AJ Neely continues this week’s sermon series The Gospel of Luke, Part III: A Journey through Galilee in Luke 16:14-31. In this passage, Jesus speaks to the pharisees (and us) on the heart issues of money, marriage, divorce, The Law and Prophets, heaven and hell, and the resurrection of the dead. AJ expresses the significance of all these things through the sermon and ties them all together to drive home the heart of this message. With all the major contrasts involved, there is a Tale of Two Cities, or better yet, a “Tale of Two Futures” of what lies ahead. There is a future for those who believe and a future for those who do not.

Preacher’s Main Points

• Self-indulgence won’t lead you to the future you desire.
• Your present circumstances are not a sign of your eternal security.
• You have been given everything you need for saving faith in Christ.

Key Takeaways

• There is a future with God, and there is a future without God.
• Many try for a 3^rd future, which doesn’t exist. It is the idea that you can have both, God and this world.
• The pharisees were lovers of money, scoffers, and held distorted views of God and His Law. Their hearts, like ours, require the Great Physician.
• We may be able to fool others, but we cannot fool God. He knows our hearts inside and out.
• We cannot pick and choose from God’s truth like a food buffet line.
• Satan deceived Adam and Eve with the lie that they will not die. With how little we think of eternity, do we structure our lives in such a way towards that lie? Our earthly time will run out.
• Our earthly state is not indicative of God’s pleasure or displeasure with us.
• There is nothing we can do, while being rich or being poor, to earn heaven. Lazarus and the rich man were alike in the sense that both men needed God. Salvation, by His mercy and grace, is from Him alone.
• There are two paths. One is full of joy, hope, and a future with God. The other is deceptive and ends in misery and destruction. It is the life lived trusting in self and accumulating and experiencing all one can in this earthly life.
• Seeing and/or experiencing a miracle will not secure saving faith. Even those that witnessed such things with Jesus (and even in the Old Testament) didn’t believe and rationalized the miracles away.
• Beware. Everything can look good on the outside, yet internally the heart can be broken and far from God.
• Be encouraged. God is near to the brokenhearted. Cry out to Him. God loves to show compassion and has made a way through Jesus Christ. The goodness of God is readily available.

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal application:

• Have I really settled the state of my soul? Does my life tell the story of what my lips say?
• How much time do I think on and plan for my eternal future?
• How do I spend time feeding my soul vs. feeding my flesh?

Community Group application:

• With eternity in mind, how can we ensure our lives are in order and that we are properly focused? Discuss the main priorities of your life with one another. Hopes, dreams, and main drivers… Categorize these things in heavenly or earthly pursuits for one another.
• In what ways do we see God working in one another? Do we have any weak spots that need admonishing.
• Remind one another of the promises of God and of His ongoing work of redemption in our lives. (Once He begins a good work in you, He will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.)

Pray for one another and be encouraged by God’s continued kindness towards us.

Passages Referenced

Luke 16:14-31; Joel 2:12-13; Jude 1:24-25

Worship Set List

You’ve Already Won, Holy Forever, Build My Life, Christ Our Hope In Life And Death, Living Hope