Now we turn in our Bible to the Gospel of Luke chapter sixteen. Luke's Gospel chapter sixteen. We would like to begin reading at verse nineteen, where the Lord Jesus is speaking, and we find the Lord Jesus saying these words, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores, and it came to pass that the beggar died. and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy life thy receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, Between us and you, there is a great God fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from hence. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my Father's house. For I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. May God bless these words. They come from the heart. They come from the eternal being of the Son of God himself, who has thus unveiled to us the unseen world. I'm sure that many of you have been interested in reading the Gospel of Luke, and some of the parables that Luke may have written also. And there are some parables that coincidentally seem to fall into place with the story that we have read. In chapter fourteen, you have the parable of the great supper told. And in chapter fifteen, you have that threefold parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son. Now in those two parables you find a lesson that we can learn from in that great invitation of the gospel supper which the parable represents in chapter fourteen one of the saddest things that is revealed is the fact the madness of the world in refusing and rejecting the invitation of the gospel to inherit the kingdom of God and to be blessed in the kingdom of God forever. Many making excuse the madness of the earth and the madness of this world. For may I say lovingly but earnestly and scripturally, the majority are going down the broad road that lead us to destruction. as the Lord Jesus said in Matthew seven and thirteen. And then in chapter fifteen, in contrast to the madness of the world in rejecting the Lord Jesus, you have the gladness of heaven. Over the recovery of the lost sheep, over the recovery of the lost coin, over the recovery of the lost son. And as the Lord Jesus said in that parable, there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents it, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. The gladness of heaven when a sinner trusts the Lord Jesus as his and her Savior. Within the story that we have read this morning, We do not have a parable. We have a very definite event of two men in life, of two men in death, of two men in eternity. It is a lot more serious than the parables preceding in chapter fifteen and fourteen. But a serious revelation of the truth of what takes place in life, what takes place in death, and what takes place in eternity in the experiences of the human race. It is a serious message. First of all, consider with me two men in life as I begin reading again in verse nineteen through twenty-one. And note the definite fact, not a parable. But a fact, there was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, and he is named. And you find no person named in any terrible. He was named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of stores. and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich men's table. Moreover, the dust came and licked its sores. Two men in life, but what a contrast. One was rich, the other was very poor. And you have that contrast in the world today. The rich and the poor. But may I point out in relation to the man who was rich in our story, unfortunately he was very proud of his riches. Now there's nothing wrong in possessing riches when they're possessed legally and properly. But it is wrong according to the scriptures to be proud of them. And Paul writing even to the believers in First Timothy, to Timothy his son, and to believers today, declares, Be not high-minded when one is rich. But it is a sad confession and a truth. Riches can produce pride, and frequently do. And he was unquestionably a man's who was not only very rich, but was very proud. But you notice something else too, in connection with its riches and the possession of them. They gave him power. You note in your scripture in verse nineteen how he was clothed. He was clothed in purple. Now purple was the garment of royalty in that day. was the clothing of the very rich, indicating they had authority. They had power. You may remember in mockery, they put a purple robe on the Lord Jesus because of the claim that he was the king of the Jews. You may remember in chapter sixteen of the book of Acts, there was a woman by the name of Lydia. She was the seller of purple from Thessalonica. in the city of Philippi. And purple was the indication of this man having not only riches, but I tell you very frankly, quite frequently with riches, one exercises power, as thus we can see even in our story. And furthermore, along with riches, there is not only pride, there is not only power. But there is also, and I believe you will agree, popularity. You have the ability to get text to present many friends, and usually you'll find there are many of them that would be very glad to associate with one as well. And he must have been, and he was without question of doubt, popular. But then also, He was a man of great pleasures. He could satisfy himself with anything he desired, with the wealth that he possessed, the pleasures of life, the pleasures of sin. And without question of doubt, he enjoyed the pleasures of life because he had wealth at his disposal. But all of these, in spite of it, How unfortunately we can recognize his thoughtlessness. Absolutely thoughtless. Let me point out to you that from the story he was thoughtless of God. Remember the Lord Jesus told the story of a man who said, I have much wealth. I will ask so much I need to build my bonds bigger, which he did, and I will pray to my soul. Soul, take thy name. He, drink, and be married. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul is required of thee. Then who shall these riches belong to after you, God? My beloved, he was thoughtless of God. Can I say this lovingly? And I believe I've got scripture to support it. There's more rich people that forget God than poor people. And even the Apostle Paul said in First Corinthians, not many mighty, not many noble are called. You know, it's I think if we're not rich, we ought to thank God. There's not those temptations. But he was thoughtless of God. He was thoughtless of Christ. He was thoughtless of his soul. And he was thoughtless of eternity. Taken up with his riches. Now look at the other man. As you read of it in verse twenty. There was a certain beggar named Matt Lazarus. And we can recognize the actual fact that even he was poor. He was poor. So may I give you this thought? He was more like the Lord Jesus. Let me quote Second Corinthians, two. Second Corinthians eight and nine. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. how that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Now let me put this thought before you. The one who created all the universe when he lived there, he didn't possess one part of it. A manger had to be his birthplace. the poverty of his home in Nazareth, the son of a carpenter, the poverty of his life when he ministered, and has to save the foxes of their homes, the birds of the air of their nest, but the son of man is not where to lay his hand. But then Lazarus has a meaning to his name. The meaning of Lazarus is this, God is my help. And I'd rather be poor than have the Lord. Many years ago we sang a little chorus with the children. I'd rather be poor and know Jesus than own the whole world and be king. For it's only those who know Jesus. His praises in heaven shall sing. And so Lazarus was poor. But then. His name meant God is my help. And there is no question of doubt that he leaned upon God. And he was despised. So was the Lord Jesus despised. He was despised even by the rich man. And he was sick. And even the dogs came licking his sores at this beggar sat by the gate of the rich man. and that he was despised. But may I say this? He was prepared for eternity. He was prepared for eternity. Now let me give you a verse that you should think about. First Samuel chapter sixteen, I think it's verse seventeen, where verse seven rather, where Samuel said, as he looked upon The sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite and sought to anoint one of them to be the king of Israel. And God had to say to him that those men came with their stature and growth and strength before him. Man looketh on the outward appearance. God looketh on the heart. Now please, from the context of the story and the results of it, Lazarus was precious to God. God looked upon his heart. What a contrast. One rich, the other poor. The poorest of the poorest. And that was their contrast in life. Now let's see their contrast in death, will you please? Let me read from verse... Let me begin reading at verse twenty. A twenty-two rather, a twenty-two. And here you have the word saying, and it came to pass. You got the recital of the death of both of them. Let me say very frankly, whether one is rich or whether the one is poor, it's appointed unto men once to die. It came to pass. My friend, listen, can I raise the question? Are you prepared to die? Are you prepared for eternity? It'll come to pass. Can I pause for a moment? I know you're sitting there alive. But face it. Face it. Death is sure. And they change the path. The beggar died. And then read on. The beggar died. and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man also died and was burning. First of all, think of me of the rich man's death. I'm sure that you can very well believe that he had a tremendous hero. The celebration of his departure must have been kept. by his many friends, by his relatives, by the Matisse community, because of his wealth. But he died. And it says he was buried. That's all it says. Then look at the death of Lazarus. The beggar died also. As you have it here, the beggar died and was carried by the angels. Now, I don't know who the pallbearers were with the rich man's funeral, but I know who the pallbearers were with the lad was. Let me ask you, who will be your pallbearers? Forget your relatives. Forget the friends that may be your pallbearers. Will it be the angel? Will it be the angel? You see, why do the angels carry him? I'll tell you very frankly why. You've got him in the book. Hebrews chapter one, the last verse in chapter one, about the angels. Are they not all ministering spirits? Said to minister or to serve them? Who are the heirs of salvation? Lazarus was saved. Are you saved? Marshish was an heir of salvation. That's why the angels carried it. You know, I'm glad I'm saved. For if I wasn't saved, I'd get saved right now. Which I know I don't have to do, but I won't tell you it's a grand thing. I'm ready for my funeral. I've been ready for it for over seventy-seven years. No. How long have you been ready for it? Are you? to be carried by the angels into the glory of the presence of Abraham and his blessed God. I'll tell you finally, please let me pray, it's one of the best things to know when you leave this world where you're going and to be sure that you're going to be with him in life. One sure thing, as far as I can see, it's only the angels that could carry. And may I say this, they were holy angels. They were heavenly angels. Let me give you a contrast. The Lord Jesus in Matthew twenty-five, you may remember the verse in that judgment of the living nations that is yet to come. He will say to those upon the left, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Well, thank God the devil and his angels are not going to take me anywhere. It's too late. He'll be the angels of God. What a contrast in their death. One was buried, the other was cast. My friend, may I ask humbly, faithfully, will you get buried? By all inevitable events it will be so unless the Lord comes for you and for me who belong to him. But may I ask, will you be buried or will you be cast? So now let's look at the other side. For the Lord Jesus, he tears aside the veil of the unseen world and reveals to us what happens. when two men who have lived in life close to each other and have died close to each other possibly as far as time went and he redeemed now where they go and he tears the unseen world aside may I say first of all about Lazarus you don't have too much said about him you have enough May I, please, may I say, he was comforted, and the other was tormented, we well know. Well, let's consider now, the rich man's discourse, what did he find out? Can I say it? Now, look, I'm not a spiritist, but I'm following my Bible. Nothing at all has to do with any occult. I'm following my Bible. The Lord Jesus is telling me what this rich man discovered after he died. And you have it here. Let me begin reading in verse twenty three, please. Let me know this. And in hell, he lifted up his eyes. Being in torment. Being in torment. and seeeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Let's read it through. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Now may I point out the first fact He found that hell was a reality. Hell is a reality. I know there are many people today preaching the fact there's no hell. And when you get a Jehovah's Witnesses at your house, visiting, trying to call in your house, you can find they won't believe in hell either. There are others that believe in what they call the doctrine of annihilation. But this man discovered he was in hell. The Lord Jesus is reminding you about that. And then you please note another reality. He was awake. There was no soul sleeping in death. There is no soul sleeping in death. There is some even who profess to preach the gospel, who believe in soul sleeping after death. But his soul wasn't asleep. He was alive in spirit and soul in that place of torment. He discovered it. And may I say frankly, mommy, please may I say it? Honestly. All the souls that will be in hell, they're going to be alive. They're going to be aware of their existence. Death never means being not existing, non-existent. Death only means in the Scripture from beginning to the end. It only implies separation. Separation. When you die physically, it's the separation of the real person, the spirit and the soul, from the body. For may I say, you're only in a shell, and you live in that shell until death comes, and there's the separation of the spirit and the soul from the body. And the body is lifeless. And then may I also say there's another separation that death means. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, ye were dead in trespasses and in sins. And there's a lot of people that are walking around Florence that are dead, don't know it, dead in their sins. The Jehovah's Witnesses used to have a statement. Millions now, they used to say, millions now living will never die. That was years ago when I was young. That was one of their phrases. Meaning, there's no death. And I used to change and millions of our living are already dead. Dead in their skin. But far greater is the eternal phase of death. Separation from God forever in the lake of fire. And we'll see that here. We'll find the rich man discovered that too, please. But I want you to notice something else. He had all of his faculties. Do you know, it's a strange thing, isn't it? That even Christians ask you, will I know so-and-so when I get to heaven? Well, bless your soul, you're not going to lose your faculties. Not even if you go to hell. You'll have your faculties. It's the Bible truth. came from the lips of the Son of God, the creator of hell, the glory of heaven, and all the universe. And he had his faculties. My beloved, please let me say, look, I know when you look at that lifeless body, that lifeless body has a brain, that lifeless body is a heart, that lifeless body is a mouth, and so on, it's dead. But the spirit and the soul live on. Forever. Do you know I'm glad I'm praying? I pray again. If I wasn't saved right now, I get that. I've got to go on eternally. Where will it be? And he had all of his faculties. Note some of them, if you please. Please, the first thing we can indeed recognize. And how true it was. He was able to see. Look up in verse twenty-three, in how he lifted up his eyes. Oh, may I say to you, do you ever read the epistles of Paul and find that even a believer is told he's got eyes in his heart? But this man had eyes in his soul. He lifted up his eyes. And you know what he said, what it says here. Read it. Has he lifted up his eyes? being in touch. He seeeth Abraham afar off. Can I rather me say, I'm not delving into the unknown. I'm delving into the revealed. I'm going to say very frankly, one of the things in hell will be the fact that dear poor souls that will be there. will see the comfort and the joy that the saints of God will have forever while they suffer. That would be part of their health. And he sealed Abraham of all life. So he had recycled it. So the Lord, he was able to speak. What? He was able to... Yeah? His dead body in the grave couldn't talk. But in hell his soul could. Wake up. Wake up. God's got more than just this human life. And he could see Abraham and then he talked to Abraham. He spoke and know what he said. Father Abraham in verse twenty four. Have mercy on me. He could pray for mercy. Have mercy on me. He discovered. Is everyone. Please let me say it again. Look, this is a reality. This is not a parable. This is not a parable. I dare you to call it that. It's a reality. Look to God the people around us in the unsaved. would see the reality of hell. I think of a dear brother years ago when we used to gather for prayer off in Newport News before preaching of the gospel. I never can forget that dear brother, every time he prayed, he's with the Lord now, died last year. But I remember often hearing him say, Lord, shake the sinners over the greats of hell. Let me ask you, Is not what the world means? Please let me ask you something. Why is God sending all these catastrophes that have recently taken place, whether in Bangladesh or India, Africa? Name what you will. He's trying to wake people up. The worst is yet to come. We are facing judgment. For it's appointed and the man wants to die, but after this the judgment. And here this dear man, he prayed in hell. But please know what he goes on to say, as he said, Then Lazarus, you know, isn't it a strange thing? When he was upon the earth, he had no use for Lazarus. He wouldn't even give him a crumb from his table, as far as we can tell. Oh, what he thought of Lazarus with Abraham there, comforters, said Lazarus, that you may dip his finger in water and cool my heart's tongue. Oh, he had a time? He sure did. Don't ask me to describe it. I'm just telling you what Jesus said. His tongue was caught. Tormented. I'm tormented in this flame. He felt. He had feelings. He had all of his faculties. Oh, my beloved, what a serious note for a person to go to a place like that. Well, let me go a little further with you, please, too. He had a conscience. What? He had a conscience. Please know what he says. Let me read on. As you heard at the end of verse twenty-four, he said, I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good thing, and likewise Lazarus the evil thing. But now he is comforted. Thou art tormented. And let me say this. A convicted, condemned conscience is the worst thing to die with. Without salvation. And his conscience condemned it. But then he not only had a conscience, please. He had a memory. Some, remember. Remember. Beloved. We had a precious time in the preceding hour as the Lord suffered. We heard the Lord Jesus saying, This do in remembrance of me. The greatest privilege we can have upon the earth. To remember him. But thank God I'll never be a soul in hell. And have the Lord reminding me from remembrance. what you were on the earth. But that's what the rich man found. He had to remember how he's pale, how he had lived upon the earth, and how he had died. And so his memory was very keen there. He probably remembered a lot of things he must have remembered. He remembered that he should have felt Lazarus and many other things. But then go further. May I point out this? Abraham goes on to say, Though he prayed, his punishment was eternal. So you read in verse twenty-six, after verse twenty-five thousand, Lazarus was comforted, thou art tormented, and beside all this, in addition to all this, between us and thee, there is a great gulf fixed. so that they which would pass from sense to you, from here to you, cannot. Neither can they pass from us that would come from sense. Please may I say, the believer that will be in heaven will be there forever. Never go to hell. But the unbeliever that will be in hell will be there forever. And will never get to heaven. Please, I'm telling you the gospel, divine truth. And one of the saddest things is the fact that so many are going there. And it's eternal. And we quote the words of the Lord Jesus. Again to Matthew twenty-five, when he declares, Depart from me ye cursed, into what? Everlasting fire. Prepare for the devil and his angel. Never get out. You'll never get out. Never get out. Please, I wish to God that men and women today knew not only the joy of heaven, but also learned first the seriousness of hell. We go a little further, please. In verse twenty-seven, you find him saying, He prayed. He prayed. He said, I pray thee, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's. And I guarantee on the earth he probably never prayed. And here he prayed. Well, so who? For his brothers who were unsaved. I got five brethren. Tell Lazarus that he may testify to them, lest they also come unto this place of coming. And may I say, did you ever hear anyone? I heard them say, when I get to hell, I had lots of company. They won't. All that will be there, they won't find themselves pleasant company. They won't find themselves pleasant company. But they will also be concerned If they have loved ones behind, I'd like to make sure they don't get here. Any person in hell, when they get there, they'll never wish that somebody else of their loved ones could ever get there either. But here is the man whom Lord Jesus revealed, lifted up his eyes in torment. and begged that Lazarus could be sent to get its brothers to be sure never to come here. May I say this? I say it earnestly. I don't care who the person is that died and who may go into eternity unsafe. Where they are, even now, they don't wish their loved ones to come there. You know, I'm glad I'm saved. I'm glad my father, my mother was saved. My brother, and my brother, myself, they're all in the family, and even my own immediate family. I'm happy to know when they are saved. Well, I tell you one thing, more than anything, as I value the fact, they are not going to hell when they have the Lord Jesus. Forgive me, I go a little further. See what Abraham said to the man. Abraham said unto him, You want Lazarus to go? They've got Moses. They've got the prophets. Let him hear them. Oh, but Father Abraham, if one went from the dead, they would believe. Now know what Abraham said at the end. He said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. And may I say frankly, If they're not going to believe the message of the gospel, there's nothing else can help them. There's nothing else. There's nothing else. You see, what must I do to be saved? Well, did not the Jema raise the question, fearful and trembling to Paul and Silas? And did they not answer? Believe what? On the Lord Jesus Christ? And here is the Lord Jesus revealing it. But even in that unseen world. Now please remember now. The Lord Jesus wasn't in that unseen world at the time. He was on the earth. That he knew Abraham was. In that place of bliss. And so the man couldn't pray to Jesus. He had to pray to Abraham. Whom he saw. A father. But now Abraham tells him. Look. Look. They've got the word of God. And if they don't hear and believe the word of God, neither will they believe though one rose from the dead. My beloved, let me put it plainly, unless you and I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, there's no salvation in any of us. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name unto heaven among men, whereby we must be saved. Oh, may I put it together. Here are two men, actually in life, one rich, blessed with all the provisions of life, selfish, greedy, thoughtless, living her in self and its pleasures. The other man poor, a poor beggar, foolish Lord. But knowing God is my house. And when he died, he had salvation. Do you have it? Do you have it? What a joy to know. What a joy to know. The moment you have Christ, you're ready to die. Yeah. You know, I've been ready to die since nineteen hundred and fourteen. Oh, sure. Ready to go be with the Satan. How often I wish I were there, and I'm sure many of you do. But the day's coming. The reality is going to be true. And thank God when in life, one finds the more Jesus. But remember, two men in death. One, well, one goes up. Which way do the other fellow go? Down. One goes up. One goes down. I think of a dear friend of mine still living. He was in the town where we lived. He was up there on top of a pole. Doing his work up there on that pole. In the street. One lady came along and looked up at him and said, Mr. Duncan, you better be careful up there. Don't fall. Oh, he said, don't mind that, he said. If I fall, he said, my body will go down, but my soul's going up. Which way will yours go? Up, carried by the angels, or down, buried? And then, in eternity, one comforter. competent and the other tormenting. Write those two words. Look, I don't know how you feel at a funeral. Well, I'll tell you one thing. The saddest time I ever have is when I have to go to a funeral of an unsafe person. I remember years ago sending a funeral in front of two young girls killed in an accident, automobile accident, was out there drinking with a couple of boys in this accident of the day. But that childish fact, they'd been in, they'd heard the gospel, but they were not saying, and they'd died and were buried together. And that childish thing to my heart was the fact I saw their dear mother in her agony bending over that casket at the grave site. Oh, my darlings, I'll see you in heaven. And I tell you, my heart ached. I could not say that those girls were really saved. It's good to be sure. It's good to be sure. For in eternity, it's eternal. Can I say this? You probably won't appreciate it. I don't care if you don't. But I know I enjoy it. The happiest thing that's going to happen to me is when I die, I'm going to be with Christ, which is far better. Can you say that? Please. We often say, death is sure, but Christ is secure. And what a joy to know he is secure. Shall we pray? Father, we pray for thy word. Father, it's been a solemn one. We don't know why.