Words of Jesus Podcast - How Can We Follow Jesus If We Can't Hear Him

Episode Date: May 31, 2024

Listen for the Word of God beyond the obvious story of the parable. The scriptures reveal sin creates distance between God and man. Remember when God tried to speak to the people of Israel? The people were not purified to handle the righteousness of God. In like manner, we must strive for righteousness. Communication is severed if we violate the ten commandments. Strive to obey. Jesus will teach us from the inside - IF - we keep the commandments. ~ Hold the dogma and doctrines of church traditions in an open hand.***75: Jesus Warns In ParablesLuke 16:1-31Jesus told a parable to his disciples, saying:           The Rich Man And Lazarus            When the Pharisees, who were covetous, heard Jesus, they derided him.            So Jesus told a parable to the Pharisees, saying:            “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for Heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.            “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And 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.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things.But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, ‘I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham saith unto him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.’ And he said unto him, ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.’”

Think Red Ink Ministries presents the Words of Jesus series with Don C. Harris. Hello my friends and welcome once again to the Words of Jesus series. Don Harris your host and we're going to be talking about one of the most famous parables that Jesus ever told. Most people tell this story and like to preface it by saying, oh that's not a parable. Well why do you that? Well, it says there was a certain rich man and a certain beggar, and he gave them names, and this actually happened. I don't know why they think that when Jesus is trying to teach us something, and he tells a story that actually happened, as opposed to a parable that we're supposed to draw some some uh you know conclusion from i don't know why one

is more important than the other but most of the time when you when people are teaching on the story of the rich man and lazarus they use this parable and it is a parable and uh they they use it in order to bolster doctrine. One of the doctrines that has come along, it's been kind of an amalgamation of the religious hodgepodge that goes from one end of paganism to so-called Christianity. It goes through some sects of the Judaism and certainly through Muslim faith. It just seems to permeate everything. And that is the idea of going to heaven when you die. Although the scriptures, Jesus never promised anybody that they're ever going to heaven.

Matter of fact, he spent a lot of time showing how far out of reach our Father is. No man's ever seen his face or heard his voice at any time, Jesus said. So he talks about our Father being very, very remote from us and that no man has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, which came down from heaven. And the promise of going to heaven when you die is conspicuously, conspicuously to anybody who looks for it, conspicuously absent. It's not there.

But it is in every other pagan religion, so why not put it in Christianity? I mean, if we can sit around and stare at a pine tree and a Nimrod worshiping pine tree and call it a Christmas tree, I guess we can certainly take the good stuff out of the religious smorgasbord. Ooh, there's going to heaven. I want a dish of that. Put a little more on the plate, please. Well, you can do that if you want to, and you can believe that if you want to. I'm not saying that you're wrong or you're going to

hell if you believe it. I'm just saying that please don't tell people that the Bible says so, because it doesn't. It doesn't. The only promise we receive from Jesus Christ, if we live a life that is pleasing to him, is that we will be resurrected, is that we will spend eternity with him. And his intention, according to the scriptures, is to be the king of this earth. And so, you know, where are you going when you die i'm going in a hole some people call it a grave the bible calls it hell um so that's where i'm going and one day i intend on standing right there on that same dirt and being resurrected and being brought into

the kingdom of god on the earth well i say all that to say that in order to bolster the idea of the minute that you die, what happens the minute you die? Well, you go to heaven or hell, right? And many people look at dead people in coffins and say, Oh, well, they're with Jesus now. Well, okay. If that's what you believe, then you can believe that. You can believe that people go to Mars when they die if you want to,

but please don't say that the Bible says so because it doesn't. Well, doesn't the Bible say that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord? No, it doesn't. It says, Paul says, I would rather be absent from the body and to be present with the lord but you can't just throw the word and out you can't just saw this off the end of paul's sentence and say this is a promise that we're going to be with jesus the second that we die the next time you open your eyes well it might be the next time you open your eyes. Well, it might be the next time you open your eyes in the resurrection. But, you know, the minute after you're dead,

you're going to be with Jesus. There's no reason to believe that. Why do we say that to each other? Oh, yeah, that's right. It's paganism. So people say, well, what about the rich man and Lazarus? And he lifted up his eyes and he was in torment, right? You've heard this, right? Well, can we use the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to find doctrine pertaining to death, burial, resurrection, salvation, and entrance into heaven? Really, can we do that? Let's find out. Jesus told a parable to the Pharisees, and he said, every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,

full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom, 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 but abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise lazarus evil things but now he's comforted and now are tormented. And besides all this, there's a, between us, there's a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, from here to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence or there. Then he said.

I pray thee therefore father. That thou shouldest send them unto my father's house. For I have five brethren. That he may testify unto them. Lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto them. Saith unto him. They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them and he said nay father

abraham but if one went to them from the dead they would repent now we have this rich guy who's never really cared about the things of the lord all of a sudden he's got a theological degree, and he's going to teach Abraham a few things. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Hey friend, how did you come to the point you're at right now in this particular state that you call yourself a Christian? How did you get there? You know, the Bible says that the Lord gave us the commandments as a schoolmaster to bring us into Christ. Jesus says, anybody climb up some other way than the way I've

provided for you? Climb up some other way? You're a thief and a robber. You know, there are many people who consider themselves to be Christian, consider themselves to be on their way to heaven, as sure for heaven as if they were already there, and they have never even smelled the law. Much less read it, looked at it. Oh, it might be in a few Sunday school lessons.

It might be on the flannel graph, little cardboard cutouts of Moses, you know, picking up the Ten Commandments, and we know the story, and he brought them down, and he broke them, and he went back, and we know the story. But what did the commandments actually say what did those tablets actually say and how are they a part of the christian's life friend according to this this is the way we are we are supposed to come to christ perhaps this is why jesus told that young man keep the commandments well i've done that good this do now shall live well i want to do better well that's available too what is he

telling him what is it why would he send him toward the commandments because that's the way you get here. That's how this happens. I thought we just had to confess Jesus as Lord. That's probably a great idea. And it's a wonderful thing to paint on your business sign out front, Jesus is Lord. Or put that on the transom of your new yacht, Jesus is Lord. Well, that's wonderful.

You can write it all you want but is he you know how to make him lord not with a not with a little pint of of enamel paint and a brush how do you make him lord of your life do what he says to do what did he say to do well the first words that he gave us in stone were the ten commandments why don't we do what he says to do well the first words that he gave us in stone were the ten commandments why don't we do what he says to do they've not passed away he said they'll never pass away so well i i just don't see another path here friend i really don't see another way to go you're not going to be a christian you're not going to see the kingdom of god if you're not keeping the commandments of god i can't give you that perhaps you know our father god has forgiven us perhaps maybe seven out of ten commandments are enough for him but he didn't

say so what he said was you break one these, it's just like breaking all of them. So I'm sorry, I don't have another path for you. But here's some good news for you. There are billions of people out there that do have another path. There are millions of churches. There are tens of thousands of denominations that all disagree with me. So don't fret. Don't worry. You will find somebody that agrees with you. Nothing really here to worry about. It's just me over here, a voice in the wilderness in Pytown, New Mexico,

out here in the middle of nowhere, trying my best to tell you the good news. That's all I know to do. Voice crying in the wilderness. Repent. I really don't know what else to do. That's not exactly true. I did that other stuff for about 15 years all right now we started this parable out or talking about this parable and i said that many people try to use the parable

as a bolstering of their ideas of going to heaven when you die instantly being in heaven when you die or instantly being in hell when you die uh the book of uh esdras second esdras uh to be more precise uh seventh chapter of second esdras uh if you have one that is complete it's not been raped by some by some denomination that doesn't like what it says, you'll find out exactly what happens to you when you die. I remember speaking to a man that was near the end of his life and he had real concerns about what happens from here. And I took my Bible and this is a full Bible. The apocrypha is contained in here and and I opened it to second Esdras and I was going to read to him

what the Bible says about the week following your death and I showed him exactly this is what happens on the first day and this is what happens on the second day and the third day and the fourth day the fifth day the sixth day the seventh day i showed him every exactly what the bible said was going to happen to him when he died where are you getting that well it was in the bible until a hundred years ago the american bible society decided that we didn't need to read that i don't know how they made that choice as a matter of fact it's kind of interesting when you look into the apocrypha and you think who the heck took all these books out of the bible and why did they do it you will never answer that question accurately that's it's

amazing it's it's really well hidden that and especially the reasons why certain books were were admitted and certain ones omitted um and and then of course you have the the catholic stance on uh the canon of scripture i hear protestants say this all the time the canon of scripture the sealed canon well you know if i had a canon i would aim it at those guys i i get i get so tired of them of of just teaching religion it's it's silly well the bible says you you know you look in the book of revelation and it says you can't add to or take away from this book because that revelations in the end of the bible you think that pertains to this book really are you that illiterate i can show you in the law way up here in the front where it says the same thing don't add or take away from this book you know i sometimes i think they're

willingly ignorant sometimes i think that think that they really don't care what the truth is as long as they can bolster the denominational dogma. Like that's the most important thing in the world. Look, preacher, the most important thing in the world is to help that person, that parishioner, if you want to call it, your church member,

the person around you that wants a relationship with God, teach them to get in touch with the lord god it's just it's so simple to be done jesus says here's what you got to do you got to believe like your life depends on it because it does well he said it this way take up your cross which i interpret, you want to be a Christian? Make your reservation at the concentration camp. And then what I want you to do is deny yourself and follow me. How are you going to follow a God you don't speak to? How are you going to follow a God who doesn't speak to you?

We must have this time before the Lord. Jesus says, if you keep my commandments, I'll come into you and lead you and guide you from the inside out, from the inside up. I'm going to teach you from the inside. This is his promise. This isn't me speaking. He said, keep the commandments. I'll do this for you. I'll come into you. I'll live in there and I'll teach you from the inside. What a wonderful promise. So what do we trade that for? Book. A book that nobody can credibly trace back to its origin. Did you know that? I hear people say all the time, well, in the original, it says, you liar. There is no original Bible. I mean, there might have been, but we certainly don't have it. Nobody has ever seen it, if what you're saying is true. But it's not true. So what do we need to do? We

need to take the scraps that we have left and bolster our doctrine. Do you really think that you can make doctrine from a parable? Is that really wise? Yes, bless God. It's the word of God. Every word of it's true.

And it doesn't matter. And then, of course, like i said when we started out some people say well you know this isn't just a parable this was a certain rich man and a certain beggar oh i got goosebumps but can we draw doctrine from this from this from this parable that's what i want to know yes or or no? And if you ask people, they'll say yes. Because they insist that their whole doctrine comes straight from the Word of God. Why are you calling it the Word of God?

It doesn't call itself the Word of God. Where'd you get that? Did you get that from your Word of God? Of course you didn't. So if all this convoluted talk makes you dizzy, I want you to know, it makes anybody that can think dizzy. Of course you didn't. So if all this convoluted talk makes you dizzy, I want you to know, it makes anybody that can think dizzy.

But there is an answer. There is a way that all this comes together to make perfect sense, to make changes in your life, to empower you to be a different person than you are right now. Any takers? Boy, my hand's up. I'll take a dose of that thank you i don't want to be tomorrow like i am today i'd really like to be better there's only one way to do that keep his commandments never disobey your conscience

and take time every day to hear the voice of god. So the question is, can we extract doctrine from this parable? Yes, bless God, we can. Okay? So let's see. Here's one man that was saved, one man that was lost. Is that right? Yes. And they might add bless God on the end of it too.

You know, give it a little vibration. But all of a sudden, it all starts to fall apart when I ask, according to this parable, what do I need to do to be saved? Well, let's see here. You need to be poor. You need to have some kind of a skin disease. Oh, oh, and you need to let a dog lick your sores. It'd probably help if you sat and begged.

Sat and begged at the gate. But that's about all that's here. Doesn't say anything about Jesus. Doesn't say anything about being a sinner. Getting forgiveness. Receiving atonement hmm no not a word so have we found a new way to be saved sure just be poor and you can be saved that's how the rich that's how the lazarus did it. Now, what does it say to be counted worthy to go to hell? Well, let's see. You need to be rich, need to push people around, and you need to consider yourself to be the most important person in the world. Of course, that might do it.

But what I'm saying is, there is no way that an honest and well, biblically literate man can look at this and say that this is telling us what happens when we die. Now I want you to know, Jesus was fully aware of the encounter that Esdras had with the angel that day that I'm talking about in the book of Esdras.

He's fully aware of that story. As a matter of fact, there are hints of that story in here. It's obvious if you read that story that the first thing that happens to a person when they die is they see the glory of God. Friend, that's going to be a very good or a very bad day for you. Here I see that Lazarus had a very good day. The rich man had a very bad day. I'm saying that Jesus was fully aware of what happens when a person dies,

but that's not what he was teaching. All right, I need you to rewind, go back to the show just prior to this one. I was telling you there's a key to this that is throughout these parables, and what was it? Things are not the way you think they are does that frighten you at all you know what that means that means the person that is high in your esteem is likely low in god's esteem the person that's low in your esteem might be high in god's esteem how many times does he have to say it the first or last the last first how many times do you have

to say it that you have a man like lazarus full of sores laid at the gate dogs licking his sores is there any way you take that man home with you and have dinner with this guy no he's despised he's rejected he's left on his own why well he's the off scouring of society do you know jesus is saying you see that guy over there at the gate this is why i believe that he that he gave them names you see that man sitting over there at the gate this is why i believe that he that he gave them names you see that man sitting over there at the gate that's lazarus do you realize there will come a day you see that man walking down the street there with all that finery wearing all that gold and all those people following behind him his little entourage oh yes mr rich man anything i can Man. Anything I can do for you, Mr. Rich Man.

Oh, Mr. Rich Man would like, he would like a soda, please. He's got his entourage. He's got all of his cronies, all of his sycophants following him around. And then it's just a parade coming down the road. You see that guy? There will come a day when that man will ask a man like that for something to drink why because things are not the way you think they are what is highly esteemed in the sight of men is an abomination in the sight of God. And what we hold as abominable could very well be something that God loves dearly. One of the criticisms that God had about us was that he said,

you're like children in the marketplace. You just want your own way. I piped unto you, you haven't danced. I've mourned unto you, and you have not lamented. Where will I liken the children of this generation?

They're like a bunch of children is what they are. They're just children. They don't have anything on their mind except themselves. That's all they have on their mind. Because what the tune that God's playing, that's not my favorite tune. I'll wait till I hear something I like. How can you do that? I'll tell you how we do that.

We esteem ourselves above everybody else. Well, there may come a time, Mr. High Esteem, that you will ask a person that you wouldn't even share the time with for something to drink. You may depend, you may feel like you need to depend on him to save everybody you know from such a horrible place as this. The other thing that we need to get from this parable is the fact that Abraham. Made it very clear to him. That.

People will not be persuaded. I know you're miserable. Mr. Rich guy. I know that. You had a wonderful life. But. You know. Things have changed here.

Why? And the rich man hollers back across the gulf. Because things. Weren't. The way I thought they were. That's right. Things aren't the way i thought they were that's right things aren't the way you think they are but here's what you should know you know it's a nice little gesture you're making about you know lazarus coming back from the dead or whatever else but i want you to know that i've been at this longer than you and here here's something that I know, that people aren't going to be persuaded. Though one rose from the dead. Jesus,

when he was telling this parable, I think he was choked a little. I think that he was teary-eyed a little, because he started to realize that my death, burial, and resurrection is still not enough for these children. I can mourn unto them. I can pipe unto them. They're not going to dance. They're not going to mourn. They're not going to consider what I like

as something they like. They're not going to consider something that I don't like, something that they don't like. There's a huge gulf between me and these people and it'll never be bridged. I don't think it'll ever be bridged. Though one rose from the dead. And he knew that, he said that knowing

that that was his plan all along to realize that the the goal for which you're striving every minute of every day is going to prove in the end to be absolutely worthless it's it's a sad thing all right our time is gone so sorry but you know, we've got time constraints. Write to me, Don, at thinkredink.com. Until I see you again, my friend, Think Red Ink Ministries. Email don at thinkredink.com. That's thinkredink.com. Join us again for the next episode in the Words of Jesus series. you