Sermon on August 28 by Pastor Roland Eskinazi

Scripture:  Luke 16:19-31

We all prefer to think more about life than death. The time to think about dying is while we are still alive. Here is a story of two men in this life – and the same two men in eternity.
In a world where death is a joke :

1. IT IS WHOM YOU KNOW THAT COUNTS, NOT WHAT YOU HAVE!

• A proud man with everything, but a name    

‘There was a rich man … and lived in luxury every day’ (v19a)

While the rich man has many things, and may have been well-known, he does not know God, nor does he want to.
Outside his fancy gate…

• A poor man with nothing, but a name

‘At his gate was laid a beggar, named Lazarus … longing to eat’ (v20,21)

Unlike the first man, Lazarus (meaning God has helped me), is known to God.
Lazarus was the rich man’s test of faith which he failed. For Lazarus, his sufferings were the test – and He looked to God.
What test are you facing? What is your response saying about your faith in Christ?

2. IT IS WHAT YOU SOW THAT MATTERS, NOW AND FOREVER!

• When you die, inequality won’t just disappear

‘In Hades … he looked up and saw Abraham … with Lazarus by his side’ (v23)

If God is just and good, no-one goes to hell who ultimately does not want to be there. For the rich man God was no more in his thoughts in a lost eternity than He was in his thoughts in his life on earth.
And if we go to heaven, it is because God is not fair (giving us what we deserve) but the very opposite.

‘The Christian is not a good man. He is a vile wretch saved by God’
(Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones)

• After you die, there’s no going back

  ‘ Between us and you a great chasm has been set in place …’ (v26a)

Once you die, there can be no going back or second-chance to trust in Jesus Christ and the gospel.
If you delay trusting in Jesus as you have opportunity, you will likely wake-up too late.

• Before you die, believe the Bible

  ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced …’ (v31)

In a world that always wants more proof (even though we have the greatest proof in Jesus’ resurrection), God has given His Word to lead us to the way of salvation.
Listen to it, believe it and obey it!

Remember! ‘Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.’ (Romans 10:17)
Do you know where you are going to? Are you using your life well to prepare for your exit?

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Photo credit FreeImages.com/Klaus Post