WEBVTT 0 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:07.910 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast. This is 1 00:00:07.942 --> 00:00:10.550 where you can find audio from Sunday morning, messages and 2 00:00:10.582 --> 00:00:13.414 more. Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss 3 00:00:13.454 --> 00:00:15.914 future episodes. And thanks for listening. 4 00:00:20.574 --> 00:00:23.566 Well, good morning. If you have your bibles, 5 00:00:23.590 --> 00:00:26.374 and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Luke, 6 00:00:26.414 --> 00:00:28.680 chapter 16 this morning. Reminder. 7 00:00:29.326 --> 00:00:32.022 it is our last day to register for kids camp. 8 00:00:32.118 --> 00:00:35.110 So I think as of last Sunday, we had already hit 9 00:00:35.142 --> 00:00:38.032 the number of kids that we had registered, all of last year. So 10 00:00:38.048 --> 00:00:40.800 we're excited about that. But it was still today. So please 11 00:00:40.872 --> 00:00:43.512 make sure moms and dads, grandmas and 12 00:00:43.528 --> 00:00:45.520 grandpas, you go and you get them 13 00:00:45.712 --> 00:00:48.160 registered today so that we can 14 00:00:48.192 --> 00:00:51.136 finalize all of our plans for that week. We're 15 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.200 definitely looking forward to it, and it's going to be an exciting and 16 00:00:54.232 --> 00:00:57.112 wonderful time, at our church. also, I want 17 00:00:57.128 --> 00:01:00.094 to wish a happy father's day to all of 18 00:01:00.134 --> 00:01:02.950 the dads who are out there. So happy Father's 19 00:01:02.982 --> 00:01:05.732 day. I, am, as I think 20 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.678 about Father's day, extremely, grateful 21 00:01:08.758 --> 00:01:11.736 for the men in my life, grateful for 22 00:01:11.752 --> 00:01:14.640 the grandfathers that God blessed me with, 23 00:01:14.654 --> 00:01:17.650 grateful for the father in law that God blessed me 24 00:01:17.674 --> 00:01:20.382 with, and definitely grateful, for 25 00:01:20.470 --> 00:01:23.220 my dad, and that God has used 26 00:01:23.268 --> 00:01:26.236 him in powerful ways in my life. And then also 27 00:01:26.276 --> 00:01:29.156 just the wonderful honor and privilege that it 28 00:01:29.196 --> 00:01:31.956 is, to be a dad to Emma and 29 00:01:31.996 --> 00:01:34.940 Grayson and to see them grow and to see how God 30 00:01:34.988 --> 00:01:37.852 has used me in a small way in 31 00:01:37.884 --> 00:01:40.724 their life. And so, just so grateful for that. So for all 32 00:01:40.740 --> 00:01:43.516 the dads who are out here, we see some visitors who were here 33 00:01:43.556 --> 00:01:46.356 with dad this morning. Just, ah, happy father's 34 00:01:46.396 --> 00:01:49.260 day. I hope your day is filled with maybe 35 00:01:49.308 --> 00:01:52.076 a nap at some point in time in there with 36 00:01:52.116 --> 00:01:54.764 food that you like to eat and time with 37 00:01:54.820 --> 00:01:55.816 your family. 38 00:01:56.196 --> 00:01:58.922 Well, a few years ago, and a lot of you, 39 00:01:58.872 --> 00:02:01.690 may know this, some of you may not, a few years 40 00:02:01.706 --> 00:02:04.584 ago, my dad, was diagnosed with some 41 00:02:04.616 --> 00:02:07.228 health, issues, that he continues to 42 00:02:07.268 --> 00:02:10.104 struggle with. And that caused me, 43 00:02:10.054 --> 00:02:13.022 maybe it was the diagnosis, maybe it was the maturity of 44 00:02:13.118 --> 00:02:16.014 what I'm walking through in life. Maybe it was what God 45 00:02:16.054 --> 00:02:18.654 was doing. Maybe it was a combination of all of those 46 00:02:18.734 --> 00:02:21.114 factors together, which is what I would consider 47 00:02:21.574 --> 00:02:24.392 to look at my dad, and to think back 48 00:02:24.456 --> 00:02:27.296 on all the different life lessons, that my 49 00:02:27.328 --> 00:02:29.264 dad taught me. And very 50 00:02:29.352 --> 00:02:32.256 specifically, whether he was trying to 51 00:02:32.288 --> 00:02:34.660 teach me a life lesson or not. 52 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.288 Y'all know those moments. I mean, it's great when you can 53 00:02:38.384 --> 00:02:41.082 have that. That end of. I was, a 54 00:02:41.106 --> 00:02:43.970 podcast earlier today, and they're talking about all of 55 00:02:44.010 --> 00:02:46.482 the best dads from tv 56 00:02:46.546 --> 00:02:49.162 shows. And it all 57 00:02:49.226 --> 00:02:51.670 ended with, like, the dad who 58 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.264 at the end of the episode, hey, son 59 00:02:55.312 --> 00:02:58.100 or daughter? Let's learn this life lesson. 60 00:02:58.480 --> 00:03:00.952 By the way, Carl Winslow from family 61 00:03:01.016 --> 00:03:03.840 matters won the best dad 62 00:03:03.880 --> 00:03:06.576 of all time on there, right? I think it's a little 63 00:03:06.608 --> 00:03:09.340 biased. Andy Griffith didn't make the list, right? 64 00:03:09.640 --> 00:03:12.440 Or Andy Taylor. And that's where I would have landed on mine. 65 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:15.200 But I look back at the lessons my dad taught me, 66 00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:17.984 and we definitely had those sit down moments, 67 00:03:18.032 --> 00:03:20.918 those sit down, teachable moments where he taught me what it. What it 68 00:03:20.934 --> 00:03:23.934 meant to be a man, what it meant to be a child of God, what it meant to 69 00:03:23.942 --> 00:03:26.894 be a husband, what it meant to be a father. Of all of those 70 00:03:26.942 --> 00:03:29.744 things, my dad, ingrained and poured those 71 00:03:29.792 --> 00:03:32.256 into me. But so many of my dad's 72 00:03:32.368 --> 00:03:35.176 lessons that he taught me were not necessarily 73 00:03:35.248 --> 00:03:37.464 those moments, but it was through my 74 00:03:37.512 --> 00:03:39.900 observations of watching him. 75 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:42.660 I remember my mom was a schoolteacher. 76 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.912 And if you're a kid of a school teacher in this room, 77 00:03:46.016 --> 00:03:48.894 you know what that means. You've got to get up earlier 78 00:03:48.982 --> 00:03:51.958 than all of your friends in elementary school 79 00:03:52.014 --> 00:03:54.798 because your mom's got to get you, your dad's got to get you 80 00:03:54.894 --> 00:03:57.542 to school. So I woke up earlier 81 00:03:57.686 --> 00:04:00.662 than all of my friends because my mom had to 82 00:04:00.686 --> 00:04:03.246 take me to school before she could go to her 83 00:04:03.278 --> 00:04:06.278 school. And I never forget that my dad would always 84 00:04:06.334 --> 00:04:08.622 be gone. I don't have one 85 00:04:08.766 --> 00:04:11.430 memory of my dad being at 86 00:04:11.510 --> 00:04:14.030 home when I woke up to go to 87 00:04:14.070 --> 00:04:16.564 school because my dad had to wake up so 88 00:04:16.612 --> 00:04:19.596 early to go to his job at the 89 00:04:19.628 --> 00:04:22.596 plant that he worked at. I remember 90 00:04:22.668 --> 00:04:25.140 baseball practices very 91 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:28.080 distinctly because my dad was always my baseball coach. 92 00:04:28.940 --> 00:04:31.436 And I don't necessarily remember my dad teaching 93 00:04:31.468 --> 00:04:34.092 me how to hit a baseball or how to 94 00:04:34.116 --> 00:04:37.072 catch a, baseball or how to throw a baseball. 95 00:04:37.176 --> 00:04:39.980 But I do remember distinctly 96 00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:43.372 my dad showing up to practice fresh off 97 00:04:43.396 --> 00:04:46.116 of work, with his jeans on 98 00:04:46.308 --> 00:04:48.996 and his work boots on, covered in 99 00:04:49.028 --> 00:04:51.868 dirt, from where he had been working hard all 100 00:04:51.964 --> 00:04:54.796 day at his job and was 101 00:04:54.828 --> 00:04:57.500 now going to come and coach our little league 102 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.516 team. I remember the sacrifices that he put 103 00:05:00.548 --> 00:05:03.196 in in the context of my dad being my 104 00:05:03.228 --> 00:05:05.564 coach. I remember my dad 105 00:05:05.652 --> 00:05:08.468 always tried to identify. We lived in a 106 00:05:08.484 --> 00:05:11.282 small town, so we just kind of knew. And I would 107 00:05:11.306 --> 00:05:13.670 always notice my dad spending more time 108 00:05:14.010 --> 00:05:16.978 with some of the other players on the team than 109 00:05:16.994 --> 00:05:19.810 he even spent with me. And very 110 00:05:19.890 --> 00:05:22.338 specifically, as I look back on that now, it 111 00:05:22.354 --> 00:05:25.170 was guys on the team who maybe 112 00:05:25.210 --> 00:05:28.042 didn't have a dad in the home or who didn't have 113 00:05:28.066 --> 00:05:31.002 a healthy relationship with 114 00:05:31.026 --> 00:05:33.630 their dad. I remember 115 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:37.054 my dad loving me 116 00:05:37.102 --> 00:05:40.102 enough. And this seems weird, but I think at 117 00:05:40.126 --> 00:05:42.270 45 years old now, God has given me this 118 00:05:42.310 --> 00:05:45.062 perspective. I remember my 119 00:05:45.086 --> 00:05:47.654 dad loving me enough to 120 00:05:47.702 --> 00:05:50.478 discipline me and my dad loving 121 00:05:50.534 --> 00:05:52.970 me enough to correct me. 122 00:05:54.230 --> 00:05:57.214 I remember. And if you know my dad, you know, he would laugh 123 00:05:57.342 --> 00:05:59.766 at this statement and would greatly 124 00:05:59.838 --> 00:06:02.770 appreciate me cracking a joke at him. 125 00:06:03.640 --> 00:06:06.312 I remember my dad saying this almost every 126 00:06:06.376 --> 00:06:09.216 single time that he had to address a 127 00:06:09.248 --> 00:06:11.420 behavior issue with me. 128 00:06:12.200 --> 00:06:15.104 He would say this phrase before he 129 00:06:15.152 --> 00:06:17.832 implemented or told me what my punishment would 130 00:06:17.856 --> 00:06:20.660 be. He would say these words, 131 00:06:21.200 --> 00:06:24.080 son, this is going to hurt me 132 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:26.992 more than it's going to hurt you. And 133 00:06:27.016 --> 00:06:29.464 I remember thinking, well, let's 134 00:06:29.512 --> 00:06:32.440 switch places. Right? Let me 135 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:34.700 put you on restriction. You know what I mean? 136 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.560 Maybe a strange memory, but I 137 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.496 remember my dad loving 138 00:06:42.568 --> 00:06:45.336 me enough to. 139 00:06:45.368 --> 00:06:47.880 When I had strayed from the 140 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.920 path that my dad had for 141 00:06:50.960 --> 00:06:53.624 me, when I had strayed from the 142 00:06:53.672 --> 00:06:56.632 expectation, sometimes it was a 143 00:06:56.656 --> 00:06:59.612 conversation, sometimes it was a 144 00:06:59.636 --> 00:07:02.252 consequence. But my dad 145 00:07:02.316 --> 00:07:05.228 loving me enough, my dad being 146 00:07:05.284 --> 00:07:07.520 so concerned about my heart 147 00:07:08.140 --> 00:07:10.680 that my dad would sit down with me, 148 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:13.628 not ignore, not 149 00:07:13.684 --> 00:07:16.596 excuse, but to address the 150 00:07:16.628 --> 00:07:19.580 condition of my heart. And I'll forever 151 00:07:19.620 --> 00:07:21.000 be grateful for my dad. 152 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:25.274 Some of you, when you look at 153 00:07:25.322 --> 00:07:28.098 God, the concept of 154 00:07:28.154 --> 00:07:30.730 God the Father is 155 00:07:30.770 --> 00:07:33.650 difficult for you. I love 156 00:07:33.690 --> 00:07:35.470 my dad. My dad loves me. 157 00:07:36.970 --> 00:07:39.670 Me and my dad have a wonderful relationship. 158 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:42.950 My childhood is filled with wonderful memories. 159 00:07:43.330 --> 00:07:46.146 My relationship with my dad now is filled 160 00:07:46.178 --> 00:07:49.074 with wonderful moments. Some of you, 161 00:07:49.122 --> 00:07:51.944 though, don't have that 162 00:07:51.992 --> 00:07:54.880 perspective when it comes to hearing the word dad. When it comes to 163 00:07:54.960 --> 00:07:57.864 hearing the word Father, your dad wasn't 164 00:07:57.912 --> 00:08:00.304 there. Your dad was 165 00:08:00.352 --> 00:08:03.032 absent. Your dad was 166 00:08:03.056 --> 00:08:05.496 abusive. Your dad was 167 00:08:05.528 --> 00:08:08.420 difficult. Your dad wasn't loving. 168 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:10.260 And so the 169 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:13.944 concept of God 170 00:08:14.032 --> 00:08:16.580 being the father is difficult. 171 00:08:17.580 --> 00:08:20.080 But then this phrase that I'm about to say 172 00:08:20.460 --> 00:08:22.240 becomes even more difficult, 173 00:08:23.140 --> 00:08:26.124 that God being a 174 00:08:26.172 --> 00:08:28.260 father. But 175 00:08:28.340 --> 00:08:31.212 specifically because God 176 00:08:31.276 --> 00:08:34.028 is a loving father. God 177 00:08:34.084 --> 00:08:36.900 corrects us, and that's 178 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.740 hard. But when we 179 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:42.604 see the heart of where it 180 00:08:42.652 --> 00:08:44.720 comes from, we begin to understand 181 00:08:46.010 --> 00:08:48.826 so much as we study through these parables 182 00:08:48.858 --> 00:08:51.410 of what we see in the teaching of 183 00:08:51.490 --> 00:08:53.810 Jesus. Is 184 00:08:53.890 --> 00:08:56.602 Jesus correcting the 185 00:08:56.666 --> 00:08:59.594 hearts, Jesus working 186 00:08:59.722 --> 00:09:02.386 in the lives of the individuals 187 00:09:02.498 --> 00:09:05.394 that are around him, not so that 188 00:09:05.442 --> 00:09:07.990 he can have a hey, I got you moment 189 00:09:09.210 --> 00:09:12.026 or not so that he can have a you've angered me 190 00:09:12.058 --> 00:09:14.672 moment, but 191 00:09:14.696 --> 00:09:16.140 because Jesus 192 00:09:16.520 --> 00:09:18.928 lovingly wants to 193 00:09:18.984 --> 00:09:21.740 correct and rebuke them 194 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.896 for a desire to see 195 00:09:25.088 --> 00:09:27.100 a genuine heart change, 196 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.184 to see what would come 197 00:09:31.272 --> 00:09:33.768 from them would look more 198 00:09:33.824 --> 00:09:36.816 like him and 199 00:09:36.848 --> 00:09:37.940 less like them. 200 00:09:39.580 --> 00:09:41.800 And I think this is what we see 201 00:09:42.340 --> 00:09:44.200 and what we'll see this morning 202 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:47.652 in this parable of the rich man in 203 00:09:47.756 --> 00:09:50.452 Lazarus, found in Luke 204 00:09:50.516 --> 00:09:53.040 16, starting in verse 19. So 205 00:09:53.380 --> 00:09:55.840 let's read the entire parable. 206 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:59.080 Jesus begins and says, 207 00:09:59.940 --> 00:10:02.692 there was a rich man who was clothed in 208 00:10:02.796 --> 00:10:04.640 purple and fine linen, 209 00:10:06.050 --> 00:10:07.866 who had feasted 210 00:10:08.058 --> 00:10:09.950 sumptuously every day. 211 00:10:10.930 --> 00:10:13.842 And at his gate laid a poor 212 00:10:13.906 --> 00:10:15.630 man named Lazarus, 213 00:10:16.530 --> 00:10:19.354 covered with sores, who 214 00:10:19.402 --> 00:10:22.050 desired to be fed with what 215 00:10:22.130 --> 00:10:24.750 fell from the rich man's table. 216 00:10:25.850 --> 00:10:28.802 Moreover, even the dogs came and licked 217 00:10:28.826 --> 00:10:31.694 his sores. The poor 218 00:10:31.742 --> 00:10:33.966 man died and was carried by the angels to 219 00:10:33.998 --> 00:10:36.958 Abraham's side. The rich 220 00:10:37.014 --> 00:10:39.650 man also died and was buried. 221 00:10:39.950 --> 00:10:42.542 And in hades. Being in torment, 222 00:10:42.726 --> 00:10:45.590 he lifted up his eyes and saw 223 00:10:45.670 --> 00:10:48.570 Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 224 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:51.974 And he called out, Father Abraham, have 225 00:10:52.022 --> 00:10:55.006 mercy on me. And send Lazarus to 226 00:10:55.038 --> 00:10:57.670 dip the end of his finger in 227 00:10:57.710 --> 00:11:00.700 water and cool my tongue, for 228 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:03.520 I am in anguish in this flame. 229 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:06.892 But Abraham said, child, 230 00:11:06.996 --> 00:11:09.916 remember that you in your lifetime 231 00:11:10.068 --> 00:11:13.004 receive your good things and 232 00:11:13.052 --> 00:11:15.840 Lazarus in like manner bad things. 233 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:19.068 But now he is comforted here, 234 00:11:19.204 --> 00:11:21.772 and you are in anguish. And 235 00:11:21.796 --> 00:11:24.636 besides, all this between us and you, 236 00:11:24.748 --> 00:11:27.002 a, great chasm has been fixed 237 00:11:27.752 --> 00:11:30.688 in order that those who would pass from here 238 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.448 to you may not be able and 239 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.732 none may cross there to us. 240 00:11:36.552 --> 00:11:39.392 And he said, then I beg you, father, to 241 00:11:39.432 --> 00:11:41.372 send him to my father's house, 242 00:11:42.112 --> 00:11:45.000 for I have five brothers so 243 00:11:45.016 --> 00:11:47.600 that he may warn them lest they 244 00:11:47.656 --> 00:11:49.808 also come into this place of 245 00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:52.852 torment. But Abraham said, 246 00:11:53.422 --> 00:11:56.042 they have Moses and the prophets. 247 00:11:56.862 --> 00:11:58.842 Let them hear them. 248 00:11:59.542 --> 00:12:01.462 And he said, no, father 249 00:12:01.622 --> 00:12:04.518 Abraham. But if someone goes to 250 00:12:04.550 --> 00:12:07.442 them from the dead, they will repent. 251 00:12:08.022 --> 00:12:10.846 And he said to him, if they do not hear 252 00:12:10.894 --> 00:12:13.002 Moses and the prophets, 253 00:12:13.462 --> 00:12:16.190 neither will they be convinced if 254 00:12:16.246 --> 00:12:19.040 someone should rise from the 255 00:12:19.056 --> 00:12:19.652 dead. 256 00:12:20.432 --> 00:12:23.328 So in this parable, as we've seen 257 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:26.344 in so many others as we've studied, there's a 258 00:12:26.368 --> 00:12:29.080 comparison that happens. There's two 259 00:12:29.136 --> 00:12:32.048 individuals that we're called to look at 260 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.692 and compare one from the other. 261 00:12:35.352 --> 00:12:38.052 In this parable, it is the rich man 262 00:12:38.512 --> 00:12:41.312 and it is Lazarus. And there's things 263 00:12:41.352 --> 00:12:44.120 that we see as Jesus tells this story to 264 00:12:44.136 --> 00:12:46.984 his largely jewish audience. Remember, there's things that 265 00:12:47.048 --> 00:12:50.040 we have to be explained in this culturally, but they 266 00:12:50.056 --> 00:12:52.974 would have taken to instantly. Jesus says that 267 00:12:52.998 --> 00:12:55.486 this rich man, he's clothed in 268 00:12:55.534 --> 00:12:58.174 purple and linen to 269 00:12:58.198 --> 00:13:00.522 define his level of wealth. 270 00:13:00.902 --> 00:13:03.830 This man is clothed in the same clothing that you 271 00:13:03.846 --> 00:13:06.242 would find in garments for a king. 272 00:13:06.622 --> 00:13:09.398 This is not just a man who shopped at the higher 273 00:13:09.470 --> 00:13:12.318 end of the department store. This is a 274 00:13:12.350 --> 00:13:14.878 man who lives in the finest 275 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:17.750 clothing that can be made for him. 276 00:13:17.846 --> 00:13:20.436 And the clothing is good enough for 277 00:13:20.484 --> 00:13:23.452 royalty. It 278 00:13:23.492 --> 00:13:25.512 says that he feasted 279 00:13:25.852 --> 00:13:27.752 every day 280 00:13:28.532 --> 00:13:31.404 in my notes. Here's my description. And 281 00:13:31.428 --> 00:13:33.312 I think you'll understand this. 282 00:13:34.132 --> 00:13:36.532 Every day was like thanksgiving, 283 00:13:36.612 --> 00:13:39.348 right? Like stretchy 284 00:13:39.380 --> 00:13:41.772 pants. Break them out. Let's keep it 285 00:13:41.812 --> 00:13:44.332 rolling. Nobody's judging. 286 00:13:44.452 --> 00:13:47.452 Crumb's falling everywhere. We don't care. 287 00:13:47.572 --> 00:13:50.450 There's fried turkey. That's happening, all right? That's what 288 00:13:50.466 --> 00:13:52.262 we see. Feasted every day 289 00:13:53.162 --> 00:13:55.754 and lived in a gated 290 00:13:55.818 --> 00:13:58.062 home, a gated compound, 291 00:13:58.722 --> 00:14:01.514 a gated palace. He is 292 00:14:01.578 --> 00:14:04.314 separated from the world 293 00:14:04.498 --> 00:14:07.418 that he doesn't want to engage in. He 294 00:14:07.450 --> 00:14:10.442 set himself apart. He's established who 295 00:14:10.482 --> 00:14:12.982 he is. And others, 296 00:14:14.122 --> 00:14:16.346 especially others like 297 00:14:16.394 --> 00:14:19.042 Lazarus, cannot 298 00:14:19.122 --> 00:14:21.554 cross the man 299 00:14:21.658 --> 00:14:24.222 made barrier that's there. 300 00:14:25.482 --> 00:14:27.022 But then there's Lazarus. 301 00:14:28.322 --> 00:14:30.302 There's this poor man 302 00:14:31.082 --> 00:14:33.182 known as Lazarus. 303 00:14:34.002 --> 00:14:36.050 And when I, want you to think of poor 304 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:39.662 Lazarus is beyond a level of 305 00:14:39.726 --> 00:14:42.486 poverty that you and I 306 00:14:42.558 --> 00:14:44.570 could begin to fathom or understand 307 00:14:46.180 --> 00:14:49.116 every day. The Bible tells us that he was 308 00:14:49.188 --> 00:14:52.004 laid at the gate of 309 00:14:52.052 --> 00:14:54.964 the rich man. He was in 310 00:14:55.012 --> 00:14:57.996 such bad health that he had 311 00:14:58.028 --> 00:15:00.924 to be carried. Whether that meant that he was 312 00:15:01.012 --> 00:15:03.996 paralyzed and had other health conditions that 313 00:15:04.028 --> 00:15:06.924 were there, or it meant that his health condition 314 00:15:07.052 --> 00:15:09.924 was so unbearable that he could no longer 315 00:15:09.972 --> 00:15:12.940 walk. So he had to be laid 316 00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:15.716 at the gate and he had to 317 00:15:15.748 --> 00:15:18.652 beg for anything that people would give 318 00:15:18.676 --> 00:15:21.160 him. But there was a conflict with this 319 00:15:21.780 --> 00:15:24.460 because the Bible says that Jesus says 320 00:15:24.580 --> 00:15:26.640 that he was covered with sores. 321 00:15:27.420 --> 00:15:30.404 So his isolation from people 322 00:15:30.532 --> 00:15:33.212 had also what his physical 323 00:15:33.316 --> 00:15:35.160 condition, his financial 324 00:15:35.540 --> 00:15:38.068 condition had established. But 325 00:15:38.124 --> 00:15:41.060 also because of the bleeding sores that would have covered his 326 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.200 body, he would be considered unclean. 327 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:47.428 She's not to touch him, not to interact with 328 00:15:47.444 --> 00:15:50.300 him. He's a man who's cast 329 00:15:50.380 --> 00:15:53.196 off. And it 330 00:15:53.228 --> 00:15:55.564 says that he 331 00:15:55.612 --> 00:15:58.196 desired what he longed 332 00:15:58.228 --> 00:16:00.924 for, what he dreamt about 333 00:16:01.012 --> 00:16:03.972 at night was 334 00:16:03.996 --> 00:16:06.730 the crumbs that fell off 335 00:16:07.070 --> 00:16:09.870 the table. A 336 00:16:09.910 --> 00:16:12.782 level of hunger that you and 337 00:16:12.806 --> 00:16:14.610 I couldn't begin to imagine. 338 00:16:15.790 --> 00:16:18.758 And I think there's an interesting comparison 339 00:16:18.814 --> 00:16:21.710 that happens that as he desires 340 00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:24.130 to be fed by the crumbs, but instead 341 00:16:25.150 --> 00:16:28.126 he was fed upon as 342 00:16:28.158 --> 00:16:31.010 the dogs would come up to him 343 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:34.732 and Lycosaurus. And 344 00:16:34.756 --> 00:16:37.540 then in this earthly 345 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:40.516 life, these are the comparisons that we see between these 346 00:16:40.548 --> 00:16:43.320 two men, and they both die. 347 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:46.844 Lazarus is 348 00:16:46.892 --> 00:16:49.480 carried to Abraham's side, 349 00:16:50.420 --> 00:16:53.372 the presence of God, where 350 00:16:53.396 --> 00:16:55.960 the pain and the suffering of this world is removed, 351 00:16:56.880 --> 00:16:59.624 and the rich man is buried and 352 00:16:59.752 --> 00:17:02.232 sent to Hades, away from the presence of God. Where 353 00:17:02.256 --> 00:17:05.168 there's torment and 354 00:17:05.184 --> 00:17:07.976 there's punishment, that's there, removed from the 355 00:17:08.008 --> 00:17:10.848 presence of God. Heard it said 356 00:17:10.904 --> 00:17:12.864 years ago, death is defined as the great 357 00:17:12.912 --> 00:17:15.912 equalizer. Does not care about 358 00:17:15.976 --> 00:17:17.952 gender, does not care about 359 00:17:18.056 --> 00:17:20.976 socioeconomic status, does not care about 360 00:17:21.048 --> 00:17:23.960 age. Death is the great equalizer that every 361 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.786 person, rich and poor, and in 362 00:17:26.818 --> 00:17:29.266 death, what death 363 00:17:29.338 --> 00:17:31.590 brings in the afterlife, 364 00:17:32.690 --> 00:17:34.910 the positions are reversed. 365 00:17:35.850 --> 00:17:38.794 On this earth, Lazarus must have looked at the 366 00:17:38.842 --> 00:17:41.550 extravagance of the man 367 00:17:42.130 --> 00:17:44.634 and longed for a minute 368 00:17:44.722 --> 00:17:46.990 fraction of what he had. 369 00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:51.070 But now the rich man 370 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.610 looks at what Lazarus has 371 00:17:54.510 --> 00:17:56.718 and longs for a 372 00:17:56.774 --> 00:17:59.770 fraction of what Lazarus has been given, 373 00:18:00.190 --> 00:18:02.886 just a drop off of his 374 00:18:02.918 --> 00:18:05.814 finger. He makes two appeals. 375 00:18:05.982 --> 00:18:08.638 His first appeal is for the 376 00:18:08.694 --> 00:18:11.526 mercy in that context, that Lazarus 377 00:18:11.558 --> 00:18:14.070 could come to him in just a drop of 378 00:18:14.110 --> 00:18:17.008 water to relieve the anguish in 379 00:18:17.024 --> 00:18:19.688 which he is faced. But it 380 00:18:19.704 --> 00:18:22.544 cannot happen as Lazarus 381 00:18:22.592 --> 00:18:25.180 is in his. Lazarus is in his reward, 382 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.100 and the rich man is removed from God. 383 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:32.136 The second appeal that he says is he's got five 384 00:18:32.208 --> 00:18:34.500 brothers, and 385 00:18:35.040 --> 00:18:37.968 he knows that his brothers have 386 00:18:38.024 --> 00:18:40.920 chosen the life, the path of where he has 387 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.920 come from. And he says, if someone from the 388 00:18:43.960 --> 00:18:46.684 dead, surely that will convince 389 00:18:46.732 --> 00:18:49.524 them. If someone can come back from 390 00:18:49.572 --> 00:18:52.560 being dead and share with them, then 391 00:18:53.060 --> 00:18:55.676 they would listen. But, 392 00:18:55.626 --> 00:18:58.208 Abraham says no, that, they 393 00:18:58.296 --> 00:19:01.144 have God's word and it 394 00:19:01.224 --> 00:19:03.004 is sufficient. 395 00:19:04.864 --> 00:19:07.124 And this is the parable that Jesus tells. 396 00:19:08.504 --> 00:19:11.372 Why would Jesus tell this parable? I 397 00:19:11.388 --> 00:19:13.264 think Jesus is asking a question. 398 00:19:14.404 --> 00:19:16.572 I think this question that Jesus 399 00:19:16.708 --> 00:19:19.692 asks is the question that my dad, 400 00:19:19.748 --> 00:19:22.404 growing up, when I strayed from 401 00:19:22.444 --> 00:19:25.340 what my dad desired for me, would 402 00:19:25.372 --> 00:19:28.252 want to address and would want to look at. And Jesus, 403 00:19:28.308 --> 00:19:30.900 in this moment, as he's teaching this, is 404 00:19:30.932 --> 00:19:33.892 addressing this very same question. You 405 00:19:33.908 --> 00:19:36.804 see, my dad wasn't necessarily overly concerned 406 00:19:36.884 --> 00:19:39.656 with the actions that I did. That was 407 00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:42.224 secondary. What my dad was 408 00:19:42.264 --> 00:19:44.724 concerned with was the heart of his son. 409 00:19:45.464 --> 00:19:48.336 And as Jesus teaches this parable, I think 410 00:19:48.360 --> 00:19:51.320 the big idea of what he's pressing toward in this is, 411 00:19:51.352 --> 00:19:54.320 how is your heart? Because can rich people 412 00:19:54.352 --> 00:19:57.144 go to heaven? Yes. Can poor people go to heaven? Yes. 413 00:19:57.224 --> 00:20:00.160 Our earthly standing in this is not 414 00:20:00.192 --> 00:20:02.968 what we need to be concerned with, but the condition of 415 00:20:03.016 --> 00:20:05.570 our hearts should greatly concern 416 00:20:05.642 --> 00:20:08.538 us. The condition of who 417 00:20:08.586 --> 00:20:11.314 we are and what is being done and what 418 00:20:11.394 --> 00:20:13.094 makes us up 419 00:20:14.914 --> 00:20:17.746 should concern us greatly. And this is what 420 00:20:17.770 --> 00:20:19.774 Jesus addresses. 421 00:20:20.594 --> 00:20:23.186 Back in Luke 1614, we see the 422 00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:25.866 context in which Jesus tells this parable, 423 00:20:26.050 --> 00:20:28.762 this group that we've talked about before, this group of Pharisees 424 00:20:28.858 --> 00:20:31.784 are there. And in chapter, 16, verse 14, it says, 425 00:20:31.864 --> 00:20:34.726 the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, 426 00:20:34.830 --> 00:20:37.310 heard all these things, and they ridiculed 427 00:20:37.342 --> 00:20:39.846 him. Jesus, as he 428 00:20:39.870 --> 00:20:42.536 preaches, the hope of the gospel and the 429 00:20:42.568 --> 00:20:45.112 way of the kingdom, they hear these 430 00:20:45.176 --> 00:20:48.032 things. And what comes from there as they do 431 00:20:48.056 --> 00:20:50.952 this, is they ridiculed him. Why? Because they 432 00:20:50.976 --> 00:20:53.648 were lovers of money. But not only 433 00:20:53.704 --> 00:20:56.608 lovers of money. What we see when we look at the gospels is they 434 00:20:56.624 --> 00:20:59.578 were lovers of power. They were lovers of fame. They were lovers of 435 00:20:59.594 --> 00:21:02.562 what I would call perceived righteousness, which 436 00:21:02.586 --> 00:21:05.370 meant what they wanted others to do is to look at them 437 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:08.346 and to feel that they were better, 438 00:21:08.418 --> 00:21:11.378 that they were holier. And that it was in their own 439 00:21:11.434 --> 00:21:14.034 power and their own depth that they've done 440 00:21:14.082 --> 00:21:14.670 this 441 00:21:16.850 --> 00:21:18.710 in all of their life. 442 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:22.522 They had devoted their love and their 443 00:21:22.586 --> 00:21:25.330 heart. To the pursuits of 444 00:21:25.370 --> 00:21:27.190 what they had determined, 445 00:21:28.490 --> 00:21:30.350 and they had no love for God. 446 00:21:31.530 --> 00:21:34.510 So I want to ask you this this morning. 447 00:21:35.330 --> 00:21:38.186 How is your heart? How is your 448 00:21:38.218 --> 00:21:41.076 heart? I went to the doctor, a few months 449 00:21:41.108 --> 00:21:43.956 ago. First time going to the doctor in a long 450 00:21:43.988 --> 00:21:46.908 time. I shared that with some of you. They basically had to 451 00:21:46.924 --> 00:21:49.828 start me over as a new patient, and they corrected me and saying, bo, you can't do this 452 00:21:49.844 --> 00:21:52.080 again. Right? This is where we're at. 453 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.272 And largely what we talked about was, we talked 454 00:21:55.296 --> 00:21:57.380 about, physically, my heart. 455 00:21:58.600 --> 00:22:01.424 And my doctor met with me, and she's like, all right, here's the 456 00:22:01.432 --> 00:22:04.176 deal. You're going to do these couple things. One, 457 00:22:04.208 --> 00:22:07.112 two, three. You're going to make sure you're doing this. And then I'm 458 00:22:07.136 --> 00:22:09.960 like, okay, okay, okay, okay, cool. And then she said, and at 459 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.968 your age, what I'm going to require? Which hurt, right? When 460 00:22:12.984 --> 00:22:15.952 she said that, what do you mean at 461 00:22:15.976 --> 00:22:18.696 my age? She said, at your age, what I'm going to require 462 00:22:18.768 --> 00:22:20.820 is a follow up appointment, 463 00:22:21.770 --> 00:22:23.670 and I'm going to take labs again. 464 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:27.922 And so we're going to see if you've been doing these things that I've laid out there 465 00:22:27.946 --> 00:22:30.930 for you, which now, like, I haven't felt this way since 466 00:22:30.970 --> 00:22:33.346 I was, like, in, I don't know, middle, 467 00:22:33.748 --> 00:22:36.668 school. But it's like, we're going to check on 468 00:22:36.716 --> 00:22:39.516 you, and we're going to see if there's 469 00:22:39.580 --> 00:22:42.508 evidence of you doing the things that 470 00:22:42.556 --> 00:22:45.420 we're asking you to do in order so that you're 471 00:22:45.452 --> 00:22:48.344 physical, heart can be healthy. 472 00:22:48.464 --> 00:22:51.216 So this appointment is coming up in 473 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:54.088 about two weeks. So I'm gonna, like, do wind sprints every 474 00:22:54.136 --> 00:22:56.784 day now, right? And it's celery and 475 00:22:56.824 --> 00:22:59.364 carrots and water, right till you get there, right? 476 00:23:01.024 --> 00:23:03.880 Here's the deal. The doctor, though, 477 00:23:03.912 --> 00:23:06.764 isn't just gonna evaluate my heart. She's gonna evaluate me. 478 00:23:07.704 --> 00:23:10.338 She's gonna see how I'm eating, how am I sleeping, how am I 479 00:23:10.426 --> 00:23:12.594 exercising, what's my stress level 480 00:23:12.754 --> 00:23:15.514 like? In order to check 481 00:23:15.554 --> 00:23:18.294 my heart, she's going to check me. 482 00:23:18.954 --> 00:23:21.826 And when I ask you, how is your heart this morning? 483 00:23:21.890 --> 00:23:24.754 From this parable, what I think we can draw 484 00:23:24.834 --> 00:23:27.786 from is several things that God, in the power of his spirit, 485 00:23:27.810 --> 00:23:30.294 with working in our life, can help us check our heart. 486 00:23:31.234 --> 00:23:33.534 So heart check number one, is this 487 00:23:34.714 --> 00:23:37.514 the danger, the danger of 488 00:23:37.554 --> 00:23:40.442 self justification? If we look back 489 00:23:40.498 --> 00:23:43.386 again with the parable of the rich man 490 00:23:43.410 --> 00:23:45.842 and Lazarus, when we jump back to Jesus interaction with the 491 00:23:45.858 --> 00:23:48.618 Pharisees, here's what he says after he talks about them 492 00:23:48.666 --> 00:23:51.618 being lovers of money. And here's where they are. He said, verse 15, 493 00:23:51.746 --> 00:23:54.434 and he said to them, you 494 00:23:54.474 --> 00:23:57.386 are those who justify yourselves 495 00:23:57.490 --> 00:24:00.410 before men. Ooh, that's got to be scary 496 00:24:00.562 --> 00:24:03.082 when Jesus says that. But 497 00:24:03.138 --> 00:24:05.534 God knows your heart, 498 00:24:06.694 --> 00:24:09.342 for what is exalted among 499 00:24:09.438 --> 00:24:11.834 men is an abomination 500 00:24:12.414 --> 00:24:15.110 in the sight of God. Jesus 501 00:24:15.142 --> 00:24:17.958 says, you justify yourself 502 00:24:18.126 --> 00:24:20.838 before men. You set your standard. 503 00:24:20.966 --> 00:24:23.934 You decide who you're going to compare yourself to. You decide 504 00:24:23.974 --> 00:24:26.798 what that standard's going to be like. As you look in the mirror, 505 00:24:26.886 --> 00:24:29.734 you go, you say, look at my rules. Look at who I'm going to compare myself 506 00:24:29.774 --> 00:24:32.510 to. Look, as I fulfill my own expectations. 507 00:24:32.662 --> 00:24:35.558 You look at yourself and you say 508 00:24:35.646 --> 00:24:38.476 that you're the standard. And within that you 509 00:24:38.540 --> 00:24:41.324 justify yourself. And the danger with that is 510 00:24:41.404 --> 00:24:44.044 you walk away from this moment and you're going, 511 00:24:44.124 --> 00:24:46.652 I'm good. But 512 00:24:46.748 --> 00:24:49.424 God sees you in that moment 513 00:24:49.724 --> 00:24:52.644 and you're not. And you're 514 00:24:52.724 --> 00:24:55.396 not. You see, when we 515 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.644 compare ourselves to anyone other than 516 00:24:57.724 --> 00:24:58.544 Jesus, 517 00:25:00.604 --> 00:25:03.464 we find a way 518 00:25:03.764 --> 00:25:06.588 to say that we're good, but the 519 00:25:06.636 --> 00:25:08.904 spiritual condition says we're not. 520 00:25:10.044 --> 00:25:12.940 When we compare ourselves to him, what 521 00:25:12.972 --> 00:25:15.972 we find is that we fall short. But 522 00:25:15.988 --> 00:25:18.744 it's okay. But it's okay, 523 00:25:19.284 --> 00:25:21.224 because what we find in Christ 524 00:25:22.044 --> 00:25:24.104 is we can't justify ourselves. 525 00:25:24.844 --> 00:25:27.796 But what we find in Christ is that we 526 00:25:27.820 --> 00:25:30.750 can be justified in him because 527 00:25:30.822 --> 00:25:33.318 he is the standard. He is perfection. 528 00:25:33.486 --> 00:25:35.934 He is the essence, the 529 00:25:36.014 --> 00:25:38.830 person, the living God 530 00:25:38.942 --> 00:25:40.074 in front of us, 531 00:25:41.414 --> 00:25:43.674 fulfilling all that we cannot fulfill. 532 00:25:44.334 --> 00:25:47.174 And he died on the cross so that 533 00:25:47.214 --> 00:25:48.994 in relationship with him, 534 00:25:50.294 --> 00:25:53.150 we can be justified. Heart check 535 00:25:53.182 --> 00:25:55.872 number two of what we see with the 536 00:25:55.888 --> 00:25:58.044 Pharisees is 537 00:25:58.384 --> 00:26:00.208 profession without 538 00:26:00.336 --> 00:26:02.488 sanctification is not 539 00:26:02.536 --> 00:26:05.520 salvation. A profession of faith 540 00:26:05.632 --> 00:26:08.024 without salvation without 541 00:26:08.064 --> 00:26:10.684 sanctification. Is not salvation. 542 00:26:11.344 --> 00:26:14.120 To simply say something is what I mean. 543 00:26:14.312 --> 00:26:17.284 To simply declare who Jesus is 544 00:26:17.744 --> 00:26:20.544 without the power of the work of the Holy Spirit, of 545 00:26:20.584 --> 00:26:23.352 what we see happen in scripture is not 546 00:26:23.408 --> 00:26:26.108 salvation at all. I can't just 547 00:26:26.156 --> 00:26:28.932 say something. So it's true. There's a spiritual 548 00:26:28.988 --> 00:26:31.748 work of what's happened and take place. Paul writes in Galatians 549 00:26:31.796 --> 00:26:34.412 five, six, for in Christ Jesus, neither 550 00:26:34.508 --> 00:26:37.356 circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, 551 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:39.836 but only faith working through 552 00:26:39.940 --> 00:26:42.716 love, faith that is activated by the 553 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:45.452 power of the Holy Spirit producing 554 00:26:45.508 --> 00:26:48.020 the fruit of the Spirit. So it's 555 00:26:48.092 --> 00:26:50.876 working in us. In James 214 556 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:53.908 through 17. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says 557 00:26:53.956 --> 00:26:56.652 he has faith but does not have works, 558 00:26:56.748 --> 00:26:59.516 can that faith save him? If a 559 00:26:59.540 --> 00:27:02.428 brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily 560 00:27:02.476 --> 00:27:05.438 food and one of them says, go in peace, be 561 00:27:05.486 --> 00:27:08.150 warmed and filled without giving them the things 562 00:27:08.222 --> 00:27:10.766 needed for the body, what good is that? 563 00:27:10.870 --> 00:27:13.870 So also, faith by itself, if 564 00:27:13.902 --> 00:27:16.302 it does not have works, is 565 00:27:16.398 --> 00:27:19.264 dead. And what happens in true faith 566 00:27:19.304 --> 00:27:22.044 in Christ? We're moved from death to life. 567 00:27:23.504 --> 00:27:26.184 There's change that happens. There's 568 00:27:26.224 --> 00:27:29.216 regeneration that takes place. There's 569 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:32.080 the move from the old to the new, and it's what 570 00:27:32.112 --> 00:27:35.096 we find in life. True faith in 571 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:36.924 Christ always, 572 00:27:38.264 --> 00:27:41.024 always produces 573 00:27:41.144 --> 00:27:43.924 evidence. True faith in 574 00:27:43.964 --> 00:27:46.628 Christ always. It's a beautiful, 575 00:27:46.756 --> 00:27:49.748 difficult, wonderful journey of what 576 00:27:49.796 --> 00:27:52.716 God is doing as he takes out the old, as he 577 00:27:52.740 --> 00:27:55.580 puts in the new, as he brings that that was dead, and 578 00:27:55.612 --> 00:27:58.380 puts in the life so that we see we're growing and becoming 579 00:27:58.452 --> 00:28:01.308 more and more like him. And our works 580 00:28:01.356 --> 00:28:03.924 do not save us, but our 581 00:28:04.004 --> 00:28:06.464 works do point to our salvation. 582 00:28:08.704 --> 00:28:11.224 What was lacking in the rich 583 00:28:11.264 --> 00:28:14.016 man? And then heart 584 00:28:14.040 --> 00:28:16.784 check number three. To 585 00:28:16.824 --> 00:28:19.776 know of God or to 586 00:28:19.800 --> 00:28:20.564 know God. 587 00:28:22.664 --> 00:28:25.512 It's evident from the words that 588 00:28:25.528 --> 00:28:26.964 are used in this parable 589 00:28:28.344 --> 00:28:31.280 that the rich man knew 590 00:28:31.312 --> 00:28:33.404 the things of God, 591 00:28:34.484 --> 00:28:37.260 the things that he asks for, the 592 00:28:37.292 --> 00:28:40.076 names that he uses, the words that are 593 00:28:40.100 --> 00:28:43.024 there. This was not a man 594 00:28:43.564 --> 00:28:46.444 who was caught off guard. This 595 00:28:46.484 --> 00:28:49.064 was a man who knew of God, 596 00:28:50.124 --> 00:28:52.956 but Lazarus was a man 597 00:28:53.020 --> 00:28:55.852 who knew God and who 598 00:28:55.868 --> 00:28:57.824 was known by God. 599 00:28:58.604 --> 00:29:01.394 John 15 five. Jesus 600 00:29:01.434 --> 00:29:04.130 says, I am the vine 601 00:29:04.322 --> 00:29:07.250 and you are the branches. And I love this 602 00:29:07.282 --> 00:29:10.122 picture. Whoever abides 603 00:29:10.218 --> 00:29:13.010 in me and I in 604 00:29:13.042 --> 00:29:16.010 him, he it is 605 00:29:16.202 --> 00:29:18.914 that bears much m fruit, for 606 00:29:18.954 --> 00:29:21.674 apart from me, you can 607 00:29:21.714 --> 00:29:24.602 do nothing. And what 608 00:29:24.618 --> 00:29:26.254 we see in John 15 609 00:29:27.324 --> 00:29:30.052 is this definition of 610 00:29:30.108 --> 00:29:32.748 the intimacy of 611 00:29:32.796 --> 00:29:35.684 relationship, the very 612 00:29:35.764 --> 00:29:38.636 closeness of what 613 00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:40.944 a relationship with God looks like, 614 00:29:42.484 --> 00:29:44.304 that we abide in him 615 00:29:45.364 --> 00:29:48.104 and he abides in us. 616 00:29:49.164 --> 00:29:51.716 The intimacy of the 617 00:29:51.740 --> 00:29:53.024 closeness that's there 618 00:29:54.534 --> 00:29:56.434 in the parable of the rich man 619 00:29:57.214 --> 00:30:00.174 in Lazarus, something 620 00:30:00.214 --> 00:30:02.634 a commentator pointed out this week and 621 00:30:02.934 --> 00:30:04.794 wrote a lot about and I found really 622 00:30:05.414 --> 00:30:08.278 interesting. He asked this 623 00:30:08.326 --> 00:30:11.206 question. He said, who 624 00:30:11.230 --> 00:30:12.394 is the rich man? 625 00:30:14.254 --> 00:30:17.102 Who is the rich man in the story? He 626 00:30:17.118 --> 00:30:19.574 says, what is his name? 627 00:30:20.714 --> 00:30:23.682 Well, he's the rich man, but what is his 628 00:30:23.738 --> 00:30:26.554 name? And it's very 629 00:30:26.634 --> 00:30:29.546 evident in here. Jesus 630 00:30:29.690 --> 00:30:32.646 doesn't tell us, his name. And 631 00:30:32.670 --> 00:30:35.374 here's what Jesus, I believe, is 632 00:30:35.414 --> 00:30:38.246 saying in this parable. When 633 00:30:38.270 --> 00:30:41.190 it comes to intimacy of relationship, 634 00:30:41.382 --> 00:30:44.202 I don't know him. I 635 00:30:44.218 --> 00:30:47.042 don't know him. That when it comes 636 00:30:47.098 --> 00:30:50.090 to defining who he is, he may 637 00:30:50.122 --> 00:30:53.054 know a lot of things of God, 638 00:30:53.394 --> 00:30:56.254 but the abiding, and the intimacy of what a 639 00:30:56.294 --> 00:30:59.230 relationship looks like, jesus says, I 640 00:30:59.262 --> 00:31:01.234 don't know him, but 641 00:31:01.894 --> 00:31:03.674 there's Lazarus, 642 00:31:05.734 --> 00:31:08.714 the man who people walk by and ignore. 643 00:31:09.754 --> 00:31:12.362 The man who people walk by and toss 644 00:31:12.418 --> 00:31:15.234 crumbs at the guy who people 645 00:31:15.314 --> 00:31:18.274 walk by. And they probably would walk 646 00:31:18.394 --> 00:31:21.354 around him as far as they can because they did 647 00:31:21.394 --> 00:31:24.378 not want to get near the person who 648 00:31:24.426 --> 00:31:27.234 looked like that, who smelled like that, 649 00:31:27.314 --> 00:31:30.218 who had to earn his living in the manner that 650 00:31:30.266 --> 00:31:33.162 he did. And Jesus says, well, let me tell you this. That 651 00:31:33.218 --> 00:31:35.940 rich guy, man, I don't know him, but that's my boy. 652 00:31:36.012 --> 00:31:38.024 That's Lazarus. I know him. 653 00:31:39.284 --> 00:31:42.124 And his name, as 654 00:31:42.164 --> 00:31:45.052 Jesus tells this story that would have hit 655 00:31:45.108 --> 00:31:47.864 everyone in that moment. 656 00:31:49.324 --> 00:31:52.212 Lazarus, you know what it 657 00:31:52.228 --> 00:31:55.224 means? It means God helps. 658 00:31:56.484 --> 00:31:59.028 God helps. God 659 00:31:59.076 --> 00:32:01.912 helps. While 660 00:32:01.968 --> 00:32:04.960 he had nothing, he 661 00:32:04.992 --> 00:32:07.604 had all that he needed, 662 00:32:08.704 --> 00:32:11.384 while the rich man would have known of 663 00:32:11.424 --> 00:32:14.284 God. But only Lazarus 664 00:32:14.664 --> 00:32:17.192 knew God. My 665 00:32:17.208 --> 00:32:18.964 dad loved me. 666 00:32:20.424 --> 00:32:23.336 My dad corrected me. And my 667 00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:26.152 dad challenged my heart because 668 00:32:26.208 --> 00:32:28.584 he longed for things 669 00:32:28.964 --> 00:32:31.804 that I didn't even know, that I longed for 670 00:32:31.844 --> 00:32:34.444 for myself. And God 671 00:32:34.524 --> 00:32:37.004 loves you so 672 00:32:37.084 --> 00:32:40.084 much that he doesn't simply set a 673 00:32:40.124 --> 00:32:43.020 standard in a book and say, figure 674 00:32:43.052 --> 00:32:46.020 it out. That God loves you so much 675 00:32:46.052 --> 00:32:48.804 that he gives you his holy spirit to 676 00:32:48.844 --> 00:32:51.532 correct, to confront, so he can bring 677 00:32:51.628 --> 00:32:53.810 you to the point of 678 00:32:53.882 --> 00:32:55.914 brokenness and 679 00:32:55.954 --> 00:32:58.642 conviction in a relationship with 680 00:32:58.658 --> 00:32:59.214 him. 681 00:33:00.154 --> 00:33:01.854 I want to close with this story. 682 00:33:03.794 --> 00:33:06.034 Yesterday, I, went to a funeral. 683 00:33:07.604 --> 00:33:10.428 I didn't speak at this funeral. 684 00:33:10.596 --> 00:33:13.340 It's not often that I go to 685 00:33:13.372 --> 00:33:16.228 funerals now, but kind of hitting that point, 686 00:33:16.276 --> 00:33:19.192 we're seeing more and more where I don't preach at 687 00:33:19.208 --> 00:33:22.022 them or teach at them. But it, was from my uncle 688 00:33:22.070 --> 00:33:24.858 Ansel Comus. 689 00:33:25.518 --> 00:33:27.938 Ansel Bradbury. 690 00:33:28.638 --> 00:33:31.614 If you know another comus, I would love to hear 691 00:33:31.646 --> 00:33:34.470 about it. If you know another Ansel, 692 00:33:34.654 --> 00:33:37.486 I'd love to hear about it. His son 693 00:33:37.542 --> 00:33:40.536 Joel Bradbury, is a pastor in Abbeville. That's where 694 00:33:40.552 --> 00:33:43.440 my family's from. He's a pastor in Abbeville. And he shared 695 00:33:43.464 --> 00:33:46.444 this. He said, years ago, we found my dad's birth 696 00:33:46.476 --> 00:33:49.100 certificate and it 697 00:33:49.124 --> 00:33:51.728 said Thomas Addison 698 00:33:52.028 --> 00:33:53.128 Bradbury. 699 00:33:55.548 --> 00:33:58.140 We didn't know that. We threw it 700 00:33:58.164 --> 00:34:00.940 away because he's comus. Ansel Bradbury. 701 00:34:01.044 --> 00:34:03.888 So I went to my uncle Ansel's funeral. 702 00:34:04.308 --> 00:34:06.848 I'm going to tell you about my uncle Ansel. 703 00:34:07.388 --> 00:34:10.328 I love my uncle Ansel. He was the 704 00:34:10.368 --> 00:34:13.215 last of, my granddad's siblings that was 705 00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:15.759 still alive. He was the baby of about 706 00:34:15.831 --> 00:34:18.615 15, passed away at 707 00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:21.231 89 years old. On June 1, he was diagnosed 708 00:34:21.287 --> 00:34:24.175 with liver cancer, and he 709 00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:26.607 went home to be with the Lord. This past Wednesday, 710 00:34:26.775 --> 00:34:29.483 quit. He's gone. 711 00:34:29.783 --> 00:34:32.519 And his son Joel got up 712 00:34:32.551 --> 00:34:34.919 and shared and preached his 713 00:34:34.951 --> 00:34:37.517 funeral, and I thought did a 714 00:34:37.605 --> 00:34:40.517 splendid job. He told stories 715 00:34:40.565 --> 00:34:43.033 about my uncle Ansel that I wasn't aware of. 716 00:34:43.493 --> 00:34:45.949 He told stories about things that he did in the 717 00:34:45.981 --> 00:34:48.789 community. He told stories 718 00:34:48.861 --> 00:34:51.517 about how he went and cared for his 719 00:34:51.565 --> 00:34:54.565 friends. He told a story that I wasn't aware 720 00:34:54.589 --> 00:34:57.453 of, that in 1970, my cousin 721 00:34:57.493 --> 00:35:00.365 Joel had qualified to 722 00:35:00.389 --> 00:35:03.283 compete in the region track meet and the 100 723 00:35:03.323 --> 00:35:05.915 meters dash. It was his senior year, 17 years 724 00:35:05.939 --> 00:35:08.707 old. And he showed up and there was, 725 00:35:08.709 --> 00:35:11.637 another boy, an african american boy, who was going 726 00:35:11.645 --> 00:35:14.605 to run also in the race. He said, that 727 00:35:14.629 --> 00:35:16.233 boy was eleven years old, 728 00:35:17.453 --> 00:35:20.309 had no shoes on, his family couldn't afford 729 00:35:20.341 --> 00:35:23.285 it. And he thought, oh, I'm 730 00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:26.165 going to win this race. He said, 731 00:35:26.189 --> 00:35:29.065 they got in the starting blocks and 732 00:35:29.089 --> 00:35:31.969 the gun went off. And he said, the only 733 00:35:32.041 --> 00:35:34.825 thing that I saw for that hundred meters was that 734 00:35:34.849 --> 00:35:37.613 boy's back. As he ran away from me. 735 00:35:38.913 --> 00:35:41.665 He said, my dad went up to the boy and to his 736 00:35:41.689 --> 00:35:44.673 family afterwards. He said they had no way 737 00:35:44.713 --> 00:35:47.459 to make it, from only one qualified from the region 738 00:35:47.531 --> 00:35:49.883 to go to the district, from the district to go to the state 739 00:35:49.923 --> 00:35:52.827 championship. He said they had no way to get their son 740 00:35:52.875 --> 00:35:55.779 there. The school wasn't providing. So my uncle Ansel, for the next 741 00:35:55.811 --> 00:35:58.609 two weeks, would go and pick the boy up and take 742 00:35:58.641 --> 00:36:01.273 him. And he also went and bought him his first pair of track 743 00:36:01.313 --> 00:36:03.877 shoes. Just the man who my, uncle Ansel 744 00:36:03.949 --> 00:36:06.561 was. And at the time, 745 00:36:06.861 --> 00:36:09.277 in the early seventies, in places like Abbeville, South 746 00:36:09.309 --> 00:36:11.853 Carolina, you didn't see an 747 00:36:11.997 --> 00:36:14.773 older white man walking around with an 748 00:36:14.797 --> 00:36:17.281 african american boy. That's who he was, 749 00:36:17.581 --> 00:36:20.269 his very character's nature. He told 750 00:36:20.325 --> 00:36:23.249 story after story. I have a story about his 751 00:36:23.265 --> 00:36:23.861 dad. 752 00:36:26.201 --> 00:36:29.113 Then he said this. He said, then he 753 00:36:29.137 --> 00:36:32.065 died. He 754 00:36:32.073 --> 00:36:35.051 said, I kind of picture it like this, 755 00:36:36.231 --> 00:36:39.143 that in that death he went 756 00:36:39.167 --> 00:36:41.559 before. And he stood before 757 00:36:41.615 --> 00:36:44.335 God. And God 758 00:36:44.383 --> 00:36:47.343 looked at him. In all of 759 00:36:47.367 --> 00:36:49.973 the good things that Ansel had 760 00:36:49.997 --> 00:36:52.801 done. He looked at him, 761 00:36:53.301 --> 00:36:56.293 and he didn't see the money that he 762 00:36:56.317 --> 00:36:59.141 gave the poor. He didn't see 763 00:36:59.181 --> 00:37:01.637 the relationships that he invested 764 00:37:01.669 --> 00:37:04.453 in. He didn't see all of 765 00:37:04.477 --> 00:37:07.413 the Sundays that he faithfully made at the church, all of the 766 00:37:07.437 --> 00:37:10.389 mission trips that he went on, all the discipleship classes that 767 00:37:10.405 --> 00:37:13.201 were there. He said, God looked at him, and he didn't see that. 768 00:37:15.761 --> 00:37:17.261 What Joel said is this. 769 00:37:18.761 --> 00:37:21.761 What he looked at and saw was the 770 00:37:21.801 --> 00:37:24.385 robe of white made 771 00:37:24.433 --> 00:37:27.137 possible through the sacrifice of 772 00:37:27.169 --> 00:37:30.049 Jesus. And then he said, and we 773 00:37:30.065 --> 00:37:32.793 can stand here today and celebrate our 774 00:37:32.817 --> 00:37:35.761 savior, because it's in the power of his 775 00:37:35.801 --> 00:37:38.501 resurrection that my dad was saved. 776 00:37:39.121 --> 00:37:42.113 And it was in the fruit of the spirit that 777 00:37:42.137 --> 00:37:45.137 he walked on this earth living 778 00:37:45.209 --> 00:37:47.793 for Jesus and sharing the hope of the 779 00:37:47.817 --> 00:37:50.793 gospel. Please don't hear this 780 00:37:50.857 --> 00:37:53.537 message as this. Do enough 781 00:37:53.609 --> 00:37:55.861 good things and you'll earn your salvation. 782 00:37:56.441 --> 00:37:58.941 It's not. It's not it. 783 00:37:59.881 --> 00:38:02.785 Hear this. Trust 784 00:38:02.913 --> 00:38:05.905 Jesus Christ, the author 785 00:38:05.993 --> 00:38:07.861 and perfecter of our faith, 786 00:38:08.831 --> 00:38:11.211 and every deed you've done 787 00:38:11.791 --> 00:38:14.011 will be covered with the blood of the lamb. 788 00:38:14.791 --> 00:38:17.491 And in that, you'll may be made new. 789 00:38:17.791 --> 00:38:20.679 It doesn't matter how many bad things you've done, 790 00:38:20.775 --> 00:38:23.733 how many good things. let me tell you, the doctor's office 791 00:38:23.797 --> 00:38:25.041 has scales. 792 00:38:27.101 --> 00:38:30.061 Heaven doesn't. And it's not 793 00:38:30.101 --> 00:38:32.445 about the weight of good 794 00:38:32.613 --> 00:38:35.367 versus bad. What 795 00:38:35.399 --> 00:38:38.287 we have for eternity is 796 00:38:38.319 --> 00:38:41.291 the blood of the lamb has covered us 797 00:38:41.591 --> 00:38:44.543 and made us new and justified 798 00:38:44.647 --> 00:38:47.531 us. And then the beauty. 799 00:38:48.111 --> 00:38:50.983 I had somebody ask me one time, why 800 00:38:51.007 --> 00:38:53.591 don't we get saved? And then the 801 00:38:53.631 --> 00:38:56.631 moment we get saved, we're taken 802 00:38:56.711 --> 00:38:59.575 from this earth and moved to eternity 803 00:38:59.623 --> 00:39:02.413 with God, because then we 804 00:39:02.437 --> 00:39:05.317 would miss out on the beauty of 805 00:39:05.349 --> 00:39:08.293 what God has for us here so that we can 806 00:39:08.357 --> 00:39:11.349 walk in faithfulness and obedience 807 00:39:11.405 --> 00:39:14.229 to him, not because we have 808 00:39:14.285 --> 00:39:17.133 to, and not just because 809 00:39:17.197 --> 00:39:19.901 we get to, because we're 810 00:39:19.941 --> 00:39:22.677 empowered by his spirit to do 811 00:39:22.709 --> 00:39:25.161 so. Would you pray with me, 812 00:39:33.201 --> 00:39:34.981 God? I come to you this morning, 813 00:39:37.681 --> 00:39:39.061 Lord, thanking you. 814 00:39:42.721 --> 00:39:44.861 Thanking you, Lord, for who you are, 815 00:39:47.001 --> 00:39:48.421 Lord, what you've done. 816 00:39:49.721 --> 00:39:52.621 Where we can look at this parable of Lazarus 817 00:39:54.561 --> 00:39:55.861 and the rich man, 818 00:39:57.841 --> 00:39:59.381 Lord. And if we're honest, 819 00:40:01.481 --> 00:40:04.421 if we're honest, we can find ourselves in the narrative. 820 00:40:05.267 --> 00:40:08.193 M Lord, 821 00:40:08.217 --> 00:40:09.021 we're all, 822 00:40:11.041 --> 00:40:12.461 we're all sinners 823 00:40:14.241 --> 00:40:16.181 who can't justify themselves. 824 00:40:19.861 --> 00:40:21.881 We can't justify ourselves 825 00:40:22.741 --> 00:40:24.881 because of any found success 826 00:40:26.101 --> 00:40:29.093 that we've claimed we 827 00:40:29.117 --> 00:40:31.801 can't justify ourselves 828 00:40:33.141 --> 00:40:35.561 through a suffering that we've embraced, 829 00:40:37.061 --> 00:40:40.001 but we're made whole. We're made right, 830 00:40:40.301 --> 00:40:41.721 we're made complete 831 00:40:44.721 --> 00:40:46.021 when we're covered 832 00:40:47.441 --> 00:40:48.901 by the blood of the lamb, 833 00:40:50.481 --> 00:40:53.193 made new in life, in 834 00:40:53.217 --> 00:40:56.181 Christ. Lord, when we repent 835 00:40:59.241 --> 00:41:00.501 of who we are, 836 00:41:02.041 --> 00:41:04.425 when we repent what we've 837 00:41:04.473 --> 00:41:07.457 done. And Jesus, 838 00:41:07.649 --> 00:41:08.981 we trust you. 839 00:41:10.821 --> 00:41:12.721 We trust you to save us. 840 00:41:14.141 --> 00:41:16.001 We trust you to guide us. 841 00:41:17.741 --> 00:41:19.761 We trust you to correct us. 842 00:41:21.221 --> 00:41:23.081 We trust you to change us. 843 00:41:24.701 --> 00:41:27.541 And God, the beauty of what that 844 00:41:27.581 --> 00:41:30.109 looks like, whether 845 00:41:30.165 --> 00:41:32.957 we're seven years old or 846 00:41:32.989 --> 00:41:34.721 107 years old, 847 00:41:35.721 --> 00:41:38.057 to walk in the 848 00:41:38.089 --> 00:41:40.941 faithfulness of Christ, 849 00:41:41.881 --> 00:41:44.225 empowered by your holy 850 00:41:44.273 --> 00:41:44.981 spirit, 851 00:41:47.001 --> 00:41:48.941 God, I pray for all of us today. 852 00:41:50.801 --> 00:41:53.777 Lord, I ask the power 853 00:41:53.849 --> 00:41:55.061 of your spirit. 854 00:41:56.681 --> 00:41:59.021 Lord, we examine our hearts 855 00:42:00.861 --> 00:42:03.821 and, Lord, in your leaning into us and 856 00:42:03.861 --> 00:42:06.733 leading us, we would find the 857 00:42:06.757 --> 00:42:08.861 kindness of God that brings us to 858 00:42:08.901 --> 00:42:11.813 brokenness, the kindness of God that brings 859 00:42:11.837 --> 00:42:13.001 us to repentance. 860 00:42:14.541 --> 00:42:17.413 Jesus, thank you. Thank 861 00:42:17.437 --> 00:42:20.373 you for saving us. I thank you, 862 00:42:20.397 --> 00:42:23.117 Lord, that not a one, not a 863 00:42:23.149 --> 00:42:26.101 one is going to stand 864 00:42:26.141 --> 00:42:28.901 before you and say, 865 00:42:29.561 --> 00:42:31.021 but I was good enough, 866 00:42:32.281 --> 00:42:35.273 but that we all can stand in front 867 00:42:35.297 --> 00:42:37.981 of you and say, Jesus was, 868 00:42:38.961 --> 00:42:41.193 and I trusted him. In 869 00:42:41.217 --> 00:42:44.209 Himalayan and it's in your 870 00:42:44.225 --> 00:42:46.501 name we pray. Amen. 871 00:42:50.921 --> 00:42:53.629 Thanks again for listening, and be sure to check back 872 00:42:53.685 --> 00:42:56.501 next week for another episode. In the meantime, 873 00:42:56.621 --> 00:42:59.541 you can visit us@willowridgechurch.org or 874 00:42:59.581 --> 00:43:01.949 by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook, 875 00:43:02.085 --> 00:43:03.101 Instagram and Twitter.