Word cannot convince and crack a hard heart, neither will great miracles, neither will a vivid description of hell, neither will the challenge to make the most of your life. Jesus own resurrection is proof that only the power of God’s word can change our future direction.
Friends, every time we open God’s Word, whether it’s here on a Sunday or during the week in the privacy of our quiet time, we open our lives to God’s appraisal. Someone has said that every time we open God’s Word we stand before the gates of heaven and hell. That’s how serious a matter it is to read God’s Word. God’s Word is a word that calls for change, for repentance, for reformation. God isn’t going to send us a Ghost of Christmas to Come like Scrooge saw. He’s already given us his Word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, as a mirror to reflect the way we’re living, the way we’re shaping up or not.
And Jesus is saying, if you won’t take that Word seriously, you won’t take anything seriously, even someone returning from the dead.
Friends this year we want to take God seriously. And the way to take God seriously is to let the word of God continually speak to you, change you, break you, encourage you, mould you and grow you. And today we heard Gods word and we have heard in it a warning. That if we are not willing to listen to God's word, if we are not open to the Scriptures now, if we don’t listen to it speak about the Lazarus of this world, if we don’t allow the brutality of hell to wash all over us, then nothing will. Nothing will.