The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day.
He said,
“It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor.
I have decided to choose one of you.”
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The kids were shocked!
But the emperor continued.
“I am going to give each one of you a seed today.
One seed.
It is a very special seed.
I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed.
I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!”
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There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.
He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story.
She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully.
Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
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After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by.
Still nothing.
By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure.
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Six months went by, still nothing in Ling’s pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.
Ling didn’t say anything to his friends, however.
He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
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A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection.
Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot.
But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened.
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he trusted his mother was right.
He took his empty pot to the palace.
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When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths.
They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes.
Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him.
A few felt sorry for him and just said,
“Hey, nice try.”
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When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people.
Ling just tried to hide in the back.
“My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor.
“Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!”
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All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot.
He ordered his guards to bring him to the front.
Ling was terrified.
“The emperor knows I’m a failure!
Maybe he will have me killed!”
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When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
“My name is Ling,” he replied.
All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
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The emperor asked everyone to quiet down.
He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd,
“Behold your new emperor!
His name is Ling!”
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Ling couldn’t believe it.
Ling couldn’t even grow his seed.
How could he be the new emperor?
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Then the emperor said,
“One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed.
I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow.
All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!”
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Beloved, this story may remind you a lot of Jesus’ wise words that He said in Luke 16:10, which says:
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
This little boy...
Ling...
He was faithful in very little and was given the incredible responsibility to be the emperor of a whole country...
However, those who were unfaithful...
They missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime and were all exposed to be frauds and liars in the most humiliating way.
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Many of themes we saw in our opening story will also be the focus of the next parable of Jesus that we will be covering.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 16 and focus on verses 1 through 13.
Our message this morning is titled “The Parable of the Dishonest Manager.”
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As you are turning to our passage today please keep in mind this fact...
Last week we covered on of the most famous and beloved parables told by Jesus...
We covered the parable of the prodigal son.
This week we are going to examine one of the most difficult of Jesus’ parables.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Problem
2) The Shrewd
And...
3) The Choice
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are the Ancient of Days...
You are the Rock of Ages...
You are the Holy One who is unlike any other...
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Your ways are above our ways...
Your thoughts are above our thoughts...
Your love has no end...
Your power has no max...
You have no beginning or end for You have always been...
You are the Great I am!
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Help us to never take Your love and mercy for us for granted...
Help us to never lose sight of Your holiness.
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Thank You for loving us who were at one point Your enemies...
Thank You for not raining down your wrath on us even though we more than earned it...
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Thank You for giving us the Way...
Thank You for giving us the Light...
Thank You for giving us the Life...
Thank You for giving us our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
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And it is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
1 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Problem
1) The Problem
Verses 1-4: He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
In the previous parable that we covered last week...
We examined the story of the wayward son who squanders all of his inheritance...
Now, in our parable today, Jesus delivers a parable about the use of resources.
You see Beloved, a certain steward did what the prodigal son had done with the possessions his father had given him...
But in this case, he wasted his master’s goods...
And that caused him a massive problem...
The loss of his job!
However, this parable will end in a shocking way...
For it will end with the household manager wining the respect of his master by acting shrewdly.
Now, so that we are all on the same page...
We need to clarify a few terms...
The first being the term shrewd...
Now, to be shrewd means to act wisely and with insight.
So, one can act shrewd in a good way or a bad way...
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Remember to keep that point in mind as we progress in our study, Beloved.
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Next, a manager, in the 1st century, was a trusted servant...
He was usually someone born in the household and he was chief of the management and distribution of household provisions.
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Additionally, he provided food for all the other servants, thus managing his master’s resources for the well being of others.
Overall, he acted as an agent for his master, with full authority to transact business in the master’s name.
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In the parable that Jesus shares with us, we learn that this particular manager wasted the master’s resources and was not a good steward.
In fact, the steward’s failure to reply to the master’s words indicated that he knew he was guilty and had nothing to say back.
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Now, with that said, the master apparently did not suspect the manger of purposeful dishonesty...
However, he did think of him a someone who merely been irresponsible and was extravagant in his management.
So, he did not have him arrested and punished for deceit or theft...
The master of the house only informed him that he could no longer be his steward.
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Now, at this point in the parable, the steward has only to wrap up his affairs and those of the estate.
After that, he was going to find himself on the streets.
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However, the manager got an idea that he figured would help him overcome his desperate situation...
Cleverly, he arranged to give large discounts to his master’s debtors, which they would eagerly agree to pay.
By reducing their debts to his master, he would gained their indebtedness to him.
They would thus be obligated to take him into their homes when he was put out of his master’s home.
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So, let’s take a look and see how the manager’s plan worked out...
And that takes us to our next point.
2) The Shrewd
2) The Shrewd
Verses 5-8: So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
So Beloved, we see that the manager sent for those persons who he had, formerly as a steward, raised loans or bought goods on credit in the business of his master.
He spoke to them one by one separately...
He let them destroy their written acknowledgments of debt...
And he draw up and sign new written acknowledgments in which the amounts owed by them were considerably diminished...
So, this manager robbed his master deliberately and disgracefully...
And at the same time he gained the favor of the debtors whose load of debt had been lightened by him.
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Beloved, these were not small amounts...
“A hundred measures of oil” was around eight to nine hundred gallons of olive oil, which is worth more than a three years of earnings.
“A hundred measures of wheat” was around a thousand bushels of wheat, which is worth about eight to ten years of earnings.
The reduction of both bills would have amounted to about three to three and a half years of earnings...
Again, not a small amount at all!
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Now, by reducing what they were obligated to pay his master, he put them under obligation to him.
Reciprocation, in the 1st century, was an integral part of Jewish society...
So, if someone did a favor for a person, that person was obligated to do one for him...
And the dishonest manager figured out how to get some key people to owe him some big favors.
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Now, some have claimed that the manger was just removing his own fees from the bill...
So, this way the manager actually comes off as a bit of a hero in the parable...
But nowhere in the text do we get this indication...
The theory would have to be brought into the text and that is not the proper way to interpret Scripture.
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Simply put, there is not the slightest suggestion by Jesus or Luke that the manager is removing his commission or his master’s illegal interest from the bill.
Instead we see that Jesus calls the manager “dishonest”...
And it is only now in the parable that the manager described as “dishonest.”
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Again, I have come across interpretations of this text that believe the manager was labeled as dishonest from his actions of squandering the master’s goods...
But he is not called dishonest until he blatantly steals from his master by reducing those bills.
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That is why it was so shocking to see the master’s response...
Jesus says, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” which was an unexpected twist in the story.
Outwitted, the master applauded the man’s cunning...
And that is not to be confused with the manager’s theft...
Clearly the master of the house did not like that...
Clearly the master did not praise his unjust and fraudulent act as such...
But he was able to see how clever and resourceful the manger could be if he was in a desperate situation...
He could admit that this former manger of his had some worldly wisdom.
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Additionally, because the shrewd steward had spoken to the debtors one by one and separately destroyed the old acknowledgments of debt, the master did not have the necessary proofs or witnesses that could enable him to take legal steps against him.
All that he could do, therefore, was to acknowledge that he had acted very cleverly...
Hence his name title as the dishonest manager...
As the New American Commentary on Luke says:
“It is best to interpret the manager’s actions as being dishonest.
This traditional interpretation takes the parable at face value.
The only serious criticism in understanding the behavior as being dishonest is a moral one.
How can the master commend someone for his dishonesty?
Yet the manager is not commended for his dishonesty but for his shrewdness.
He is commended for acting and preparing himself for the judgment awaiting him.
He is commended essentially for being a shrewd scoundrel and taking care of his future.
Jesus in several other places drew lessons from the actions of less than noble characters.
In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, the wise virgins are in fact quite selfish.
Compare also the behavior of the man who found treasure in his field and how God can be likened to an unjust judge (Luke 18:1–8).
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Luke found no difficulty in urging his readers to prepare themselves for the coming judgment, as the dishonest manager did, by acting ‘shrewdly.’
How that shrewdness is to be manifested is, of course, quite different.
It is not through dishonesty but in the wise stewardship of possessions.”
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Now, the reality is that many unbelievers are wiser in the ways of the world than some believers are toward the things of God...
And that is a shame!
So, the Lord urges His believers to act as prudently but with regard to divine things as unbelievers do with regard to earthly things.
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That is why Jesus says in Matthew 10:16:
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Jesus does not what His followers to be a slippery or deceitful as snakes...
He wants us a wise as them!
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Likewise, we are called to be shrewd ourselves...
But we are to act wisely and with insight regarding the things of God...
We are not called to display worldly wisdom but godly wisdom...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Choice
3) The Choice
Verses 9-13: And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Beloved, let’s start this final section of our study by looking at the term “unrighteous wealth” which refers to the way in which the pursuit of money in our world often involves unrighteous means in acquiring wealth by taking advantage of others...
It also refers to the unrighteous desires in the use of wealth for personal gratification and selfish purposes, rather than for the care and well-being of others...
And “unrighteous wealth” refers to the corrupting influence of wealth that often leads people into unrighteousness.
So, in other words, it is the material wealth in this world...
It is the things that will eventually pass away...
It is the things that belongs to this unrighteous, passing world.
And what Jesus is saying is that all our material wealth we have should be used to advance the Kingdom of God.
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Furthermore, the wealth of unrighteousness, being an element of fallen society’s experience, cannot last past this present life.
When it fails, the friends believers have gained through investing in Gospel preaching will welcome them into the eternal dwellings of heaven.
Those friends will be waiting to receive them when they arrive in glory because through their financial sacrifice for reaching the unconverted they heard and believed the Gospel.
So, use the money of this world to glorify God’s name and do not be ruled by money and the pursuit of it.
As Ecclesiastes 5:10 says:
10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
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In our parable that we looked at in the previous two points we saw that the unrighteous manager used his master’s money to buy earthly friends...
As believers, we are to use our Master’s money in a way that will accumulate friends for eternity...
So, by investing in the kingdom of God and the Gospel message that brings sinners to salvation, we are being good stewards of our finances and we are being used by God to populate Heaven.
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Just recall with me the radical change in the life of Zacchaeus...
At first he was a chief of tax collectors...
And he accumulated his riches using worldly wisdom...
However, after hearing the teachings of Jesus...
His heart was made brand new...
And he used what he had to glorify God...
As records in Luke 19:1-10, which says:
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
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As Christ showed in our main parable, even the most wicked sons of this world are shrewd enough to provide for themselves against coming evil.
Believers ought to be even more shrewd, because we are concerned with eternal matters, not just earthly ones.
Furthermore. God’s children should be shrewd with possessions by being generous.
Such acts charity to the poor and needy model for the world the love of Christ.
In other words Beloved, believers should so conduct their lives that when this world and its wealth comes to an end, God will welcome them into his presence.
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Jesus said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
So, the more we are faithful to the Lord in small matters...
The more God will increase what we already have...
As Matthew 25:21 says:
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
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Because a man’s character does not depend on the quantity of goods entrusted to him but on the real disposition of his heart, it proves, whenever he is unfaithful or unjust in the small things of life, that he is essentially false and therefore also unfaithful in the great things of life.
Consequently, if one is unfaithful in the acquisition and use of worldly goods (which in the light of reality are “very little” and of the smallest intrinsic value), how can a responsible task in connection with the eternal and “true riches” (the things of highest value) be entrusted to him?
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Whosoever is unfaithful and false in ordinary life, although he may pose as extremely pious, is also false and unfaithful spiritually, and so no spiritual gifts and blessings can be entrusted to him.
Everything that man possesses on earth (talents, privileges, money, etc.) belongs primarily to the Creator, who lends it so liberally in order that it may be a blessing to man himself and to his fellow-men and that it should be used to the honor of God.
Accordingly, if anyone is unfaithful in connection with these “borrowed goods” how can he expect to receive God’s eternal riches, the spiritual gifts given for time and eternity to the redeemed as their own?
If one cannot be trusted with earthly wealth, which is here today and gone tomorrow, who would entrust one with the true and eternal wealth of God’s kingdom?
If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
Beloved, we are called to be good stewards!
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The early church, they were so faithful in being good stewards of the material blessings that they had that no one in their group was left with a need unmet.
Just look at what it says in Acts 4:34–35:
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture, Beloved.
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So, Jesus’ exhortation is thus not about money per se, but about what disciples do with money.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke puts it this ways:
“Thus, disciples, like the unrighteous steward, should use their wits and wealth in ways that please and serve God, for in so doing they will be received into the eternal tabernacle of God, rather than into the transitory earthly tents of debtors.”
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However, Jesus’ words of wisdom were not accepted by the religious elite...
Just look what is recorded in Luke 16:14, which says:
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.
You see Beloved, many of the Pharisees taught that devotion to money and devotion to God were perfectly compatible.
This went hand-in-hand with the commonly-held notion that earthly riches signified divine blessing.
Rich people were therefore regarded as God’s favorites.
While not condemning wealth per se, Christ denounced both love of wealth and devotion to money.
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The reality is that money will either be in the service of the believer who is God’s servant, or a person will be the servant of money.
That is why Jesus does not say “should not serve” but “cannot serve” two masters.
A slave is bound both to obey his master and to depend on the master’s protection and provision.
Either the living God or money may claim one’s mastery, but not both.
As James 4:4 says:
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Likewise, consider the truth found in 1 John 2:15, which says:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
If that was not clear enough then consider the truth found in Matthew 6:19-24, which says:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
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So, those who are Jesus’ true disciples must make an either/or choice between serving God and serving money.
“Money” is personified here in parallel with “God,” indicating the way in which money can often take on an idolatrous place in one’s life.
However, God will not share His glory...
He demands to have the primary spot in our hearts...
As Deuteronomy 6:5 says:
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
So, the way to serve God rather than money is to put one’s resources to the service of others and the work of the kingdom.
In other words, the only way money can be put in its proper place is to make sure that God alone is Lord and Master, and to signify that lordship by using money and wealth in God’s service.
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The love of money can prevent us from having a s saving relationship with God...
Just recall with me what it says in Matthew 19:16-26:
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
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You see Beloved, the young rich ruler thought that he could both serve God and serve money...
However, one cannot serve both at the same time...
It is simply impossible...
As 1 Corinthians 10:21 says:
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
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So, you have to ask yourselves...
Who do you really love?
Who is truly your master?
Is it God?
Or is it money?
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If your answer is God...
Then your life will be filled with true everlasting blessings...
And you will be with our Lord and Savior for all eternity in Heaven!
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However, if your answer is money...
Then beware...
For as 1 Timothy 6:10 says:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Therefore we are to take seriously the charge in Hebrews 13:5 that says that we are to:
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
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I love what the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says regarding our passage:
“The major theme of the pericope is stewardship.
In light of the end and one’s status as a child of God, look to the future with foresight.
Use money generously and for the benefit of others.
It is better to be generous with money and enter heaven than to hoard it selfishly and fail to enter.
Faithfulness starts in little things.
One cannot serve both God and money, so let primary devotion go to God.
He is the one we must serve, and he will evaluate and reward our stewardship.”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
Dr. Maurice Rawlings, is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and his colleagues are constantly treating emergency patients, many of whom have had near-death experiences.
A study of these cases by Dr. Rawlings was reported in Omni magazine.
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According to the article, it is no longer unusual to hear about people who have almost died who speak of seeing a bright light, lush green meadows, rows of smiling relatives and experiencing a deep sense of peace.
However, Rawlings obtains additional information from his patients by interviewing them immediately following resuscitation while they are very much in touch with their experience.
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Rawlings says that nearly 50 percent of the 300 people that he has interviewed have reported lakes of fire, devil-like figures and other sights reflecting the darkness of hell.
Rawlings says that these people later change their story because they don’t want to admit where they’ve been, not even to their families.
“Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life.
There is a life after death, and if I don’t know where I’m going, it’s not safe to die."
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Rawlings, who was a devout atheist, “considered all religion ‘hocus-pocus’ and death nothing more than a painless extinction.”
But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in his life.
He was resuscitating a man, terrified and screaming.
.......
“Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, ‘I am in hell’ He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him.
I was scared to death … Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face.
He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death.
This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was ‘on end.’
.......
“Then still another strange thing happened.
He said, “Don’t you understand? I am in hell …Don’t let me go back to hell” …the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble.
He was in a panic like I had never seen before.”
Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called Hell.
.......
Beloved, the reality is that every one in this room hearing this message...
Everyone who later hears this message online...
In fact, single person who has ever existed in this world...
Everyone will end up in one of two locations...
Heaven or Hell...
.......
The ones who look to God as their master...
They will experience eternal life!
.......
The ones who look to the world and the things of the world, like money as their master...
They will experience sternal punishment!
.......
The choice is yours...
And the choice you make while living in this world will have lasting effects...
And there is no undo button...
There is no do over...
There is no second chances...
Once time runs out...
So, choose wisely.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
.......
Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Then I beg you and appeal to your great name...
To save them...
Open their eyes...
Open their ears...
Open their minds...
Open their hearts...
For who else but You Lord can save the lost.
.......
I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
For those hearing this message who already know You...
Give us the tools to advance Your Kingdom...
Equip us with the courage...
Equip us with the knowledge...
Equip us with the boldness...
Equip us with the love needed to reach the lost.
.......
Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
.......
It is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
