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If you have a Bible, we're going to be in the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Luke.

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And I had shared last week that that parable of the unjust steward was one of the tougher

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parables that Jesus had shared.

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And if that's true, then this second story in Luke 16 is probably the most, one of the most powerful stories that he ever tells of, I believe, very certain.

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events that happen here with these two men in Luke chapter 16 versus 19 through 31. And it's there

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that we're going to read this morning. And so if you have your Bibles, please read along with me.

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And it says in verse 19, there was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen

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and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus full of sores who was

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laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

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Moreover, the dogs came and licked his soars. And so it was that the beggar died and was carried

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by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments

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in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

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And then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me.

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and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,

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for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, son, remember that in your lifetime,

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you receive your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and you

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are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed so that those

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who want to pass from here to you cannot,

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nor can those from there pass to us.

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And then he said,

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I beg you therefore, Father,

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that you would send him to my father's house.

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For I have five brothers that he may testify to them,

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lest they also come to this place of torment,

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and Abraham said to him,

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they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them.

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And he said, no, Father Abraham,

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but if one goes to them from the dead,

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they will repent, but he said to him,

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if they do not hear Moses and the prophets,

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neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead.

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Let's pray.

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Father, thank you for this word,

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for this pulling back the curtain of the other side.

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Lord, what's on the other side of this life?

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Lord, that you show us in this parable.

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And I pray that we would consider,

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Lord, as your word tells us in Ecclesiastes,

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the living will take it to heart.

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Oh, Lord, may we take this to heart today,

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that this could be us very soon,

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even like our friend, Lindsey Graham,

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who has stood before you even just in these last days.

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And so, Father, may we prepare ourselves to stand before our God.

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And may our ears hear those sweet words.

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Well done, good and faithful servant.

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be with us today. Lord, may we consider, may we do a life examination. May we not wait till

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it's too late. And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. This is quite a story.

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Bible commentators, you know, basilate back and forth. And by the way, they are just

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commentators. So from Idaho.

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taters get it common tater okay well that was a flop okay but many believe that this was not is not a

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parable it's not a parable that it's an actual that's an actually event that happened with these two men

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and it's interesting that we have been talking last week we talked about the unjust steward and

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Jesus seems to be bringing up this subject of money over and over again.

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Here we have in this parable a rich man and a poor man.

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And I don't think this is a parable though.

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I think it's a story and Jesus pulls the curtain back to show us some of the things

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from the other side, such as being conscious, having vision, being able to see

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communication speaking to someone from the past.

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In life after this life, there is comfort and or torment.

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There's a memory of our life on earth.

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There's a lot of things here that with substance.

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You know, right now, the NDE are all the rage, right?

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On the internet, people watch John Burke and, golly, it's just like there are a dime a dozen now.

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but people that have actually said that they have seen

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or had these near-death experiences where they see things

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and there's commonality with some of them.

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Burke has probably done the most exhaustive research

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on those who have had these experiences.

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But here in this story, there's two men, one rich, one poor,

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both die, one is carried, and one is buried.

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Seems to be a difference there.

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it is appears that one went down and one went up each are present in eternity with different addresses

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but they can look into each other's neighborhoods kind of wild isn't it what we see

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the thing that is that causes people just be so afraid of death is we don't know

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we don't know what the other side is like

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and then God comes along

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and calls you and I to this life of faith

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here puts your faith in something that you can't see with your eyes

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and without it it's impossible to please God

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so that would suggest that it's impossible

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to experience this place of comfort when you take your last breath

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if you don't have faith in the Lord Jesus very specifically.

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People have all kinds of ideas, don't they, about what happens when you die?

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Some people believe that we become angels.

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The Bible does not teach that.

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The Bible does not teach that we become angels.

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Some people will say, well,

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there's marriage in heaven, and I agree, people go,

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what? There's one marriage in heaven, right? We're married to Jesus. Right? He's the bridegroom.

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We're the bride. That's the way it goes throughout Scripture. Some will say, oh, they're in a better place.

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Listen, if they're in this place of torment that we just read about, they are not in a better place.

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Okay? And that is just the hard, cold reality of it, folks. And so we just need to be truthful and honest.

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And when somebody passes from this life and you don't know, people tell me, well, they're in hell.

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How do you know? You're not God, right? He makes the call. And he can be as gracious and merciful as he wants to be.

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You and I don't have the privilege of making that call, although they're in hell.

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Because that's the final judgment that he reserves for himself.

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If I don't know, I put my hope in the mercy and grace of God.

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Then that's where I leave that.

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When people die, that I don't know where they're at spiritually.

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You can assume, but that's all it is.

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And you know what happens to those who assume.

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E.R. E.

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Ah.

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So it says here, notice, right off the bat, there was a certain rich man.

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And Jesus had just talked about being rich.

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and the Pharisees who loved money derided him

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because he says those things that people

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possess that they glory in are an abomination to the Lord.

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Be careful what you glory in.

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Jesus said, you know, our lives do not consist

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in the abundance of things.

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In other words, those things can do nothing for you.

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The things that you and I have are firewood at best.

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and an idol at worst.

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So it says here,

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there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen

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and fared sumptuously every day.

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The great preacher, William Barclay,

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says about the word fared sumptuously

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is the word that is used for a gourmet

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feeding on exotic and costly dishes. And this man did it every day. He gloried in the fact

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of what he could eat that obviously others could not, especially the guy laying outside his

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gate, some 15 or 20 yards away. In other words, he treated himself very well.

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And I don't know, but it appears the Lord kind of has a problem with that.

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that we're called to a life of sacrifice and self-denial.

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Not that he has not called us to pamper ourselves.

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The rich man noticed he didn't even minister to this beggar, this Lazarus,

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but the dogs did.

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He was no better than a dog.

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In fact, the dog was a little better than him,

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because the dog came up and licked the man's wounds.

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So many people that I know

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are ministered to by dogs.

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Some of their best friends are their dogs.

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Some of steam their dogs higher than people.

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We live in a weird world.

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The Bible says that we're more important than animals.

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We read that in the,

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in the

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passage about the sparrows

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and that you're more important than the sparrows

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or the passage about the sheep

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that you're more important than the sheep.

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Oh, no, but my dog.

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If it was me having to save a life

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between my neighbor and my dog,

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my dog would win every time.

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Now, I got it.

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I love dogs.

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they're fun

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they got a short

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lifespan

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there's a lot of things in my life they can't fix

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but

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this rich man had opportunity

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to be better than a dog

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are you

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better than a dog

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the Bible doesn't have a lot of good things to say

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dogs. But how dare we be a dirty dog to those who are in need when we have it within our means

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to minister to them? But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus full of sores and was laid at his

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gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. And the dogs came and

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looked his source. All he wanted was just a piece of bread. And it appears that he doesn't even

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get that from this man. So in verses 22 and 23, it says, so it was that the beggar died

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and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being

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in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

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this story reminds me of an actual event that I was a sexton

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and for those of you don't know what that is I know it sounds like a dirty word but

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a sexton is a gravedigger

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and for a couple years I worked at a cemetery

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and there was this guy in town that was very well known

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and he um we did his funeral we buried him

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and we went back a couple weeks later after we buried him,

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his grave had sunk.

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Oh.

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Well, this guy was a radio personality in the southern Idaho area

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that was a fire-breathing atheist.

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And he tried tearing the Christian faith down

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with every word he ever spoke on his radio program.

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He would have Christians on and young earthers,

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and he would just try to destroy them.

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So there's a good chance.

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Right.

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He's like the rich man.

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He was buried.

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But then he went down deeper.

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We had to fix his grave.

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And the two and a half years I was there, we fixed it four times.

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He just kept going down and down and down to the depths of hell.

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I don't know that, but.

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But it was striking.

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All of us would look at each other and say, oh no,

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Coppnick sunk again, right?

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And it wasn't like he had a,

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because that would happen when you do it,

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a county funeral was where you'd turn a cement box upside down

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and you just set it over the casket,

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as cheap as possible.

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But the dirt would wash down with the snow and the rain

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and fill the thing up and you would have to fix it.

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But this was like a sealed casket, you know.

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And so, you know, poor Mr. Cokin, just,

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it didn't look good for him for eternity.

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But here's these two guys.

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They both died.

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And it says, and being in Hades, this man,

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he went down into this hot place where he's torment.

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and he looks up, it says, and he sees Lazarus,

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this beggar that he was very familiar with in the presence of Abraham.

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Abraham, you guys know who Abraham is, right?

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I mean, for a long time, I always thought it was Abraham Lincoln.

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But no, it's Abraham.

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Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had...

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You guys sound so good.

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So let's just praise the Lord, right?

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And he's that father of faith.

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The faith of Abraham.

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It's what defined the nation of Israel.

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Was this patriarch.

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And notice God gives him a position here

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after he's in this place.

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Now most people believe that Hades was a two

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compartmental place.

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There was a comfort side of Hades and there was a torment side of Hades.

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That's what some people believe.

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And David Guzik says this about these two verses in verses 22 and 3.

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He says, we should not think that Lazarus was saved by his poverty any more than we should

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think that the rich man was damned by his wealth.

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Lazarus most have had a true relationship of faith with the true God and the rich man did not.

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Their life's circumstances made that faith easier or more difficult, but it did not create it.

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And he looked up and he's going, man, that guy that was misery out by my gate is in the tall cotton.

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He's faring sumptuously now.

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And here I am.

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I'm tormented.

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And you notice all this is going on here.

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He's conscious.

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He recognizes.

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He recognizes Abraham.

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He recognizes Lazarus.

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People say, well, are we going to know each other in heaven?

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Well, I hope we're not more stupid in heaven than we are here.

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The Bible talks about that, that we will, obviously.

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But many believe that Jesus, when he died, went and cleaned out,

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carried captivity, captive, if you will, the comfort side of Hades,

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a.k.a. the grave, or also called hell.

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But he took that comfort side, and it suggested in Ephesians chapter,

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4, verses 7 and 9, it says, but to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of

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Christ's gift. Therefore, he says, when he, Jesus, ascended on high, he led captivity captive

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and gave gifts to men. Now this, he ascended, what does it mean, but that he also first

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descended into the lower parts of the earth? And that's what some people believe. I don't know,

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for sure. First Peter,

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suggests Jesus addressing the unrighteous dead, many believe, in 1 Peter 3, 18, and 20.

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It says, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God,

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being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also he went and preached to the

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spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient when once the divine longs,

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suffering waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few,

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that is eight souls, were saved through water. And so this seems to be suggesting that Jesus

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made a proclamation. Preach doesn't necessarily mean that they got a second chance. Some think that.

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But no, he made a proclamation. I am the one to come. I am the seed of the woman that was talked

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about in Genesis chapter three. Because once man sin,

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right, it was a downward spiral

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till God had to bring about the flood of Noah

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and deal with the wickedness of mankind.

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So a place of comfort

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and a place of torment.

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And so the rich man cries out in verse 24.

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Notice his

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His condition that he had in the world of selfishness seems to be, he seems to be sealed in that condition.

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Are you selfish? Don't answer that question. I'll answer it for you. Of course you are. Are we not all self-centered?

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It's just, it's just all about me. I get up in the morning and I try to make this mop of hair I got look presentable.

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people go oh you got hair into that cowboy hat

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00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,360
you know or getting the yellow stuff off your teeth in the morning or

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taking a whiff and whew this it's a hard maintenance right this but it's all about us

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00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:48,020
we love self and yet this guy's attitude is the same he's just concerned about himself

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in verse 24 and he cried and said,

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Father Abraham, have mercy on me

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and send Lazarus, right?

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Make him serve me.

280
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Please, Father, make him serve me.

281
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,380
It's kind of like when Jesus told Peter, right?

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00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,120
Hey, you know, right now you're doing what you want,

283
00:22:06,180 --> 00:22:09,300
but there's going to come in time where they're going to dress your hind end down

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and they're going to put you on a cross, right?

285
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And you're going to die for me.

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But what about John?

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What about him?

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we're such cry babies, you know? And Jesus said, if I want him to stay here until I come again,

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that's none of your business. You do what I've called you to do. This guy says, send him that

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slender says, he dip his tongue, or excuse me, his finger in water and cool my tongue for I'm

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tormented in this flame. He had no compassion for this guy, even on the other side. Wouldn't that be hellish

292
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to be sealed in your self-centered,

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you know,

294
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,180
glorious jerk type attitude?

295
00:22:54,700 --> 00:22:55,500
Just sealed right there.

296
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That's what you want.

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That's what you got.

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That's what you are.

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And Abraham, bless his heart, he responds.

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And I'm wondering,

301
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:08,940
I'm wondering how this communication's going.

302
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:10,960
Are they yelling at each?

303
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:12,820
Hey, what are you doing over there?

304
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:13,900
Over there, over there.

305
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Send him.

306
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:18,420
I'm over here, over here, over here.

307
00:23:23,140 --> 00:23:24,880
Somebody has rightly said, this life,

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this life is just a shadow of the actual reality of the other side,

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00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,080
of the life after this life.

310
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I believe there's truth in that.

311
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But he says, Father, but Abraham said,

312
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Son, remember, notice he calls him son.

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He calls him son.

314
00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:49,260
and this guy calls him father.

315
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:51,620
This is a good Jew boy.

316
00:23:53,340 --> 00:23:53,940
He knew better.

317
00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:57,180
He was a son of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

318
00:23:57,940 --> 00:24:01,000
He knew his family history that they were people of faith.

319
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,120
And yet it appears that he had none.

320
00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:07,340
He had no faith.

321
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:10,300
What's your faith like?

322
00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:14,400
Is it in a process?

323
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,900
we all should be in process of our faith walk.

324
00:24:19,540 --> 00:24:24,840
Hopefully we're on a growing graph, right,

325
00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:28,880
that we're increasing in faith as we go along.

326
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:33,940
But he calls him son.

327
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:35,720
Son, remember.

328
00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:38,100
Memory totally intact.

329
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,680
Could you imagine how horrific that would be?

330
00:24:42,580 --> 00:24:45,280
to be in eternity and have your memory,

331
00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:51,340
every single thing you've ever seen, heard, done, said.

332
00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:52,460
It's totally intact.

333
00:24:52,580 --> 00:24:53,200
It's right there.

334
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:54,800
Perfect recall.

335
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,100
Not this old man shutdown that happens sometimes.

336
00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,040
And you're looking right at somebody you know their name and it just won't come.

337
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:06,140
None of that.

338
00:25:06,820 --> 00:25:07,640
He says, remember.

339
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,460
Could you imagine being in eternity and remembering

340
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,560
every time you heard the name of Jesus,

341
00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:17,100
every time you had an opportunity to say,

342
00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:19,520
yes, Lord, I need you, forgive me of my sin,

343
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and you never did it.

344
00:25:22,940 --> 00:25:25,520
That would be an eternal torment right there.

345
00:25:29,140 --> 00:25:30,960
Remember, memory, totally intact.

346
00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:35,340
And yet the scripture tells us in Revelation

347
00:25:35,860 --> 00:25:36,880
that when we're in heaven,

348
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:41,120
that the memory of this life is,

349
00:25:42,660 --> 00:25:43,220
wiped clean.

350
00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:50,920
Oh, are there things I wish I could forget?

351
00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:57,840
The memories that come back when I'm sitting here and trying to sing a worship song

352
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:03,520
and all of a sudden this hideous deed that I did in my teenage years or my early 20s

353
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,900
that would just, it'd make a sailor blush with shame.

354
00:26:09,020 --> 00:26:10,280
And it comes in like a flood.

355
00:26:12,679 --> 00:26:13,720
Oh, Lord.

356
00:26:15,180 --> 00:26:22,060
But one day, one day that will be wiped clean when I'm with the Lord and I honestly can't wait.

357
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:24,500
It's going to be a glorious thing.

358
00:26:25,010 --> 00:26:27,880
He says, remember in your lifetime, right?

359
00:26:29,700 --> 00:26:31,620
That you had these good things.

360
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,300
God gave you so much.

361
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,160
You had an opportunity to give and you didn't do it.

362
00:26:40,860 --> 00:26:42,740
God gives to us that we might give.

363
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:45,180
That is the principle in the Christian life.

364
00:26:45,460 --> 00:26:48,960
When you look at 1st Corinthians chapter 12,

365
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:51,460
when it talks about these gifts that God gives us,

366
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,120
the gifts are not for us.

367
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:54,180
It's for others.

368
00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:57,160
That we would share our gifts with others.

369
00:27:00,020 --> 00:27:02,140
That people would be encouraged in the faith

370
00:27:02,220 --> 00:27:04,420
and that they would desire to do the same.

371
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,160
And that we would take care of one.

372
00:27:09,180 --> 00:27:24,900
another and this didn't happen he says it this Lazarus was tormented and you were comforted in this life

373
00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:31,760
but now it's just the opposite Lazarus experienced evil things and now he's comforted and you're

374
00:27:36,340 --> 00:27:37,340
tormented.

375
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,120
Tormented means agony, emotional grief.

376
00:27:48,020 --> 00:27:54,280
One commentator says, the scene is not mere parable scenery, it is Christ's sobering

377
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:59,600
warning of irreversible judgment affirming the justice of God.

378
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:01,840
God is just.

379
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,360
You and I will get paid what is owed to us.

380
00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:10,460
We got it coming.

381
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,840
We got some wages coming, you and I.

382
00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:16,000
Good or bad.

383
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:17,560
Heaven or hell.

384
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:20,000
The wages are coming.

385
00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:21,820
We know what the wages of sin are, right?

386
00:28:22,380 --> 00:28:23,920
The wages of sins are death.

387
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:33,580
So he should have humbled himself.

388
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,280
And it's interesting, some of these near-death experienced people

389
00:28:41,420 --> 00:28:47,400
when they face and they see the hellish experience of God's judgment

390
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,060
and are allowed to come back,

391
00:28:49,660 --> 00:28:52,340
every one of them has said, this is what I deserve.

392
00:28:54,060 --> 00:28:54,980
This is what I deserve.

393
00:28:56,860 --> 00:28:57,380
This torment.

394
00:28:58,340 --> 00:28:59,100
It's what I deserve.

395
00:29:00,300 --> 00:29:02,720
I know it's what I deserve, right?

396
00:29:02,820 --> 00:29:03,580
The hottest part.

397
00:29:08,180 --> 00:29:09,520
But when we humble ourselves,

398
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,760
the justice of God morphs into the mercy of God.

399
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:18,400
It's just the wildest thing.

400
00:29:19,420 --> 00:29:20,500
And it's totally on us.

401
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:22,180
It's our decision.

402
00:29:22,820 --> 00:29:24,000
It's our choice.

403
00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:28,040
I love proper.

404
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:29,540
verse 22, 4 says,

405
00:29:29,900 --> 00:29:32,140
Humility is the fear of the Lord.

406
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,540
Its wages are riches, honor, and life.

407
00:29:38,900 --> 00:29:40,180
Humble yourself before the Lord.

408
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:41,960
He'll truly lift you up.

409
00:29:44,220 --> 00:29:45,300
Why is it so hard?

410
00:29:47,660 --> 00:29:49,820
I'm hoping and praying as I'm getting older

411
00:29:50,220 --> 00:29:52,240
that I'll be more humble before the Lord.

412
00:29:54,740 --> 00:29:56,379
Because I was jogging the other day

413
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:59,720
and I was humbled before the Lord when I popped a hammy.

414
00:30:00,100 --> 00:30:02,240
And, oh, that really hurts.

415
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:03,940
And now I can't run no more.

416
00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:06,320
And I like to run.

417
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,580
But God has his way of humbling you,

418
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:13,800
especially as you get older.

419
00:30:15,580 --> 00:30:17,580
You're supposed to get more humble as you get older,

420
00:30:17,940 --> 00:30:19,520
not harder and crustier.

421
00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:25,240
Verse 26,

422
00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:55,800
And then Abraham tells him, he says, listen, besides all this, besides all this that you deserve to be where you're at, and Lazarus is where he's at, besides all those decisions that God has made, he says, there is between us and you is a great gulf fixed so that those who would want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to you.

423
00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:06,820
us. It's like it's a done deal. You can't cross that chasm. And people have literally seen

424
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:16,220
chasms. Though the rich man could see and speak with Abraham, he wasn't close to him at all.

425
00:31:17,060 --> 00:31:24,479
That's just wild. And that's why I'm wondering, how did they, hey, can you hear me? No, it's like they could

426
00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,120
look, see each other, and communication was happening.

427
00:31:32,180 --> 00:31:34,160
Because we know so much more when we get there.

428
00:31:35,340 --> 00:31:36,680
That's what the Apostle Paul taught.

429
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,260
And verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 15, he says,

430
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,920
for now we see through a glass darkly,

431
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,340
but then face to face.

432
00:31:48,660 --> 00:31:54,220
Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known.

433
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:55,260
Think about that.

434
00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,660
You pass out of this body, all the limits of it,

435
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,320
and all knowledge is downloaded into you in a moment.

436
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:04,100
Woo!

437
00:32:07,380 --> 00:32:09,240
And that you can look at each other possibly

438
00:32:09,460 --> 00:32:12,060
and know what's being communicated.

439
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:18,680
Because there is no lack of communication right here at all.

440
00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:20,440
It's pretty intense.

441
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:21,980
It's really real.

442
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:34,640
hopefully if you haven't thought about it lately this is maybe encouraging you i need to be ready for this

443
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:43,700
i need my heart ready i need my heart before god ready for this i'm wondering if lindsay graham said

444
00:32:43,820 --> 00:32:50,299
that in the last few days you guys heard about lindsay graham right he died

445
00:32:51,780 --> 00:32:52,720
Lindsay Graham is dead

446
00:32:55,860 --> 00:32:56,740
It's crazy

447
00:32:59,540 --> 00:33:00,900
Mitch McConnell might

448
00:33:01,390 --> 00:33:02,120
already be there

449
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:03,520
we just don't know if he's there yet

450
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,140
then poor Republicans are shaking in their boots

451
00:33:06,140 --> 00:33:08,560
if they lose those two Senate seats

452
00:33:13,180 --> 00:33:14,280
and Lindsay was only 71

453
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,580
I walked into a room on Friday

454
00:33:19,260 --> 00:33:22,540
And this guy was, he wasn't 70 yet, he's only five years older than me.

455
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:24,000
He just took his last breath.

456
00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:27,140
Sat with the family for a few minutes.

457
00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:29,580
We knew it was coming.

458
00:33:32,380 --> 00:33:32,900
And he was ready.

459
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:35,640
And oh, what joy.

460
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:42,940
Oh, what joy when you know that carcass laying there, you know, it's just a shell.

461
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:45,240
The nut's gone.

462
00:33:47,980 --> 00:33:48,540
Just a shell.

463
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,300
and he was a nut, right?

464
00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:53,700
A nut for Jesus.

465
00:33:55,580 --> 00:33:56,540
But we're going to know,

466
00:33:57,220 --> 00:33:58,860
we're going to know even as we are known.

467
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:00,300
Think about how well does God know you?

468
00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,220
Does he know you better than yourself?

469
00:34:04,260 --> 00:34:04,780
He does.

470
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:07,100
He knows you better than you know you.

471
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:08,840
We're too limited.

472
00:34:09,820 --> 00:34:12,919
But then, face to face, we will know him

473
00:34:13,260 --> 00:34:15,879
even as we will know even as we are known.

474
00:34:20,500 --> 00:34:26,080
this great gulf is fixed between them and their destiny seems to be fixed for all time

475
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:36,500
you had your chance you had your chance that's why the bible says don't mess around today is the

476
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:44,520
day of salvation now is the appointed time the accepted time get right with jesus you don't know if

477
00:34:44,540 --> 00:34:53,540
you got tomorrow. You don't know if you got this afternoon. And you know, when you're,

478
00:34:53,740 --> 00:35:02,420
when you're right with the Lord, everything's going to be a cakewalk. No, okay, maybe not. But

479
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:12,820
death is going to be a cakewalk. It's going to, it's no big deal. The process might be

480
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:22,640
brutal, but when we take our last breath, right, we win. You had your chance, rich man,

481
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:29,360
with your good things. He had determined his own destiny by leaving God out of his life,

482
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,000
and now neither his character nor his destiny could be changed.

483
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:47,580
Verse 27, then he said, I beg you, therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house.

484
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:56,060
All of a sudden, he has this compassion for his family to not be with him.

485
00:35:58,300 --> 00:36:03,020
You know, you talk to them people, well, I'm just going to go to hell and be with all my friends.

486
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,660
Notice this guy doesn't even want his family to come to this place.

487
00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:08,300
Right?

488
00:36:09,780 --> 00:36:15,320
At least he says you, verse 27, send them to my father's house,

489
00:36:15,420 --> 00:36:21,080
for I have five brothers that he may testify to them lest they also come to this place of torment.

490
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:24,700
I don't want my family coming here. I don't want my brothers coming here.

491
00:36:27,220 --> 00:36:34,600
Christians, we wouldn't want our worst enemy to go there because we're called to love our enemies.

492
00:36:38,340 --> 00:36:44,360
Yet in church, I see that some people, the way they treat each other, they want their brothers and sisters to go here.

493
00:36:48,820 --> 00:36:49,320
Shameful.

494
00:36:49,820 --> 00:36:50,680
Shameful stuff.

495
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:56,380
He begged him, please, let Lazarus go tell him.

496
00:37:01,700 --> 00:37:02,380
To warn him.

497
00:37:03,980 --> 00:37:06,340
And notice Abraham.

498
00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:09,780
sticking true to his character,

499
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,900
hey, they got Moses, right?

500
00:37:14,460 --> 00:37:18,380
They've got Deuteronomy and Exodus.

501
00:37:18,580 --> 00:37:19,460
They got all that.

502
00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:23,320
Let them read Moses and the prophets.

503
00:37:25,980 --> 00:37:26,760
That's who they have.

504
00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:30,360
But he's not letting it go.

505
00:37:31,500 --> 00:37:32,420
It said in verse 30,

506
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:34,940
and he said, no, Father Abraham,

507
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:36,440
still calling him Father Abraham.

508
00:37:36,460 --> 00:37:41,900
Abraham. But if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. What do you think?

509
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:48,420
You think if you saw that heathen come up out of the casket, you repent right then on the spot?

510
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:51,560
Either that or faint.

511
00:37:59,380 --> 00:38:06,120
Abraham's words are pretty powerful. When he responds, he says,

512
00:38:07,140 --> 00:38:09,600
No, they ain't got the Word of God.

513
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:16,440
If they don't have the, if they won't listen to the Word of God, they're not going to listen to someone else.

514
00:38:19,580 --> 00:38:24,420
But he said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,

515
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:25,760
though one rise from the dead.

516
00:38:27,060 --> 00:38:27,840
Do we see that today?

517
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:30,980
Obviously, we see that.

518
00:38:31,820 --> 00:38:33,200
Jesus rose from the dead.

519
00:38:34,220 --> 00:38:36,120
He conquered death, hell, and the great.

520
00:38:36,140 --> 00:38:43,960
grave. Historically, they can prove it. James Blackstone said it's one of the greatest

521
00:38:46,699 --> 00:38:52,060
provable events in human history, that there's actually more evidence to prove that Jesus

522
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:58,920
rose from the dead than that George Washington was our first president. William Blackstone

523
00:38:59,100 --> 00:39:06,100
said that. No, they got...

524
00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:07,420
They got Moses and the prophets.

525
00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:08,640
They got the Word of God.

526
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:10,520
Romans 10, 17, right?

527
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,200
So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

528
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:19,620
It's the Word of God that converts the soul that tells us in the Psalms.

529
00:39:23,780 --> 00:39:27,100
But so many people, they don't want to read the Word of God.

530
00:39:28,060 --> 00:39:29,080
That's too much work.

531
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:36,040
I was talking to a brother the other day, and he actually leads a Bible study.

532
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,520
He said he just kind of vacillated.

533
00:39:37,580 --> 00:39:40,340
He did pick it up and read it occasionally, but he wasn't consistent.

534
00:39:42,020 --> 00:39:46,540
And it wasn't until he became consistent that things started to just open up for him.

535
00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:49,060
It began to change his life.

536
00:39:50,420 --> 00:39:52,840
A guy by the name of J.D. Greer says,

537
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:58,220
If you want to be led by the Spirit of God, then devote yourself to the Word of God.

538
00:39:59,860 --> 00:40:02,440
I remember I was 27 years old when I made this commitment.

539
00:40:02,460 --> 00:40:04,120
I said, God, I got to read through your Bible.

540
00:40:04,180 --> 00:40:05,060
I've never read through it.

541
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:06,560
from Genesis to Revelation.

542
00:40:07,340 --> 00:40:08,300
I'd never read through it.

543
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,360
And I didn't think I could because I would start,

544
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,400
and then I would get to Leviticus and Numbers and Deuter.

545
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:15,560
Right.

546
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:18,760
And I just lose steam.

547
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:21,440
And then I listened to a fellow by the name Chuck Missler.

548
00:40:21,540 --> 00:40:22,940
Who knows who Chuck Missler was?

549
00:40:23,340 --> 00:40:23,460
Right?

550
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:25,620
Missler was incredible Bible teacher.

551
00:40:27,780 --> 00:40:33,200
But he was just a man because he was really speaking loud during Y2K,

552
00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:36,300
telling what a train wreck it was going to be.

553
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:38,980
So our dear brother had to eat some crow.

554
00:40:40,620 --> 00:40:42,920
But he said, this is how you read the Word of God.

555
00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:48,880
He says start in Matthew 1, start in Psalm 1, and start in Genesis 1.

556
00:40:49,820 --> 00:40:49,920
Yeah.

557
00:40:50,620 --> 00:40:52,580
Three places, three chapters a day.

558
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:57,660
You know, good reader can do it in, what, 10, 15, 20 minutes.

559
00:40:58,780 --> 00:40:59,340
There's no big deal.

560
00:40:59,780 --> 00:41:03,900
Start in Genesis 1, Psalm 1, and Matthew 1.

561
00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,480
When you get to Malachi, go back to Genesis 1.

562
00:41:07,060 --> 00:41:10,360
When you get through the Psalms, you can add Proverbs and Ecclesiastes as well.

563
00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:11,640
There's books of wisdom there.

564
00:41:11,980 --> 00:41:13,940
When you get to the end of Ecclesiastas, go back to Psalm 1.

565
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:16,960
When you get to Revelation 22, go back to Matthew chapter 1.

566
00:41:17,620 --> 00:41:18,600
So it's so simple.

567
00:41:19,020 --> 00:41:22,020
It was such a simple, I go, I can even remember that.

568
00:41:22,980 --> 00:41:25,460
And so I started when I was 27.

569
00:41:25,820 --> 00:41:28,380
And I've been doing that, and I'll be 64 this week.

570
00:41:30,099 --> 00:41:32,080
So it changes your life, folks.

571
00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:36,060
The word of God. It gives you hope. It fills you with life.

572
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,420
Jesus said, the words that I speak to you, their spirit and their life.

573
00:41:40,860 --> 00:41:46,440
Ruth Graham wrote this in the inside page of her daughter, Anne Graham Lotz's Bible.

574
00:41:46,980 --> 00:41:53,980
It says, this book is your one sure guide in an unsure world. Read it, study it, love it, live it.

575
00:41:55,580 --> 00:42:02,360
That's good. That's really good. This book is your sure guide in an

576
00:42:02,380 --> 00:42:15,340
sure world. Read it, study it, love it, live it. I found that to be true. Good old Smith's

577
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:21,940
Wiggleworth. Anybody ever heard Smith Wigglesworth? He said there are four principles we need to

578
00:42:22,240 --> 00:42:27,940
maintain. First, read the Word of God. Second, consuming the Word of God until it consumes you.

579
00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:29,640
Third, believe the word of God.

580
00:42:29,820 --> 00:42:31,360
Fourth, act on the word of God.

581
00:42:33,860 --> 00:42:35,020
That's good counsel right there.

582
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:43,560
That's what's going to take you to this place of comfort, folks.

583
00:42:45,220 --> 00:42:45,380
Right?

584
00:42:50,620 --> 00:42:53,760
And yet, we don't do it.

585
00:42:54,180 --> 00:42:55,200
The church doesn't do it.

586
00:42:55,500 --> 00:42:56,840
American Christians don't do it.

587
00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:04,720
there's truly a famine in the land like the old testament prophet said but it's the famine of the word of god

588
00:43:06,799 --> 00:43:15,580
because the word of god truly affects how you live your life that old saying the only thing

589
00:43:15,820 --> 00:43:23,300
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing and especially for men to not read

590
00:43:23,340 --> 00:43:23,960
the word of God.

591
00:43:25,260 --> 00:43:32,020
Because if our men are righteous, there's a good chance more of society will be righteous.

592
00:43:38,820 --> 00:43:45,500
I'm going to close just with a thought about these guys from Warren Weirsby.

593
00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:53,280
It says, we must remind ourselves that the rich man was not condemned because he was rich, nor was Lazarus, saved because,

594
00:43:53,300 --> 00:44:00,120
he was poor. Abraham was very wealthy man, yet he was not in torments in Hades. The rich man

595
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:07,000
trusted in his riches and did not trust the Lord. The safest road to hell, wrote C.S. Lewis,

596
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:17,940
is the gradual one. The safest road to hell is the gradual one. The gentle slope,

597
00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:23,140
soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones.

598
00:44:24,220 --> 00:44:25,100
without signposts.

599
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,080
Jesus said, for what shall a profit a man

600
00:44:29,090 --> 00:44:31,620
if he shall gain a whole world and lose his own soul?

601
00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:35,080
Jesus asked the question,

602
00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:37,440
what's your answer?

603
00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:46,500
I pray that you would say, here I am, Lord.

604
00:44:47,900 --> 00:44:48,380
Send me.

605
00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:51,760
Send me to do whatever you want me to do.

606
00:44:52,780 --> 00:44:54,960
That might be helping your neighbor across the street.

607
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,580
That might be going to Bible school.

608
00:45:00,340 --> 00:45:02,440
That might be starting a home study.

609
00:45:03,980 --> 00:45:06,860
That might be going down and helping at the homeless shelter.

610
00:45:07,820 --> 00:45:09,900
I talked to the brother that leads that down there now,

611
00:45:09,900 --> 00:45:11,740
and he went to a men's retreat,

612
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,740
and he was sitting with these two homeless guys having dinner

613
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:17,380
that somebody had brought up to the retreat.

614
00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:19,960
And he fell in love with the guys.

615
00:45:20,580 --> 00:45:21,900
He goes, I love these people.

616
00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,180
and now he's the director of the homeless shelter.

617
00:45:28,620 --> 00:45:29,520
God opened a door.

618
00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:37,600
God called him to minister to the beggar at the gate.

619
00:45:38,300 --> 00:45:39,420
And so it is with you and I.

620
00:45:39,820 --> 00:45:40,200
Shall we pray?

621
00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:42,420
Father, we thank you.

622
00:45:44,300 --> 00:45:47,080
Thank you for your goodness, for your love,

623
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,520
for the peace that passes all understanding from knowing you.

624
00:45:52,540 --> 00:45:55,760
Lord, as we look at these things and we consider our own life

625
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:59,020
and really our own life on the other side of this life.

626
00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:04,600
Lord, when we step into eternity, the place that will be.

627
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:10,200
And oh, Lord, I pray that those in this room

628
00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:12,820
would make a decision, maybe even today,

629
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:14,920
to be in that place of comfort.

630
00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:18,980
Lord, where we can rest and where tears are wiped away

631
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,540
where there's no more death, no more disease, no more

632
00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:30,900
more crying, all those things that will be filled with perfect knowledge, Lord, and we'll know you

633
00:46:32,140 --> 00:46:41,620
and the power of your resurrection, and we'll be with you for all eternity. Lord, whatever it takes,

634
00:46:42,420 --> 00:46:49,640
get us to that place. Some may not be ready, but maybe by this evening they will be. And so I just pray

635
00:46:49,720 --> 00:46:58,100
that they would be quick to cry out and say, oh, Lord, oh, Lord, save me, because I need saved.

636
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:00,840
Lord, would you be with us?

637
00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:03,560
Would you direct our steps?

638
00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:06,080
Open doors for us.

639
00:47:06,940 --> 00:47:09,320
Show us how we can help that person at our gate.

640
00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:11,240
Lord, that you've put there.

641
00:47:11,980 --> 00:47:14,460
Maybe we see them every day or once a week.

642
00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:19,060
Lord, you love people.

643
00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:22,040
and you call us to love people.

644
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:25,160
So help us to do that by the power of your Holy Spirit

645
00:47:25,650 --> 00:47:27,940
in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

646
00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:29,000
Hey, let's all stand.

647
00:47:29,500 --> 00:47:30,800
Hey, the prayer team's going to be over here

648
00:47:30,940 --> 00:47:32,840
behind these bleachers over here if you need prayer.

649
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:34,880
If you need to stand in from somebody

650
00:47:35,060 --> 00:47:39,080
or you just need somebody

651
00:47:39,330 --> 00:47:40,700
to confirm with you and pray with you.

652
00:47:41,860 --> 00:47:42,520
God bless you.

653
00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:45,600
Look for those who you can minister to this week.

654
00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:46,660
Let's worship.

655
00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:16,280
Thank you.