The wish of the rich man fulfilled by Christ

Luke 16:19-31
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then 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.'
25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29 Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"

The rich man in this well-known story wished that Lazarus could rise from the dead and go to his five brothers to warn them of their impending doom. He believed that some sort of message of repentance from someone (in this case, Lazarus) who has miraculously come back from the dead would persuade his brothers to repent and thus save them from being cast into hell when they died.

As I was thinking about this story, I saw that Jesus has in a sense fulfilled the wish of that rich man for all mankind.

Our Lord not only raised another Lazarus (Mary and Martha’s brother) from the dead, but in a greater resurrection, He Himself is the perfect Man who rose from the dead and who has a message for all mankind. And this message or gospel is able to save mankind from eternal torment in hell, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16)

The rich man had five brothers. As we know, five is the number of grace in the Bible and brothers here speak of mankind. It was through grace and for the justification of all mankind that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 4:25) And His message to all mankind is about the grace of God, which is the only thing that can bridge the "great gulf" that separates man from God.

The brothers had Moses and the Prophets, but it is implied in the story (verses 29 and 30) that they would not hear them. We know that Moses represents the law. This reaffirms the truth that the law cannot save mankind (Galatians 3:11), only the message of grace from Someone who has been raised from the dead!

The last part of the story says that the brothers will not be "persuaded though one rise from the dead". The sad truth is that not everyone will listen to the gospel of grace. There will be those who will not be persuaded by the message of the risen Christ. Nevertheless, those who receive God’s grace will escape the fires of hell and find themselves not in Abraham's bosom, but in Christ's bosom!

A spirit of fear is a scared little demon

My pastor once said that a spirit of fear is not some big, fierce monstrous demon that comes to scare you. On the contrary, it is a scared little demon that seeks to express itself (its characteristics) through you.

How true, I thought to myself. Up till then, I had always imagined a demon of fear as some big, hairy monster-like entity that scares people.

Recently, I found a little scripture to back up the point that my pastor was making.

Luke 11:14
14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke…

Notice that it was a mute spirit and that is why the man who was possessed by it could not speak. The mute spirit was expressing its "muteness" through the man! But once it was cast out, the man was able to speak.

Remember the woman with a spirit of infirmity?

Luke 13:11
11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

A spirit of infirmity is a spirit of weakness or a weak spirit. It is not some big, strong spirit that comes to make you weak. This weak spirit expressed its weakness through the woman so that she could not even stand up straight. But when Jesus loosed her from this spirit, she had the strength to stand up straight.

The lie of evolution

I was reading Romans chapter 1 this morning. When I came to verse 23, 

Romans 1:21-23

21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

what flashed across my mind was that of a typical human evolution chart, one such as this:

In denying the existence of God and embracing evolution, has the mind of man not descended into the worship of himself and animals?

Evolution denies the existence of God and replaces the Creator with a man-made theory which essentially teaches that man evolved from apes (animals), and are thus in the same class as animals.

Watch any Discovery Channel or National Geographic programme that talks about evolution and the discerning believer will see the worship of "corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things". Where is God? Where is the credit due to our Creator?

Evolution has been called by many Christians who believe in creation (instead of evolution) as "the lie". Verse 25 of the same chapter says that man "exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Man is worshipping and serving the created rather than the Creator whenever he teaches and preaches evolution.


Disastrous results 

What are the consequences of exchanging the truth of God for the lie of evolution? Look at the rest of the chapter.

Man becomes a fool

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Man dishonours his body

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,

Homosexuality and its penalties

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

A debased mind to do all things evil

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practise such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practise them.

When man does not believe in the existence of God, let alone the truth that he is created in God's image, what is there to stop him from practicing all these evils? As long as he can get away with it, why not do it? After all, he is no different from a wild animal and is only responding to his natural "animal instincts".


The limitations of sense knowledge

I will end this thought with an excerpt from the fifth chapter of EW Kenyon’s book, The Two Kinds Of Knowledge.

… In the scientific world, man's body has become a laboratory, his brain is absolutely dependent upon his Senses.

He can only know what he has experienced through these five channels [the five senses] from the outer world to his brain.

When he comes to problems like the Reason for Creation, the Origin of Life, Man, Motion and Matter, he is beyond his depth. He can only speculate... here he is passing beyond the range and the reach of the Senses, consequently he must speculate.

It is a suggestive fact that no man becomes a philosopher until he attempts to know something that the Senses cannot interpret.

Hagel’s philosophy of the non-existence of a personal God was formulated because he could not find God with his eyes, hear Him with his ears, nor contact Him with his other Senses.

He was driven by Sense Knowledge limitations to leave the world an orphan, without a Creator, without a Ruler, for he had denied God's existence.

The philosopher is always dangerous when he leaves Sense Knowledge facts and begins to speculate.

Nowhere does Sense Knowledge seem so utterly helpless as when it begins to discuss God, spirit, and the beginning of things.

It cannot see man as a spirit being.

It cannot understand God as a spirit being.

Yet, it recognises that there is a hunger in man after God, call it a God hunger, that is ever searching, ever reaching out for something it cannot obtain through the Senses.

Because of this, we have Sense Knowledge religions beginning in idolatry and ending in philosophy and metaphysics. They all, like Hagel, deny the personality of God…

Beloved, the theory of evolution is a guess, a speculation -- "the lie" -- invented by a man, who in reaching the limitation of his sense knowledge, turned philosopher and attempted to answer, with disastrous consequences to mankind, the question of the origin of life.

Put another way, evolution is like microwave "science" presented by a scientist who studied microwaves using, of all tools, a magnifying glass, and wrote down what he could not see.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver

Proverbs 25:11
11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

I have read this proverb many times and I like it a lot. I like it a lot because it not only sounds very poetic, but also paints a beautiful picture. I imagine a big table with a red satin sheet, all kinds of gleaming silver cutlery and golden apples taking centre stage -- a bit Christmasy.

Of course, I like it because it is a wise saying too -- say the right thing at the right time and your hearer is most blessed. How true when counselling a depressed soul.

But this morning (25 November 2008 -- 25:11), after praying in tongues for a while, the Holy Spirit showed me something new about this scripture. It came in a flash the moment I read it. (Praying in the Spirit first really does open up the Scriptures to you!)

I saw in a moment this truth: If you want to have divine fruit in your life, you must speak the rhema word of Christ, resting on the foundation of redemption.

We know that gold in the Bible speaks of divinity and silver, the redemptive work of Christ. A word fitly or aptly spoken is not just any scripture you pick off the Bible, but the scripture the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ speaks to you for your unique situation. Also, our foundation has to be the finished work of Christ -- He has done it all.

So to bear fruit that is of God, speak the word that the Holy Spirit has quickened in your spirit and rest in the finished work of Christ!

'That life is in you!'

John 21:25
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

When I read this last verse in the book of John, I thought to myself, "Isn't John exaggerating here?" I mean, Jesus earthly ministry only lasted three years. No doubt He accomplished a great deal, but certainly not to the point that if the deeds He did were recorded one by one, "even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written".

But I know that the Holy Spirit, in inspiring the Gospel of John, did not exaggerate or lie. Jesus' life must really have been so full -- of accomplishments, so infinite, that it was just too big to be contained in books.

So I said, "Wow, what a life!" Then, I believe the Spirit said, "That life is in you!" That blew my mind. You mean that perfect, infinite life that is so full of achievements, miracles, power, love and wisdom is in me? Well, isn't Christ in me? (Colossians 1:27) Am I not in Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17)

This means that all the life and power of Christ to live a life that is so full and so infinite resides in me. Did not Jesus say, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father"?

Son of the Father

Matthew 27:20-22, 26
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said,"Barabbas!"
22 Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!"…
26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

Barabbas was a rebel, murderer and robber. But he was set free instead of Jesus.

Barabbas is actually a picture of the sinner. Without Christ, we were all once, a Barabbas. We were all rebels, murderers and robbers, if not outwardly, then inwardly. But Christ took our place at the cross, so that we could be set free.

I believe that Barabbas became a believer after he was set free. When he saw Jesus standing there, he must have thought, "This is a holy Man. He is innocent and I am guilty. Yet, because of Him, I am being set free. There is something about this Man. I must know who He is."

Why do I believe that Barabbas became a believer?

Because of his name. Barabbas means "son of (bar) father (abba)". Obviously, his parents did not bother to give him a proper name as every man is a son of his father!

But I believe that in his case, because Jesus took his place, he became a son of not just any earthly father, but our heavenly Abba Father!

John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Killing in the name of their god

Religious extremists often kill in the name of their god, thinking that they are doing their god a service. For example, a Muslim extremist might cry, "Allahu akbar!" or "Allah akbar!" (which basically means "God is great") just before he blows himself and others up, or when he has just decapitated a Christian or Jew.

Above: Religious extremists killing in the name of their god.

John 16:2
2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.

Jesus warned His disciples that "the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service". Although He was referring mainly to the religious Jews (such as Saul), who would persecute His disciples and throw them out of the synagogues, I find it interesting that in the post September 11 era, this warning still applies.

What else did Jesus say about these people?

John 16:3
3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

He said that these people "have not known the Father nor Me".

So if you are a religious extremist and you are reading this, according to Jesus (whom Islam regards as a prophet), you do not know the Father nor do you know Jesus.

The opposite is true

In Christianity, God does not require you to die for Him. However, He requires you to believe that He died for you.

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.