2. 15. Life, Wealth & Eternity
Luke 16:19-31
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3. M O N E Y Warning Labels A new gas heater.
Wrongly used it could cause a fatal accident
Something with eternity threatening consequences:
M O N E Y

4. Careful not to misunderstand:
Warning Labels
Careful not to misunderstand:
NOT – Money/riches are wrong, or poverty = righteous
NOT – Rich man mistreated Lazarus
St John Chrysostom – 4 sermons.
The warning label about money & riches:
The Rich Man was Distracted
The Rich Man was Disconnected
The Rich Man was Disinterested

5. 1. Distracted The rich man did what rich people do (v 19)
Life was good and he enjoyed it (v 25)
We live in an age of distraction.
Some of us like being distracted.
Our mortality irritates us or seems far away.
The rich man died and was buried (v 22)

6. 2. Disconnected He lived without reference to God
He is in “torment” (v 23)
Begs Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers
They have Moses and the Prophets (v 29)
The rich man had forgotten/ignored the messengers.
God must make people listen.
God did the very thing the rich man asked.
But Jesus explained why people don’t listen (Luke 8:14)

7. 3. Disinterested The Rich Man never seemed to notice Lazarus.
He didn’t notice the poor man right under his nose.
Note how Jesus tells the story:
The Rich Man asks for a simple act to bring relief (v 24)
It was all Lazarus had hoped for at his gate (v 21)
Simple things he could have done he didn’t do.

8. Living It We all face what Moses warned about (Deut 8:11-18)
Money, or the lack of it is not the issue.
It is whether we allow money/circumstances make us
Distracted from the real issues of life
Disconnected from God
Disinterested in the state of those around us.

9. Ponder our mortality – we are dependent beings
Living It . . .
As we head into Lent I have been considering issues of sin and repentance.
Ponder our mortality – we are dependent beings
Every breath is a gift from God (Gen 2:7)
Our real struggle:
Instead of gratefully living as dependent beings
We strive to make ourselves independent of Him.

10. We will be full not when we live to excess,
Living It . . .
Jesus tells this parable
Not to frighten us, but to help us embrace the right way to live.
Not to burden us, but to set us free.
We will be full not when we live to excess,
but when we live for God.