Living Waters Christian Fellowship - Lake Nacimiento - California

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.’”


Introduction  The story of two men with different circumstances in life.  One ends up in a great place, and the other in the worst place imaginable.  They both needed mercy, but only one received it.  Why? How? “Have mercy on me!”


1. This Life


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.


2. The After Life


 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.


3. This Life Affects the After Life


 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.


4. Upon Death, the After Life is set and cannot be changed


 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.’


5. Showing mercy in this life leads to receiving mercy in the after life, and hard-heartedness leads to judgment


 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.


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.


James 4
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.


1 John 4
7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
 8 He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.
 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.


Matthew 5
 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.


6. The time for change is in this life, because in the next life it cannot happen


 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.’”


Galatians 5
 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
 23 gentleness, self-control.


1 Corinthians 2:16b
But we have the mind of Christ.


7. We need to make sure we are truly loving and worshipping God, and in mercy loving other people in this life.


What kind of mercy do people need?


a. They need our help when they come into a bad situation - physically, emotionally, spiritually.  If we are able to help in some way, we should.


b. They need our forgiveness when they have done things wrong to us and are seeking our forgiveness and reconciliation.  If we will not forgive someone when they sincerely ask, we cannot be forgiven ourselves.


Matthew 18
32 “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
 33 ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
 34 “And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”


Conclusions  “Have mercy on me!”  God is happy to extend to us His great mercy, but He also expects us to do likewise to those are around us when they cry out for mercy.


Application to My Life