Beloved friends, we greet you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we welcome you to the broadcast of His glorious Gospel today. We continue our meditation on the Savior's testimony, relating to two men in life, two men in death, and two men in eternity. Oh, may we say frankly, None other but the Son of God could ever relate such a true story of life and of death and of where they went when they departed into eternity. The story is taken from Luke's Gospel, chapter sixteen verses nineteen through thirty-one. We have already considered the first two sections of this portion. The life of these two men and the death of these two men. But today we would begin the consideration of the last section, particularly from verses twenty-three through thirty-one, which concerns these same two men, but particularly the rich man, and his eternal destiny. This is the most solemn section, in which the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, takes aside the veil of the unseen world on the other side of death. Have you ever wondered, my friend, what the other side of death will be? Who but the God, who is the eternal Son of God, and very God and very man? Who but he could turn aside that veil and give to us an accurate and a faithful description of what is in the eternal world beyond us. Oh, my beloved, may I state again, if you pay close attention to this account, you can notice the Savior spends more than half the portion speaking of the eternal world than he does of life and death. Only three verses does he use to describe the lives of these two men. He uses only one verse to describe the story of their death. But he takes nine verses of Scripture, which are necessary to speak of eternity. Take it in, my beloved listener, for it is more important to know where you will be in eternity than even to know now what life may mean for you. But let us consider first from our chapter Lazarus the beggar in eternity. What a vivid contrast. What a blessed contrast his portion is from the experiences he had upon the earth. Let us first of all consider where did Lazarus go? where he went from life through death to dwell in eternity. The twenty-second verse tells us he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Now at the expense of repetition and with no apology for it, we say again that Abraham's bosom was believed by all Jews to be the highest place of happiness and bliss and a blessing for anyone to enjoy after death. And with the assurance of being in a place of greater security, let me emphatically state, it was a definite place, an actual locality of heavenly glory, for the soul of those who departed to Abraham's bosom. When the Lord informed his listeners of this story of Lazarus, that he went to Abraham's bosom, they who listened to him needed no explanation. They knew immediately what he was saying. Lazarus was in God's heaven. For every Jew considered Abraham the friend of God as being not only the father of all of the nation, but believed he was worthy to be highest in the exaltation of heaven. The greatest compliment ever given. Upon Abraham, after his deceit, you will find it again and again, that in Scripture though Abraham was dead, have you never read that God frequently said, I am, not I was, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And even the Lord Jesus told that to the Sadducees, saying, He is not only the God of the living, but He is the God of the dead. Yes, they still lived, but not on earth, but in heaven above. My radio friend, compare Abraham's bosom with the New Testament teaching. For in our New Testament we have further truth, full of truth. Complete truth declaring, where a believer in the Lord Jesus goes, when he or she leaves this world and departs to be with Christ, which we know is declared to be far better. And where every saint that has departed is now, since raised from the dead, where did the Lord Jesus go? Where is he? In heaven at the right hand of God. Let me ask my radio listener, will you go to heaven when you die? Ask your heart and your soul, where is my soul going? Whether you be rich, whether you be poor, whether you be black or white, educated or not, each one of us, we are traveling to eternity. Do not think for one moment When the last breath leaves your mortal body, my friend, that your traveling days will be over. There was once a servant of a great king who had been the king's favorite entertainer. The king was delighted in this man who entertained him so gladly and so delightfully, and his master depreciated it so greatly. He presented him with a golden wand. and said to the man, Keep this wand until you meet a bigger fool than yourself. The time came when the king was upon his deathbed, and before dying desired to say goodbye to his court jester who had entertained him so well. And as this servant came in the presence of the dying king, he asked his master a question, Where is my lord going? The king answered, I'm going upon a long journey. Then he asked the question, when is my master coming back? And he received the answer from the king, I'm never coming back. And then the man realized what was happening and questioned again, saying, has my master made preparation for this long journey? Sadly, but truthfully, the king answered, No, I have not. Then the man the servant said to the master, Your majesty, take back your wand that you gave me to keep until I've met a bigger fool. Now I have met a bigger fool than myself. For master, I am ready for my long journey. My beloved radio friend, we raised the question. Please, may I say, time is short, but eternity never ends. Are you ready for it? I am. If not, may I please encourage you and exhort you to make sure that Christ is your Savior and that you are trusting Him alone? that by and through his sacrificial death for your sins, which he bore upon the cross to save your soul, you can be forgiven and receive his forgiveness. Then you'll be ready. Oh, my beloved, be ready. But now let's consider also how Lazarus felt. We have the verse telling us in number twenty-five. Abraham tells the rich man, Lazarus, he is comforted. He is comforted. Now think of what it meant. There was no more pain for Lazarus. There was no more sorrow. There was no more crying. There was no more hunger. There was no more disease. There were no more tears. There was no more suffering. There was no more death. For as the Scripture states, the former things are passed away. May I repeat that again? All that he had gone through in life, suffering, despised, forsaken, it was all passed away. Yes, now he was in a place of rest, of joy, of peace, of happiness, and best of all, a home of love. Proving that the meaning of his name, remember that? Lazarus means God, my help. And may I give you the suggestion to his only God who, and it is only God who can take anyone to heaven. Yes, he was literally and now eternally in the presence of God. God is helper, fulfilled his promise. His sufferings, his pain, and the trials of earth were far surpassed by his eternal blessings of comfort. The words of the dear Apostle Paul in Romans eight, eighteen are so true. I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans eight and verse eighteen. My fellow believer who may be suffering, five minutes, even one minute in heaven, will compensate for all the sufferings of life. Then we shall continue forever to enjoy eternal bliss and happiness when we are forever with the Lord. And with the Apostle Paul we can say, Wherefore, comfort one another with these words as he wrote them in First Thessalonians four, eighteen. But my beloved unsaved friend, if you may be listening, may I plead with you to choose now? Make certain that when your departure from this life takes place, you will be carried by the angels into heaven because you have trusted Christ as your Savior, forsaking your sins in repentance and taking him as your Savior, so that when the time comes to depart, you'll go to be with Christ, which is far better. My beloved, make sure it's going to be far better instead of far worse. Our beloved and blessed Father, the eternal truth that we have covered in these solemn words, sealed by the Holy Spirit in conviction and power, the truth to many conscience and hearts who need the Savior that they may receive him today, in Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen.