70 Sermon Illustrations on Comfort

When you say the wrong thing at the wrong time:

Alice Fryling was on her way to Hopkins Airport in Cleveland. Riding with her in the limousine was one other passenger. When she asked why he was traveling, he replied that his business partner had died suddenly and he had come to Ohio for the funeral. Misunderstanding what he said, Alice smiled politely and commented, “Oh, how nice!”

Immediately, she knew her response had been inappropriate. Embarrassed, she asked, “Pardon me?” When he repeated his answer, she realized how she had misunderstood him, and that her polite reply was a disaster.

Rest of article shows how to listen and understand those who grieve.

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Listening with understanding is most important way to help console:

1) Limit words to two sentences.

2) The key to good listening is first to stop talking.

a) Eager to relieve another’s pain, we are often quick to pontificate.

b) Job:

1> He blurts out his own troubles. 10:1

2> He wants his friends to shut up. 13:5

3) How to respond.

a) Paul Welter says that “a response no longer than 12 seconds is usually an effective length in a counseling or helping situation.” In 12 seconds, one can say two sentences, or a total of about 25 words. Welter says “a consistent response length of over 20-30 seconds presents a major problem.”

What we communicate by more lengthy answers is, “I want to talk TO you rather than talk WITH you.” If our responses are long, then the focus is taken off the person we are trying to help and the helping process is slowed down.

b) One of the reasons we talk rather than listen is that we do not like to face negative feelings.

1> We don’t feel comfortable when friends are angry at God, or feel they are losing their faith.

2> These feelings challenge our own faith - and we don’t have easy answers for them.

4) Listening requires an understanding spirit.

a) Listening requires more than not talking.

b) Try to understand what lies behind the words we hear.

5) After listening, show your friend you have heard them.

a) Often a one sentence paraphrase is enough.

b) They can then clarify, or add more information.

Henri Nouwen, in “Out of Solitude,” says, “When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.”

#58

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For many of us, our first impulse with the terminally ill is to avoid them. It's not that we don't care; it's that we don't know what to do or say. Here are some ways to serve the dying:

1. Encourage reminiscing.

2. Offer to pray out loud.

3. Stand by them.

4. Bring goodies.

5. Be real.

6. Touch them.

7. Read the Bible.

So often when we say, “She is such an encouragement,” we mean, “She makes me feel good.” True biblical encouragement goes much further than that. It means putting courage into another person.

Encouragement is a key function of a discipler. All of us need people in our lives who will instill courage so we can walk faithfully with our God. The following questions can help you evaluate how well you are bringing encouragement to those you disciple. Each is based on a verse containing the Greek word PARAKALEO, a word often translated “encouragement.”

• Do I think through creative ways to motivate righteous behavior in those I disciple? (Heb. 10:24–25)

• Do I make it a daily exercise to give encouragement as a preventative against the deceitfulness of sin? (Heb. 3:13)

• Do my words strengthen people to remain true to the faith? (Acts 14:21–22, 15:32)

• Do I honestly and earnestly express my desire to spend time with those I disciple? (Acts 28:20)

• Do I see emotional pain in others as something to be “comforted away,” or do I recognize the need to let people mourn over sin so they can experience God’s comfort and encouragement? (Matt. 5:4)

• Do I emphasize the mercies of God as the reason for responding to Him? (Romans 12:1)

• Do I express the urgency of my own need for prayer? (Romans 15:30)

• Do I forgive those I disciple, affirming my love for them but also communicating that they should “go and sin no more”? (2 Cor. 2:7)

• Am I willing to let others encourage me and “my” disciple? (2 Cor. 7:6–7)

• Am I helping the people I disciple to follow through on their commitments? (2 Cor. 9:5)

• Do I urge those I disciple to live in peace? (2 Cor. 13:11)

• Do my words emphasize that the purpose of God’s comfort is to equip us to comfort others? (2 Cor. 1:3–5)

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Used by permission of DISCIPLESHIP JOURNAL™. Copyright © 1981-2006, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All Rights Reserved.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5304]

The Sequoia trees of California tower as much as 300 feet above the ground. Strangely, these giants have unusually shallow root systems that reach out in all directions to capture the greatest amount of surface moisture. Seldom will you see a redwood standing alone, because high winds would quickly uproot it. That’s why they grow in clusters. Their intertwining roots provide support for one another against the storms. Suffering comes to all of us, and no one can suffer for us. Even so, just like those giant Sequoia trees, we can be supported in those difficult times by the prayers and understanding of loved ones and friends. It’s when we are too proud to admit our needs to others that we are in the greatest danger.

#11360

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An American soldier lay mortally wounded on the battlefield. An officer asked, "Can I do something for you?" "Nothing -- nothing, thank you," replied the wounded soldier. "Shall I go and get you a little water?" asked the officer. "No, thank you; I am dying" was the reply. "Isn't there anything I can do? Cannot I sit down and write a letter to your friends?" "I have no friends you can write to. There is one thing I would be much obliged to you for," said the dying soldier. "In my haversack, yonder, you will find a Testament. Will you open it? Will you be so good as to turn to the fourteenth chapter of John? -- and near the end you will find a verse that begins with 'Peace.'"

The officer turned to the fourteenth chapter of John and read: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

"Thank you sir," said the dying soldier; "thank you sir. I have that peace -- I am going to that Savior." After giving this testimony, in a few moments he was across the line of worlds into Eternity!

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Dictionary of Illustrations

1. There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

Chorus

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the heart of God.

2. There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where we our Saviour meet,

Near to the heart of God.

3. There is a place of full release,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where all is joy and peace,

Near to the heart of God.

[Tune “McAfee”]

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You say: "It's impossible."

God says: All things are possible. (Luke 18:27)

You say: "I'm too tired."

God says: I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: "Nobody really loves me."

God says: I love you. (John 3:16 & John 13:34)

You say: "I can't go on."

God says: My grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9 & Psalms 91:15)

You say: "I can't figure things out."

God says: I will direct your steps. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You say: "I can't do it."

God says: You can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)

You say: "I'm not able."

God says: I am able (2 Corinthians 9:8)

You say: "It's not worth it."

God says: It will be worth it. (Romans 8:28)

You say: "I can't forgive myself."

God says: I FORGIVE YOU. (1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: "I can't manage."

God says: I will supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)

You say: "I'm afraid."

God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7)

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated."

God says: Cast all your cares on ME. (1 Peter 5:7)

You say: "I don't have enough faith."

God says: I've given everyone a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

You say: "I'm not smart enough."

God says: I give you wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

You say: "I feel all alone."

God says: I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

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Submitted by: Jim Almond

Nothing in the early life of James Cash Penney indicated that his name would one day become a household word in homes across the United States. Born in 1875, he grew up on a small farm in Kentucky. His father was a minister in the Primitive Baptist Church. Both parents were committed Christians who instilled a deep and abiding faith in their children.

While Penney was a teenager his minister father became the victim of church politics and was removed from his position. The ensuing financial hardship for the family meant that Penney had to leave school, taking a job to help support the family. He began to work as a clerk in a local store. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, this modest start was providential and would propel him into an illustrious career as a retailer.

After working in various stores, Penney was able to purchase a one-third interest in a dry goods store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The date was April 14, 1902. Kemmerer was a small mining town of less than 1,000 people. Penney and his wife lived in a tiny attic apartment above the store. Their furniture consisted of a large empty dry goods box for a table and smaller boxes for chairs. When their first child was born, Penney’s young wife wrapped their infant in a blanket, allowing it to sleep under a counter while she stood beside it, working alongside her husband, serving their customers.

From that humble beginning J. C. Penney would eventually preside over 1,700 stores. He would lead the country’s largest chain of department stores, each one bearing his name. The influence of Penney’s godly parents became evident with the growth of his business, as he began to describe his chain as the Golden Rule Stores, based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:12: “Do for others what you would like them to do for you” (NLT).

Although his enterprise made him incredibly wealthy, Penney’s life was not devoid of setbacks and troubles. In fact, beginning in 1929, events took place that nearly cost Penney his life.

When the Great Depression struck the country, it came at a time of great financial vulnerability for Penney. While his stores continued to do well, Penney had been adding outside interests, and these were proving to be extremely costly. In order to finance these interests, Penney borrowed heavily. In addition, Penney was becoming a major philanthropist, giving generously to organizations and individuals. The Depression prompted banks to request repayment of his loans sooner than anticipated. Suddenly cash flow was tight, and Penney was finding it difficult to meet payment schedules. Constant and unrelenting worry began to take a toll. “I was so harassed with worries that I couldn’t sleep, and developed an extremely painful ailment,” he said.

Concerned about his deteriorating health, Penney checked himself into the Kellogg sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michigan, the Mayo Clinic of its era. There, Dr. Elmer Eggleston, a staff physician, examined Penney, declaring that he was extremely ill. “A rigid treatment was prescribed, but nothing helped,” Penney recalled. He was attacked by the twin demons of hopelessness and despair. His very will to live was rapidly eroding. “I got weaker day by day. I was broken nervously and physically, filled with despair, unable to see even a ray of hope. I had nothing to live for, I felt that I hadn’t a friend left in the world, that even my family had turned against me.”

Alarmed by his rapidly deteriorating condition, Dr. Eggleston gave Penney a sedative. However, the effect quickly wore off, and Penney awakened with the conviction that he was living the last night of his life. “Getting out of bed, I wrote farewell letters to my wife and to my son, saying that I did not expect to live to see the dawn.”

Penney awakened the next morning, surprised to find himself alive. Making his way down the hallway of the hospital, he could hear singing coming from the little chapel where devotional exercises were held each morning. The words of the hymn he heard being sung spoke deeply to his condition. Going into the chapel, he listened with a weary heart to the singing, the reading of the Scripture lesson, and the prayer. “Suddenly something happened,” he recalled. “I can’t explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into a warm, brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to Paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before.”

In a life-transforming instant Penney knew that God, with His love, was there to help. “From that day to this, my life has been free from worry,” he declared. “The most dramatic and glorious 20 minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning.” The words from the hymn that spoke so eloquently and miraculously to J. C. Penney were “God will take care of you.”

The hymn God used to save J. C. Penney’s life was written by Civilla Durfee Martin. Not much is known about the hymn writer. She lived between 1866 and 1948, writing the hymn in 1904. The inspiration for the words may have come from 1 Peter 5:7: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (NLT). The opening lines read:

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,

God will take care of you;

Beneath His wings of love abide,

God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,

Through every day, o’er all the way;

He will take care of you,

God will take care of you.

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By Victor M. Parachin, a minister and freelance writer who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Source: Adventist Review, ISSN 0161-1119, (c) January 24, 2002, http://www.adventistreview.org/

The Barcelona Olympics of 1992 provided one of track and field’s most incredible moments.

Britain’s Derek Redmond had dreamed all his life of winning a gold medal in the 400-meter race, and his dream was in sight as the gun sounded in the semifinals at Barcelona. He was running the race of his life and could see the finish line as he rounded the turn into the backstretch. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain go up the back of his leg. He fell face first onto the track with a torn right hamstring.

Sports Illustrated recorded the dramatic events:

As the medical attendants were approaching, Redmond fought to his feet. “It was animal instinct,”’ he would say later. He set out hopping, in a crazed attempt to finish the race. When he reached the stretch, a large man in a T-shirt came out of the stands, hurled aside a security guard and ran to Redmond, embracing him. It was Jim Redmond, Derek’s father. “You don’t have to do this,” he told his weeping son. “Yes, I do,” said Derek. “Well, then,” said Jim, “we’re going to finish this together.” And they did. Fighting off security men, the son’s head sometimes buried in his father’s shoulder, they stayed in Derek’s lane all the way to the end, as the crowd gaped, then rose and howled and wept. Derek didn’t walk away with the gold medal, but he walked away with an incredible memory of a father who, when he saw his son in pain, left his seat in the stands to help him finish the race.

That’s what God does for us. When we are experiencing pain and we’re struggling to finish the race, we can be confident that we have a loving Father who won’t let us do it alone. He left His place in heaven to come alongside us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. “I am with you always,” says Jesus, “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

1. Take the name of Jesus with you,

Child of sorrow and of woe;

It will joy and comfort give you;

Take it then, where’er you go.

Chorus

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven.

Precious name, O how sweet!

Hope of earth and joy of heaven.

2. Take the name of Jesus ever,

As a shield from every snare;

If temptations round you gather,

Breathe that holy name in prayer.

3. O the precious name of Jesus!

How it thrills our souls with joy,

When His loving arms receive us,

And His songs our tongues employ!

4. At the name of Jesus bowing,

Falling prostrate at His feet,

King of kings in heaven we’ll crown Him,

When our journey is complete.

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In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, son." She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16 ... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16 ... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.

The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16 ... I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. "Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it."

She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. ... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten

Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but

have everlasting life.

John 3:16

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1. When morning gilds the skies,

My heart awaking cries:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Alike at work and prayer

To Jesus I repair:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

2. Does sadness fill my mind?

A solace here I find:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Or fades my earthly bliss?

My comfort still is this:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

3. In heav’n’s eternal bliss

The loveliest strain is this:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

The pow’rs of darkness fear

When this sweet chant they hear:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

4. Be this, while life is mine,

My canticle divine:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

Be this th’eternal song

Through all the ages long:

May Jesus Christ be praised!

[Tune: Laudes Domini]

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Almost five years to the day that Roger Clay died in a motorcycle accident, his parents got one last message from him - a sun-scorched note he had stuffed in a bottle as a child and set adrift in 1984.

A man found the bottle in a St. Petersburg canal on the Fourth of July and returned it this week to Clay's mother.

“I dread this time of year every year. It's the worst,” Lisa Ferguson told the St. Petersburg Times for Thursday's editions. “But now I have something wonderful to think about.”

Clay died July 10, 1998, nine days after his 21st birthday.

He had been 7 years old and on vacation when he tossed the tape-sealed Pepsi bottle into the Gulf of Mexico from a pier in Clearwater, just north of St. Petersburg.

“To whoever finds this letter please write me a letter and let me know,” the note said in shaky pencil. The note included his address in Fairfield, Ohio, and the date: Dec. 27, 1984.

When the bottle turned up behind Don Smith's home on Tampa Bay, on the opposite side of the Pinellas County peninsula, Smith set out to find the boy. With the Times' help, he learned of Clay's death.

Smith said he was determined to find the parents. “Imagine what that message would mean to them,” he said.

Ferguson was tracked down on vacation in Seminole, a St. Petersburg suburb.

“Here I am, trying to escape Roger's death, and he reaches out and gives me this message, this gift,” she said.

Clay's father, Roger K. Clay, said he had forgotten all about the bottle.

“It's kind of hard to put into words, all the emotions that brings back,” he said. “I told Lisa, it was like he was trying to remind us he was still with us.”

”For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.

This verse draws a quadruple contrast between present tribulations and future compensations; between troubles here and triumphs hereafter. You and I know not what a day may bring forth, and we are very fragile creatures. Sooner than we think, perhaps, heavy weather may beat upon us. Some of us, maybe, are already struggling with the billows. It is well for us to take a steady look at 2 Corinthians 4:17.

First, view it in its context, as the second member in a series of striking contrasts. In verse 16 there is a contrast between the outward and the inward: “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” In verse 17 there is a contrast between the present and the future: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter- nal weight of glory.” In verse 18 there is a contrast between the seen and the unseen: “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are tem- poral; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Next, in chapter 5:1, there is a contrast between the earthly and the heavenly: “If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Next, in verse 4, there is a contrast between the mor- tal and the immortal: “We that are in this tabernacle

do groan, being bur- dened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that

mortality might be swallowed up of life.” Finally, in verses 6-8, there is a contrast between being in the body and out of the body: “ Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We are… willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Dear Christian, you and I should live with these contrasts ever before our minds. They help us to put a true evaluation on things. They set off the merely out- ward and present and seen and earthly and mortal and bodily, against the spiritual and the ulti- mate, and the unseen and the heavenly and the immortal and the being “at home with the Lord”.

But look now, in particular, at chapter 4:17: “ For our light afflic- tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more ex- ceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Our present troubles are here des- cribed comparatively in four- fold aspect. (I) As to their nature, they are “affliction”. (2) As to their weight, they are “light.” (3) As to their duration, they are “but for a moment”. (4) As to their utility, they “work for us” eternal glory. Sometimes, when we are undergoing seemingly inter- minable adversity, the cry is wrung from us, “How long, 0 Lord?” Let suffering Paul show us that the victory of faith is to see the transient present against the ever- lasting glory which is yet to be.

Yes, let suffering Paul show us… Theory is one thing; demon- stration is another. Paul not only preaches; he practises — and proves to us. How he endured! Here was a man who, although still amid the physical, was living in the spiritual; although still amid the temporal, was living in the eternal; although still amid the earthly, was living in the heavenly. He was not waiting to shout, “Glory!” then. Despite all setbacks, he was saying it now!

Luke 16:19–31 — The Rich Man and Lazarus « Leader information shown in this fashion »

A. Luke 16:19-31 (NKJV): 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.”

1. who are the two characters in this story?

a. L_____________ the beggar « — the word was commonly used in a much weaker sense, of just any poor person. In Matthew 5:3 and Revelation 3:17 it is used in spiritually, the “poor in spirit” — Barnes says “Lazarus” means “a man destitute of help, a needy person, a poor man;” however, it seems more likely, as Gesenius and the Oxford Helps to the Study of th Bible (ca 1903, First Edition?) says, that it is the Greek form of Eleazar »

b. the rich man is unnamed but is sometimes refereed to as D__________ « ives — which is the Latin word for “rich man” »

2. how are we to view and to understand this story? — you may have been taught or believe differently from me, but I only ask that you consider

a. firstly, it is important to see it in its context, where it follows

(A) the parable of the U____________ « nfaithful » steward

(B) and also Jesus’ comments

(1) on that parable,

(2) on its relation to our use of worldly wealth

(3) on the money-grasping Pharisees

(C) so that we must take its primary purpose of this story to give further truth on the right use of riches

b. what is this story’s basic teaching respecting the relationship between spiritual position and the role of riches?

(A) does this teach that there is an inverse relationship between these two? … that having riches means you cannot get into heaven (see Luke 18:25)? … that those who are poor and suffer must get into heaven? « — no, there is nothing in this story that lays out this sort of cause and effect »

(B) rather it is that « — the possession of this world’s wealth is no evidence of God’s eternal favour, nor is its absence a mark of God’s judgment »

(C) the rich man produces evidence why he was in the state that he was in; what is that evidence? « — that he, like his five brothers, had failed to repent of his sin »

(D) what is it about riches that make this likely? « — pride and self-satisfaction; affluence and self-sufficiency; all these turn our thoughts away from God; there is also a presumption of God’s favour rests on the rich »

c. so, is this a parable, a story, or a history?

(A) many commentators refer to this as a parable, but note

(1) it is not called a parable

(2) it is not introduced in the parabolic fashion, such as “the kingdom of God is like …” « (cf. Once upon a time) »

(3) it names one of the characters, which would be unique among all the parables of Jesus

(B) others, otherwise Bible-believing, say that in order to teach this lesson on riches, Jesus uses

(1) a teaching of the Pharisees which had originated in Babylon and reflected pagan beliefs « — but Jesus made sure He identified Pharisee’s words (Mark 7:11) »

(2) a contemporary tale of Egyptian origin, or, the current Jewish views on the afterlife « — would Jesus build His teaching of truth on a false foundation? »

(C) so why do commentators take such a point of view? Well because there are some elements in this story that disagree with some of their own ideas

(1) those who teach S______ « oul » S________ « leep » at death

(2) those who fear that this passage may be wrongly used to support the teaching of Purgatory « – but this passage teaches just the opposite »

(3) those who believe that such judgment as “Dives” experienced doesn’t happen until Revelation 20:14 « – proper exegesis will use the clear, didactic sections to interpret the sections of the Bible that are full of imagery, and not the opposite way around »

(D) it is, therefore, my position that it is legitimate to view this as a history, the recounting of an event; but even if it is to be taken as a parable, or a contemporary story, we must never consider Jesus as a child of His times and that we can discard what the passage reveals about life after death; for Jesus is the truth, John 14:6

3. let us look at a few of the truths about the afterlife found in Jesus’ teaching in this passage

B. Luke 16:22a (NKJV): 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

1. when a person dies, his body returns to D______ « ust » and his spirit returns to G_____ « od who gave it » (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

2. in the Hebrew (the Old Testament) the word sheol is used

a. purely and simply as the G_______ « rave” » (Genesis 37:35) « and many other places » ; also as in Psalm 30:3, « metaphorically to a person having come near to death »

b. as the place of departed spirits, good and bad alike, usually translated in the AV as H______ « ell » Psalm 139:8 « et alii »

c. as the place of punishment of the wicked, translated as in the previous item, but also as P____ « it … Numbers 16: 30– 33, Psalm 9:17, Proverbs 23:14 »

3. this story takes places prior to the cross; and we are told in it that there was one part of the place of departed spirits for the faithful, called “A____________ « braham’s » B________ « osom » “

4. at and after the cross, the spirit of the believer is taken into P__________ « aradise » (Luke 23:43) « — the connecting of “today” with “I say” in that verse as a figure of speech to emphasize the solemnity of the situation is ridiculous; a person being strangled on the cross does not need to waste words for emphasis! No, Jesus says what He means; the one thief will accompany Him into Paradise »

5. so, either these two terms denote the same thing, or, in the events that are described in Ephesians 4:8–10, 1 Peter 3:18–20, 4:6, Christ led the spirits of the blessed dead from the first of these to the latter (which included the penitent thief). This event is described in the Apostle’s Creed as “… descended into hell …”

6. now we know that when the believer dies, their spirit goes to be with (see Philippians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 5:8) C___________ « hrist »

C. Luke 16:22b–23a (NKJV): The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades,

1. despite his wealth, the great leveller also strikes the rich man

2. does his wealth, his burial, give him special position in the afterlife? « … no … don’t expect the funeral or eulogy to save! »

3. what is that state? « … one of suffering torment; see also v. 24b »

D. Luke 16:23b (NKJV): he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. … and other parts of the story — what does this tell us about the state of the departed spirits?

1. they are « aware (conscious) »

2. they can « reason and observe »

3. they can « see (somewhat) beyond their own position »

E. Luke 16:25b–26 (NKJV): 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.”

1. what does this tell us about the state of the comforted and the state of the tormented? « — there is no movement from the one state to the other — a refutation of Purgatory »

2. Hebrews 9:27 confirms this « — no change in state between death and the actual pronouncement of judgment (so it is correct in light of God’s perfect knowledge that torment begins at death) »

F. Luke 16:29 (NKJV): Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” — consider this verse, the record of the transfiguration (Luke 9:28-31), the account of the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:7–19); « Be very careful how the following item is treated; there is such a prevalence today, even among Christians, to enquire into the occult that warnings are needed on this subject »

1. what do we learn concerning departed spirits? « — they have, or may be given, certain levels of knowledge in their time of rest »

G. Luke 16:31 (NKJV): 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.” — how do you know this to be a true statement? « — see John 12:10 (Lazarus) and Matthew 28:11-15 (Jesus) refusal to listen »

H. So this view of this passage is consistent with the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 (chapter 31, §1): The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption {Gen 3:19; Ac 13:36} but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them. {Ec 12:7} The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies; {Lu 23:43; 2 Co 5:1,6,8; Php 1:23, Heb 12:23} and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell; where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day; {Jude 6-7; 1 Pe 3:19; Lu 16:23-24} besides these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.

It was Christmas, 1944. My sister, Betsie, had died. I was in a hospital barracks in Ravensbruck, a Nazi prison camp. Dark it was in my heart, and darkness was around me.

There were Christmas trees in the street between the barracks. Dead bodies of prisoners had been thrown under the Christmas trees. I tried to talk to the people around me about Christmas, but they mocked and sneered. At last I kept quiet.

In the middle of the night I suddenly heard a child crying and calling, “Mommy! Come to Oelie. Oelie feels so alone.” I went to her and saw a child not so young, but feebleminded.

“Oelie, Mommy cannot come, but do you know who is willing to come to you? Jesus will come.”

Oelie was lying on a bed next to the window, not far from lack of food, she had a sweet face and beautiful eyes. A bandage of toilet paper covered an incision from surgery on her back.

That night I told this poor child about Jesus. How He came into the world as a little baby how He came to save us from our sins.

“The Lord Jesus loves Oelie and has borne her punishment on the cross.... Jesus is ... [in heaven] right now. He is getting a little house ready for Oelie.” Later I asked her what she remembered of what I had told her.

“What is the little house like?” I asked.

“It is very beautiful. There are no wicked people as in Ravensbruck only good people and angels. And Oelie will see Jesus there.”

The child added, “I will ask Jesus to make me brave when I have a pain. I will think of the pain that Jesus suffered to show Oelie the way to heaven.” Oelie folded her hands; together we gave thanks.

Then I knew why I had to spend this Christmas in Ravensbruck.

________

Corrie ten Boom; These Times, Copyright (c) December 1980, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com

*

1. All the way my Saviour leads me–

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

2. All the way my Saviour leads me–

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for ev’ry trial,

Feeds me with the living bread.

Though my weary steps may falter,

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! a spring of joy I see.

3. All the way my Saviour leads me–

O the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father's house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day,

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

My times are in Thy hand. — Psalm 31:5.

The native of the Congo translates this verse, “All my life’s whys and whens and wheres and wherefores are in God’s hand!” In what safer place could we rest? “In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me” (Isaiah 49:2).

Never mind the why and wherefore,

Never mind the how and when;

For the thoughts of God are higher

Than the thoughts and ways of men.

Never mind the when and whether,

Never mind the thens and tills:

Trust in God’s unchanging mercy,

Rest upon His shalls and wills.

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou

hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction. -- Psalm 119:49, 50.

Scandal writes you a letter; but when it arrives you are so enjoying 1 Corinthians 13 that you burn the letter and pray for the writer. Poverty gives you a call, only to find you reveling in the unsearchable riches of Christ. Death invades your home, striking down your dearest and best; but instead of overwhelming you with grief, it has the effect of breaking earth's fetters, and of leading you with chastened joy to anticipate the time when you will enter upon the unreserved fellowships of eternity. -- G.H.

The joy, rebuke, the grief, the pain,

Thou sendest, Lord, is all my gain;

For all things work for good to one

Who loveth God and Thee, His Son.

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. — 2 Corinthians 1:4.

God must acquaint His comforters with grief,

Else have their words the tinkling cymbal sound;

He first, who brought the wounded heart relief,

Himself lay stricken, bleeding on the ground.

Oh! there is truth surpassing mortal ken,

That God, through suffering, teacheth to His own;

Yea, glories unperceived by mortal men,

Too vast for Faith herself to view alone.

Unto the hopes by sorrows crushed

A noble faith succeeds;

And life, by trials furrowed,

bears The fruit of loving deeds.

I was going through a rough patch in my life and thought a weekend getaway to one of Minnesota’s lakes might lift my spirits. I signed up for a retreat set up by my church. On the way we skirted the town of Brainerd, and a lonely stretch of road where my mom died in a terrible car accident when I was 17. Recalling that horrible day made me feel sad and more down than ever. The question that had haunted me for more than 20 years came back: Did Mom die all alone? I’d thought I could find comfort in the answer, but since no one was able to tell me what had happened, that answer never came. My prayers seemed in vain.

At the retreat center I was assigned a room with several other women. One of them, Terri, had come all the way to the retreat from Midland, Texas. “What brings you to Minnesota?” I asked her.

“My mother lived near Brainerd,” she told me.

“Really? I used to live near there.”

“Mom passed away four months ago,” Terri said. “After the retreat I’m going to visit her grave.”

I remembered how hard my first visit to my mother’s grave had been. Even after all these years the grief felt fresh. My mom was still such a presence in my life that it almost felt as if I could never completely stop mourning her. I knew what Terri must be going through. Before we got ready for bed that night, I decided to tell her my story.

“A man lost control of his car, crossed the centerline and hit my mom’s car head-on,” I said. “That’s what I was told. I wasn’t with her when it happened.”

“When was that?” Terri asked.

“November of 1973.”

Terri looked shocked. Then she took my hand. “Paulie, I was the first person to stop at the scene after the accident. I was young, but I remember your mother well. I held her hand and prayed until the paramedics took her away. I was there.”

Mom had not been alone. At last I had the answer, and the comfort I was searching for.

________

Source: Guideposts, Copyright (c) July 2005, http://www.guideposts.org

*

[Original illustration at this number was moved to HolwickID #5125]

Another Bible misquote from a child: “Samson slayed the Philistines with the ax of the apostles.”

What is your comfort zone? It may be your home, your family, your church, your hobby corner, etc. Each of us needs a comfort zone where we can retreat and just plain be at peace. For us, we love our home here in the piney woods of Florida so much that we have no desire to go on trips. It’s our comfort zone.

We also need a spiritual comfort zone. That can be your devotional corner, your church or any other favorite spot where you can commune with your Lord. After yesterday’s E-Cheer I heard from several who mentioned that after many years they had to move on to another church because they were no longer being fed. If your church is no longer a comfort zone for you, you may need to move on to one where you feel like you are needed and being fed.

A favorite comfort zone for many of us is our Bible. Think of it — 66 books with the first writer certainly not knowing the last one and yet it all perfectly dovetails. It truly is a miracle book. A favorite verse of many is Psa. 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” His Word really is a comfort zone — cherish it!

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Arakawa and Madeline Gins are artists who have committed their energies and art to the quest to make human beings immortal - a movement known as Transhumanism. Arakawa (his entire name) and Madeline Gin base their artistic quest for immortality “on the idea that people degenerate and die in part because they live in spaces that are too comfortable.” Seriously. Their answer is to “construct abodes that leave people disoriented, challenged, and feeling anything but comfortable.”

Arakawa insists that living in these disorienting spaces can make one “become like a baby.” As the JOURNAL reports, “They build buildings with no doors inside. They place rooms far apart. They put windows near the ceiling or near the floor. Between rooms are sloping, bumpy moonscape-like floors designed to throw occupants off balance.”

The whole idea throws me off balance. The world of modern “art” is littered with nonsense of limitless variety. These artists have built nine “reversible destiny” lofts in Japan at a cost of $6 million. The lofts are shaped like spheres, tubes, or cubes and are marked by odd features, misshapen floors and walls, and uneven floors.

One Japanese loft tenant, Nobutaka Yamaoka, claims to have lost both weight and his hay fever after a couple years of living in the loft with his family. He admits that he isn’t sure that the loft had anything to do with these achievements. He can’t buy furniture for his loft because of the uneven floors and his wife complains that she hits her head trying to crawl to the outdoors through a window, but Mr. Yamaoka is undeterred. Ms. Gins told the JOURNAL that crawling out of the low window in order to hang up the laundry is “one of the exercises.” Obviously.

Here is my favorite part of the article:

“Their research is a milestone in the history of conceptual art,”

says Alexandra Munroe, senior curator at the main Guggenheim

Museum, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where the couple’s work

is currently on display. She says many of their supporters don’t

literally accept the couple’s message on immortality but

appreciate it in a “metaphorical” way.

To the artists, eternal life is a real possibility. “This is a

great chance for the human race,” says Ms. Gins.

Well, this “great chance for the human race” is endangered by a lack of funding, given the fact that these artists lost their funding to Bernard Madoff’s scheme. “Here was someone we thought was a supporter of ours, and he pulled the rug out from under us,” said Ms. Gins.

Other transhumanists were quick to distance themselves from the odd theory of age reversal advocated by this artistic couple. Ray Kurzweil, identified as “a leading transhumanist figure in the U.S.,” dismissed the theory of Arakawa and Ms. Gins and offered his own, presumably less odd theory of age reversal. Kurzweil told the JOURNAL that future human beings will have small cell-regenerating robots in their bodies. He evidently thinks that robots inside our bodies would seem less odd than the idea that we are dying because our living spaces are too comfortable.

Just last week TIME magazine reported that “amortality” is one of the “TEN IDEAS CHANGING THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.” Meanwhile, the JOURNAL cites a professor of aging who called the promotion of longevity “the second-oldest profession.”

The great quest of transhumanism is to defy death and to redefine what it means to be human. But death will not forever be defied and those who live in uncomfortable houses are not likely to live much longer than those who reside in (apparently) deadly comfort. God is not mocked.

G.K. Chesterton called Charles Dickens the poet of fog.[1] In A Christmas Carol, the fog of London serves as a backdrop from which characters emerge with lamps, light.

When Scrooge is first greeted by the caroling of “God bless you merry gentlemen,” he responds such that “the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog.”[2]

Of the fog in Dickens, Chesterton remarks that fog is not used as dismal or dark, but rather something that draws in and, in the case of Scrooge, corners. Fog “makes the world small, in the same spirit as in that common and happy cry that the world is small, meaning it is full of friends.”[3] The fog of London brings Scrooge messengers and eventually sees him return to friends.

In this sense Chesterton picks up on the theme of comfort in Dickens. For comfort, he says, “belongs peculiarly to Christmas; above all it belongs pre-eminently to Dickens.”[4] The fog draws Scrooge inward to a place of comfort. For inside there are fires and feasts. Chesterton explains:

“The beauty and the real blessing of the story do not lie in the mechanical plot of it, the repentance of Scrooge, probable or improbable; they lie in the great furnace of real happiness that glows through Scrooge and everything round him.”[5]

In our day, we live in a fog. Current events and the conflict of culture pervade our streets and the airwaves in which we live and move. Yet, often when burdened by this fog and darkness we fail to see it as a reminder to move us to places of comfort. Places with fires and friends. Places that arrive naturally at this time of year.

George McDonald said Christmas Day is the “one day that blesses all the year.”[6] This is because at the heart of Christmas day is a message of comfort. Sung and proclaimed is a declaration of kingly coronation, the heralding of a kingdom that brings “tidings of comfort and joy.”

The promise of a Messiah-King came in a blessing from the patriarch Jacob to Judah that through him a king will reign (Genesis 49:10). Chris Bruno explains, “It was into this broken family line that God promised the scepter of kingship, the ruler’s staff. But the descendant of Judah would not only be the king of Israel, he would also be a king over the nations.”[7]

After hundreds of years, the people of God saw part of this prophecy fulfilled with the rise of King David about whom the prophet Nathan declares that the Lord “will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13). Yet, this ruler revealed only, in part, what was yet still to come.

As Andreas Köstenberger reminds, “The Old Testament ends with the messianic promise unfulfilled,” and “The entire New Testament begins with a verse that declares Jesus to be the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, the long awaited Messiah!”(Matthew 1:1)[8]

Thus, when the angel of the Lord brought to the shepherds the “good tidings of great joy,” (Luke 2:10), they were marking the end of years of intertestamental silence about the coming messiah. Into the darkness of night emerged a lamp, a light. Jesus Christ came as King and reigns as King.

Pontius Pilate would ask Jesus about his monarchy and Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).

This life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is what J.I. Packer calls the message of Christmas:

“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity–hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory–because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message the world has ever heard or will hear.”[9]

As a commentary for early Christians to understand this further, the author of the biblical letter to the Hebrews would connect the Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah-King to Jesus explaining that God the Father said of God the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8, Psalm 45:6).

And John declares Jesus is “the ruler of kings on earth” (Revelation 1:5). In our day, he rules at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20-23) though we do yet see “everything in subjection to him” (Hebrews 2:8).

Yet, though already reigning King, Jesus will come again to rule and reign in full. Into our world of darkness of fog, he will return and dwell with us and reign over us. Then “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Just as Dickens used fog as a backdrop in which to drive Scrooge to light, friends, comfort — God uses the fog of darkness in our own day for good. Indeed, Chesterton’s final description of Dickens’ work serves as a fitting description of our own day, and our own future in Christ:

“The story sings from end to end like a happy man going home; and, like a happy and good man, when it cannot sing it yells. It is lyric and exclamatory, from the first exclamatory words of it. It is strictly a Christmas Carol.”[10]

The story of the reigning and returning Messiah-King, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Christmas Carol. May this bring tidings of comfort and joy, into the fog, this Christmas.

__________

[1] G.K. Chesterson, Charles Dickens: A Critical Study (Dodd Mead, 1910), 169.

[2] Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (Puffin, 1843 [2014]), 13.

[3] Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 168-169.

[4] Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 165.

[5] Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 173.

[6] George MacDonald, Within and Without (Scribner, 1872), 125 cited in Timothy Larsen, George MacDonald and the Age of Miracles (IVP, 2018), 21.

[7] Chris Bruno, The Whole Story of the Bible in 16 Verses (Crossway, 2015), 52.

[8] Andreas J. Kӧstenberger and Alexander E. Stewart, The First Days of Jesus (Crossway, 2015), 38-39.

[9] J.I. Packer, “The Son’s Gift,” in Knowing God Through the Year (Hodder, 2017), 29.

[10] Chesterton, Charles Dickens, 173.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared at The Gospel Coalition.

Read Isaiah 43:1-13

Do not fear, for I am with you. -- Isaiah 41:10 (NRSV)

In 1990, my doctor informed me that I had a brain tumor. He said he would make arrangements for me to go to a famous clinic for treatment. This shocking news came at a difficult time in my life. My children and I were separated from each other because of my job. I was lonely and depressed, so this news absolutely shattered me. I began to question why it was happening to me. Was God testing my faith?

The diagnosis was confirmed, and I was scheduled for immediate surgery. I struggled with doubt and fear that something could go wrong and I might die. There was no time to talk with my children about either the diagnosis or my possible death.

I searched my Bible. In Isaiah I read, "Fear not, I am with you," and a comforting peace came over me. I went into surgery with confidence. God helped me conquer my fear, and the surgery was successful.

These words continue to be the source of strength in my ministry and daily life. God is powerful and concerned and is with us in our doubts and fears. Our God protects us. When we travel on rough roads of loneliness and darkness, in the midst of turmoil and confusion, we do not have to be afraid for God is with us.

PRAYER: God of love, thank you for your presence. Take away our fears and doubts. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

As we search the scripture, God speaks to our deepest fears and needs.

Sukumari (Sue) Samuel (South Dakota)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those facing bad news alone