That's one way to break the ice, isn't it? Good morning everyone, are we well?
We are well. Thank you so much, Eliza, and thank you so much everyone who's participated so far in our service.
It's going to be great if you have sight of those verses in Luke 16 in front of you.
We're going to be referring to it a lot as we go through this morning, so it's vital that we have the Scriptures opening in front of us.
But let's pray as we come to Luke chapter 16 together.
Dear Father, we would still ourselves now and just recognize what we are doing this morning,
that we have come together to hear your word preached.
We've come here together to hear your voice.
And Lord, we ask that as we come to your words now, that you would help us listen,
and you would help us heed, and you would help us absorb.
And by your Spirit, would you change us from the inside out, we ask for your glory.
And we ask in Jesus' precious and strong name. Amen.
So I wonder if you've ever been accused of being a selective listener.
Selective listening, the art form, and I think it is an art form,
of being able to be in a conversation with somebody and listen to the things that you want to listen to,
and not listen to the things that you don't want to listen to.
Selective listening.
Apparently this happens all the day, all the time, in everyday conversation.
So I remember reading an article not so long ago about the selective listening habits of men and women.
And it has to be said, men, I think unfairly, we come off very poorly in this article.
So, apparently the things that cause us to switch off, any talk of babies,
the article, not me, okay, talk of babies, talk of soaps, don't mean like dove,
I mean like neighbours, or you take your pick, of soaps.
And ladies, don't think you're off the hook.
Apparently it's sports for you guys, most especially golf, which I think is harsh.
Cars is another one.
Things that, as we speak to people, cause us to switch off.
Apparently as a nation, one in three of us admit to having a conversation with somebody daily
when our mind is somewhere else and we don't actually have a clue what the other person is saying to us.
Selective listening.
Well, today we're going to meet a man who is brilliant at selective listening.
He's got God's Word.
He's got his Bible and he's picking and he's choosing the things that he wants to listen to.
And he's given a wide berth to the things that he doesn't want to listen to.
And that's exactly what the Pharisees, who are in earshot of Jesus talking at this point,
Jesus is speaking to them, that's exactly what they are doing with their lives.
Now, if you've got a Bible here, let me just get us up to speed with the context and see the flow of Luke's gospel at this point.
Chapter 16, verse 1.
See how Jesus introduces that parable?
There was a rich man.
Chapter 16, verse 19, our verses this morning.
There was a rich man.
Why does Jesus keep banging that drum?
That's the question I'm asking as a reader.
Because these Pharisees are rich.
They're rich.
And the question is, what are they doing with their riches, their possessions, their stuff?
What are they doing with it?
Again, see the flow.
Chapter 15, the prodigal son.
He wastes his father's possessions.
Chapter 16, the dishonest manager.
He wastes his master's possessions.
And so this morning when we meet a rich man, the question we've got to be asking as readers is,
what will this man do with his possessions?
Do you see the flow?
God has blessed these Pharisees with money and possessions,
but they're choosing to ignore what God has said they are to do with the things that he's given them.
Now, why would they do that?
Well, Luke tells us, verse 14 of chapter 16,
they loved money.
Not just that they had money,
they loved money.
And so instead of caring for the poor,
of sharing God's heart for those who cannot help themselves,
for being a help to the helpless,
those people who are on their doorstep,
what they're doing with their riches is that they are hoarding it,
and they're loving their money and possessions.
And what it's doing is it's choking their compassion
for their fellow man,
for their fellow Jew,
and it's causing them to take their eyes off the God who they're claiming to worship
and focus on them.
They love money.
Now, I don't know if you've noticed this as we've gone through this bit of Luke's Gospel,
and I must say,
this is one of the joys of doing this consecutively.
You see it, don't you?
Jesus has got an awful lot to say about money.
An awful lot to say about money.
Here's some statistics I was reading this week.
One in every seven verses in Luke's Gospel is about money.
Eleven out of the 39 parables that Jesus tells that are recorded in the Gospels
are about money and treasure.
Jesus has got an awful lot to say about money.
And this is why it's really struck me this week
that I need to take heed of what Jesus says about money.
Is it because we're rich?
Do you know how I know that?
I googled it.
And there's this website that you can go on to called GlobalRichList.net.
I'm not joking, right?
GlobalRichList.net by the charity Care International.
GlobalRichList.net.
You enter your salary and it tells you,
I don't know how they figure it out,
but it tells you how rich you are compared to the rest of the world.
Now the average UK family having the average UK household income in 2017,
do you know where that put you in ranking in the world?
In the top 0.87%.
That's the average UK salary in this country.
The average UK household income.
We are rich.
And I walk to church every morning.
This is how it plays out in my life.
I walk to church every morning.
As I walk down George Street.
So go up onto George Street.
George Street, Lothian Roads.
That's my route, okay?
Go down George Street.
What do I see?
I walk past suit shops.
And in my head I'm thinking,
oh, I'd love to have a suit like that.
I'd love to pretend to be a footballer.
Just dressing like that.
Walk from the suit shop.
Walk past the ESPC shop.
And I think, what's in the windows?
Just houses, right?
Just constantly going.
Houses, houses.
I think, oh, it'd be great to live there.
I could dress like a footballer.
I could live like a footballer.
So easy, isn't it, in our world just to get sucked in,
to get lured in to the deceitfulness of riches?
How easy is it in our own lives?
And I know I'm speaking from my own heart here.
To love money.
To love the things that God has given me.
And instead of viewing them as his possessions
that are just unknown to me,
that he's blessed me with,
I view them as my own.
And I'll use them for my own kingdom.
Thank you very much.
This is the temptation I find in my heart all the time.
How easy is it to get distracted by money?
Now listen, there's nothing wrong with having money.
The question we've got to ask ourselves, though,
is does it have us?
Does it have us?
Does the drive, the longing for stuff,
does it consume us?
Or does Jesus have us?
And does Jesus consume us?
And do his priorities, his kingdom, a love for him,
does that drive us?
That's the question, isn't it?
So these Pharisees,
Jesus is accusing them of being selective listeners.
And all of a sudden when you see it in that context,
actually what Jesus has to say to these men
comes a lot closer to home.
So here's what's going to happen this morning.
Jesus is going to tell this parable
of the rich man and Lazarus
as a way of getting the Pharisees
to ask themselves some searching questions
about their lives.
I'm going to try and put these
so that we can understand what the challenge is, okay?
So there's just three questions this morning.
That's all I want us to see.
Here's the first question.
How are you living?
Verses 19 to 21.
How are you living?
So this is where we get into the parable.
See that we meet the rich man at verse 19.
Now look how Jesus paints the picture of this man.
He dresses in what color?
Purple.
Now purple clothes are a sign of affluence
because purple dye,
it comes from this very rare shellfish.
Now if you're able to get a lot of it
and dye your whole clothes,
that means you're very rich.
And it's not like this man,
do you notice it as we read the text?
It's not like he's just got one purple t-shirt
that he wears day after day after day after day.
He wears purple.
So his wardrobe, presumably,
has got a lot of purple in it,
which means he has got some serious cash
and he wants the whole world to know it.
Look at Jesus go on.
He wears fine linen.
Now that word there literally meaning undergarments.
I think we're meant to laugh.
Jesus is saying this guy is so rich,
he's so posh,
that even his boxers,
even his briefs,
are first class.
And he lives in luxury,
not occasionally.
Do you notice every day?
You've got an ESV there.
It says that he feasted sumptuously every day.
I mean,
every night is brought to you by waitress's finest.
That's this guy's house.
And how does this man do this every day?
Every day.
I don't believe for a minute
that he's all night peeling the potatoes,
carving the meat,
setting the table.
He's clearly got servants
who are doing this round the clock
so that he can live his lifestyle.
He's a rich man.
And he's got a gate.
Do you see that?
He's got a gate.
Now most likely it's a grand gate.
And the gate is where the action happens
in this parable
because he is living his life of luxury
at one side of the gate
and who's at the other side of the gate?
Lazarus.
Now it's really interesting,
as far as I can find,
as far as I can see,
that Lazarus is the only character
in the whole of Jesus' parables
that gets a name.
He's the only one.
And that's significant.
Because what does Lazarus' name mean?
It means God helps me.
Or God helped me.
And you say to yourself,
well, is that some kind of sick joke
that Jesus is telling here?
What an ironic name.
God helps me.
Look at the description of him.
He's a beggar.
Perhaps he was dropped off
at the rich man's gate every morning.
To beg.
He's covered in sores.
To add insult to injury.
The dogs are his only friends.
They come and lick him.
And he's hungry.
And he's longing to eat the scraps,
to eat the spares,
to eat anything that's going to fall
from this rich man's table.
Lazarus is destitute.
Remember in this day,
there's no help from the state.
There's no benefits package.
There's no free health care.
This man is helpless.
Lazarus has got no hope.
And so on the one side of the gate
is this rich man.
And at the other side of the gate
is God helps me.
Now there may only be a short distance
between these men,
but you see how Jesus is painting the picture
of the massive contrast
that exists between them.
Jesus as he introduces us
to these two men,
as he draws out the contrast,
he's asking the Pharisees
and the crowds.
How are you living?
Do you see yourself in this rich man?
Do you see his excesses?
Do you see his utter neglect
for his fellow man?
This rich man doesn't get it.
This rich man is a selective listener.
The question is,
will the Pharisees get it?
And the question for us today
is, will we get it?
How are you living?
Here's the second question,
verses 22 to 26.
Where are you heading?
The rich man and Lazarus,
they may well be living polar opposite lives,
but do you see how their lives
meet the same fate?
What was it that Benjamin Franklin said
were the two certainties in life?
Death and taxes.
We'll park the taxes for just now.
But he's banging on the money,
is he not?
It's true.
Death is the great equalizer.
Death knows no class distinction.
Both of these men die.
You know, last time I checked,
the death rate was still up
around about the 100% mark.
Both these men die.
This is what he's telling us.
The same fate comes to both.
They both died.
There was a contrast in life,
but do you see how Jesus tells
these Pharisees
there was a contrast in death?
Jesus speaks about Lazarus first.
Here he is.
God helps me.
Is that true?
Is that going to be true for him?
What are we told?
The angels carried him
to Abraham's side.
Now you say,
well, what's Abraham doing there?
How's he snuck in there?
Well, he's the father of the faith.
And here he is,
welcoming, embracing Lazarus.
And so Lazarus' name
was clearly not just
some wishful thinking
by his parents.
It was true for him.
That he trusted that God
would ultimately save him.
That he trusted that God
was who he says he is
in his word.
That he is the father
of the helpless.
And ultimately,
God is going to be the one
that saves him.
It reminded me this week
of the old hymn
sung by the American slaves
back in the day,
oppressed,
destitute.
What did they sing?
Swing low, sweet chariot.
Now how that got to
Twickenham today,
I have no idea.
But swing low, sweet chariot.
So they used to sing,
I looked over Jordan,
what did I see?
Coming forth to carry me home.
A band of angels
coming after me,
coming forth to carry me home.
That's the kind of thing
going on here with Lazarus,
I imagine.
The truth that one day
my God will liberate me.
The truth that one day
my God will vindicate me.
The truth that one day
my God will come to save me.
And you have to say
that as we read
about Lazarus here,
welcomed,
comforted,
loved,
embraced
at the father's side,
at Abraham's side,
we have to say
that's a beautiful picture.
Doesn't it?
That's a beautiful picture
of who our God is.
But look at the rich man.
Like Lazarus,
he dies.
Text tells us
he was buried.
Imagine it was
a no expense
spared burial.
Is he at Abraham's side?
Verse 23,
no.
Look at the description.
He's in torment.
He's in anguish.
Jesus painting it out here.
He's in hell.
Now,
why is he there?
That's a precise question
that he's asking himself.
Do you see how he makes
his appeal to Abraham?
Verse 24,
what does he call him?
This is key to see this.
Verse 24,
Father Abraham.
Notice what he calls him there.
Father Abraham.
So what does he do?
He plays the relation card.
So Abraham,
am I not one of your people?
We share a family tree,
do we not?
We share a common heritage.
So why are we not
sharing eternity together?
And he sees Lazarus.
Now,
I love this.
I love what goes on here.
This man's so accustomed
to barking orders.
Do you see how he
talks past Lazarus?
Does he even acknowledge him?
He talks past him
and he sees Abraham
and he asks him,
would you send Lazarus here?
Would you send Lazarus here
to help me in my anguish?
Now,
notice in passing
that this rich man,
he knows Lazarus' name.
Do you see that in the text?
He knows his name.
And it's not because
Lazarus has got to heaven
and Abraham has given him
one of those conference lanyards
that says Lazarus on.
It's like,
oh,
I never knew you were called Lazarus.
He knows his name.
Now,
why does he know his name?
Because he recognizes him
as being Lazarus.
He used to sit
outside his house
behind the gate
and he used to beg every day.
He recognizes him.
This is Lazarus.
So,
this rich man
can't claim innocence here.
It's not like
he can say,
if only I'd known
you were there,
Lazarus.
If only I'd known,
maybe I would have come down
and given you a hug,
invited you in,
we could have chewed the fat
over a hog roast.
I just didn't know.
It can't kill him
innocence,
this man.
Lazarus,
I knew he was there.
He knows his name.
He knew he was there.
And God,
who we saw last week
at verse 15,
he knows the heart
and he knows
that this rich man knows.
And so,
Abraham responds,
verse 25,
rich man,
you had your time
in the sun.
You had your good things.
You had your chance.
You had your opportunity.
You had your Bible
and you made your choice.
I'm sorry,
but eternity for you,
key word at verse 26,
is fixed.
Here's a little lesson
that I've picked up
along the way
when it comes to
understanding a passage
like this.
And it's this,
that the plain things
are the main things
and the main things
are the plain things.
Okay?
Plain things
are the main things
and the main things
are the plain things.
So,
what is Jesus teaching here?
Will you be able to see
heaven from hell?
Honestly,
don't think so.
Honestly,
don't know.
Okay?
Will you be able to communicate
between the two?
Honestly,
I don't think so,
but I don't know.
There's rabbit holes here
that we can take
that I don't think
we're being invited to take.
What is the main thing
from this parable?
What is the plain thing
that Jesus is teaching
the Pharisees here?
Surely it's this,
that the choices
that we make in this life
have consequences
for the next.
See,
that's the plain thing
from this parable.
And you see that
come out in the rich man's reaction.
Do you see how he plays
the race card
to Abraham?
He doesn't play
the grace card
to Abraham.
What does he say?
He says,
I deserve to be in heaven
because of my heritage.
Whereas the consistent
testimony of Scripture
is that we are saved
by grace alone.
That God sent
his promised son.
That's amazing grace.
The son died on the cross
for our sin.
That is amazing grace.
And that through faith
in Jesus
and what he did,
as Charles alluded to earlier,
we are ransomed,
we are healed,
we are restored,
and we are forgiven.
That is amazing grace.
And that God
has adopted us
as his children.
He's given us
a new heart.
He's taken out
that heart of stone
and he's put in there
a heart that beats for him,
a new heart.
And we have a quite
incredible life to live.
We have a quite
incredible destiny
ahead of us
of delighting
in his presence
and singing his praises
for all eternity.
That
is amazing
grace.
It is by grace
that we have been
saved.
As the old hymn puts it,
sing the wondrous love
of Jesus,
sing his mercy
and his grace.
In the mansions
bright and blessed
he'll prepare
for us a place.
Oh, where would we be,
friends,
without God's grace
in our lives?
Where would we be?
But this rich man
has chosen
to ignore God's words
and ignore Lazarus
and Abraham's making
it quite clear
that that race card,
that I ain't gonna save you.
He's a selective listener.
This rich man
doesn't get it.
Will the Pharisees
get it?
Will they see that
there's still space
for grace?
Will we get it?
Where are you heading?
Here's the third question,
verses 27 to 31.
What are you trusting?
And so as Jesus
tells the story,
it seems like
this rich man,
as he hears Abraham
explain things,
he kind of comes
to see that there's
nothing he can do
to change his fate.
What does he do?
He begins to think
about his family.
Again,
he's still barking
the orders.
Do you notice this?
Would you send Lazarus
to go and speak to them,
Father Abraham?
I don't know how
Lazarus puts up for this.
I find it really fascinating
that Lazarus
doesn't even speak
in this whole parable.
Look at Abraham's response.
Verse 29,
they've got Moses
and the prophets.
They've got their
Old Testaments.
So this Jewish family,
they will likely heard
Moses and the prophets
read and taught
every week
as they go to synagogue.
They've heard it taught
of who their God is,
what he's like,
what he's done for them
as his people,
what he's asked of them
as his people,
and how he's warned them
down through the ages
through Moses
and the prophets
about the consequences
of keeping ignoring
what he's telling them.
They have it all,
says Abraham.
They have it all.
They have it right there
written.
The question is not
do they know?
The question is
will they listen?
Fair enough,
says the rich man,
but if only you could
give them a sign,
if only you could
give them a sign,
I bet my bottom dollar,
and he's probably got
a lot of dollars, okay,
bet my bottom dollar
that they would listen.
What does Abraham say?
No, they wouldn't.
Even if somebody
came back from the dead,
strong language,
isn't it?
Even if somebody
came back from the dead,
they still wouldn't listen
because believing
is not a matter
of lack of knowledge.
Failure to believe
is because of a hard heart
that just doesn't
want to listen.
This is what Abraham's saying.
And we see that
in the Gospels,
do we not?
Think about what we see.
John 11,
the other Lazarus
that's in Scripture.
Jesus raises him
from the dead.
And what did the Pharisees say?
I tell you what,
they don't say,
oh Jesus,
we've got you
completely wrong.
Now we understand,
now we surrender.
What do they say?
We say we want
Lazarus dead
because he's telling people
that Jesus brought him
back from the dead
and he needs to stop talking.
Even Jesus himself
when he rises from the dead,
what is Matthew recording?
You can check it out later
towards the end of his Gospel.
What does he record?
Jesus rises from the dead.
The reports are there.
What did the Pharisees say?
The religious readers.
Not Jesus.
We get it now.
Please forgive us.
We get it now.
No, they say,
they go to the guards.
And they say,
here's a large sum of money.
Would you tell people
that the disciples came
and they stole the body?
Because we cannot risk
this getting around.
And when you begin to see
it in that context,
you see that Abraham here
is bang on the money.
He's bang on the money.
They will not be convinced
even if somebody rises
from the dead.
The question is not,
do they know?
The question is,
will they listen?
I remember as a young Christian
at university
walking along the road
with my mate from football
and he said,
Graham,
I wouldn't mind believing
but I just would want
to see something more.
I just want to see
something more.
And I'll be honest,
as a young Christian,
a new Christian,
that threw me.
It threw me.
Begin to ask yourself.
Begin to pray in my mind,
God,
would you just speak to him?
And then you begin
to think about it
and you think,
well,
what do I actually believe
as a Christian?
What do I believe
the Bible is?
I believe it's,
as Calvin called it,
God gone public
with himself.
That God's made himself known,
that God's on full disclosure,
that God has spoken.
This is what the Bible is.
What a privilege.
We were looking
at the Reformation earlier.
What a privilege it is.
And men and women
down the generations
have given their lives
that we can have the Bible
in our own language.
That we can know
what God has said,
that we can read about Jesus,
that we can read about
God's rescue plan
from before eternity
to rescue men and women
to himself through his Son.
God has spoken.
What does my friend need?
He needs the Bible.
And he needs me
to read it with him.
Again,
just beginning to pray,
God,
would you give him a sign?
Again,
thinking to myself,
working that through,
well,
what kind of sign?
Thinking it through.
But I can trust
these Gospels.
They're historically reliable.
What are they telling me?
They're telling me
that Jesus died
and Jesus rose
and Jesus ascended.
If he's not going to be
convinced by that miracle,
I don't know what
other miracle
he's going to be
convinced by.
God,
would you
save him?
Abraham's
bang on the money.
He's bang on the money.
And so our conviction
sitting here this morning
is God's people
has got to be
heaven's conviction.
And that is that
the Bible
is trustworthy.
And our confidence
can be in
every single word
that is proceeded
from the mouth of God
that we have in front of us
in our own language.
And I'll tell you
how this works out
in our evangelism.
I've got another friend
who I read
John's Gospel with.
Do you know how long
we've been doing it for?
Four years.
Taught me that
evangelism is no
short-term thing.
It's about relationships.
It's about people.
But it's also taught me
that this conviction
is true.
That my confidence
that my friend
will come to meet Jesus
is not in my ability
to answer his questions.
My confidence
is not in my
apologetic skills
to explain stuff to him.
My confidence
is in the word of God.
And I go on the basis
that my friend,
wherever he stands
before the Lord,
I don't know,
my friend needs
what I need
and your friends
need what you need
and that is
he needs to meet Jesus.
He needs to meet Jesus.
And so how is he
going to meet Jesus?
Well, he's going to meet him,
he's going to encounter him
in the pages
of the Gospels.
And not just the Gospels,
the whole Bible
is pointing to him,
God's rescue plan.
How is my friend
going to know?
I've got to sit down
and read the Bible with him.
Four years ago.
Four years.
I'm not going anywhere
anytime soon.
He and she,
so we're going to keep doing it.
But four years
because of this conviction.
What does my friend need?
My friend needs Jesus.
What do I need?
I need Jesus.
Here's a challenge
before you go this morning.
Is there somebody
in your life,
is there a friend,
is there a colleague,
is there a mate at work,
whoever,
mate from sport,
whatever you do,
could you read the Bible?
Will you be faithful
with them?
And if not,
will you pray
for my friend
that you become
to know Jesus?
Come and speak to us afterwards.
Anybody that you've seen
up the front here this morning,
some terrific resources
that we can recommend
about sitting down
one to one with a friend
and reading the Bible with them.
What our friends need,
same thing that we need,
we need to meet Jesus.
He's glorious.
He is glorious.
They need to meet Jesus.
This rich man
doesn't get it.
He's a selective listener.
Will the Pharisees get it?
Will we get it?
What are you trusting?
Are you here this morning
and as we bring this
to a close,
are you here this morning
and you're currently
being a selective listener?
Are you here this morning
and money and possessions
are distracting you?
They're choking your love
for the Lord.
I wonder if a lot of us
this morning,
and I include me in this,
we've got some work to do,
business to do with God.
As I close,
I was reminded this week
of the place
that I went to buy
my first ever CD.
Don't anyone else
remembers HMV?
Is it still going, HMV?
Is it not going?
Wow, I'm old.
There it is.
HMV.
Is it still going?
It's.
Host and Terminal.
Okay.
Still going.
Not as frequent,
but they're still going.
Life in the old dog yet.
Here we are.
HMV.
Do you know what HMV stands for?
I only learned this recently.
His master's voice.
So here we are this morning
talking about selective listening.
I think this is a wonderful example
of what it means
to listen to our master's voice.
Do you know the story of this dog?
So there was this man
called Mark Barrow.
When Mark Barrow died,
his brother Francis
inherited two things for him.
He wasn't very rich.
He inherited two things.
The dog,
called Nipper,
and the gramophone
completely with some of Mark's
recordings of his own voice.
Francis noted
that every time
he turned on that gramophone,
every time that he played
Mark's voice,
that Nipper would go
and listen.
I'm distracted.
Devoted.
We'd go and listen.
I think it's a wonderful example
of what it means
to listen well.
Jesus is having a go
at the Pharisees
for their poor listening,
for their selective listening.
You see what Jesus
is calling us to?
Attentive,
anticipatory,
all out love
for every single word
of his.
I think David Platt,
he's an American pastor
and author,
he captures this so well
and with this we close.
He says,
Radical obedience to Christ
risks losing all things,
but in the end
such risk finds it reward
in Christ
Christ.
And he
is more than enough
for us.
Amen.
Let's pray together.
Maybe in the quiet now
you just want to offer up
your own prayer
as we respond
to God's word
as we've heard it
this morning.
Dearest Father,
we would ask
that you would help us
to be those
who don't simply
offer you selective
obedience,
but rather,
dear Father,
by your Spirit
who is living in us,
would you make us
those who are
sacrificial
and radical
in our obedience
to you.
Oh dear Father,
we know our own weakness,
we know our hearts
that so often wander,
so Father,
we take the line
of that song,
would you come
and bind our wandering
hearts to you.
And so this is our prayer
made in the strong
name of Jesus.
Amen.