January 15, 2023 – What Will Be Your Eternal Reward?
Sermon: 2217 Five Minutes after Death, Part 2
Pray Over This
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 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. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Ponder This
We’re going to die. In this verse, you see what we call the glories of Heaven. When the beggar died, an angel convoy took him to a place called, “Abraham’s bosom.” What does that mean? Abraham was the father of the faithful, the most revered of the Jewish leaders, and the brightest star in the heavenly kingdom for these Jews. To be with Abraham would be a place of incredible honor.
What does it mean to be in, “Abraham’s bosom?” When people had a banquet in that day, they would not sit around the table as we sit around the table. They would recline. And the best place to recline would be where your head would be near the chest, the bosom, of the host. This man, who’d been feeding on crumbs, was now at a banquet. And not only was he at a banquet, but he was at the very highest place of honor. What Jesus was showing is the great radical change that took place: this man, a beggar, an outcast on Earth, was carried by the angels to Heaven to a place of honor.
Death is not the end. I’m not inviting you to a funeral; I’m inviting you to a feast. That’s what our Lord is talking about.
- Have you ever felt rejected by the world? How does it feel to know Jesus has a place of honor for His followers?
- Do you ever look for the approval of people? How does this passage show the things that are most important?
Practice This
Share with someone the joys of Heaven you are looking forward to.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
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