{"id":353,"date":"2014-02-06T21:23:41","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T02:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=353"},"modified":"2014-02-06T21:23:56","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T02:23:56","slug":"not-seen-or-heard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=353","title":{"rendered":"Not Seen or Heard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Lesson 47<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Not Seen or Heard<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:19-31<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">One of the things of which I am sometimes guilty is becoming so engrossed in what I am doing that I do not see someone that might walk right past me.\u00a0 There is an experiment that I have seen that illustrates our ability to shut people out of our lives.\u00a0 A group of people are brought together and begin to have a conversation.\u00a0 While they are talking someone in a gorilla costume will walk right through the group and never be notice.\u00a0 When asked if any of them saw the gorilla they all stated that they had not seen it.\u00a0 Some months ago my wife went to the funeral home to pay our respects to the family of a neighbor who had passed away.\u00a0 We walked in and went to the front of the room, looked at some pictures turned around and left.\u00a0 There was not a single person who even cast a look in our direction.\u00a0 I can only imagine how others have felt in my presence when I have done the same thing. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">It is possible for a person to come into the church and feel like the gorilla in the room.\u00a0 No one even makes the effort to greet them.\u00a0 They come and go without an acknowledgment that they have been present.\u00a0 There have probably been many people searching for a church home who have stated they would never go back to whatever church they had attended on Sunday because they believed that it was the most unfriendly place they had ever been. Jesus always made it His business to notice people.\u00a0 The number of times He stopped as He was traveling from place showed His compassion and interest in people.\u00a0 People come to church for a number of different reasons.\u00a0 One of those is fellowship with others.\u00a0 They want to be part of a community of people who truly care for others.\u00a0 Our lesson is about the lack of concern for others and the result of a self-centered life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:19<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Jesus continues sharing with His disciples by sharing another parable which speaks to the attitudes of those among whom they will carry on His ministry.\u00a0 As He had done before He gives a character sketch of the main actors in the drama.\u00a0 He begins with a rich man of whom it was written that He:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dressed continually in the finest clothes money could buy. It was the clothing worn by the priests.<\/li>\n<li>Did not deny himself of anything which would make him happy.\u00a0 Notice that his self-indulgence went on seven days a week, which meant that he did not observe the Sabbath day which was a day of rest for all Jews.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>How did Jesus describe the rich man?<\/li>\n<li>What was the problem with the way he lived?<\/li>\n<li>Who was Jesus describing?<\/li>\n<li>When does having any kind of possession become a sin?<\/li>\n<li>What are the indications that this man was not a godly man?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:20-21<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">In stark contrast to the wealthy man in the previous verse, Jesus describes a man who was the poorest of the poorest.\u00a0 His name was Lazarus which was the Latin equivalent of Eleazar.\u00a0 Eleazar\u00a0was used a number of times in the Old Testament and means God is my help.\u00a0 Lazarus was in a place just outside the gate of the rich man\u2019s house.\u00a0 The man called by some Dives would have passed by him many times but completely ignored his presence there. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">At that point in life all Lazarus desired was to be able to eat of the scraps left over from the sumptuous meals of the rich man.\u00a0 Those leftovers would have consisted of pieces of bread that had been used as napkins to wipe off a person\u2019s face and hands.\u00a0 There were no knives, forks or napkins in those days even in the wealthiest homes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Added to the man\u2019s economic woes he was covered with sores, which the dogs licked.\u00a0 He was too weak to even chase them away.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why would the rich man have ignored Lazarus?<\/li>\n<li>How did Jesus contrast the rich man to Lazarus?<\/li>\n<li>In what way would it seem that Lazarus was misnamed?<\/li>\n<li>What would appear to be the man\u2019s future?<\/li>\n<li>What would indicate his desperate state in life?<\/li>\n<li>How many people do we ignore as we go about our daily tasks?<\/li>\n<li>What are some indications that we truly do not care for them?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:22<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Both men died.\u00a0 Their destinations were totally different.\u00a0 The poor man who had suffered much in his lifetime was escorted by angels into heaven.\u00a0 Jesus continues to contrast the two men even in death. The physical body was probably without fanfare thrown on the garbage heap having no one to claim it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">It is said of the wealthy man that he was buried. There was probably a nice funeral possession carrying him to his final resting place.\u00a0 He could have been in all likelihood been placed in a tomb carved out of rock with a stone to place over its opening to keep animals and thieves out of the grave.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>In what ways were the two men alike? (Like all people they died.)<\/li>\n<li>What was different about what happened after their death? (Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man was buried.)<\/li>\n<li>What was the reason Lazarus went to heaven? (We are not told anything of Lazarus\u2019s spiritual condition. We have to be careful not equate poverty as a guarantee of entrance, any more than wealth determining whether he goes to heaven or hell.)<\/li>\n<li>What is it important to understand about what took place here? (Our future is determined by our relationship with God and subsequently with other people.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:23<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">The grave was not the end of the man who had been rich.\u00a0 He found himself in hell be tormented. \u00a0 Like Lazarus, there is no indication that he was not a man who probably thought of himself as good because of the wealth he possessed.\u00a0 Jesus does not go into a lot of detail about the reason the man found himself in hell.\u00a0 The only sin that he seems to have committed was not loving his fellow man enough to at least give him something to eat and providing a means by which his sores would be healed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Another point that proves that one has a consciousness beyond this world is the fact that the man could actually see into heaven and recognized the man he had ignored all those years with the founder of the Hebrew nation. This seems to indicate an increased awareness in the afterlife.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What was the man\u2019s sin that condemned to hell? (Not loving his fellow man who he could see and thus rejecting God.)<\/li>\n<li>How many sins condemn us to eternal punishment?<\/li>\n<li>What does this verse tell us of what takes place after death?<\/li>\n<li>Based on this verse what do you tell people who said that when you die that is the end of a person?<\/li>\n<li>What assurances does this give you?<\/li>\n<li>How was the man able to recognize Lazarus after having ignored him for years?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:24<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">The man in his torment began to beg for the very thing he had denied Lazarus as he lay at the man\u2019s gate.\u00a0 He cried out for mercy.\u00a0 When he was in torment he wanted God to show favor toward him.\u00a0 The second thing he sought was relief from the agony he was experiencing as a result of the life he had lived.\u00a0 The request made by the man would strike at the heart of the religious mindset of the Pharisees.\u00a0 It was the poor man Lazarus who was to be the bearer of the relief that the man sought.\u00a0 Abraham was not asked to leave his place in paradise but Lazarus who had been the beggar at his gate.\u00a0 What a role reversal.\u00a0 The man who had everything needed a drop of water that he would denied being provided for Lazarus.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What does mercy mean?<\/li>\n<li>When can one expect to receive it?<\/li>\n<li>When is it too late?<\/li>\n<li>In what ways was the man like so many today? (He could live as he pleased not believing that God will judge anyone and send them to hell.)<\/li>\n<li>What did mercy mean to the man? (Relief from the fruits of the lifestyle he had lived.)<\/li>\n<li>How were roles reversed? (The self-righteous wealthy man who was a metaphor for the Pharisees needed what the Lazarus\u2019s of the world have to offer, a true relationship with the Father.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:25-26<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">It was Abraham who responded to the man\u2019s request. He reminded the man of his previous life.\u00a0 He had possessed much in the way of material wealth.\u00a0 Lazarus who in his lifetime had nothing of any value was now be comforted in heaven.\u00a0 The man who had much and used it selfishly was suffering the consequences of his lifestyle and was living in torment. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">He went on to say that there was a great divide that could not be crossed either way. It would indicate that all decisions are final and have to be made in this lifetime. There is not anyway to reverse the results of a life lived without God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why was Abraham the one to respond? (The request had been directed to him.)<\/li>\n<li>Why did Abraham remind the man of his past life? (The man would understand exactly why he was in hell.)<\/li>\n<li>What was Lazarus experiencing that can also be in our future?<\/li>\n<li>What example does the life of Lazarus provide for us? (Material possession are not important.\u00a0 It is our relationship to Christ.)<\/li>\n<li>What is the one thing that the man did not request? (To go where Abraham and Lazarus were.\u00a0 He evidently was aware that he did not deserve to be there.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:27-29<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Having failed in his plea to be relieved from his misery, he for the first time thinks about others. It is almost a prayer from his lips as he begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so they will not wind up in hell like him. Abraham then tells him that the brothers had Moses and the Prophets to show them how to live.\u00a0 If they wanted to avoid the brother\u2019s fate they needed to heed what the Scripture had said to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did the man want Lazarus to go to his brother\u2019s?<\/li>\n<li>What did the brothers have available to them?<\/li>\n<li>What does Abraham\u2019s words say to us?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Abraham refuse the man\u2019s request? (It was impossible.\u00a0 They need to heed the worth they already had.\u00a0 Also man does not return to earth after death.)<\/li>\n<li>How will we find ourselves in the same state as the man and his brothers?<\/li>\n<li>Why is God\u2019s word so important to us?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">Luke 16:30-31<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">The man tried one last time.\u00a0 He thought someone returning from the dead would change the minds of the brother\u2019s.\u00a0 Jesus using the parable spoke directly to the religious leaders.\u00a0 They had the Law and the Prophets and had turn their backs on the teaching from them.\u00a0 They had turned from God to a religion based on their own tradition.\u00a0 He was also telling them that they were turning their back on the One who had come in God\u2019s name.\u00a0 The words were prophetic for within a short time He would return from the dead and they would not accept the fact.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did the man think that a man returning from the dead would have any more affect than God\u2019s word?<\/li>\n<li>How have the stories that are heard today about those who have died and come back to life affected the general population?<\/li>\n<li>To whom was Jesus speaking through this parable?<\/li>\n<li>What does it say to us who have not seen the resurrected Savior?\u00a0 We have to depend God\u2019s word and the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us to faith in Christ.<\/li>\n<li>How important is it for our growth to spend time in God\u2019s word?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Understand that the blessings God pours out on you whatever they be are to be used for His glory and not just for your own pleasure.<\/li>\n<li>Do not ignore those less fortunate than you.\u00a0 Jesus had some strong words for those who do so in Matthew 25:41-46.<\/li>\n<li>Never take for granted that you will have time to make your life right.\u00a0 As seen in the parable both Lazarus and the rich man died at about the same time and faced the judgment due to each of them.<\/li>\n<li>Continue to look to God\u2019s word to reinforce what you believe.\u00a0 From Genesis to Revelation you have the revealing of God\u2019s Son, Jesus.<\/li>\n<li>As you study the Scriptures be completely aware that life does not end at physical death and that all of us will spend eternity either in heaven or hell.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;\">The church today is in a battle for its very soul.\u00a0 There are many who do not believe that there is coming a day of judgment for the church.\u00a0 Peter wrote of the impending event in 1 Peter 4:17 where he states, \u201cFor it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?\u201d\u00a0 God has high expectations for His people.\u00a0 First we are to love Him with our total being and then to love people like Lazarus as we love ourselves.\u00a0 This is the mission of the church and we must not fail to carry it out.\u00a0 The prosperity gospel promotes the mindset of Dives.\u00a0 Being poor in spirit helps us to understand that we are all failures in the sight of God without His mercy through Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Let us take care that we wait too long before coming to faith in Him and find ourselves on the outside of His kingdom looking in to the place we can no longer reach.\u00a0 Today is the day of Salvation.\u00a0 Today is the time to serve Him with all that He has given us.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lesson 47 Not Seen or Heard Luke 16:19-31 \u00a0 One of the things of which I am sometimes guilty is becoming so engrossed in what I am doing that I do not see someone that might walk right past me.\u00a0 There is an experiment that I have seen that illustrates our ability to shut people [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-luke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}