Luke 16:1-12

In one of the Lord's parables a rich man fired his steward. The steward figured out a way he could continue his lifestyle after he lost his job. He cheated his master by having all his master's customers cut their bill in half. What did this accomplish? The steward traded in his master's money and purchased for himself friends. Friends can be more valuable than money or a job at times in life. This man knew all he had left after losing his job was the charity of people. In order to secure their friendship and charity he cut their bill in half of what they owed his master.

Why did the Lord tell this parable? It showed the steward was smart enough to think ahead and secure his future. He used the resources he had and even resources which were not his own but what he had control over in order to secure his future.

The Lord said people in the world were smarter than most of God's children in this respect. Christians do not give any thought about the end of their life. They are short sighted and only think about the current life in the world system. Instead, they should use their time, energy, and resources to prepare for what will come in the kingdom. Paul mentioned this in 1 Timothy 6 when he exhorted people who had worldly resources to invest those resources into what would count in God's kingdom.

1 Timothy 6:17-19, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

We should use everything we have including gifts, talents, or earthly resources and invest into what will truly count when we stand before the Lord. We should think about our reward, inheritance, and crown we hope to receive at the judgment seat of Christ. We need to get our mind off earthly things and set our mind on things above and allow this to impact how we live, how we relate to people, and how we manage our earthly resources.

Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Luke 16:13-18

The Lord Jesus revealed a spiritual principle which was unchangeable. A man can only serve one master.

He will either serve God or he will serve himself. You cannot love God and money. You cannot love God and the devil. You cannot walk in light and darkness. You cannot be both. You cannot be holy and profane. People who try to do this become double minded and speak with a forked tongue. The devil taught this doctrine of the knowledge of good and evil. Man tried to make himself into a god by becoming the judge of what is good and evil but the Lord is the true judge. You cannot serve self and God. You either serve God or you serve yourself. If you serve self you turn your soul into a bottomless abyss of darkness.

The religious leaders mocked the Lord Jesus for teaching this because they loved money and thought they loved God, too. However, they were religious hypocrites. They were self deceived. They lied to themselves. This is why they could not believe in the Lord Jesus because they already believed the lie of the devil.

This is crucial! This is fundamental! People think they can have God and their own life, opinions, or self. You cannot. the Lord Jesus plainly said if anyone would come after him they must deny self, take up the cross, and follow him. To live for God means we must die to self. We must surrender our lives to God.

The wonderful thing about God is that he can raise the dead. Once you are completely dead then he gives you a new life which is much better than anything you could have ever imagined.

Let us continue to surrender ourselves to God.

Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

You cannot serve two masters. You will be mastered by sin or you will be mastered by the Lord Jesus Christ. The only choice we have is which master we will give our life to. One road leads to death. One road leads to eternal life.

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Luke 16:19-31

Some may think this account of the rich man and Lazarus was a parable but it was much more than a parable. There were no other parables where people had actual names. This was the only story the Lord Jesus told where he gave a person a name. This was not merely a story but a real account of a literal event which the Lord Jesus knew about.

Notice the villain in the story who went to hell was a rich man. This was not an accident. Notice the man who went to paradise was a poor man. This was not an accident. Notice the rich man who made a name for himself on earth did not have a name in hell but the poor man Lazarus had a name that was known not only on earth but also in heaven. Even the rich man in hell knew the name of Lazarus but we still do not know the name of the rich man. Those who make a name for themselves in this earth will be forgotten but those who make the name of the Lord Jesus great will be remembered forever.

Proverbs 10:7, "The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of wicked shall rot."

Hell is a literal place of burning flame and torment. There is no water there to drink. A man will be thirsty but he will have no water to drink in that place. He will be tormented in a flame that burns him but will never consume him. He will continue to suffer forever with flames that burn him and with a thirst which is never quenched. This is just a small glimpse of the horror that is hell. It is eternal and lasts forever and ever.

Repent! Why will you die and go to hell? Even those who are in hell want to send preachers to tell you to repent! The most wicked and vile people in hell pray for God to send preachers and evangelists to warn people on the earth not to come to that place of torment! How awful it must be. How horrifying is a place that even the wicked dead would warn us not to come there.

May God open our eyes to this reality. May the truth so grip our heart we will fall on our knees, humble ourselves, and repent and put all our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus! Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved.

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