The Snares of Riches

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

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Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

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And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 16th chapter.

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There was, Jesus said there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen who feasted sumptuously every day.

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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.

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Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.

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The rich man also died and was buried in Hades. Being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and he saw

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Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham have mercy on me and send

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Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I'm anguish in this flame. But Abraham said,

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Child remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner bad things.

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But now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you is a great chasm that has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us.

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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.

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But Abraham said, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham.

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But if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. And he said to him, If they do not hear

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Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. This is the gospel of the

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Lord. In the name of Jesus. So brothers and sisters, this is going to be a fun text.

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It's a little bit of a bumpy ride and I apologize. We're going to talk about some stuff that a lot of people apparently don't like to talk about today, including the belief in eternal punishment.

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It really is eternal and it really is torment and it really is awful and this is really what Christ has saved us from.

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But all that being said, let me kind of frame this this way. The devil, scripture says, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour.

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This is a warning given to Christians. And I would say this, our enemy, the devil, is quite crafty, extremely treacherous, extremely smart, and he's been around a lot longer than any of us have and he knows exactly how to tempt humanity.

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And he has set traps with all kinds of snares and those snares are designed to cause you to despair, to lose your faith, and to drag your carcass with him into the lake of fire on the last day.

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What a great opening. This is most certainly true though. And so we're going to note that our text today is going to address one of those snares and it's going to highlight in graphic detail just how treacherous and dangerous this is.

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And so note that we have the devil himself and his demonic horde tempting us. We have the world and its system and its belief and its narrative tempting us.

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And, oh by the way, if that isn't enough, you also have your sinful nature and all of its cravings and desires and passions that are contrary to the

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Word of God tempting you as well. How on earth are we to escape with so many treacherous things working against us?

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Well, I'm not going to answer the question yet, but let's take a look at some text. I want to actually back into the book of James.

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And in the book of James, Jesus' half -brother in chapter 5 opens up chapter 5 in this way.

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He says, come now you rich. Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

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Now a little bit of a note. Abraham was wealthy. What is he talking about here?

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You who are rich, you know, there's miseries coming for you. If you're rich, can you not be saved?

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Remember what Jesus says. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved. And there's reasons for that.

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He says, your riches have rotted, your garments are moth -eaten, your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you, and you will eat your flesh, and they will eat your flesh like fire.

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You've laid up treasure in the last days. Behold the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud.

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They're crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

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You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self -indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.

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You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, and he doesn't resist you. That's not a pretty picture, and yet it is exactly what

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Scripture says. And the idea is this, is that you'll note that the very things that the rich save up, gold and silver, on the last day they corrode, and they are used as evidence against you.

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So think of it this way. So many of the devil's deceptions involve the mind, the coveting, the cravings, and the thoughts of the mind, and get us off of reality and into a fantasy world that is not in accord with the thoughts of God.

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Let me give you an example. I mean, we all go to Walmart or the grocery store, and there at the checkout line, what do you see next to the tic -tacs?

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Those magazines, you know, with all the pretty people and the rich people, right? I hate to say it, that so many people know more about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie than they do about Jesus Christ.

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And of course, you'll walk through the line, and we just kind of cast a glance at it to see what's going on, to see who's marrying whom, whose relationship is out, and stuff like this.

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These are the wealthiest among us, the most influential, affluential.

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These are the people that everybody secretly aspires to be like. Oh, and they have wealth coming out of their noses and their ears, and everything they do is all about beauty, and celebrity, and watches, and diamonds, and cars, and mansions, and lions, and tigers, and bears.

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Oh my, right? Let me ask you this.

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The pantheon of the rich and the famous, are they known for their kindness?

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Are they known for their love towards humanity, their caring for one another?

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I've noticed over the decades that the rich and the famous seem to be the least, well, likely people

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I would want to spend a day having coffee with or talking to. They just seem so obsessed with themselves.

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But our society says, and by the way, it's not just ours, pretty much every society in the world says, being successful, being rich, and being famous is the thing that we are all to aspire to, that this is what it means to, well, have the great life, or as Joel Osteen says, your best life now.

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But the problem is, is that the whole thing is just one big demonic trap.

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And sadly, those who are ensnared by this whole mindset that to be wealthy, to be famous, to be rich, to have all of these things is the equivalent of having a successful life, that just about five seconds after they breathe their last breath, they realize that the whole thing was false.

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The whole illusion comes to a crashing halt. And so consider then what

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Jesus says in our gospel text. It is a sobering passage.

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Jesus said, there was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, who feasted sumptuously every day.

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Man, this guy's clothes were amazing, his kicks were awesome, his watch is, oh,

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I mean that Rolex Aquamarine, I gotta tell you. And the Bentley in his driveway, woof, have you seen that thing?

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Oh, every time I see that Aston Martin that he keeps off into one special corner of his garage, my heart swoons.

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The guy's like James Bond. In fact, he feasts so sumptuously every day.

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He's like an expert foodie. He knows exactly which wines pair perfectly with prawns and lobster.

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And oh, you'll never forget the experience. What's his name, by the way?

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You know, what's his face? You know, it doesn't say his name.

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That's weird. Continue. And at his gate was laid a poor man named

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Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table.

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He was basically hoping he would be like a dog. I mean, the way it works in my house is this, if I'm eating and food drops off my plate, which seems to happen more often the older I get, apparently

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I have an eating disorder, but the dogs, you know, whatever falls to the ground, well, Luther and Max are right on the scene.

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It's so great because then I don't have to reach down and pick it up or clean up the mess off the floor. Their tongues do all of that.

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It's just beautiful. But you'll note that Lazarus, that's his name, he's desiring to be at the rich man's...

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What's his face? What's his name again? Yeah, I don't know his name. But he desired to be at the rich man's table and to be actually just get the dog's portion.

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Moreover, the dogs then came and they licked his sores. And you'll note, just on the setup, we all know what this is, all right?

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I was just in New York City, whoa, Park Avenue, amazing! But I was staying near Times Square and at the

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McDonald's that I was eating at there was some poor fellow who had slept on the street the night before.

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It was awkward eating my Egg McMuffin while looking at this poor fellow sleeping on the sidewalk.

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And what do we do? We say, well, the people on Park Avenue, they're blessed. God has had shown favor to them.

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This poor fellow sitting on the street who can't even hold down a job, he's truly cursed.

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Stop thinking this way because here, what's his face? I can't even remember his name. It doesn't mention his name, that's weird.

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He is supposed to be blessed and Lazarus, this guy who needs medical attention, who's not even being fed, who's completely begging, he's supposed to be cursed.

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One is wealthy, the other is poverty stricken, if you buy into the mindset.

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But the mindset's wrong because here now the table is flipped. The poor man died and he was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.

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That had to be awesome. I'm pretty sure that that SEAL Team 6 has nothing on a squad of angels escorting a believer into eternal life.

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So you mean to tell me this poor man was truly blessed and that despite his earthly poverty he had eternal riches?

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Bingo. How about that rich man? What's his name again?

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Yeah, what's his face? Yeah, so what's his face? He also died. He was buried in hell and being in torment he lifted up his eyes and saw

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Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. Yeah, you know something weird about this story?

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It's not like any parable that Jesus ever told. Jesus when he would tell parable would say something like this, the kingdom of God is like, well like a mustard seed.

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Or the kingdom of God is like a field where a guy plants good seed and an enemy comes and sows weeds among the good seed.

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You'll note that Jesus doesn't say the kingdom of God is like here. He just says there was a rich man.

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What is this story? Is this a parable? No, this isn't a parable.

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This is Jesus telling historical narrative. This really happened. This is really what went down and if that's true then there really is a such thing as hell.

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There really is a such thing as eternal punishment from God and it's really torment and it's really awful and it's something that each and every one of us are in danger of, me included.

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And you'll note then this fellow in torment, he calls off to Abraham, Father Abraham have mercy on me and send

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Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I'm in anguish in this flame. Abraham said, child remember that you in your lifetime you received your good things but Lazarus and like man are bad things but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.

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Now question for you, are you saved by your suffering? Are you saved by poverty?

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Salvation is by poverty. No. How is it that this man who was so destitute in his earthly existence has eternal life?

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Well who's he with? Abraham. How was Abraham saved? Well scripture's clear that Abraham believed

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God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham is the man who was saved by grace through faith which means that despite his poverty and his suffering

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Lazarus had faith in the one true God, the same God and the same faith that Abraham had and that's how he's at his side.

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Which means that what's his face, what's his name again? I can't remember his name. He didn't at all.

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So Abraham said, child remember that your lifetime you received your good things, Lazarus bad things but now he's comforted here and you are in anguish.

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Besides all of this, between us and you there's a great chasm that has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us.

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You'll note that Abraham makes it clear, listen there's no way to undo this. It's fixed.

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It's set. God's judgment resounds through eternity. So he said, then

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I beg you father to send him to my father's house. I have five brothers so that he may warn them lest they come into this place of torment.

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Abraham said, they have Moses and they have the prophets. Let them hear them. Now this is not to brush this fellow aside at all because scripture is really clear.

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We're not saved or convinced that God exists or that the

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Bible is true because of pyrotechnics and signs and wonders. What does

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Paul say? Faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the Word of Christ. Abraham knows this fact to be true because all of God's Word, it is theanoustos, it is

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God breathed, it is living and active. If you will not hear the Word of God, then there is no hope for you.

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And so he says they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And what's his face? What was his name again?

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It's not even on the tip of my tongue. Anyone know what this guy's name was? Huh. What's his face says, no father

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Abraham. If someone goes to them from the dead they will repent because he knows full well he was acquainted with the scriptures.

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He didn't listen to them. He didn't hold them sacred. He didn't gladly hear and learn it.

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He completely cast it aside and he was all about chasing after wealth and enjoying the trappings and the benefits of wealth.

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And he had no time, actually he had plenty of time, but didn't give himself even a minute to pay attention to what

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God's Word says at all. And he knows that his brothers are the same. They despise the Word of God.

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They don't listen to it. They don't apply themselves to it. No, he says, no that's not going to work.

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He said, no if someone goes to them from the dead they will repent.

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Let me ask you this question. You remember after Jesus died on Friday afternoon?

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He died at three o 'clock. He said, into your hands I commit my spirit. And what the

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Pharisees now that he's dead say, oh he said that he was going to rise again, right? So what did they do? They posted a guard at the tomb.

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There's a bunch of soldiers there camping in front of Jesus's tomb on Saturday night.

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And guess what happened? Jesus rose from the grave and an angel showed up.

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And you know who saw the angel? The soldiers. And they freaked out.

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And they go running back like a bunch of schoolgirls. And who do they report to?

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They report to the people who posted them there. You're not going to believe it. There was an angel and everything. And did we think

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Jesus rose from the grave? Did they go, we need to repent. We were wrong.

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Lord have mercy on us. No. Here's what we need you to do.

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You just tell everybody that the disciples came and stole the body. Did they repent?

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No. They knew full well that Jesus rose from the grave. They heard from the soldiers that they had posted there what had happened.

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And still the report didn't convince them of nothing. And so Abraham again knows full well, faith comes by hearing.

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Hearing by the Word of Christ. He says, listen, if they don't hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.

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Man, this is a lot of law. Let me add some more law to this, by the way. Just because.

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Consider our epistle text. I'll back up into the context here because it just gets better. 1st

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Timothy 6. If anyone, verse 3, if anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our

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Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with, and listen to the word, godliness.

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You're saying, what does this have to do with wealth? Actually, you'll see here in a second. If anyone will not hear the sound words of our

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Lord Jesus Christ, it's kind of like what Abraham was saying, right? And the teaching that accords with godliness.

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A little bit of a note here. Being wealthy, chasing after riches, is the exact opposite of godliness.

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That's the point. Now, if anyone will not listen to the sound words that accord with godliness, he's puffed up with conceit.

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That arrogance and conceit and pride, that's the devil's sin. And he understands nothing.

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A little bit of a note. The Greek here for understands nothing could be translated, he's an ignoramus. It's a little strong.

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He has an unhealthy craving for controversy, for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

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We all know what this looks like too, right? It's the guy on TBN saying, so your thousand dollar seed offering, show

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God that you have faith and he'll multiply it a hundredfold. You want to be prosperous and wealthy?

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God wants you to be prosperous and wealthy too. Just send me your money. Too many different ways that this happens.

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That's just one manifestation. It's just one. But listen to what he says.

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Godliness with contentment is great gain.

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Contentment. Hmm. What is that? Let me tell you the opposite of it.

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I remember I was like pointing out my favorite time of the year as a kid was, well it happened right after dinner on Thanksgiving.

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And it would last until December 25th. Oh, that season where I would pull out the

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JCPenney catalog. All right, you young kids, a catalog is...sorry.

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I would pull out the JCPenney catalog and I would flip the pages through and I would begin to covet.

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This is what I would like for Christmas. I want the G .I. Joe with the kung fu grip. I would like the

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Evel Knievel, you know, the stunt cycle where, you know, you put it on the thing and you wind it up and it goes...and

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you hit the button and off goes Evel Knievel. He jumps over the...oh, it's the best thing ever, right? And I put all these things on my list and I would spend the next few weeks meditating on the things that I coveted, craved, and desired.

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And then Christmas Day comes and you're opening up the presents. And I don't understand why my mom did this, but my mom would actually get a pack of like boys underwear and put it in Christmas wrapping, put it under the tree.

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And it's like I'd open this thing up, oh, it's a present! Underwear? What is this?

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You know, I think the Geneva Convention should outlaw that. But anyway, I'd go through all the presents and there were things that I put on my list that were there, but there would always be something that I really wanted that wasn't there.

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And rather than being content and happy and joyful for the things that I was gifted with, that my mother and my father so generously gave to me,

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I would get pouty and have a temper tantrum. My face would fall.

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I didn't get the G .I. Joe and the Kung Fu Grip. That's the opposite of content.

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But here's the thing, what I'm confessing to you we're all guilty of. We've all done this.

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Rather than thanking God for the things that he has given us, we hold up our fist at him and say, how come they have that and I don't?

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Why, are they better than I am? Do you not see it for the trap that it is?

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Do you not understand that these cravings, they are sin. Godliness with contentment,

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Paul says, is great gain. We brought nothing into the world. We cannot take anything out of the world.

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If we have food and clothing, even if it's hand -me -down, with these we will be content.

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But those who desire to be rich, notice it doesn't say those who are rich, those who desire it.

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There are plenty of people out there and who have wealth and they sit there and go,

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I don't know how this happened. I didn't desire to be wealthy, I just had an idea on how to help humanity and now, you know, my bank account's bursting.

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There are plenty of people that that happens to, but the one who strives after it, desires it,

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I want to be wealthy, I want to be famous, I want everybody to know my names,

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I want my name in lights, I want the trappings of all of that. Scripture says they fall into temptation, into a snare.

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And who is the one who set that snare trap up? The devil himself. Into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and into destruction.

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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.

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How foolish can you be to literally have in your hand eternal life and the riches of the new earth, all given as a gift because of what

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Christ has done for us on the cross, by grace, through faith given in inheritance, and go, nah,

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I really want this over here. And all your focus is on the here and the now. How foolish can you be?

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And on the day of judgment, do you not realize that the moment you stop breathing, you're going to recognize that you have been so foolish, and then it's too late.

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The deed is done. But he says, as for you, oh man of God, and listen to the words, flee these things.

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It's full Monty Python. Run away! Run away! The devil wants to drag you into hell.

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This is a snare. This is a lie. The whole kit and caboodle is just an illusion.

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It's a mirage. And when you get there, you're not going to be enjoying crisp, cool water.

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You're going to be having a mouthful of sand and hot at that. So flee these things.

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Instead, pursue, chase after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

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What a great list. All the things that the rich and the famous are not. That's what we're to pursue.

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And so you'll note then that Paul says, for the rich in this present age, there are Christians who are rich. I charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches.

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Instead, but set their hope on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future treasures in heaven, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

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You see, brothers and sisters, this isn't really life. We're just sojourning here.

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We're just passing through. We are but a mist. We're like the grass that comes up in the spring, and then by the fall begins to wither, turn brown, and disappear.

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That's our lives. I keep telling you, yesterday I was 18 years old. It was just yesterday.

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I was, man, I look good. I woke up this morning, and I look in the mirror, and what happened?

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Right? And it's getting worse, okay? This isn't life.

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Life is in the world to come. Don't fall for the devil's snares. But here's the thing, and I've made mention of it.

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We've all already fallen for the devil's snares. We bought into the system. We've striven after these things.

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We've craved and desired these things that are truly false, and we have even engaged in the haughtiness and the pride that goes along with this mindset, and we've shown partiality to the rich and dishonored the poor.

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Know this, then. Remember what's -his -face? What was his name again?

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I can't remember his name. You know why you don't know his name, right? Because it says that in Scripture, on the last day the books are opened, and if your name is not found written in the

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Lamb's Book of Life, then you are off to hell. Remember, Jesus says,

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I never knew you. The damned go into eternal torment without a name.

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Completely nameless. It's a sobering truth and a real reality.

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But know this, then, that Christ himself, he's the one who seeks and saves the lost.

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And remember the torment that what's -his -face was experiencing in hell. You see, that's the torment that Christ experienced.

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Scripture's so clear that God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. And on a

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Friday afternoon, the Son of God and the Son of David, with your sin and mine on him, including all of these sins that we've committed regarding wealth, he had those laid on him, and he was pierced for your transgressions and mine.

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He experienced the torment of the wrath of God so that you wouldn't have to.

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So that you can go into eternity, like Lazarus, with a name. So that you can be forgiven.

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And so see the sin for what it is. Let God's Word tell you what reality is.

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Reality is not what you see here. It's not what the world would tell you, and it's not according to the snares of the devil.

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The rich are not blessed. In many ways, the wealthiest among us are cursed.

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And the Word of God tells you that. And the riches in which they trust, those very riches will be the things that when they corrode, that will be the evidence held against them.

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So believe what Christ has said here. Trust in what he has done for you in bleeding and dying for you.

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Note that God caused his name to be placed on you in the waters of baptism, when you were baptized in the name of the

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Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You are not nameless. You have hope.

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So recognize then your sin and repent. Repentance is a daily practice of Christians.

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Repent again and embrace that which is truly life, because that which is truly life is

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Christ. Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Anyone who believes in me will not perish.

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With the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh all working to drag us into hell, you have one who is stronger than all three, who's conquered all three, who has bled and died for you, and he has you.

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So believe, trust in him, and he will see you through so that your fate is not the same as what's his face's.

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In the name of Jesus, Amen. If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

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Avenue Northwest, Oslo, Minnesota, 56744. And again, that address is

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Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, 15950 470th

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Avenue Northwest, Oslo, Minnesota, 56744. We thank you for your support.

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