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The Rich Glutton and Poor Lazarus · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou
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  Speaker 1: in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus
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  Speaker 1: evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
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  Speaker 1: Luke 16.25 When I look at everything you've blessed me
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  Speaker 1: with in my life, Lord, I stand in awe and reverence.
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  Speaker 1: at all the times you've come through for me, and
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  Speaker 1: for all the times you've lavished me with provision. As
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  Speaker 1: I think about today's story from Luke, I'm reminded through
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  Speaker 1: the life of the rich glutton that the purpose for
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  Speaker 1: blessing is to be a blessing to others. May my
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  Speaker 1: life be first known by my love for you, God,
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  Speaker 1: and second, by the generosity I lived by. With every
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  Speaker 1: new year, I will not ask how much I can make.
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  Speaker 1: I will ask instead how much I can give. With
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  Speaker 1: this paradigm shift, I acknowledge that blessing and abundance are
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  Speaker 1: a byproduct of my generous heart. For the life of
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  Speaker 1: the stingy gets smaller and smaller, while the life of
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  Speaker 1: the generous gets larger and larger. Because I am a
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  Speaker 1: change agent, I am always in tune with the needs
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  Speaker 1: of your children, Lord. Whether time, talents, or treasures, I
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  Speaker 1: will give where I can because you've blessed me so much.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying with me today.
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  Speaker 1: Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The rich glutton, and poor Lazarus. In our last story,
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  Speaker 2: we learned about Jesus' provision over Peter's taxes. Jesus also
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  Speaker 2: gave a stiff warning to those who would threaten the
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  Speaker 2: innocence of a child. Now we hear a story told
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  Speaker 2: by Jesus, a story that has an eternal lesson with
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  Speaker 2: great consequences, as inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In our previous episode, we heard how
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  Speaker 3: Jesus taught Peter about the freedom we have as children
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  Speaker 3: of God. And we discovered the upside-down nature of God's kingdom,
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  Speaker 3: where the way up is down, where humility and servanthood
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  Speaker 3: is a strength rather than a weakness. So today we'll
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  Speaker 3: hear as Jesus tells a story that reveals more of
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  Speaker 3: God's heart and speaks to the eternal implications of our
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  Speaker 3: faith in this life and in the life to come.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus sat among his disciples by the fire. The coals
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  Speaker 2: glowed under the darkness above them. They ate beside the flames,
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  Speaker 2: and Jesus told them parables and stories to illustrate heavenly meaning.
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  Speaker 2: There was once a wealthy man. He was clothed in
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  Speaker 2: fine linens, fat and content. He lavished in his chambers,
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  Speaker 2: consuming fine meats and cheeses to fill his gullet. Crumbs
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  Speaker 2: littered the floor of his dining hall and were picked
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  Speaker 2: up by the dogs and rats. His wealth made him comfortable.
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  Speaker 2: His comfort made him lazy. and his laziness made him selfish.
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  Speaker 2: Only a few yards away at the gates of the
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  Speaker 2: rich man's property was a poor man named Lazarus. He
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  Speaker 2: laid at the gate, nursing the sores on his feet.
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  Speaker 2: Lazarus was hungry, thin, and sickly. Every night he would
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  Speaker 2: dream of feasting on the crumbs that fell from the
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  Speaker 2: rich man's table. Every day the rich man would pass
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  Speaker 2: by him, belly full and eyes forward. Lazarus was invisible
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  Speaker 2: to the wealthy man. The only companions he had were
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  Speaker 2: the dogs that licked the sores on his feet. On
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  Speaker 2: one cold and dark evening, Lazarus was shivering outside the gate.
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  Speaker 2: He lay on his side, eyes fixed on the warm
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  Speaker 2: fire that could be seen from the window. Lazarus could
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  Speaker 2: see the rich man gorging himself on fruits, meats, and bread.
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  Speaker 2: His bones quivered from the frosty night. As Lazarus lay
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  Speaker 2: on the cold ground, his heart began to beat slower
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  Speaker 2: and slower until eventually he drifted off into a deep sleep.
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  Speaker 2: That night, alone and hungry, Lazarus died and was carried
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  Speaker 2: by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man died
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  Speaker 2: not too long after, no doubt due to his gluttony. However,
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  Speaker 2: he was not embraced by angels. Rather, he was cast
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  Speaker 2: out into the dark depths of Hades. There he was
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  Speaker 2: tormented with hunger and thirst. In his discomfort, the rich
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  Speaker 2: man cried out to Abraham, saying, Father, Abraham, have mercy
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  Speaker 2: on me. Then he peered into the light above. In
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  Speaker 2: the windows of Abraham's house, he could see Lazarus drinking
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  Speaker 2: the cool water of heaven and feasting. Please, the rich
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  Speaker 2: man shouted, send Lazarus to dip his finger in the
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  Speaker 2: water so I might have one drop. But Abraham shook
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  Speaker 2: his head and said, Remember your life, my child. Remember
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  Speaker 2: that you received only good things and shared none of it.
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  Speaker 2: But Lazarus only received bad. Now he dwells in comfort,
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  Speaker 2: and you are the one who suffers. The once rich
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  Speaker 2: man anguished in his hunger and pain. He looked up
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  Speaker 2: to Abraham, gasping for every breath. Please, Father, send Lazarus
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  Speaker 2: to my family's home. Warn my father and brothers of
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  Speaker 2: this punishment. Abraham shook his head again and said, They
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  Speaker 2: have the prophets and Moses to guide them in how
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  Speaker 2: to live and treat others just as you did. But
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  Speaker 2: if someone were to come from the dead and warn them,
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  Speaker 2: perhaps they would listen, the man responded. Abraham began to
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  Speaker 2: shut the gates between them and said, If they were
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  Speaker 2: unwilling to listen to the word of God himself, surely
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  Speaker 2: they would not be convinced if someone rose from the dead.
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  Speaker 2: And with those words, the rich man was shut away forever.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture begins with Jesus telling the disciples a story.
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  Speaker 3: It's a parable. It's interesting to note that of all
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  Speaker 3: the parables Jesus told, this one is unique in that
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  Speaker 3: he named one of the characters. It was a man
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  Speaker 3: named Lazarus. The meaning of this man's name is God
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  Speaker 3: will help, which may seem an odd choice given the
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  Speaker 3: man's condition. Lazarus, you see, had nothing and no one.
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  Speaker 3: He lived in hunger, cold, and pain. Dogs would come
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  Speaker 3: to lick his sores, surely compounding his pain, his suffering,
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  Speaker 3: and his humiliation. Why would Such a man be given
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  Speaker 3: a name like God will help. Lazarus lived outside the
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  Speaker 3: gates of a rich man's home. He isn't given a name.
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  Speaker 3: That is, the rich man is not given a name,
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  Speaker 3: but it seems he has everything that he needs. The
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  Speaker 3: best clothes made of fine linen and delicious, sumptuous food
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  Speaker 3: to enjoy. But as we all know, death is no
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  Speaker 3: respecter of wealth or position or power. And so one day,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus said, both of the men died. And just as
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  Speaker 3: in life their condition could not have been more different,
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  Speaker 3: their condition in death was polar opposite of one another.
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  Speaker 3: Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham, a place of
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  Speaker 3: rest for those who followed God and obeyed his commandments.
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  Speaker 3: In an instant, his life was changed. The hunger, the thirst,
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  Speaker 3: the pain was gone, and he entered a place of
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  Speaker 3: peace and comfort. This is like heaven. The rich man, however,
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  Speaker 3: went to Hades. where he lived in punishment and pain
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  Speaker 3: outside of paradise. Jesus then said the rich man called
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  Speaker 3: from his place of torment to Abraham, asking for just
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  Speaker 3: a bit of comfort. If Lazarus could just dip his
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  Speaker 3: finger in water and place just a drop on his
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  Speaker 3: tongue to get one moment of respite from his anguish
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  Speaker 3: and torment. This, my friends, is hell. Of course, it
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  Speaker 3: is impossible for him to be comforted in hell. Abraham
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  Speaker 3: reminded the man of the comfort and pleasures he enjoyed
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  Speaker 3: in life and the suffering that the other man, the
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  Speaker 3: poor man, Lazarus, had endured. Though Abraham did not say
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  Speaker 3: so specifically, we can understand that in life this man
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  Speaker 3: was indifferent to the pain of others. Surely he would
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  Speaker 3: have seen and even heard Lazarus outside his gates, and
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  Speaker 3: yet he nor no one else provided for the poor man.
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  Speaker 3: The only comfort Lazarus had was God's comfort. Indeed, as
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  Speaker 3: his name suggests, God will help. Abraham also pointed out
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  Speaker 3: that there was a great chasm separating the two places.
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  Speaker 3: Reaching him would simply be impossible at this point. He
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  Speaker 3: was beyond hope. You see, we are all separated from
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  Speaker 3: God by this great divide. In life, there is only
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  Speaker 3: one who can cross it, and that one is Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: who brings us to the Father. He died on a
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  Speaker 3: cross to bridge the chasm between heaven and hell. He
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  Speaker 3: bridges the separation between us and God. Just as it
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  Speaker 3: was true for the rich man in death, there is
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  Speaker 3: no hope for those who have rejected God, those who
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  Speaker 3: have turned their back on Jesus. The choice is made
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  Speaker 3: and fate is final. This is why we must be
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  Speaker 3: so urgent in sharing the gospel, the good news of
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  Speaker 3: Jesus with our friends and family and even strangers we
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  Speaker 3: meet who are separated from God and need the hope
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  Speaker 3: that we know in Christ. The rich man then made
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  Speaker 3: another request. If Lazarus could just return to his family's
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  Speaker 3: home and warn them that they might not come to
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  Speaker 3: this terrible place of separation from God. He was desperate
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  Speaker 3: to save his loved ones from this eternal fate, but
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  Speaker 3: it was too late. Abraham then replied that they have
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  Speaker 3: Moses and the prophets, that they should listen to them.
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  Speaker 3: That wasn't enough for this man. He protested, saying that
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  Speaker 3: if someone could just return from the dead, they would repent.
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  Speaker 3: For you and me, with the benefit of hindsight, we
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  Speaker 3: can see the foreshadowing of this statement, and we can
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  Speaker 3: understand the hard truth in Abraham's response. For in Luke 16, 31,
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  Speaker 3: we read, He said to him, If they do not
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  Speaker 3: hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced
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  Speaker 3: if someone should rise from the dead. Jesus knew that
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  Speaker 3: he himself would one day soon die and then rise
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  Speaker 3: from the dead. And many who had failed to see
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  Speaker 3: God's truth, pointing them to the law and the prophets,
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  Speaker 3: would also fail to believe in him even though he
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  Speaker 3: rose from the grave. Ultimately, Lazarus' name reminds us, yes,
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  Speaker 3: God will help. He'll help us in this life to
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  Speaker 3: find comfort even in the most dire and deathly of circumstances.
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  Speaker 3: And he's provided the true help, the everlasting help we need.
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  Speaker 3: the Savior who can open heaven's doors with nail-scarred hands
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  Speaker 3: through his death and resurrection. But we must believe in
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  Speaker 3: him by repenting of our sin and putting our faith
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  Speaker 3: in Christ and Christ alone. He is the help we need.
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  Speaker 3: He is the hope that we have in this life
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  Speaker 3: and in the life to come. And if you want
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  Speaker 3: this brand new life, why don't where you are right now,
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  Speaker 3: bow your head and pray a prayer like this. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: I thank you for loving me, for sending your Son
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  Speaker 3: into the world to be my Savior. I believe, Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: that you died and rose again, and that you're coming
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  Speaker 3: again for me. And I trust you as my Lord
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  Speaker 3: and my Savior. Lord, I give you my heart. I
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  Speaker 3: will follow you by the power of your Spirit all
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  Speaker 3: the days of my life. Amen. Thank you for listening
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  Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham
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  Speaker 3: from Dallas, Texas. And before we go, I want you
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  Speaker 3: to know that I would love to send you my
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  Speaker 3: daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement every single day.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgraham.org.