When Beggars Tell Beggars Where to Find Bread

In this eye-opening exploration of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we discover profound truths about wealth, eternity, and our urgent responsibility to share the gospel with others.

• The rich man's blindness continued even in torment, showing how deeply ingrained our worldly mindsets can be
• Less than 2% of Christians ever share their faith with another human being
• You don't need theological training to share your faith - simply tell your story of transformation
• Start by sharing with those closest to you - your family and friends - for the most effective impact

Remember, a divine intervention happens when a willing witness crosses paths with a seeking soul. Are you a willing witness today?

Covenant Church Houma

Transcript

Introduction to Rich Man and Lazarus

Speaker 1 0:19

Thank you for us to recall , in today's divisive and dark culture , from foundational truths and scripture to the hot topics of today's culture . Allow this podcast to inspire and motivate you on your faith journey . Well , good morning , pastor . Steve , good morning , glad to have you again . Great to be here . I think we're in the mid-20s now , so we're moving right along , yes , and it's a blessing to be here . So we're going to be in Luke , chapter 16 , verses 19 through 31 , talking about the rich man and Lazarus . I'm going to go ahead and read the scripture and then we'll dive right in All right .

Speaker 1 0:53

So Luke 16 , 19 through 31 . Now there was a rich man and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen , joyously living in splendor every day , and a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate , covered with sores and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table . Besides , even the dogs were coming and licking his sores . Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom , and the rich man also died and was buried In Hades . He lifted up his eyes , being in torment , and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom , and he cried out and said Father Abraham , have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue , for I am in agony in this flame . But Abraham said Child , remember that during your life you received your good things and likewise Lazarus , bad things . But now he is being comforted here and you are in agony . And besides all this , between us and you there is a great chasm fixed so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able and that none may cross over from there to us . And he said Then I beg you , father , that you send him to my father's house for I have five brothers in order that he may warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment .

Speaker 1 2:13

But Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets , let them hear them . But he said no , father Abraham , but if someone goes to them from the dead , they will repent . But he said to him , if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets , they will repent . But he said to him , if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets , they will not be persuaded , even if someone rises from the dead . So , pastor Steve , just glossing over this and we'll dig in a little deeper , but how can we relate to both the rich man and the poor man in this parable , in this story that Jesus told ?

Relating to Both Characters

Speaker 2 2:46

Well , the parable is , I think , intended to motivate us to share the gospel . Gospel , literally from the Greek word , euangelion means good news . What is the good news ? That there is deliverance from the bad news Right , that there's deliverance from the bad news Right . And so the good news is one can have a relationship with holy God , with all of the benefits that come with that . Or if they reject that relationship , there are consequences that come with that .

Speaker 2 3:21

And so we relate to the rich man in that in America we live in a very materialistic society . We're blessed , and I believe I understand this teaching in that it wasn't because he was rich he had a problem . It was because rich had him , he lived the life that was his world , he trusted his money , it was his everything , if you will . And then we identify with Lazarus , I think , because it has been said well that evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread , were to find bread .

Speaker 2 4:06

And the really cool thing about this parable was in the first century , whenever they would have banquets , they didn't have fine linens like we do now . That wasn't a thing . So when they got through eating , oftentimes they would take a piece of bread and clean their hands and throw it to the dogs , and so that's the picture you get with Lazarus . He's dependent on these rich people , the table of the rich man , just to barely survive . He's destitute , he's homeless . Beggars were people , normally , who had no other means , and beggars were people normally who had no other means , no family , no help , so they were reduced to begging , and so the imagery there is that we are all , in our simplest form , beggars before holy God . Yes , and so I think that's how we can identify with both of them .

Speaker 1 5:07

Right and you hit the nail on the head . I mean , this is definitely about urgent evangelism and I think one of the things that I've experienced in ministry is that you know we've done different initiatives where we go to different neighborhoods and try to reach the neighborhood , where we go to different neighborhoods and try to reach the neighborhood . And the way you reach an affluent neighborhood is a much different method than the way you reach , say , someone on the street or at a hotel or whatever .

Speaker 1 5:32

And I think the reason that is is because , exactly what you said you become so comfortable in your wealth and what you have that it becomes who you are , and so you almost have to fit that mold in order to reach those people .

Speaker 2 5:45

That's right . Well , and here's what happens , and it still happens today . In our culture , money is a tool to provide whatever your heart's desire . If you have enough money , you can do anything you want . Right Right , but in its simplest form it provides for us the basic needs to live . But the more money we have , the more it becomes the most important thing to us . We tend to trust in it rather than holy God . We tend to think our money can solve every problem , that it'll be there to take care of us in every way , and that's the flaw in the thinking . We should see it as a tool , not as our protector .

Speaker 1 6:37

Right , you know I've met just a very few . I'm sure you've met more than me , but I've met a few people who have a lot of money but they're able to disconnect themselves to its pool and I find that fascinating , because that is a hard thing to do .

Speaker 2 6:55

Incredibly hard . I mean , we're human , right , we all like nice things , we all want to take nice trips , we all want great experiences , we all want to take nice trips , we all want great experiences . And so the test there are a lot of critics of Rick Warren . Okay , rick Warren made over $20 million on one of his books , purpose Driven Life . Okay , he donated every dime of that $20 million to AIDS ministries in Africa . So one of the tests of success is where you reach a point where you're happy and you now want to make a difference with what you have . So you know , people can be as critical of Rick Warren as they want , but he stood the test Right you know , yeah , yeah , amen .

Speaker 1 7:57

So how does this parable challenge prosperity theology ?

Money: Tool or Master?

Speaker 2 8:02

Oh , my goodness . You know it's hard for me to understand how you can get prosperity theology and have this parable in the same Bible . You got to understand . The Jews practice prosperity theology . It's not just the health and wealth guys . In 2025 in America . They believed that wealth was a direct blessing from God , and so it is a direct challenge to Jewish theology . You know , and Jesus is taught several times throughout the New Testament you can have your reward here or in heaven . And the rich man , because he embraced his wealth , because he was greedy with his wealth , he had his reward on planet Earth . That's all he was going to get . And so I think and I try to tell our people from time to time here in our church Christians ought to be generous . Nothing wrong with having wealth . Right .

Speaker 2 9:11

There's nothing sinful about having wealth . It's when the wealth has you that you're in trouble . And this man , truly , the wealth had him .

Speaker 1 9:21

Right . And like you always say , you don't have to be rich to be generous , you have to be generous to be generous . That's right , no matter with what you have , you know and people get mad when I say this .

Speaker 2 9:32

Some of the most economically humble people I know are some of the most selfish , because their battle cry is I can't afford that , I don't make that much money , I can't possibly give to that . And it becomes their default answer to everything and they never once consider , you know , to that person giving $10 may be a sacrifice , but God calls us to give sacrificially Right , and so they're not exempt from that because in their mind , they're more poor than someone else .

Speaker 1 10:14

Yeah .

Speaker 2 10:14

Yeah .

Speaker 1 10:15

And I find it interesting how many people today , in 2025 , still get swooped up in that theology , even though the crux of that theology is simple it's if you have enough faith and if you trust God enough , he will provide an abundant blessing , and what you seed in you'll fruit out . Whereas , hey , if you pay the church or pay me as a ministry $50 , god will give you $100 . And it just amazes me how many people still believe this to be true 100% of the time .

Speaker 2 10:48

Here's the danger of that . You know the old thing the best jokes have a little bit of truth in them . Well , the best heresies have a little bit of truth in them . We are taught in Scripture that we reap what we sow right . So , God , I believe Scripture teaches , honors our obedience , and he may very well bless you in financial ways . But I firmly believe , if you're planting a seed , so to speak , just with your heart's intent , that I'm going to get more back , I think you totally misunderstand the teaching that's right .

Speaker 2 11:30

Scripture , as I understand it , teaches that we are not obedient in order to please God or to get good results . Obedience is produced because of our salvation and you are obedient because that's who you are , as a child of God , and whatever comes out of that obedience is irrelevant , that's God's business . You don't plant the seed looking to get something in return . You plant the seed because that's what God put you here to do , right See ? And I think this is where we get off track with that thing . I often tell people same thing . I've seen it all my life in church talking to somebody and they tithe , but they're not happy about it , they feel obligated , and I tell them you might as well keep it . Right .

Speaker 2 12:31

Because Scripture's clear If you're not giving with a cheerful heart , god's not going to bless that . But they have this guilt religious rules guilt that if they don't do it , god's going to get them . I've had them say things like well , if I don't tithe , god will get it one way or the other , my car will break down , my water heater will go out . Well , that's the exact opposite of saying if I plant this money , I'm going to get a financial reward .

Speaker 2 13:02

Right , see exact opposite of saying if I plant this money , I'm going to get a financial reward , right See . So we have to be obedient with our finances out of the natural desire of our heart

Challenging Prosperity Theology

Speaker 2 13:12

and not worry about what the return is . That's the biblical teaching .

Speaker 1 13:18

Right , right , I was reminded speaking about the prosperity . I want to hear your thoughts on this , this prosperity theology . I had to read a book a couple semesters ago for school and it was all about the start of this theology and there was a very prominent prosperity ministry . I want to say it was in the 60s or the 50s , early 50s , and this lady brought her child , who had severe diabetes , to the church and she was on the verge of going to the doctor , getting medication and all this and the pastor in the church was like , no , you just have to have faith . Well , long story short , they prayed over the child , she prayed over the child . Child ended up dying and could have been prevented from death had she gone to the doctor and got the medication . That's an extreme example , but it's an example nonetheless of the dangers of believing this way .

Speaker 2 14:12

Yeah , I'm a strong believer in the power of God and His power to heal . But I also am a strong believer that when we say he provides for us , that includes science and medicine and anything else that's available to us . It's not a lack of faith to go to the doctor . You can absolutely still trust and believe that God would heal , and he may very well do that , but that is in his purview . Yeah . You know , and this idea and here's our problem Scripture actually says that you got to believe . Mm-hmm .

Speaker 2 14:56

Okay . So I think you're probably not going to receive a healing if you don't believe . But this idea gets , I think , complicated when people want to ignore the obvious blessings God has given us in science and medical doctors . I believe God can do anything he wants to do and he doesn't need my permission to do it . Right , I still go to the doctor . I believe God has gifted us with these disciplines of knowledge to help us . And so , even though I'm going to the doctor , that doesn't prevent me from praying that God would change the situation . And I've seen it where he has and I've seen it where he didn't . That's all in God's wisdom and we'll never understand that this side of heaven , that's his business . We'll never understand that this side of heaven .

Speaker 2 16:05

That's his business , and so I think you can get on dangerous ground you got to be careful Right In this parable .

Speaker 1 16:14

I mean , the rich man is blind , even in torment , and still doesn't realize . Do you think that's what people who go to hell will still be blind ? Or will they see the truth and agonize over the fact that they did reject the truth ?

Speaker 2 16:29

I think that's part of hell , just my opinion . I think part of hell is that you realize what you chose not to accept ,

Hell and Eternal Realization

Speaker 2 16:39

because he starts praying to Father Abraham hey , send somebody to my family . I don't want them to have to come down here where I'm at . And , as we all know , once you take your last breath on planet Earth , the gospel is clear that opportunity for that door is closed . Right .

Speaker 2 16:58

And so it is an urging for us to share the gospel . I don't know how many times I've seen it . Somebody comes to me . Would you come tell my daddy about Jesus ? Would you come tell my brother about Jesus ? Why don't you tell them ? About .

Speaker 2 17:14

Jesus the average Christian . We know they've done studies on it . Less than 2% of the Christian community ever share their faith with another human being 2% right , and so I think there's going to be a whole lot of people that'll end up in hell , and the cry may very well be why didn't my brother tell me ? Why didn't my kids tell me ? So again , I can't prove that one way or the other , but I believe part of being in hell is the realization of what you rejected .

Speaker 1 17:55

That's a weighty thing to think about . It is , it seems we have so many people and just being in ministry , there are people that come to church that don't really walk out their faith . That's normal everywhere . But there are also many people who are serious about their faith and still don't share the gospel because I think they fall captive to the lie of Satan that they can't and they don't know how , when really it's very simple Just share what Jesus has done for you and invite them to have the same experience .

Speaker 2 18:28

A gospel presentation is simple . This is who I was before Jesus . This is what happened when I came to Jesus and committed my life to him . This is who I am now . The first person I ever shared the gospel with accepted Christ , committed his life to him and we were baptized together . That's awesome . I got saved on a Sunday and I shared the gospel with him on Monday afternoon and the next Sunday we were baptized together . I didn't even know John 3.16 . Yeah .

Speaker 2 19:03

So it is a huge lie of Satan . People feel like they got to have a Bible degree or they have to be some kind of scholar . Right , you cannot argue with a changed life , you just can't . Right ? I mean you can , but I don't think it gets any traction .

Speaker 1 19:23

Yeah , that's interesting . I didn't know that about you . That's kind of similar to my story . Whenever I started going to the old church , I accepted Christ , got baptized in March , shared the gospel with my coworker Again , I didn't know any of the scripture , but I just shared what Jesus did and he got baptized in June at the church . Yeah , but Jesus did and he got baptized in .

Speaker 2 19:40

June at the church .

Speaker 1 19:42

Yeah , and I just yeah . I mean , whenever you're changed , you want to share it . You want to share ?

Speaker 2 19:48

That's right .

Speaker 1 19:49

So let's talk about at the end of the parable

The Simplicity of Sharing Faith

Speaker 1 19:53

it's clear to a person who won't believe , if they don't believe the prophets or Moses , they're definitely not going to believe resurrection , this idea of no matter what miracle you see and still not believe in the truth . At what point do we come to a conclusion as believers that we know the Scripture says God has to draw the heart , but we also know we have free agency , we have free will . So talk about the tension of that a little bit , because it's clear here that it's like , hey , if they don't believe Moses or the prophets , they're not going to believe the resurrection , even if they see someone rise from the dead .

Speaker 2 20:31

My take on this particular parable is it really creates a problem for the five-point Calvinist . Why would we have this parable where the man was given the opportunity to make a decision for Christ and chose not to ? He could have chose to accept Christ , commit his life to Christ , but he didn't right . And so the reality of this thing is , I believe firmly as you say every human being is presented with the opportunity . We call it the conviction of the Holy Spirit . God's nudging is I think that's what we call being drawn Right the nudging of the Holy Spirit to respond to a holy God .

Speaker 2 21:23

And what keeps many people from that , in my humble opinion , is the desire to be their own God , the desire to be totally in charge of their own life . They cannot fathom the idea of committing themselves to this God who's then going to dictate who they are and how they should live . They're just not quite able to do that . So this guy you know , you have the rich young ruler who comes to Jesus At night and Jesus says he wants to know how to be saved . And Jesus says go , sell everything you got and give it to the poor . And he can't do it . He was given an opportunity , a choice Can't do it , you know . And the Scripture says he went away sad and I think the reason he goes away sad is he would make a great modern-day Christian . We all want the best of this world and we don't want to have to give it up to have the best of the world after this , that's good yeah , so yeah .

Speaker 1 22:29

Yeah , that's a good word . I think about that when you said he would make a good modern-day Christian . Whenever I'm counseling someone or talking to someone trying to explain the gospel to them , at all times the root of the barrier has to do with a grip on something here . Yes , so that's a good realization there . I never actually saw that perspective before .

Speaker 2 22:59

Think about what we often say . Somebody say how are you doing today ? And the response is I woke up this morning , I'm doing great . Now , as believers , shouldn't our response be more like well darn it , I'm still here . Jesus hasn't taken me home yet . If we really believe in heaven and all that it's supposed to be . But we are so connected to this world we're going to talk about this Sunday being aliens in this world . We should be a little uncomfortable here in our skin .

Speaker 2 23:37

And I'm not saying have a death wish , but what I'm saying is there should be a yearning , a desire for the promises that we have in Christ , but we tend not to do that . We tend not to do that . Another interesting thing many years ago there was a study done on the percentage of people in our society that believe in heaven , and the interesting thing was they found out that almost everyone who believes in heaven believes they're going to heaven . And I find that very interesting because just because you believe in heaven doesn't mean you're going to heaven . As we know , Scripture teaches you got to believe Jesus is the Messiah and commit your life to him . Just the belief there's a heaven won't get you there , but much of our society believes that and it's played out in this phrase . You often hear I'm a good person . I think another one of Satan's lies I'm a good person , so surely I'm going to heaven . Right , that's just not what scripture teaches us is the criteria for heaven .

Speaker 1 24:54

That's right . How do you say it ? I don't slap my mama , I don't spit or chew .

Speaker 2 25:01

Oh , don't drink , cuss , chew or run with girls that do yeah , yeah . So I'm a good old boy , I'm a good old boy , don't kick my dog , don't cheat on my taxes . Surely I'm going to heaven , right , yeah , yeah . The problem is none of those things have anything to do with heaven .

Speaker 1 25:17

Correct . Yeah , yeah . So last point is urgent evangelism . We don't know the day , the time or the hour . Why

Urgent Evangelism and Close Relationships

Speaker 1 25:38

is it , Steve , that ?

Speaker 2 25:38

it's difficult for people to understand the importance of sharing their faith Well , in its simplest form , if there are people around you that you love and care about and you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ , meaning that you really believe he's who he says he is and he's going to do what he says he's going to do . You know there's a reckoning day where he'll separate the wheat and the chaff , and you realize that's a reality . And not only do you want to be with the wheat in heaven , you want to take those you love the most with you , and so there should be a care and a concern for those you love that would make you want to share with them . My own mother I've told this story who had been turned off by the church , who had been turned off by the church and you know it's easy for that to happen , because the church is made up of humans . Humans do dumb things , and humans are oftentimes hypocrites and what they say and do doesn't line up . And so my mother was very critical of the church , and I had shared the gospel with her three or four times over the years . She always rejected it , but then she was in the hospital in intensive care , and I drove home to visit with her and I asked her how she was doing . She said fine , told the doctor , I'm ready to go . If this is it , don't worry about me . And my natural response was okay , who helped you do this ? And her answer was a blessing and it was comical . She said nobody . You told me enough times how to do it . She said nobody , you told me enough times how to do it . And so you know , I had resolved in my heart , after I've been in ministry many years , that neither my mom or dad would ever come to Christ . Both of them came to Christ just a few years before they passed . It took that long , right ? So you never give up on your loved ones . You always stay consistent , share the gospel because you care about them .

Speaker 2 28:04

The other thing is and we struggle with this as ministers you got to live with a purpose and I fight this all the time . We get caught up doing the mundane here in church life . You know we're meeting with people about something all the time . We're dealing with this , we're putting out a fire , we're . You know it's something to do all day long . You get to the end of the day and you've done stuff all day , but you don't feel like you've accomplished anything for the kingdom Right . And you've done stuff all day , but you don't feel like you've accomplished anything for the kingdom right . And so , in order to share the gospel , you've got to get up in the morning and determine that you're going to look for an opportunity . Right , you know we call it a divine intervention when a willing witness crosses paths with a seeking soul . Right , but if you're not a willing witness , those seeking souls will come around you all day long . Yeah .

Speaker 2 29:00

And they'll never hear the gospel . Right . So I think our biggest challenge , even as ministers , is that we've got to do a better job of living our faith with purpose , looking to share it .

Speaker 1 29:18

Right , yeah , and I think some people think , and they tell me this , and God has called me to do a specific type of evangelism , but he has not called everyone to do that type Right ? And I think what's important for people to realize is that just think about your family and your close friends and then think about the whole church , their family and their close friends . That's a lot of people . So if we would just reach the ones that are close to us which I believe is the most effective evangelism anyway , absolutely Then that multiplication effect is astronomical .

Speaker 2 29:53

It is , it is , it is . And if you look at the average church , you can see that Our church is larger , so it's a little harder to see , but it's here . You're talking to somebody , then you find out this is their aunt , this is their cousin , that's their nephew . It naturally works if we'll just be obedient , live out the obedience Christ is producing in us .

Speaker 1 30:22

Yeah , amen , amen . Well , thank you for being here , pastor Steve . My blessing and we'll see you guys on the next one .