In this sermon, the preacher addresses the issue of Western Hemisphere Christianity being distracted by worldly pursuits. He uses the metaphor of the American idol and new living room furniture to illustrate how we forget about the needs of others, specifically referencing the story of Lazarus. The preacher emphasizes that God has placed us in positions of privilege to take care of the poor and needy. He urges the congregation to live outside the gate, meaning to actively engage in helping those in need, and warns of the judgment that awaits those who neglect this responsibility.

It's good to see everyone this morning. Lily, you know where your mother's at today? I'd like to call and check on her. We have a couple of ladies that could call Gina and check on her this afternoon after service. Okay, I guess I will. I want to talk this morning about living outside of the gate. This message has been burdened, or burdening my heart for the week. And so, I take it it was for me personally, but also for us corporately. So I wanted to talk in short about it this morning. I know that my time is a little bit limited, but that's okay. We have time to get through some of this and then draw some conclusions from the word of God. So we're going to start together, and this, as we know, is the rich man Lazarus. And we are familiar with this parable. Starting in verse 19, the Bible, actually Jesus, says there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And beside all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed, in the order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. And he said, Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. But Abraham said, They have the Gideons. Amen? The Word. That shows the importance, Brother Jerry, of the Gideons, you guys spreading the Word. They have the prophets and the law, the Word of God. Let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Let's pray. Father, in this parable, Lord, are so many truths. Lord, I have found it a challenge today, Lord, to know which ray of illumination to expound upon. Lord, I'm trusting that the Holy Ghost will give me words to speak in this self-same hour. Lord, guide my tongue, Lord, let it be as of a pen in the hand of a ready writer and use me to inscribe truth upon the hearts of your chosen people. Father, help me, Lord, to be hidden in Christ. And my life is hidden with God in Christ. And Lord, that Christ will be heard, that Christ will be perceived, Christ and the sweetness of Christ will be felt. But Lord, the instructive and the tutorial essence of Christ will come forth today. Father, give us eyes to see and ears to hear what the spirit of God has to say to Pryor Creek Community Church and those who will be listening on the Internet to this message. Lord, convince us of our sin. Convince us of the righteousness available through Christ. And convince us, Father, of the judgment which is soon to come. Lord, we give you praise and we give you glory in the wonderful and unspeakable name of Jesus. Amen. Well, the world did not end yesterday. Be careful not to boast about it, because the world will end soon. And there will be a group of mockers and scoffers in the contemporary church that will be scoffing, saying, where is the promise of his appearing? For since the fathers have fallen asleep, all things remain the same. The beloved, the word of God says, Jesus himself declared, as a thief comes in the night, the Lord is going to come for his people. When when there are many who are unaware that Christ will return when he's least expected, we need to be careful in our boasting to not be arrogant, to think that we have tomorrow because we have no promise of tomorrow. We do have the promise of the of the imminent return of Christ, and we need to fear and tremble it. We need to fear and tremble it. And so I know that that this was a big, laughable thing in the eyes of the media, but we've got to be careful that we don't take something so serious, very flippant and be caught unawares. I know that Pastor Lunk has been dealing with some pre-second coming teaching in the Wednesday night classes. I challenge you to come. And the word of God says, don't forsake the assembling together of the saints. It doesn't say just on Sunday. It says when the saints assemble, don't forsake it. We all work. We're all tired. We all have excuses. None of them merit anything. Oftentimes on Wednesday, I don't feel physically like being here after being up at daylight and working all day long, like most of us in this place, that we're here because the kingdom is more important than our kingdom. And so I bid you come in a fellowship and see, over the course of the weeks and months, if the spiritual life that comes because of it isn't greater than the spiritual death that comes because of it not happening in your life, or the lack of spiritual life, or the lacking and languishing because of not having enough. I hear so many people gripe, you know, that I just can't take anymore, I've got so many burdens that we don't employ the means that God's given. We don't employ the means that God's given for us to have an overcoming, victorious, and valiant life. And so I don't feel too sorry for people that pity themselves whenever the means is given of God, and they spurn it and do their own thing, lavishing themselves upon entertainment and Cheetos. Amen? I love you. You love me. We're a happy family. With a great big hug. So, I'm going to go back to the text here. My heart's been burdened deeply. There's an undeniable burden. I need to speak this truth out. I'm hoping for the grace of God to be able to draw from this text a little sweetness to graciously instruct us and to admonish us, and also to challenge us in our American-bound hearts. I have that in me. I'm an American. With that has come a skewed knowledge and understanding of reality, especially kingdom reality. I have a skewed understanding of things because of things that have been ingrained in me from the time I was born until now. And you also have that. We share that cursed thing amongst us. We need the king of the kingdom to break into our lives, to shine light upon the darkness of it, and to overturn it so that we can become citizens of the kingdom and not Americans. Amen? God's not American. He is God. And so the first thing I want us to see, verse 19, it says, And there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, who feasted sumptuously daily. This story, well, we're going to talk about a rich man clothed in linen and purple. This story serves most the historically actual sense, but also the metaphorical sense, which I think has a great implication today. And I'll just say it right up front with you. I believe that the rich man with the purple, plush, sumptuous life is the fat, excessive, contemporary American church. You'll not convince me otherwise. I believe it's metaphorically, profoundly illuminating the fat and sassy American church that spends millions of dollars on herself and then rejoices at sending $5,000 to missions and applauds herself for so doing. Jesus said this in Matthew 26, You'll always have the poor among you. You'll always have the poor among you, which is highly suggestive of the fact that you'll also always have the rich among you. There are those who, by providence, have the curses of riches, and there are those, by providence, have the blessedness of poverty. And for those of you that are poor, that don't understand what I mean, become rich and you will understand what I mean, because there is a great curse that comes with riches. We shouldn't pursue them. And so, once again, our lot in life has been ascribed by deity. You may sit there and think, Well, Pastor, I think that you're wrong because you know what? I have been poor, and I have worked my hands to the bone in my American strength and in my American robust tenacity, and I have accumulated, and I have worked, and I have strived, and I am becoming independently wealthy. But, beloved, you don't understand. It is the Lord that makes the rich. It is the Lord that makes the poor. The Word of God says in 1 Samuel 2, verse 7, The Lord makes poor, and makes rich, and He brings low, and He exalts. The air that you breathe, the thoughts that you have, the desires and the drives that are within you to attain riches are just means given to you by God for you to carry out the providence and the lot that has been set before you. There is not a single person alive today that has wealth, that has accumulated wealth without the providential ability of God. So we see here that the rich man was clothed in purple and in fine linen, and in a historic sense, and I found this somewhat interesting, that purple was the most luxurious of all colors. And the reason that purple was so luxurious and so desired by even royalty was because of where it was derived from. It was derived from a little shellfish in the Mediterranean that had a little tiny purple ink sac in it. And a quarter of a million of them made one ounce of purple dye. According to scholars, there are places right now in the Mediterranean to where the depth of these shells is so deep, it's visible, it's tangible today, and it dates back thousands of years to where this great substance was found and this dye was being extracted for royalty. In fact, even in the temple and in the tabernacle, there was linens and there was curtains that were made with this lavish purple dye and fabric. And so the rich only had the ability to attain this because of the rarity of it. And so it just makes sense when it says there was a rich man, and the rich man was living sumptuously every day, and he had the best of everything. Now, I don't know about you, but have you ever walked through your house and taken an inventory about the things that you have? Because the other day I was just standing at my dresser, and I was just looking at a few little trinkets there, several of them which had been just given to me as gifts. And then Scripture came to mind. Living sumptuously every day. Having the best while my kinsmen have nothing. And it started to smite me about having the best, living sumptuously as an American Christian while I have brothers-in-arms in prison in the Sudan. I have brothers-in-arms in the gospel that are in prison in Ethiopia, in different places in the world, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, that are being beaten and tortured for His namesake today. And I'm standing there looking at these wonderful things that I have. They're in my generation. They are of the silk purple where I'm standing in royalty. I'm having much while my brothers-in-arms have nothing. They're outside of the gate. Revelation chapter 17 talks about the great harlot being clothed in purple. It's frightening. It's frightening. But we need to take an inventory of our lives. We're Americans. We think we have a right to it. We've worked hard with the strength that we have, and we have a claim to it. But, brother, we have the call of God to abandon it and to take up a cross and to follow Him. We all have this mentality, and it's deeply seeped into us to climb up, to have more, to be more. But, beloved, I believe... Listen, it's not my fault I was born an American, but it's my fault that I'm living sumptuously and not taking the increase wherewith God has given me grace to have that I might distribute. But I'm not distributing with the intensity that God's called me to distribute. I am, in fact, a man that heaps upon myself these things because I've been trained by the best to do it. Namely, my culture. Namely, those in high places and in instructive places and in tutorial places have instructed us. You know, I go to graduation this last Friday night to see Caleb graduate, and we hear so much talk about being all that you can be and going and getting education to make more money, to have more things to make me more comfortable. And it's the antithesis of Christianity. It's antithetical to truth. Beloved, God has called us to pursue, to have much that we might distribute much to those that are in need, those that are hurting our brothers in arms around the world that are outside the gate, that are covered with sores and povers, having nothing like poor Lazarus. There are two common things or two. There's one thing shared between the rich man and Lazarus. And that one thing that they shared was they were kinsmen. They were Jews. Both of them. And the rich man had the providence before him to be rich, and he locked himself behind the gate of his riches and would not live his life outside of the gate to where the real world and the real need is. And I fear that we are becoming that man in the American church. I believe the purple linen marked as an ensign, stood as an ensign for the riches that dominated this man's heart. And I believe that metaphorically, this is the ensign of the American church who lavishes herself with great buildings and edifices and programs and heaps of extravagant expenditures upon herself with membership, participating even personally to build a kingdom in America that looks like God, but it has no resemblance to Jesus Christ. Secondly, we see that at his gate there was laid a poor beggar, a poor, diseased man named Lazarus. And I want you to hang with me in this. It was very customary in this day and time for the sick to be laid or to be placed at the gates or the entrance of places where help was possible. I believe that the Holy Ghost is moving upon the church in this time because I believe that the Lord's opening our eyes to see that laying at the gates is a world in languish, a world in need. And beloved, I am fearful that the American church is shutting up her bowels of compassion and that we're living for our own pleasure. The church has become the epicenter of all entertainment activity. I get so many phone calls and emails. We want to come to your church and we've got a great band that travels with us. I think your people would enjoy it. And immediately I scream out, No! No, we don't need that here. What we need is for this to be confronted with the raw gospel of Jesus Christ. Beloved, we are in danger of becoming a rich man clothed in purple and in fine linens while the world, the lost world, the hurting world, the world that's full of sores is laying at the gates with dogs licking their sores and bringing the only solace and comfort to them while we sit isolated, separated from, segregated from, a hurting, languishing world heaping upon ourselves, sumptuous living, eating out, eating and drinking, marrying and being married, giving ourselves over to things that feed our carnality all in the name of modern American churchianity. And I fear it is here and it's in us. I fear, I don't fear, I know it's in me. Oh God, make me to loathe it, make me to hate it and move upon me by grace to do something about it. We know that in the book of Acts, the third chapter and the second verse, there was a man that was crippled from birth, was carried every day, and he was laid at the gate of the temple by the gate that was called beautiful. Outside the gate, not inside the gate. And here we see this beggar named Lazarus laying outside the gate, not inside the gate. I believe that there is a type here. I believe that the temple here represents what God has brought to demonstrate to a world outside the gate. I'm afraid the church has closed the gates as the rich man closed the gates and has locked herself in with the provision, with the cure, with the balm, with the provision. And we've locked ourselves in and we're feasting and assumpting upon that which God has given for us to take to the nations. And Lazarus is still laying at the gate. Beloved, I believe there's a call of the Spirit of God for the church, the American church, to come to her senses, the prodigal son that she is, and to be awakened by grace alone to the sick, to the languishing, laying outside the gate to hear the voice of Jesus Christ, and for us to go to them in the multiplicity of ways in which we can go. And so we see the invalids laid at the gate, outside the gate, so those that are entering could hear them asking of alms and give. And so the act of laying a person at the gate was indicative of the provision within the gates that would suffice to alleviate the want of the one lying outside of the gate. All through the New Testament, you see Jesus setting the example, living outside the gate, going to the poor, going to the maimed, going to the halt, going to the blind. And whenever He died, they took Him outside the gate of the city of Jerusalem, and they crucified Him outside the gate. He lived His life outside of the gate in the strictest of sense. He died outside of the gate in the most of geographical of sense. And He's given us His Spirit for us to go to the Lazaruses that are laying outside of the gate without hope, without help. But I'm afraid that we're sitting on the inside sticking our potato chips in the French onion dip and drinking sweet drinks and giving no thought to our brothers in arms that are suffering globally while we sit and we feast and we sumpt ferociously upon things that make us happy. It's important, I believe, to note that the poor was carried and laid at the gate of the rich man. The rich man did not seek out the poor. The rich man was sought and ascribed by providence. Lazarus did not lay himself at the rich man's gate. He was laid there, and I believe this suggests providential placement. I believe there's a providential placement of a Lazarus for this church and that this church is to bind Lazarus' wounds and to feed not with the crumbs, but, beloved, to be true servants like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to give the best as the servants that the Lord has wrought in us by His grace and has served the best and for us to take the crumbs as true Christians do. Number three, the rich man feasted sumptuously every day. In fact, the original renders this that he fared every day luxuriously. He fared every day luxuriously, meaning that his excessive lifestyle was the cause of his contentment. The excess of his lifestyle was the cause of his contentment. He fared. As it says in the Greek, he was in a good frame of mind because of the luxuries that he had that he sumpted upon, that he feasted upon, that he fared upon. His thoughts were fixed upon himself and how he could use his riches to enhance his existence for his best life now with no thought of the lack and the poverty of the poor man that was providentially laid at his gate. Beloved, God laid him there. God laid Lazarus at the rich man's gate. And the rich man became responsible for the poor man because of the providence of God. And we have the poor among us in Christendom. We have the poor among us. Beloved, we need not shut up the bowels of our compassion. We need not shut up the bowels of our compassion. Beloved, it's time for the American church to take our portion the Lord has given to us and the riches thereof and to walk outside that gate and to distribute to the poor. To take the gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe also metaphorically, this is indicative of a fat of American church that spends all of her time and resources upon herself. And there is a Lazarus laying outside the gate that needs the provision, the riches and nutrition, and the help of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we spend our whole life preaching to each other. Beloved, it is not the well that needs a physician. It is the sick. Every week we come in here and I preach to a group of Christians. Beloved, it's time for us to take the balm, the healing to the man with the sores. I'm putting Band-Aids on people that have no sickness. And we feel good about it because we're Americans and we've done God a great justice, a great service by taking what we have and giving it to those that have already. Beloved, there's a sick man lying at the gate, but we are afraid to walk outside of that gate because there are dangers there. There are dangers there. There is fear of what is on the outside. We lived our whole life on the inside of the gate with our provision and our something. And God has called us to a Lazarus generation that is in deep anguish and deep lack. Do you know that today 16,000 children will die of starvation? Today! That this year alone 1.5 million people will die of starvation. That's not talking about just the malnutrition and the suffering associated. Those will die! And the American church is building $20 million megastructures. And we come into a place, albeit it's not the best, that we come into a place every week with climate-controlled cushioned chairs while the pastor puts Band-Aids on Christians that have no mortal wound. Stricken Lazarus, desired to be fed with the crumbs falling from the rich man's table. It was apparent, beloved, even to the rich man, this deep man's, or this man's deep need and this man's deep anguish. He was ridden with sores that were oozing with excretion. His frame was weak and frail insomuch that daily he needs to be carried to the rich man's gate because of the want of his strength and the lack of his strength. Daily this rich man entered and exited the gates. His eyes befell this man who was of a pitiful condition, of pitiful estate, but he was not moved, nor did he exercise compassion. But listen to me, Lazarus wasn't asking for royal entitlement. He was only wanting wasted excess to fall onto the ground to sustain his existence. Not to alleviate his poverty, but to sustain him in his poverty. And the rich man granted him nothing. He granted him nothing. His feet were thrown upon the table while he had his fill of luxury and excess. And then he wiped his mouth and he walked away filled, but yet granting nothing to Lazarus. Is this not the American church? The dogs came and they licked his sores. It was common in these ancient days for the rich to own dogs. And evidently this rich man had dogs of his very own. They were well fed. Lazarus had nothing. The rich man provided for beasts that would not provide for a brother. While Lazarus was lying at the gate in his impoverished condition, his woeful condition, the dogs of the rich man feasted sumptuously. The dogs came and they licked the sores of Lazarus indicating that even the dogs gave some relief to Lazarus. The dogs! And the rich man wouldn't lift a finger to bring even the smallest degree of hope or consolation to a suffering brother. The dogs gave some relief, while the master of the dogs gave none. Not only I, but many of you in this church have been to the jungles of Burma. And there we have seen non-Christian humanitarian organizations licking the wounds of the poor while the Church of America sits in the comforts of her homeland watching American Idol eating popcorn, going to the mall, and having her fill on the delicacies of this temporal life while the dogs are giving some relief and the rich man gives none. The rich man and Lazarus, they both died. And we see that Lazarus died unto glory and we see that the rich man died unto perdition. Beloved, listen. There's so much in this. The suffering of the righteous is but for a season and joy does come in the morning. But what profit was it for this rich man to gain the whole world, but yet lose his own soul? His neglect of the poor was nothing but the gallows for his own destruction. The Bible says in Proverbs 28, 27, Whosoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many curses. Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. Proverbs 14, 31, Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. Proverbs 19, 17, Whosoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord and he will repay him for his deeds. There's a wealth of application here. And I only have a little time left to draw upon certain portions of it before we depart. And listen friend, you might see yourself as a Lazarus. You might see yourself as a poor person. And in the strict spiritual sense, I pray this is so. In the strict spiritual sense, I pray that you're so poor in spirit that the kingdom of heaven is given unto you. But this is not the direction this scripture is headed. It's apparent to me that we as American Christians are faring sumptuously compared to the lesser nations of the earth. We're blessed with provision. Even the poorest of the poor in our nation is blessed with provision. Our closets are full. Poor clothing. Most of which we do not wear. Our cupboards are stocked with plenty. And beloved, we're truly, we're faring sumptuously even with some traces of luxury. But beloved, there is a Lazarus at our gate. And we just might be passing him by day in and day out without any thought for him. Orphanages around the globe are bursting at the seams with hungry children, needy children, that are disease ridden and they're in great want. While we spend our surplus on more luxury items for ourselves and for our children, there are hundreds of thousands of little Lazarus begging for the crumbs that are dropping from our American table. And we're trained to look the other way. But he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. He who hides his eyes will get many a curse. And we look the other way because we've been trained to do so by the American culture in which we live. Listen, the reason that we turn our eyes is because the pain and the grievous sores are nothing other than a great disruption to our American dream. 18,000 children today will die of starvation. 500,000 people this year. One half of one million people will perish because of the lack of provision and substance that would give them life. Our crumbs are falling from the table. Those perishing, those starving, most of which of these people die outside of the covenant of hope and the desire in the crumbs in the spiritual sense and even in the physical sense. They are dying without the gospel and they are dying because they're starving to death, literally. And we Americans are getting so fat, both spiritually and physically, that we're making ourselves sick. Leave it to the skinny guy to say amen. The Lord brought Lazarus and put Lazarus at the gate of the rich man. He was carried there. We see that the man that had no strength in his legs was carried and laid at the gate of the temple, the gate called Beautiful. The Lord has carried so many needs and revealed them to us and showed us Lazarus. Just a few months ago, we had David here from Gospel for Asia that gave us photograph after photograph of the face of Lazarus that is laying at the door of the gate of the American church in hope that the American church will wake up and open the gate and step outside the gate with the provision that the Lord has given to us for the purpose of sharing with those that have nothing. But you know what we do? We look and in the moment we're convicted, we see Lazarus soars, but then we go away and go back home and the TV numbs us once again. American Idol entertains us once again. The new living room furniture speaks to us once again and we forget about God bringing Lazarus and laying Lazarus at our gate. Lazarus is still there. Lazarus is still oozing with sores and we're giving our thoughts and our lives and our minds and our purposes to the pursuit of things that make our life more sumptuous. Listen, beloved, this is addressing the church, especially Western Hemisphere Christianity. This is a metaphor. Get hold of it. It's a parable. It means more than what it seems. It's like a transformer. You see videos. There are so many resources that God has purposed to awaken us to the deep need of Lazarus and his sores and his wounds and his hunger and his languishing away, his passing. The providence of God has placed us in the home of the rich for the purpose of taking care of the needs of the poor. And beloved, we will face God and be judged. The rich man died and he faced God and was judged. Lazarus died and faced God and was judged. Beloved, we can't keep coming to church, playing the game, hearing good sermons, developing an appetite for beautiful doctrine. If it doesn't become living on the inside of us and become the sharp two-edged sword that smites us and causes us to leave that rich man's house and to take the resources God has given to us by his grace and providence alone and for the purpose of taking it to Lazarus. Beloved, we've got to find Lazarus and we've got to bring healing to Lazarus spiritually and physically. We've got to quit being connoisseurs of sermons. We've got to quit coming to the house of God just to get for ourselves but to have our hearts laid bare so that we might go outside the gate with the provision that we have. And there's not a one of you in this place today nor will there be one listening by internet in America or in Europe that is not inside this rich man's house. We're all there. We're there by providence. Judgment is soon coming. We will be called into an account. Proverbs 22, 9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed because he shares his bread with the poor. Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed because he shares his bread with the poor. Proverbs 22, 22, and 23 Do not rob the poor because he is poor or crush the afflicted at the gate. Do you see these terms? Do not, as to the church, Christian, child of God, do not rob the poor because he's poor or crush the afflicted that's at the gate. He's at the gate. Comfort him in his affliction. Share the resources. Share the grace of God. Share the gospel. Feed him a meal. Don't go to the rich. Go to the poor. The Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob him. In our American mindsets, what do they tell us? Work hard for what we possess. And we think this way, that we've worked hard, we've gained it. It's been the labor of our own hand. It's been a sweat of our own brow. It's ours. And so it's at our disposal to, disposal to lavish it upon ourselves without any accusation of conscience. Yet while our tanks of satisfaction, I'm talking about your gas tank on the inside, of satisfaction is full of luxuries, full of provision. There are multitudes that are empty and without the American church, beloved, you and I, we must undergo a scriptural and holy revolution. And there must be an overturning of this fatal disease that we have in Americana Christianity. We must have a change of mind and heart regarding our prosperity and the purpose that has been given for. Has it ever crossed your mind to ask the question, why was I born in such a prosperous nation? Why am I blessed? Why am I so blessed? You know, Brandy, we've been praying for little Michael's healing, that even though he has a physical ailment, there are children just like your little boy that will starve to death and die today. Why your child? Prosperous and healthy, and why some other Christian mother's child dying of starvation? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Why were you not born in the third world country? Why were you not born in that 1040 window, especially those eggshell colored nations that are hostile against the gospel of Jesus Christ? Those closed nations. Why was, why have you been born into a rich man's house? And why were you not born in the gutter where Lazarus was born? Why? It's by Providence. God has chosen in his sovereign wisdom for you to be born in a prosperous nation, not for you to get fat on excess, but for you to take it to those places that have nothing. For you to send it, and for you to go. For you to send it, and for you to go. Beloved, will the American church die and face God on judgment day and be sent into torments because she feasted and fared sumptuously in excess, clothing herself in purple, while those in arms with her around the world, other brothers and sisters, and even those outside of the covenant of hope are Lazarus in wounds, in canker sores, in excretion, in pain, and without the gospel, without hope, many of them, while we have the gospel, while we have the provision, and we stay in our homeland, we stay in our provision, we stay in the safety of it, fearing what's going on outside the gate. Our heads have got to be reprogrammed. Our heads have got to be reprogrammed. We are on this side of the gate, Christian, to help those on the other side of the gate. A little better, amen, please. We've been given much. Consequently, much shall also be required of us. Moreover, whenever we have done it unto the least of these, we've done it unto Christ. Yes, it's a blessing to be on this side of the gate. And yes, I am thankful for it. But there are those on the other side of the gate that are begging for our crumbs. And will we permit it? Beloved, we find it a challenge to give up 15 things in our house for world missions. We're asking for excesses. We're not asking for your children to starve to death. Things you don't have to have. Things that are choking spiritual life out of you. They're idols and they should be sold. Namely, our televisions, our entertainment centers, our Nintendo games, our Game Boys. We should take up this cross as Christians. Not the antithesis of it, which is entertainment. As a Christian, I am examining my heart. And I'm examining the church that the Lord has placed under my care to see are we really a church that lives for the people on the other side of the gate. You know, we talk about how much do we do for missions, and there's not a one of us I don't believe has shed a tear and went a sleepless night because of our missionaries doing without. We throw a little money in there. We actually might throw quite a bit of money in there, but we haven't given until we're hurting. We haven't given where it's encroaching upon our sumptuous on delicacies. I want to live my life for those outside of the gate. I want to live my life for those without. I want to live my life for those that are in want. I want to live my life for those that are ridden with sores and diseases. I want my lot inside of this gate. To be the answer. For those whose lot is outside of this gate. Did you hear what I just said? I want my lot inside of this gate. To be the answer. For those whose lot is outside of the gate. To have nothing. I don't want to waste my much by enjoying my much. Being full, but being empty. Do you? Do you? It's not a curse to be inside the gate. Unless you pass Lazarus by. And close your eyes. A bountiful eye. An eye that sees Lazarus. That yields to Lazarus. That kneels with Lazarus outside the gate. Will be blessed. When he shares his bread with the poor. The man that turns his face. So inherit the curse. It is not a curse. Listen to me, beloved. It is not a curse. To be inside the gate. Unless you're locked. Inside the gate. Unto sumptuously faring. While those outside the gate. Languish in their lack and in their want. Only then are we most miserable in our riches. And I believe this is the cry from the Holy Ghost for this church. To open the gate. To go outside of the gate. And to tend Lazarus. Because it is the heart of Christ. Let's go to those that are on the outside of the gate. With what we've been given on the inside of the gate. Because this is the heart of Jesus. In our lifetime, Mother Teresa, a Catholic. Lived in the slums of India. Outside of the gate. To take care of Lazarus. This should shame us. Protestant, evangelical Christians. This should shame us. In the 18th century, Adoniram Judson. Was offered a pulpit in Boston. The most preeminent pulpit in America. And the Lord dealt with his heart. And said there's a Lazarus awaiting you. But he's not here. And he got on a boat and he sailed away. And he went to India. He found no open doors. And he went to Burma. And he lived with the poor. He labored seven years before he saw his first convert. A Karen criminal. He lived outside of the gate for the rest of his life in Burma. And his bones are there today. That the Holy Ghost is there today with the Karen tribe. Liam Carey went to India. Hudson Taylor went to China. Lazarus was there. C.T. Studd went to Africa. His bones are there today. He died there. John G. Lake went to Africa with his family. And his wife died of starvation. Because she fed all the food to the children. She went to Lazarus. She starved to death. Today, K.P.U. Hannon is taking the gospel to the 1040 window. To violent restricted nations. Their missionaries are being martyred. Even those that are being raised up in want and in lack. They're going to places of deeper want and deeper lack. And they're finding Lazarus there. They're violent offenders. They're violent hostile Muslims and Hindus. And they're perishing as martyrs there. They're going after Lazarus. And they're bandaging his wounds. David Wilkerson, who recently went to be with Jesus. His ministry is going around the globe feeding children. Starving children. They're going to the Lazarus and finding Lazarus there. They're choosing rather to exit the gate to live with the poor. Than to stay inside the gate and to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Two Moravian missionaries entered into a boat. That was destined to go to an island where there were nothing but insane and diseased and violent people. A one-way trip with no return trip. They sold themselves unto slavery. And as they were going into the foggy dark of night. These two young men, they cried out, May the Lamb of God receive the reward for his suffering. John and Charles Wesley, frozen to the ground. Reaching out to the lost. Charles Whitfield, preaching to open fields because he was banished from the pulpits of England. Nicholas von Zissendorf, of the royal family. Forsook it all. And God used him greatly to lead the great missionary awakening. Into which there was a 24 hour a day prayer meeting that lasted for 200 years. Amy Carmichael. And then one that I recently heard of. My, my dear brother. This week. About a woman, a missionary to South America. In the 1800s, she went there. Alone. The mission board didn't send her any support. And she labored her whole life. In sickness, no family visits. Not one time during her whole life. Were there any other from her kinsmen that came to share in the sufferings of Christ with her? She was alone. Her whole life there. She would plead for money. None ever came. And her whole life, she sowed seed and sowed seed. And her whole life was given away. And do you think there were thousands of converts? No. Only one seven year old boy. And she became sick. They sent no relief. And she died. They held her funeral. No one showed up for her funeral. She went to take care of Lazarus. Her whole life given. One seven year old boy converted. And now the rest of the story. That little seven year old boy grew up and became a pastor. That turned the whole nation to Jesus. Where are the people of God such as this? That will go and stay to take care of Lazarus. Even when there's no earthly reward for it. Nate Saint. Jim Elliott. Went to the Indians. In South America and they died outside of the gate along with the other missionaries. David Brainerd lived his life outside of the gate ministering to the poor Indian heathens. And he gave his life at 29 years old. Peter Cartwright. A Methodist circuit rider faint with hunger. Lived his life outside of the gate. Being chased by violent Indians. Traveling roads that were strewn with bodies of men and women and children. That had been beheaded for the violence there was in the early days of America. And he went for days on end without food and without sleep to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. What about that brother Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Who came to the safety of America to only be convinced by the Holy Ghost to go back to the poor Germans. And then consequently to be martyred by Adolf Hitler. What about David Livingstone? Who so beloved Africa that his heart was taken out of his chest and buried at the base of a tree in Africa. And there it remains today. What about brother Young? The heavenly man of China. Locked in afflictions of prisons for exiting the gate and living for the glory of God. Taking the gospel to the underground church in China. And being beaten time and again. And imprisoned outside of the gate. Why don't we go outside of the gate? Because we're scared of it. What about today's gospel for Asian missionaries? Listen to me. The door that they leave is deep poverty. The door that they enter is deeper poverty. And violence. Many of them choosing by their own decision to go to the most violent of villages. To only give their lives up as martyrs. Living outside the gate. What about John Knox? What about William Tyndale? That would burn at the stake. Praising the name of Jesus Christ. While their skin dripped from their bones. And songs of hymns and praise coming from their mouth. For translating the Bible out of the original tongue. Into our language. So we can have the Bible that we throw on the couch today. And don't pick up. What about Jesus Christ? God's son. Who lived his life. Outside of the gate. Going to those who are without. Going to a woman with an issue of blood. And bringing virtue to heal her even though she was unclean. What about the prostitutes that he made whole? What about the accusations of the religious? What about the hardships that he endured? What about the fastings and the being crucified outside of the gate? Crucified for his people. Dying amongst thieves. And where are we in the American church? We're inside the gate with the rich man. Feasting. Feasting sumptuously. But beloved, I believe that the Holy Ghost is calling this church. And I believe he's flinging the door wide open. I believe he's calling us. To exit. Mainline Americana. Christianity. Western hemisphere. Religiosity. To go outside of the gate. Into the dangerous places. To the war zones. To the trenches. To those that are in lack. Those that are in need. And while we live here. Even if we stay inside our homeland. Inside of the gate of riches. That we make trips. Frequently outside the gate. To bring substance to Lazarus. That awaits us. Fourteenth chapter of Luke. You don't have to turn though. Just listen. But when you were invited. Go and sit in the lowest place. So when your host comes. He may say to you. Friend move up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence. Of all who sit at a table with you. Everyone who exalts himself. Will be humbled. And he who humbles himself. Will be exalted. And you read on down. In the parable of the great banquet. And the Lord tells us. Go out quickly to the streets. In the lanes of the city. Whatever that's outside of the gate. And bring in the poor. And the crippled. And the blamed. And the lame. Bring them in. Bring them in. And then he drops right on down. And he says this. Whoever does not bear his own cross. And come after me. Cannot be my disciple. And I believe that it is vividly clear. In scripture. If we are Christians. We are Christians by the cross. And what the cross does. Is the cross not only opens the door of the gate. The cross. Translates you. From inside the gate. To live outside of the gate. And if you're not living outside the gate. Beloved the cross has not done its work. The cross of Jesus Christ. Was outside of the gate of Jerusalem. The cross that we have to bear. Ourselves. Is outside of the gate. As to where. Lazarus is today. Poor. Afflicted. And in want. And in need. And the cross. Translates us. From the safety. And the preeminence. Of our riches. And it thrusts us. Out. Into the outer regions. To where there's hurt. And to where there's pain. And beloved. If we are living. And feasting. And faring sumptuously. The cross. Has not. Done its work. In our lives. We're called to live. Outside. Of the gates. In Asia. In the 1970s. Communist soldiers. Had discovered. Their illegal Bible study. In Asia. And as the pastor. Was reading from the Bible. There are men with guns. That broke into the home. And terrorized the believers. Who had gathered there. To worship. The communists. And they shouted. Insults. And they threatened. To kill the Christians. And the leading officer. Pointed his gun. At the pastor's head. And he said. Hand me your Bible. Reluctantly the pastor. Handed over his Bible. His prized possession. And with a sneer on his face. The guard threw the word of God. On the floor at his feet. And then he glared at the congregation. It was small. But he glared at the congregation. And he said. We will let you go. As he growled. He said. But you first must spit on this book. Because it's a book of lies. And anyone who refuses. Will be shot. The believers had no choice. But to obey the officer's order. The soldier pointed his gun. At one of the men. You first. And the man slowly got up. And he kneeled down by the Bible. Reluctantly he spit on it. Praying. Father. Please forgive me. And he stood up. And he walked out the door. This is a true story. The soldier stood. Back. And he allowed him to leave. Okay you. The soldier said. Nudging a woman forward. In tears. She could barely do. What the soldier demanded. And she spat. Only a little bit. But it. It was enough. And she too. She too was allowed to leave. And then quietly. A young. 16 or 17 year old girl. Came forward. And overcome with love. Love for her Lord. She knelt down to the Bible. And picked it up. And she wiped off of the spit. With her dress. And she said. What have they done. To your word. Please forgive them. And the communist soldier. Put a pistol to her head. And he pulled the trigger. And he killed her. Life outside. Of the gate. Another story. I'll not read it. A woman was in prison. Her faith. She had a small child. Five years old. And they. She was forced under pressure. By even others that were in the cell. Because of the crying. And the suffering of the child. With no food. And the sickness. Just recant. And so she did. And they released her. They made her. Speak to over 10,000 people. At one auditorium. At one place. At one time. And to renounce Jesus Christ. And the little five year old. Said mommy. The Lord does not approve. Of you doing this. And the mother said. But child. I've done this for you. Because you wept in prison. The child says mommy. If I go back to prison. I won't weep again. And the mother went back. To the authorities. And said I am a Christian. And I have done wrong. And I will not recant God's word. And they went back to prison. Mother and daughter. Five year old child. And the child. They would say the child. Never wept. One time. In prison. Living outside the gate. I realize. The implications. And seriousness. Of what I've just spoken. This is not a Christianity. For me alone. It's a Christianity for us. God's called this church. To radical abandon. To sacrifice. To live outside of the gate. Because beloved. There's Lazarus waiting there. With source. The Lord's called us to him. We're to go. Not stay. We're to go. We're to abandon. The riches. And the indulgences. The excesses. The entertainments. Beloved. He's called us to be soldiers. And to go. And to bring hope. To bring light. To bring help. To those that are languishing. And want. Languishing in lack. And in need. And we can't stay. We can't stay. Because beloved. If we stay. With our gate closed. Enjoying the providence. Of riches. That the Lord has distributed. For us to distribute. And we feast. And we slumped upon them. There's a day coming. When men must give an account. And we'll be most. Pitiful men. Those that I have read. Their memory remains. Because they lived outside the gate. Their names written. In the Lamb's book of life. Because. Of the lordship of Jesus Christ. And the preeminence of his lordship. In their lives. The grace of the Lord. And they went. And they gave. And they died. But there are multitudes of others. Especially American Christians. Who live their lives. Inside of the gate. Inside of the safety of the gate. Never exiting. And going outside of the gate. And their memory. Will rot. That's what it says in the bible. Their memory will rot. Why do we remember Wesley? Why do we remember Finney? Why do we remember Whitfield? Why do we remember Carmichael? Why do we remember. Adeniram Judson? Why do we remember. Jim Elliot. And Nate St. Why do we remember? Why do we remember? Because they lived their lives. Outside of the gate. And we know on the inside. That's real Christianity. We know in here. That's real Christianity. We know on the inside. That's our Lord. That's our Lord. That beloved by nature. We're inclined to set back and clap. While others go and die. The Lord has not called us. To set back and clap. He has bid us come. And die. For a grain of corn. Must fall into the ground. And die. Before it can produce fruit. Beloved I'm challenging us. As a family of faith. And I know that it's not going to happen overnight. But beloved we must go after God. And get outside the gate. Because Lazarus is waiting there. We must cease this. Senseless abandon. Of pursuing luxuries. And entertainment. And niceties for ourselves. While others are outside the gate. In deep language. Deep want. Deep need. Beloved we must stop. While there's time. Amen. Amen. Let's stand.