This is the joy of the evening service, right?
The further back you sit, the further forward I can come.
So, it's good to have you all with us tonight.
I'm so glad you've joined us.
We are continuing our series and looking at the theme of discipleship in the book of Luke.
Thinking, what does it mean?
What does it look like to follow Jesus?
And we are glad that you are here tonight.
But, you know, as we look at our passage, we're looking at Luke chapter 12, verses 4 through 12, page 871 in your pew Bible.
We'll be reading that text in a minute.
But as you turn there, it occurs to me that as we look at it, one of the big themes in it is what we're afraid of.
And I think that, in fact, one of the things that's true of us is that what we're afraid of often tells us a lot about ourselves and who we are.
I don't know if you're, this is an old movie reference, but if you've seen Jurassic Park, right?
The Richard Attenborough character, John Hammond, he's the creator of the whole thing, right?
And throughout most of the movie, he doesn't get the fact that the dinosaurs are going to eat him.
He doesn't seem to get that they're dangerous animals that are out of control.
He's living in this fantasy world.
And what he, he spends the whole movie being afraid that his park is getting broken and that people's experiencers are being ruined.
And he doesn't get the fact that there are these dinosaurs that are going to kill him.
And it says something about what he really values in his life.
And it says something about what he, what he really cared about.
And I wonder if that's true for all of us too.
What are the fears in your life?
What's behind it?
You know, one of the things that's true about fear is that fear only arises in our hearts when something that is valuable
and something that we care about is threatened, right?
So if I go up on a ropes course and I try to try, I hate heights, so this is a bad example,
but I try to take that first step off the platform onto the rope,
I'm afraid that I'm going to plummet to my death at the bottom of this ropes course, right?
I feel like my life is in danger.
That's a little example.
But maybe there are other things that you feel like are, you easily become afraid of.
I'm afraid of getting sick.
Afraid of losing my job.
I'm afraid of not finding a place of comfort and security.
I'm afraid of living alone.
There's so many different things that we might find ourselves afraid of.
I'm afraid of being ignored or living a life that doesn't seem to have purpose.
I'm afraid of being unloved.
I'm afraid of myself and the darkness that I see in my own heart and the way I behave sometimes.
There's all sorts of things that we can be afraid of.
One of the things that we need to explore tonight is,
how is it that those fears shape your life?
And how is it that being a follower of Jesus can help us in this?
Particularly tonight, one of the things we're going to recognize is that
one of the greatest fears in humanity is,
we fear what other people are going to do to us.
We fear how they respond to us and we give them.
There's this great book out there,
When People Are Big and God Is Small.
And we'll come back to that at the end and talk about what that looks like in the reverse.
But when people are big and God is small in our lives,
how much that warps us.
How much that changes how we live and how we behave.
What we want to do is look at this passage tonight
and think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in light of these fears.
And particularly in light of the fear of other people and what they might do to us.
So, that's what we're going to talk about.
Let me pray as we look at our passage and then we'll dive in for a few minutes.
Lord, tonight we acknowledge to you, Lord, that we are fearful.
We acknowledge to you that, Lord, so often our hearts are ruled by it.
God, we pray that tonight as we hear Jesus' words to us,
Lord, that you would work in our hearts,
Lord, to turn from fear to faith.
To see you
in all of your glory
and all of your goodness to us.
And Lord, that in doing so, you would change us.
Lord, the things that would rule our hearts would be different.
Because of our time tonight, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
So, just if you remember, in the context of the book of Luke,
we've been looking at it for a while.
In chapter 11, we've seen that Jesus has started to teach about what it means.
And there's a long section where he's talking to the Pharisees and the lawyers.
And he's basically rebuking them and provoking them,
calling them out for their ungodly form of religion
and the way that they are responding to him in particular.
Or, he rebukes them for their hypocrisy
that they want to look good on the outside
without actually being good on the inside.
And without...
And rebuking them ultimately also for their pride.
For their wanting to perform religiously
without actually having the humility to recognize
how much they need God
and his gracious work in their lives.
So, there's a strong sort of confrontation.
And we see this in this whole section that we're preaching on in Luke.
From chapter...
At the end of chapter 9 all the way to chapter 19.
Jesus has turned his face towards Jerusalem
and he's going to the cross.
And what we see over this time
is this increasing pattern of conflict
with the religious authorities.
It's this...
It's this increasing...
And so, Jesus is starting to exhibit some of those things.
And we even see the beginning of chapter 12
where he says,
Beware the leaven of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.
Beware the way they are.
He's warning his disciples,
Look, what the religious leadership of the day in Judaism was
was deeply problematic.
And a lot of it was because they were rejecting Jesus.
They were saying,
We don't believe you have anything to say to us.
In fact, we think you are wrong.
And so, they're denying Jesus' role.
So, he's set up...
So, we've sort of seen in the context
a setup of growing conflict
of if you're going to follow me,
there are these other forces out there
that you're going to have issues with.
And that leads us to verse 4,
which is where we're going to start tonight.
So, let's look at this together.
I tell you, my friends,
do not fear those who kill the body
and after that have nothing more that they can do.
But I will warn you whom to fear.
Fear him who, after he is killed,
has authority to cast into hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
Why, even the hairs on your head are all numbered.
Fear not.
You are more value than many sparrows.
And I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before men,
the Son of Man also will acknowledge
before the angels of God.
But the one who denies me before men
will be denied before the angels of God.
And everyone who speaks a word
against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven.
And when they bring you before the synagogues
and the rulers and the authorities,
do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself
or what you should say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you
in that very hour
what you ought to say.
These are Jesus' words to us.
They're strong.
They're bold.
They're sort of blunt.
And we need to explore how we interact with them
and basically breaks down into two sections.
The first one has to do with who you fear
and the second one has to do with
how you navigate responding to people in light of that.
And so this is basically what we're going to look at tonight.
Verses four through seven.
Did you see the word fear?
It's there over and over again.
And I have a confession to make.
I've read the Bible for years
and when I first read,
when I first saw that this was a passage I was preaching on,
I'm like, oh, this is about like,
you need to fear Satan
because he's the one who can destroy your soul.
Right?
And I don't know if any of you thought that.
This might just be me because I'm a crazy man.
But I just thought, well, okay.
But then I read this and I thought,
no, no, no, this isn't what it.
What he's saying is,
what are you really afraid of?
Are you afraid of the person?
And again, in this context,
he's thinking to his disciples,
are you afraid of the rulers and the authorities
and the Pharisees and the leaders,
the religious leadership
who may oppose you to the point of putting you to death?
Are you afraid of them?
Because they might kill you.
And, you know, let's be honest.
That's pretty normal.
Being afraid when you think you're going to die
is pretty normal.
It's pretty human.
There's nothing, you know,
it's understandable, right?
We want to have,
we want to understand, like,
that's a very normal fear.
But Jesus says,
why do you fear them?
And he goes on, right?
He goes on in verse,
in verse eight,
and he says,
I will tell you who to fear.
He says, don't fear that.
And we're kind of like,
what in the world?
Why would we not fear it?
Because there's something greater
for you to fear.
There's something more important for you to fear.
And that's what he says in verse eight.
I will warn you who to fear.
Fear him who, after he is killed,
has the authority to cast into hell.
Yes, I tell you,
fear him.
And that's the part where I thought,
oh, that's Satan,
because he's the one who can destroy our souls
and all that stuff.
No, no, no, no.
It's not that at all.
Because he's saying,
who actually has the authority to judge us?
Who actually has the authority
to proclaim a final announcement
on our eternal state.
It's God himself.
And that's who he's saying.
He's saying,
you need to fear the person
who will judge your spiritual state for eternity.
And that's the person
who you ought to be concerned about.
Not about these men
who might kill your body.
But rather,
he's saying,
there's something greater
that's going on
in your spiritual life
with your soul.
And whether you
will go to heaven or to hell,
whether you will be with God for eternity,
or whether you will be apart from God
and under his wrath for eternity,
is the most important question
that you will ever ask yourself
as a human being.
This is more important
than anything else.
He's saying,
that's what I want you to be afraid of.
Because I want you to understand
the value of the soul,
and I want you to know the person
to whom you're ultimately accountable for.
That's the one.
That's what I want you to see.
And then he goes on,
and he gives great encouragement.
Because the very one
who has the authority,
the role of casting judgment upon you
for your life,
look at what kind of a person he is.
Right?
This is what verses,
verse eight,
yeah, verses six and seven,
sorry,
verse six and seven are all about.
Are not five sparrows
sold for two pennies?
He's talking about
the most mundane things.
Right?
Can't you get,
you know,
a piece of bubble gum
for 25 cents
at the,
you know,
corner store.
Right?
But God knows even those things,
and he cares.
So if God cares about
those little things,
how much more
does he care about you?
And then he goes on,
even then,
he knows the hairs of your head,
they are numbered.
For you are more valuable to him.
And this is the thing
that Jesus wants to tell them.
Jesus says,
you are precious
in the sight of God.
And your soul
and your eternal state
is the most important thing
about you.
So what are you going to fear?
What are you going to fear
in that context?
What are you going to be afraid of?
Remember we talked about
the fact that fear
is when something
that we value
is threatened.
Part of what Jesus is doing
in these commands
is he's trying to help
recalibrate for us
what we value.
Because when I step out
on a ropes course,
I'm thinking I'm putting
my life at risk.
Right?
But it's possible
following Jesus
in the first century
could mean
I'm putting myself
at risk of
literally being stoned
or burned at the stake
or being imprisoned.
And there are lots of places
in the world today
where that's still true.
That to claim
the name of Jesus
could result in the very
end of your physical life.
And Jesus is saying
the God who made you
and who loves you
and who knows you
has said that
your eternal soul
is more important.
And that eternal soul
and that eternal destiny
is connected
with following me.
We'll pick up on that
again at the end.
But I want to
simply say for you
when you think about
what do you fear
from other people?
It's probably not
getting killed.
Maybe you do.
I don't know.
I don't know
all of your life circumstances.
But it's much more likely
to be a rejection.
People will make fun of you.
People will think less of you.
In our culture around here
some people may think
you're not very smart
if you believe in Jesus
and want to follow him.
Other people
for some of you
it may feel like
your reputation at work
is at stake
if you are known
to be a follower of Jesus.
For some of you
it may be a relationship
with someone
who you deeply care about.
Your best friend,
a boyfriend,
a girlfriend.
But to be known
and identified
as a follower of Jesus
will put that relationship
in jeopardy
because you know
that that person
that you care about
isn't going to respond
well to it.
it may be
that you will face
serious consequences
for claiming to be
a follower of Jesus
in your life.
But Jesus says
do you see
there's something
more important
than even your very life
even your reputation
even those relationships
whatever seems
to be at cost here
there's something
greater value
to be kept.
It has to do
with following Jesus.
Come back to that
at the end.
The second section
in our passage
verses 8-12
Jesus addresses
the context
a little more
of this identifying
with Jesus.
Right?
He uses these words
acknowledge
whoever acknowledge
it's the same word
that in other words
is saying
to confess
or to profess
faith in
sometimes it just
means agree with
like I'm in agreement
with Jesus
I'm in his
I'm in his tribe
he's my
he's
he's my God
however we think
about it
this is what
acknowledge means
it doesn't just
mean like a
a wave like
oh yeah
hi I see you
you know
embarrassingly
from across the room
it's like
no no no
that's my guy
I'm going to
acknowledge
the son of man
is what it means
here
right?
Jesus says
I tell you
everyone who
acknowledges me
before men
so again
the context
is still
how are others
going to respond
even more so here
how are others
going to respond
who acknowledges me
then before God
before the angels
of God
which is a picture
of that ultimate
judgment
and that ultimate
throne room
where even the
spiritual heavenly
beings will sit
around
and watch God
proclaim judgment
on our life
right?
and if we have
identified with
Jesus
then Jesus
will identify
us
as his
before
in this
spiritual
global
eternal
courtroom
he will say
that's my
that's my one
he acknowledges me
I acknowledge him
but
verse 9
whoever denies me
before men
will be denied
before the angels
of God
then we get to
verse 10
which I want to
spend a few minutes
on because it's
one of those
really tricky
verses right?
you just go
what in the world?
and anyone who
speaks a word
against the son
of man
will be forgiven
okay that sounds
good because a lot
of us have done
that at one point
maybe in our lives
but
the one who
blasphemes
against the Holy
Spirit will not
be forgiven
whoa
I thought
I thought the whole
message of Jesus
was forgiveness
and now there's
this one thing
that says
no you can't
be forgiven
of this
there's no hope
well
let me try to
explain it to you
give you a little
hope
a little bit
of understanding
it's very interesting
when you look at
the parallel
of this passage
you see it in
Matthew
verse 12
verses 31
and 32
and in Mark
3
verses 28
through 30
it's in the
context where
the Pharisees
and the religious
leaders are
saying about
Jesus
that he is
in fact
filled with the
spirit of Satan
or Beelzebub
because
in order
that that is
where his power
to heal
is coming from
that is where
his power
to do miracles
is coming from
that's actually
the context
in those other
two places
and it
seems that
in those
other two
places
it's much
clearer
that this
blaspheming
of the
Holy Spirit
isn't just
a
momentary
denial
of Christ
but it's
a much
greater
thing
here's a
definition
that I
found
from
a friend
of mine
who's
actually
a seminary
professor
who said
this
it's a
specific
active
and final
choice
to declare
the person
and the
work
of Jesus
as being
demonic
in origin
okay
it's saying
that Jesus
is not
God
but a
man
who's
being
given
power
from
spiritual
forces
that are
in opposition
to God
it is a
complete
denial
of Jesus
claim
to be
divine
to be
the son
of God
to be
perfectly
sinless
to have
power
and authority
in and of
himself
given to
him
by God
the father
to play
his role
in this
world
of being
the redeemer
and savior
of the world
it is a
denial
and rejection
of all
of that
and it's
not just
a momentary
but it is
a settled
decided
I will not
change
this
opinion
the same
writer
goes on
to say
this isn't
to minimize
the pinch
and pain
of these
strong
words
of Jesus
it's a
valid
extension
to warn
people
of persistent
hardness
of heart
in opposition
to Jesus
but
this is a
message
not for
the tender
conscience
or the
stumbling
believer
but rather
for the
pseudo
religious
who stands
over
against
Jesus
in
smugness
the
Peters
and the
Pauls
and millions
of other
believers
through history
have failed
and fallen
and yet
have found
Jesus
smiling
welcoming
face
of forgiveness
did you
hear that
think about
Peter
Peter who
on the night
that Jesus
was betrayed
and arrested
who followed
him and
around the
fire
in the
courtyard
outside the
high priest's
house
they asked
him
do you
identify
with him
he said
no
I'm not
with him
three times
he did
it
three times
he denied
being connected
with Christ
three times
he actually
did what
we see
in verse
nine
he denied
Christ
and yet
after his
denial
as the
Holy Spirit
worked in
his life
the cock
crowed
he realized
what he
had done
he went
out
and he
wept
for his
sin
and when
Jesus rose
from the
dead
Peter was
the one
who ran
to the
tomb
with John
to see
if this
was true
and when
Peter saw
Jesus
on the
beach
at the
shore
he threw
himself
into the
water
so that
he could
go and
be with
him
so if
you're
here
and you're
wondering
tonight
have I
committed
the
unforgivable
sin of
blasphemy
against the
Holy Spirit
here's what I
would say
if you are
settled in your
heart that
Jesus is not
God
if you think
that the only
way he ever
could have done
those things
is because of
spiritual
other kinds
of spiritual
forces that
have nothing
to do with
God the
Father
if you
reject him
and his
work of
dying on
the cross
for your
sins
and rising
from the
dead
if you
see all
those things
and you
say that
is not
true
and simply
I think
Jesus is
just a
crazy
wacko
spiritual
guy
then you
are in
danger
and you
need to
hear this
but if
you're
sitting
here
and you're
saying I
believe in
Jesus
but once
I said
something
or I
struggled
with this
or there
was a
time in
my
past
when I
did
this
friends
be
comforted
and return
to Jesus
you will
not be able
to repent
and come
if this
is true
of you
if you've
blasphemed
the Holy
Spirit
because it's
a settled
opinion
so know
the welcoming
embrace
of Jesus
and return
to him
and experience
the joy
of his
forgiveness
but getting
back to
the argument
then
what he's
saying
is
look
overall
the pattern
is
if you
acknowledge
me
before men
then I
will acknowledge
you in
that courtroom
but if you
deny me
and if you
persistently
deny me
and this is
why it's
in there
if you
persistently
deny me
you end
up here
in this
place
and there
is no
forgiveness
where there's
no confession
of sin
and repentance
and faith
in Jesus
and he
goes on
in verses
11 and
12
and when
they bring
you
it's
fascinating
he doesn't
say if
they
he says
when
they
Jesus
is telling
his people
if they
persecuted
me
they will
persecute
you
also
if you
are a
follower
of
Jesus
you
will
face
these
places
where
it
will
be
costly
for
you
to
identify
with
Jesus
this is
a part
of
discipleship
and we
need
to own
that
and to
embrace
that that's
a reality
following
Jesus
is one
of the
most
costly
things
that
will
ever
happen
in
your
life
humanly
because
everything
may be
at stake
potentially
says
when
they
bring
you
before
the
synagogues
and the
rulers
and the
authorities
do not
be anxious
about how
you should
defend
yourself
or what
you should
say
for the
Holy Spirit
will teach
you in
the very
hour
what you
ought to
say
what he's
saying
is if
you're
afraid
how am
I going
to respond
in that
moment
if you're
afraid
and you're
thinking
maybe I
just need
to deny
Jesus
to get
myself
out of
this
God
says
no
friends
listen
to me
I
am
with
you
my
Holy
Spirit
is
in
will
be
in
you
and
I
will
enable
you
to
walk
through
that
trial
I
will
enable
you
to
suffer
what
you
may
suffer
and
I
will
give
you
the
words
to
say
in
the
midst
of
it
and
friends
there
are
countless
testimonies
of this
throughout
history
those
who
are
on
the
brink
of
being
put
to
death
for
their
faith
have
given
bold
and
courageous
witness
to
the
greatness
of
Jesus
they
have
seen
their
spiritual
reality
they
have
known
more
clearly
than
ever
what
God
has
done
for
them
in
Christ
and
they
have
said
what's
the
worst
you
can
do
to
me
you
can
kill
my
body
but
then
I
will
go
and
I
will
be
with
Jesus
and
I
will
testify
to
the
end
of
my
life
that
he
alone
can
save
me
and
that's
what
it
means
to
be
a
disciple
of
Christ
to
have
that
kind
of
clarity
and
to
have
that
kind
part
of
what
Jesus
is
instructing
his
disciples
in at
this
point
is
to
say
you
need
to
know
that
this
will
both
be
really
hard
and
that
God
will
really
be
with
you
and
he
calls
them
to
a
kind
of
loyalty
I
want
you
to
not
fear
man
but
to
fear
God
I
want
you
to
acknowledge
me
identify
with
me
say
yes
I'm
with
Jesus
and
Jesus
is
with
me
wherever
we
are
and
whatever
we
are
doing
and
that's
hard
for
us
it's
hard
for
us
in
our
culture
today
we
live
in
a
culture
that
has
been
saturated
and
sensitized
about
religion
so
that
even
sort
of
mentioning
the
word
of
Jesus
can
provoke
all
sorts
of
odd
reactions
we
live
in
a
time
where
identifying
as
an
evangelical
Christian
has
all
sorts
of
connotations
that
we
never
mean
and
don't
really
want
to be
identified
with
in the
minds
of the
broader
culture
the word
evangelical
is used
in the
New York
Times
usually
in a way
that I
don't always
identify
with
and
yet
and
yet
I'm
a
follower
of
Jesus
and
am
I
willing
to
say
even
if
I
misunderstood
and
even
if
I'm
mistreated
and
even
if
people
think
less
of
me
and
even
if
my
reputation
suffers
and
even
if
I
don't
get
a
promotion
and
even
if
my
girlfriend
breaks
up
with
me
and
even
if
I
lose
my
job
and
even
if
I
don't
get
the
sale
that I
will
follow
Jesus
and
of
course
friends
we
think
how
can
this
be
true
it's
because
of
this
broader
context
this
broader
context
of
Jesus
who
is
instructing
his
disciples
as
he
himself
is
headed
to
the
cross
he
is
going
to
the
place
where
he
will
suffer
at
the
hands
of
men
worse
than
ever
he
will
suffer
the
worst
thing
and
yet
that
very
suffering
that
very
death
that
he
will
die
is
meant
to
accomplish
for
us
life
because
he
dies
not
just
because
of
the
evil
of
man
but
he
dies
because
of
our
own
sin
and
he
doesn't
just
suffer
at
the
hands
of
evil
man
on
a
whim
but
it
is
God's
predetermined
plan
that
he
would
come
and
not
just
be an
unwilling
participant
but
he
would
offer
himself
up
in
our
place
to
take
that
death
that
we
deserve
for
our
sin
he
himself
endured
the
worst
for
us
so
that
he
might
then
turn
around
and
say
for
all
who
come
to
me
and
confess
my
name
that
is
confess
their
sin
confess
their
need
for
a
savior
and
confess
that
he
alone
can
give
it
to
us
for
those
of
us
who
confess
his
name
we
then
become
his
and
he
gives
us
a
new
and
a
spiritual
life
that
is
for
now
and
for
all
eternity
he
gives
for
us
now
a
place
in
his
family
in
his
kingdom
that
begins
now
and
will
have
such
that
even
death
no
longer
matters
to
us
because
if
we
die
we
go
and
be
with
Jesus
and
friends
it
gives
us
great
freedom
because
suddenly
rather
than
people
being
big
in
our
life
and
God
being
small
when
we
see
the
enormity
of
what
God
has
done
for
us
in
Christ
in
this
work
of
achieving
our
salvation
suddenly
God
becomes
big
in
all
the
greatness
of
what
he
is
and
who
he
is
and
what
he's
done
for
us
and
when
God
is
big
in
our
hearts
then
people
become
small
not
in a
negative
way
they
just
they
become
they
shrink
in
our
view
of
I
just
want
to
live
my
day
every
day
that's
why
I
can
say
I
identify
with
Jesus
I
don't
care
if
you
think
if
I'm
a
Republican
or
a
Democrat
I
don't
care
if
you
think
that
I'm
a
white
man
or
a
black
man
or
I
don't
care
about
any
of
the
other
things
of
my
identity
nearly
as
much
as
I
care
about
identifying
with
Jesus
that's
the
thing
that I
most
want
to
do
and
I
want
to
tell
you
about
what
he's
done
I
want
to
proclaim
to
you
what
he's
done
and
it
may
cause
conflict
and
it
may
provoke
a
reaction
that
I
don't
want
but
when
the
greatness
of
what
God
has
done
for
us
is
big
then
we
know
what
Jesus
is
calling
you
and
then
we're
free
from
fear
then
it
doesn't
matter
what
people
can
do
to
us
because
the
thing
that
is
most
valuable
to
us
our
spiritual
life
our
soul
is
secure
before
the
one
who
can
judge
our
souls
because
of
what
Jesus
has
done
and
that's
the
great
hope
that's
why
Jesus
says
fear
not
you
should
fear
him
but
don't
be
afraid
because
he
loves
you
he
cares
for
you
he
who
provides
for
you
in
all
these
ways
he
will
provide
for
you
most
importantly
your
salvation
and
that's
what it
means
to
be
a
follower
of
Jesus
let's
pray
Lord
as
we
have
looked
at
this
tonight
I
even
think
of
the
words
we
just
sang
before
Lord
be
thou
my
vision
oh
Lord
of
my
heart
not
be
all
else
to
me
save
that
thou
heart
Lord
we
pray
that
would
be
true
Lord
that
you
would
fill
our
minds
and
our
hearts
and
our
eyes
with
your
greatness
and
the
greatness
of
what
you've
done
for
us
in
Christ
and
Lord
in
seeing
that
Lord
you
would
free
us
from
fear
Lord
free
us
to
profess
you
and
to
proclaim
you
and
to
identify
with
you
Lord
help
us
we
pray
help us
to see
you
and
Lord
to
fix
our
hearts
on
you
in
these
ways
Lord
thank
you
for
your
promise
that
you
are
a
loving
God
who
cares
for
us
and
will
provide
for
us
in
all
of
these
things
we
pray
this
in
Jesus
name
Amen