LBC Sermons & Messages

Luke 16:19-23

To go through the fire and come through as pure gold we must allow them to strengthen our relationship with God. When our relationship is strengthened, we are strengthened, we draw closer to Him, and God is glorified. Fires will come and the only aspect that we can control is our attitude, which then determines our altitude. So, the question is what can we do to help us have the right attitude?

First, we must be seeking God personally. Mankind is become increasingly lazy and it is infecting the church. We carve out a little time for God, come to church, expect Him to fill us for the week ahead, and then we leave. When we are not fed, we blame it on the pastor; however, it is not the pastor’s job to feed you. The shepherd leads the sheep to pasture but cannot force them to eat. They are right in the green pasture but they must do the eating. The same is true of the church.

Sheep also need to be fed daily. If your main and only source of sustenance comes from church, then you are most likely malnourished. We must practice preventative care and seek God personally and daily (Prov. 8:32 – f.f.).

Then, we must seek help and opportunity to help. When going through the fires, we are tempted to be isolationists. Satan knows that by ourselves he can keep us defeated and steal our joy. When this happens, we fail. Ecc. 4:7-12 gives us insight on why we need each other. In numbers, we accomplish more, we are stronger, and when one falls others lift. We cannot become reclusive and then blame the church. We must run to the church and not from it. The church, however, does need to be aware and seek out those who are faces trials.

Lastly, we must sanctify and serve God (I Peter 3: 14, 15). Shadrch, Meshack, and Abednigo are examples of this. They literally faced the fire and sanctified God. When Peter stood before the counsel that beat him and told him to stop preaching, he said he must obey God rather than man. Peter sanctified God in the fire. So, what will be the outcome when you come face to face with the fire?

We have spent four weeks now in this course and have been challenged with a new approach to telling others about our need for Christ’s forgiveness. You probably have had some exciting experiences and numerous times dealing with fear. Fear, however, can be a great motivator. When you feel fear, it is most likely because God wants to speak through you and Satan knows it so he lies to you and puts evil thoughts in your mind. This should force you to pray. You can, and should, pray even while you are witnessing. So, when you feel fear, PRAY and PRAY some more.

To be effective, you do not have to have all the answers but you do need to have a carefully crafted message. When Christ witnessed he did it in four steps. First, he related to those whom He talked. He formed a relationship in just a few moments. Then, he created opportunity to swing to the spiritual. Once talking of spiritual matters, He allowed the Law and the Holy Spirit to convict. Lastly, Christ revealed the gospel to them only after they were convicted.

So, once we have swung to the spiritual, what do we say? The first question is something like, “Would you consider yourself to be a good person?” This is very inoffensive and puts people at ease because we all want to think that we are good and we usually take pride in showing it off.

Then you can follow it up by asking, “Do you think you have kept the Ten Commandments?” Once again, they will be quick to show you. Then you can ask to see if this is the case by taking them through a few of the Commandments. Once they see they have broken the commands of God, you can ask, “If God were to judge you by the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty?” Followed by, “Would you go to Heaven or Hell?” Then, “Does that concern you?” If they are concerned and the Spirit is working, they are ready for the gospel.

They might try to argue but we must keep them focused. Remember, you will not have all the answers so it is best to not try to answer their questions. Simply allow the Spirit to do His work.

Luke 16:19-23

What is your hope based on? Is it based upon the fact that God will get you through? Is it based upon the fact that God will never allow you to be temped above what you can handle? Is it based upon the fact that God will supply for our needs and give us strength for the day? All of these are true but should not be the bases of our hope.

If we only hope in the now and present we loose perspective. We forget what the big picture is all about and begin to place value upon earthly things. The Church has become predominately more materialistic due to a lack of hope for the future. We forget that we are not living for today but should be laying up treasures in Heaven.

We also are lulled to sleep. Our excitement for the things of God diminishes and sin does not upset us as it used too. When was the last time you were thrilled to witness to someone and allow God to work on his or her hearts? When was the last time you were excited about going to church and worshipping our Lord and Savior? Remember, church is for God not us so I do not care if you think it is boring or not. The question is whether God was glorified and happy with our services or not.

Then, we are robbed of our happiness and pleasure by the great deceiver. God has given us happiness and pleasure on earth as a foretaste of heaven and as an avenue to enjoy God. However, we miss this when pleasures do not satisfy because our hope is weak. The pleasures of the day should point us to our Maker. He knows us and knows what we like. He has given us desires and the ability to take pleasure in earthly things; however, we abuse these things because of a false hope. We strive for more and more because earthly things cannot satisfy. Once again, they are to point us to our Maker and give us a small taste of Heaven and should be enjoyed as such.

To regain proper hope and wake up we must be people of the Word, Romans 12:1, 2. We must also set our minds on heaven and meditate thereon, Colossians 3:2. Then, we must be active in corporate exercises. We must change our mindset, look to the end, and run the race for the finish not the cups of water along the way.

Think of the last time you sensed the need to share the gospel with someone. Did you? Why not? Most likely, you did not witness because you had fear or negative thoughts just before you did it. The sense you feel to witness to someone is from the Holy Spirit and Satan hates that so he tries his best to give you negative thoughts and fear. Remember that next time. These thoughts are not from God. God loves all mankind and wants them to be redeemed.

You are probably familiar with a concept called “friendship evangelism.” This philosophy says you need to be friends with someone and build a strong relationship with them before you can witness to them. How long and strong a relationship do you need before speaking about God?

What happens to your lost friend if they die before you tell them of the need for a Savior? To be brutally honest, they will die and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. The Bible teaches that their blood will be on your hands meaning that you will be guilty of not telling them of the Savior. So, how could you even consider such an approach? We are to redeem the time for we know not when we shall die.

Let me ask you another question. Who are the hardest people to who we witness? Isn’t it our unsaved relatives? Why is this? Perhaps it is because we have a relationship with these closest to us and we risk losing or straining this relationship if we witness to them. We do not like to offend those closest to us.

This is why we need to make it a habit to witness. We should regularly share the gospel with strangers. We need to understand that we can build a relationship with someone in three to four minutes if you truly care about the person’s salvation. Remember, the person to whom you are speaking may not have a tomorrow.

To start the relationship we need to make good use of tracts. Many tracts at livingwaters.com make it easy. Some look like credit cards and million dollar bills. Others are optical allusions. These great icebreakers put people at ease and make it easy to swing the conversation to the spiritual. Witnessing is exhilarating and can change the loves of those around you and even change the world.

Luke 16:19-23

Last week we discussed the narrow and the broad way. To get on the narrow way which leads to life, one must enter by the straight gate which is Jesus Christ, our Lord. There is no other way.

This week, let us look at the hope that Lazarus had. First, let me ask you a question. Why does a runner train, beat their bodies and then race in a marathon? Is it for the water along the way? Certainly not. They run to win or at least finish the race. Thus is the Christian life.

What does a marathon have to do with hope? Let me ask you another question. What is your hope based on? Is it based upon the fact that God will get you through? Is it based upon the fact that God will never allow you to be temped above what you can handle? Is it based upon the fact that God will supply for our needs and give us strength for the day? All of these are true but should not be the bases of our hope.

The hope of the New Testament, the hope that Christ gives is based upon the fact that we have an eternal home in heaven no matter what happens here on earth. This is the hope based upon the finish work of Christ and it written throughout the Scriptures.

In Matthew 26 we are reminded of this truth in the words of Christ himself. He sets in order what we call communion, or Lord’s Supper. He first gives thanks for the bread, breaks it, and gives it to the disciples. This is to commemorate His death.

Then Christ pours the fruit juice, gives thanks, and tells them to drink. This commemorates His blood that was shed for the remission of sins. Apart from the shed blood of Christ, there can be no remission of sin.

The glorious reason for celebration is given in verse 29. Christ gives the promise that He will not eat this bread or drink this cup until He does it in heaven with all who call upon Him as Lord and Savior. This is the unshakable truth in which our hope is placed. All else will fail but this one truth will remain. Without hope for eternity, there can be no hope for today. Do you have this hope?

Last weeks lesson was about compassion for the lost. Do you have compassion for the lost or are you like the firefighter who did nothing while a family of five perished? We must speak out to rescue the lost.

However, if you lack compassion for the lost and gratitude for your own salvation, witnessing will be a chore. It is like our vehicles. If they run out of gas, we have to push our cars instead of driving them. In the same manner, if we have to push our vehicle of evangelism, it will turn into a tiresome task. On the contrary, driving it is exhilarating.

What we need is a Garden of Gethsemane experience. When Christ fell to his knees in agony, His disciples were completely unconcerned and out of touch with reality and asleep. Slumber comes knocking at our door when we loose hope in eternity and just focus on the day at hand. We need to get on our knees and cry out to God for consuming compassion for the lost that flows out of our gratitude from our own salvation. We also need to cry out, “not my will, but Thine, O Lord, be done.”

In Mark, Christ has a rich young ruler come to Him and ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Christ right away takes the young man to five of the Ten Commandments. The man says that he had kept the commands since childhood. Then, Christ tells him to go and sell all that he has and give all to the poor dealing with the first and second command. The man walks away upset and lost.

Now, Christ is well aware that the law does not save us. So, why did Christ do that? He was preparing the man’s heart for the grace of God. The law is a prerequisite to receiving God’s grace. Spurgeon said that we must get a man lost before he can be saved. Man thinks he is good and when we tell him that Christ died for his sin, we offend him and push him further from the truth. The law is our schoolmaster teaching us that we all need a Savior. Christ used the law to bring conviction to the proud sinner and so must we.

The law also teaches us that we must repent because we have sinned against a holy, perfect God. This is what Hell wants to keep a secret. Christ brings happiness, contentment, strength and much more, but we need a Savior not for these benefits but for the sin in each of our lives.