Sermon Tone Analysis

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and 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.

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, and 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 you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm 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.’

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 Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

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.’”

[1]

The focus of existence for our contemporaries—even for fellow Christians we consider to be “mature”—appears to be “self”—self-gratification, self-interests, self-preservation.

Undoubtedly, there are notable exceptions in the ken of many, but for most fellow Canadians, if the conduct of daily life is any indication, it is apparent that the summum bonum of life may be defined by what is fun—and fun is defined as that which is amusing, entertaining or personally enjoyable.

In short, the focus for most folk is “self.”

Few people seem capable of taking stock of their lifestyles, or of reflecting on the fact that their focus has become utterly self-centred.

Fewer still seem cognizant that a major transition has occurred in society.

Not that many years past, western society emphasised serving others rather than serving only—or even primarily—one’s own interest.

We esteemed the individual who made sacrifice for the benefit of the nation or for the benefit of mankind.

However, today such attitudes now appear passé at best, and perhaps even absurd or bizarre.

Christians are more likely to adopt as role models the denizens of this dying world than they are to choose to emulate the lives of quiet saints that endeavour to follow the Master.

Singers(?)

such a Chris Brown, who uses crude and salacious rhyming to entertain, or Enrique Iglesias who croons the crudest terms imaginable as a love(?) song, are the heroes—even serving as heroes for many older people.

THE SUMMUM BONUM OF LIFE — How does one determine what is good?

How does one determine if he is blessed?

Let’s be honest, conceding that most of us think of ourselves as blessed and enjoying divine favour when things are going well and we face no specific difficulties.

In short, we define blessing by our personal situation and the absence of conflict.

By this criterion, we are blessed because we live in Canada.

The assessment is true.

However, when one faces illness or financial reversal or problems in personal relationships, the temptation is for us to question God, doubting that we are blessed.

At the outset of our study, it is vital that we establish a truth that is often neglected.

In the midst of illness, we may still be blessed if we have a vital and vibrant relationship with God.

In time of financial reversal, when our outgo exceeds our income, we may still be richly blessed if we have a relationship with the True and Living God.

Similarly, even should we be deserted by all our earthly friends, if we know God—or rather, if we are known by God—we are blessed.

The Psalmist wrote a perspective that is not often heard in our day when he penned,

“It was good for me to suffer,

so that I might learn your statutes.”

[PSALM 119:71 NET BIBLE] [i]

I can only wonder how many of us could speak as did Job in time of extreme suffering, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.

The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” [JOB 1:21]?

Similarly, when he lost his health, Job responded to the negative sentiments of his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil” [JOB 2:10]?

I would remind you that when deserted by earthly friends, when even fellow Christians speak ill of you, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” [PROVERBS 18:24]?

Though we know the truth that life does not consist of this moment, we are still tempted to envy the godless, redefining blessing so that we are focused on our personal situation.

We would benefit from recalling the words of Asaph.

“Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

“For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find no fault in them.

And they say, ‘How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?’

Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.”

[PSALM 73:1-15]

Have you ever felt that way?

Have you ever questioned the “fairness” of God’s conduct of the world?

Are you one who has become so focused on what others have that you are blind to who they are?

Or more importantly, are you blind to who you are?

The United States has a sitting President who is exceptional at stirring up class envy.

He speaks often of fairness; focusing on the inequality of possession; he does a less commendable job of reminding people of the equality of opportunity.

Consequently, a surprisingly large number of people who adulate this man grumble because of what others have, or they grumble at how others live, rather than seeing that they have great opportunities to advance themselves through hard work.

In Canada, we struggle with the same issues of what is presented as “fairness” as political parties promise to redistribute wealth so that there is “fairness” for all.

Asaph was beginning to be consumed by what he saw as the unfairness of life—people he knew to be wicked were marked by ease of life, arrogance and injustice toward those who were weaker.

The song writer pondered the issue, coming finally to this resolution.

“But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.”

[PSALM 73:16, 17]

Without a solid doctrinal foundation, any one of us can slip into gross error.

Each of us is capable of rejecting foundations instilled by godly parents and taught by those who loved us and who provided sound instruction during our formative years.

Recently, I’ve become aware of some of those who are adulated in this fallen world, and how far they have moved from positions that marked their parents.

Brad Pitt is a recognised star who appears to have attained all that anyone could want.

In almost every interview, the writer appears to stress his Baptist roots.

One interviewer identifies him as having grown up in Springfield, Missouri, the oldest of three children in a conservative, Southern Baptist family.

[2] In that interview, Pitt says, “I always had a lot of questions about the world, even in kindergarten.

A big question to me was fairness.

If I'd grown up in some other religion, would I get the same shot at Heaven as a Christian has? …In high school I started to realize that I felt differently from others.”

He continues that interview by noting, “I had crises of faith.