A True Witness from Hell

To download this sermon click the link below:

A True Witness from Hell

1 file(s) 138.73 KB

Download

A TRUE WITNESS FROM HELL

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Main Theme: In our text, we have one man that, according to worldly standards, had it all. On the other hand, according to worldly standards, the second man, a beggar named Lazarus, could not walk and had to be placed in front of places where he could beg for what he needed, just to survive. As we look at this message, you will see the two men contrasted between each other, then we will see the end of both on earth, and the beginning of what happens after this life with each man.

1. 1. A look at each man’s earthly life.

• 1. • The rich man

       • Had the best of clothes (in our day, he would have shopped at Macy’s, J.C. Penny’s, or any place where clothing and needs were expensive, just so everyone around would know just how wealthy he was, for he would have wanted the world to know just how rich he was.
       • Had the best of food
       • No doubt that he ate steak, and prime cuts of meats, fruit, and anything else his heart desired.
       • Had the best of housing (mansion)
       • The best of furnishings in his house. He probably relished anytime something new would be brought into his house.
       • Had the best life money could buy
       • Land
       • Land used to plant and harvest, thereby making him much money
       • Servants
       • Both man and women servants, so that he could do as he pleased, and to care for the things in which he owned.
       • Camels, horses, and anything else he desired
       • He was intelligent by earthly standards
       • Because he had somehow become a rich man, though we do not know how he accrued his riches, he probably got them dishonestly, seeing how he felt towards his fellow man.
       • Was a very proud man, thinking that he had amassed these great riches all by himself, giving no credit to God for rain, wisdom to make money; he gave only credit to himself.

     • The poor beggar Lazarus

       • Could not walk
       • We know this because he was “laid at his gate”, as verse twenty tells us
       • Was daily laid in a place to beg
       • Though we do not know if there were other places this poor beggar Lazarus was laid, it was definitely probably more than a few days.
       • Was sickly
       • The fact that we see that the dogs came and licked his sores, being ulcers, basing this on the root word inGreek, shows that he was sickly. Unbeknown to those in the rich man’s house, including himself, or anyone else, Lazarus was no doubt close to death, even when first laid at this rich man’s gate.
       • Was humble
       • Lazarus didn’t desire what the rich man had, only the “crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table”, showing he only wanted help with the necessities of life, life-giving food. As far as we can assume, the rich man didn’t even offer to send his servants out with water, not even the scraps he had after eating his meal.
       • Was cared for more by the dogs than the rich man
       • Isn’t it so sad, that even dogs cared more for Lazarus than the rich man? As they licked, it was to attempt to heal the sores (ulcers) on Lazarus.
       • Lazarus died at the rich man’s gate
       • Since we are not told of his removal from the gate of this rich man, it would go to reason that he died in front of the rich man’s house, out at the gate that kept others out.

  2. A look at each man’s life after their earthly life was over

     • As for Lazarus, we read that he was taken by the angels into Abraham’s bosom (another name is paradise, as Jesus said to the thief on the cross, found in Luke 23:43, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”). Imagine what a relief for Lazarus that death was. His very existence had become so bad that it caused his death. Many of us have had difficulties in life at times. I dare say that none of us is without our difficult days. Yet, how many of us would consider ourselves in the position of Lazarus? I most certainly could not. Now, at the moment of death, his soul leaves his body as the angels take him to Abraham’s bosom. You may say, hold on a minute. We don’t go anywhere at death? If that is your belief, I challenge you to read Genesis 35:18. In that verse of scripture you will learn that Rachael died, but notice what else it says, “as her soul was in departing.” Departing to go where? In “Abraham’s bosom”. Where you may ask is that? It was in the heart of the earth, the upper compartment of what we call hell. The Bible speaks of the “lowest hell” (Deuteronomy 32:22; Psalm 86:13). You may also ask, why was Lazarus taken to this place? His character reveals what was in the heart of Lazarus. Keep in mind that man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and that which was in the heart of Lazarus was revealed in his humbleness, a big difference between himself and the rich man. Therefore, Lazarus went from “a living hell” so to speak, and now is in a place of comfort and peace, the life on earth a thing of the past. Today, Lazarus is with Jesus (Ephesians 4:8-10)
     • As for the rich man, one can only wonder at the funeral service, as he had died. Can you even imagine what kind of man some would say that he was, considering the way that he lived his life? I can only imagine, but I am sure there were those whom he had defrauded, stole from through his business practices between himself and others. He was a man who got whatsoever he wanted, regardless of who he had to step on to get it. He was inconsiderate of the feeling or welfare of anyone other than himself. When he lived, I am sure his three best friends were, “me, myself, and I.” He left money and possessions behind, but he didn’t leave anything good could say about him behind. He only left hurt and heartache. Just as with Lazarus, the moment he died, his earthly life was over, and in his case, all his possessions and money left behind. The Bible says that he opened his eyes in a much different place that the new abode of Lazarus, “and in hell he lifted his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Did you catch that? The portion in the heart of the earth he was in was the lowest hell, and we know because his eyes were lifted up, not down. Another key that you must notice if you really want to know why he was here? In verse twenty-four, he asks Abraham to send Lazarus. The very man he looked upon with such disdain on earth that he would not even feed him with crumbs, was the very one he wanted help from now. His greatest problem, IT WAS TOO LATE. Had he helped Lazarus on earth, revealing a different heart condition, things would have been different. God had intentionally given him the opportunity laid right at his door, yet he had failed to see what God was doing. His interest on earth wasn’t God, it was himself. Now, let us look at his present and permanent condition
       • He was in hell: A place not meant for human beings at all, but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). However, although it was created for the devil and his angels, Isaiah 5:14 makes it clear that hell “hath enlarged itself”, and the reason was for those who believe the devil, whom God calls a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44), rather than to believe God, Who cannot tell a lie (Titus 1:2).
       • He was in torments: He had a body, a memory, his senses were still working, in fact even keener, as he recognized Abraham. In the day in which we live, people even make jokes about this place called hell. No doubt this man may have also. Yet, here he is. He cannot do anything about it, for there is no way out or no way for someone else to help (Luke 16:26). His new living conditions are a continual death experience, each and every moment forever and ever, without end. But what does it mean for him to be in torment? One of the greatest messages on hell I have ever heard is “23 minutes in hell”, something that really happened to Rev. Bill Wiese so that he could warn people about this place of torment called hell. I am going to have my son add an attachment to the message so that any who want to hear it can. I promise you, whether you are saved, and especially if you are lost, this is something you will regret not hearing if you choose not to see what he says about hell. Everything he says, he gives the Biblical Scripture to back it up. Here are just a few of the things he speaks of that the rich man encountered. Intense heat from his body is on fire, but not burning up. It is said that on 9/11/2001, when the terrorist flew the planes into the twin towers, that rather than burn, which because of the temperature (2,000 degrees), they would have incinerated in fifteen seconds, chose to jump from stories so high that it was a jump to a sudden death, no hope of surviving the fall. Yet scientist today estimate that it is 12,000 degrees at the core of the earth (In Hell). That heat causes several things because there is no water there, we know that from what the rich man says. The throat grows so dry, and the air is so heart, one’s tongue, and throat become excessively dry to a point that you and I cannot imagine. The pain from the heat is unbearable. Any strength that you had on earth is gone. In fact, you have no strength at all, yet you will scream loudly for help. The brimstone in the air would kill on earth, but not in hell. The odor of burning bodies, the demons, is so bad. As Bill Wiese describes the smell, he says to take an open sewer, rotting flesh of animals/humans, the foulest odors you can imagine, and multiply it by 1,000, and you may come close to how bad the odor is. To breath is not possible, one will only gasp for air, forever. You can never speak to anyone again, there will be an eternity of loneliness and a living death that will never end. Finally, there is no rest in hell. No sleep. No silence, for there will be the sounds of those in torments all around, but he was unable to do anything but get worse and worse, but never end. This rich man had it made on earth, at least he thought that he did, however, he never made provisions to avoid this place called hell, instead, thought nothing of death at all, as many people do. I don’t know about you, but I would never want to be in a place of such torment, no, not even for a minute.

  3. What does this mean for you and me?

     • We have a choice. Over 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, born of a virgin (Mary), for the purpose of paying the debt of sin that we owe. You see, Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” That means “all” of us, including you. You may say, I have no sin debt, yet in the Bible, God’s Holy Word, King David of Israel said in Psalms 51:4, “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.” In the verse preceding this one, he says, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: my sin is ever before me.” You may wonder why I have shared these two verses with you. Let’s look at them together so that we can understand what God says about sin.
       • David confessed several things before God. First, in verse four, he confesses that his sin is against God. Let me illustrate. Let’s say that you are driving along, and the speed limit is fifty-five, yet you choose to drive sixty or even sixty-five. You knew the speed limit, the law which is there for your safety had been posted where you could easily read it. Yet you chose to break it. As a result, you get caught, get a ticket stating what you have done, the law that you have broken. Then, you have to go to court before the judge. Here’s the most important question as you stand before the judge, Do you deserve mercy, or do you deserve judgment. Of course, you deserve judgment, because you have broken the law of the state. So just as David, you broke the laws of God, contained in Exodus and Deuteronomy. In the case of David, what he did was what many would call major sins, adultery, then murder to cover up what he had done, by sending the husband of the wife whom he had got pregnant into not only harms way but sending Uriah with a letter, unbeknown to Uriah was his death warrant, to the battle commander Joab, to put him in the front line, in a place he would surely be killed. Of course, David’s plan worked, but there was a major problem. Notice what else David said, “and done this evil in Thy sight:” In other words, God saw what David did as if He were physically present when David committed his sins. God is Omniscient. That big word means that He is all knowing, He is also Omnipresent, which means everywhere present and nowhere absent (Job 34:22; Jeremiah 23:24; Exodus 9:16, 15:6; Nahum 1:3; Matthew 6:13, 22:29). Guess what? If God knew what David did, He knows what you and I have done, and are doing at this very moment.
       • Next, notice what David says next, “that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest.” This means that David understood then after Nathan the prophet had come to him to share with him that he had failed to hide his sin to all but One, that One is God. Therefore, God had the divine right to pronounce whatsoever form of judgment against David He chose, because David deserved it. So it is with all of us. We all deserve the judgment of God. Seeing that we all are in the same predicament, what can we do?
       • We have two choices. First, God’s Son came to this earth born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and on a cross. Not a smooth piece of wood, but from a tree made into the form of a cross, that was rough. He had been so badly scourged, that his bones were showing (Psalm 22, prophetic scripture concerning Jesus on the cross), paid our sin debt with His blood. Why was it necessary for Jesus to shed His blood? In Hebrew 9:22, we read these words, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” In this verse, the word “purged” means to make clean, to cleanse, meaning that for us to be “clean” before Holy God, we have to be clean, in His presence as though our sins are no more, past, present, and future. The word” remission” means forgiveness. Therefore, there is a way made available for us all to stand before God as if we never sinned, but it is only possible if you accept God’s record of what Jesus did, and if you refuse, you have called God a liar (John 3:18-19). How do we accept this record? Romans 3:23 tells us that we are sinners, and to begin with, we must first acknowledge it. That’s what David did in Psalm 51:3. Next, we must confess that we believe in our heart that Jesus Christ is The Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10). You may say I have lived too bad of life for God to forgive me, yet God says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That word “whosoever” includes you, regardless of your past. Then God even gives all we whosoever’s a promise, that if we from our heart confess that we are sinners, unworthy of the mercy of God, accept that Jesus is just Who He claimed to be, and ask Him to come into your heart, He “SHALL” save you.

As I close this message, let me say this to anyone who doubts the reality of hell, and thinks they can get to heaven some way other than Jesus, Who by the way says that He is the Only way (John 14:6). Rev. Bill Wiese gives a great illustration about that in his video on youtube, and my son will be adding the link to it for you. I plead with you to listen to what brother Bill Wiese has to say because his words are both frightening, and true. If you need to contact me to talk, email me through the website, and I promise that I will contact you, talk with you, and pray with you. If you are saved and have doubts, email me. Please know that I am here on the website to help people come into the family of God, not to pass judgment. The Bible says that there is One lawgiver, and only He has a right to Judge. You will meet Him one day Sir, Mam, young person, or whosoever you are. The only question that will matter when you take your last breath is, “where will I spend eternity?” Only you can answer that question. God would never send you to hell because it was created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). However, you can send yourself there, and you will, without Jesus as your Savior and Lord. That doesn’t just mean to pray a prayer, for a true child of God will never be the same again. You will no longer want to do what God calls wrong, you will have new desires, all to please God, not make Him angry. Trust me, the folks Jesus is talking to in Matthew 7:21-23 are not people outside of the local church, they are local church members, but they failed to truly become members of “His Church”, and as a result, will hear these words on the day of the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15, the same words Jesus said to those in Matthew 7:21-23, “I never knew you” (meaning they had never been saved), “depart from Me” (you will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to suffer both day and night forever, never having the opportunity to beg God to help you), “ye workers of iniquity” (those who have died in their sins, and never truly confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord). May you take this message seriously, because your eternity depends upon your decision. But never forget, God will not send you to hell, you will be guilty of sending yourself, as God is a Gentleman, and will HONOR YOUR CHOICE, not change it. May God open the eyes of all who read these words.