Note for 20250511 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ - Part 109 - Luke 16 - Ye are They
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
According to Luke
Part 109 - Luke 16 - Ye are They
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Luke 16:1-31 KJV
[1] And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. [2] And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. [3] Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. [4] I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. [5] So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? [6] And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. [7] Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. [8] And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. [9] And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. [10] He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? [12] And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? [13] No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [14] And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. [15] And he said unto them, 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. [16] The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. [17] And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. [18] Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. [19] There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: [20] and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, [21] and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] 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; [23] and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] 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. [25] 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. [26] 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. [27] Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: [28] for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. [29] Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [30] And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. [31] And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Note for 20250511
Ye are They
Luke 16:15 KJV
[15] And he said unto them, 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.
There is no "soft-landing" message in this chapter. You know, when you are lost you first need to realize that you are lost, else you are still convicted of your direction. You justify yourself, thinking that you have not gone wrong in the directions. Far more foolish is the one who says to himself, "I need no direction," or "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." You see, the Rich Man had no bridge to cross, my friends. The end destination was determined on the way with a "no turning back" result at the end. Hell has a "no returns" policy.
Shall I speak of Mammon? How, you can not serve both GOD and Mammon? Is there a need for me to speak on this verse:
Luke 16:9 KJV
[9] And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Or, do you understand that these everlasting habitations are explained by the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus? These are the end destinations of mankind.
You see, you cannot be on the way of Mammon and unrighteousness and be on the way to Christ. Sure, it is tricky to look at, but at the core it speaks of love to what? Who is it that you love above all? You may think I will ask you, is it Mammon or Jesus Christ, but the more apt question is: Is it you or Jesus Christ? Do you love GOD with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your strength and all of your soul, and your neighbour as yourself? Who do you care for first, right now? Do you justify yourself, or is it Christ that justifies you? These are huge questions today? Questions that we ought to ask of ourselves at every moment. Who am I living for?
Luke 16:31 KJV
[31] And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Do you know of One that rose from the dead, have you heard His testimony? Or, shall I ask you this, have you heard of another that also rose from the dead? Was Lazarus not brought back by Christ too? Did the people not come from far to hear him too? Was the Pharisees and scribes not concerned about his message too? And right here, the need for knowledge of the testimonies of Christ comes into full focus, because even Lazarus would have to testify of Jesus Christ. Was he not in the grave 4 days already?
The question that lingers in me now, did GOD permit someone to come back and warn us in line with the rich man's request? I wonder if his brothers heard? But, that is less important now than this question: have you?
Then, is it not in my testimony that I have died? Yes, I know it was brief, but still, did I not escape death too? In Christ, did we not all lay down our lives with Him in the grave? Do we not proclaim that we are reborn? Shall I take it one more step further? Do we not preach life unto the dead? Are we not the Light of Jesus Christ in a dark world? Do we not walk in the valley of the shadow of death? What is the penalty of sin? Who paid that price for us?
Friends, it is my hope that in reading that you will see, in hearing that you will hear. No flesh can enter the Kingdom of GOD (1 Corinthians 15:50.) Are we not to receive life in Christ here and now? Did Christ not say, let the dead bury the dead? If you live for the flesh, you live unto death; if you live after the Spirit, you are living unto more life. To put it simply, you choose right here and now, every day. There is no bridge to cross from death to life once you have reached the end destination already. There is a gulf without a bridge at the end. You choose now. Who shall then say, "a little more slumber, a little more sleep?" Did Christ not say, "The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak?"
Have you got any idea how much grace GOD has shown that you are yet alive to make that choice? If you still have breath in you, then there is still hope, for me and for you. If you still have breath, then GOD still hopes that you will make the right choice at some point. But, if you cannot even consider it at this moment, who knows how long you will still breathe? Just yesterday I heard a report of a young man who died of a heart attack, in his twenties? Whether you hear me or not, time is running out for all, breath by breath.
Do not leave things to chance. There is no bridge to cross at the end, you choose here and now, today. If you walk blindly, you won't stumble into heaven. No! To reach the Kingdom of GOD you need to follow the directions of the Lord Jesus Christ. In all things, you need his instruction. Do not attempt to justify yourselves, for only in Jesus Christ are we justified unto eternal life with Him.
Selah, Shalom
(NOTE: If You feel that you want more, please take note that this here is basically just the notes for the Audio version of the Note. There is much more in the Audio and Video Versions of the Daily Notes)
Verse of The Day
From the YouVersion Bible App
Matthew 1:21 KJV
[21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
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