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If you'll turn with me this morning to Luke chapter 12, Luke 12.
We've heard Jesus address the Pharisees and the lawyers in the last couple of weeks.
Pretty strong words for them that also have convicted us in many places.
But as we turn the page to chapter 12 of Luke's gospel, Jesus speaks in the midst of very large crowds directly to his disciples.
To those apparently following him.
And in just the same few verses, Jesus will issue some of the most serious warnings that he ever gives to his disciples.
Right alongside some of the most comforting words he ever speaks.
This is God's holy word, which speaks to his followers truthfully, clearly, and unequivocally still today.
Luke 12 at verse 1.
In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another,
he began to say to his disciples first,
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.
Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
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 has 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 of your head are all numbered.
Fear not.
You are of 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 for what you should say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.
Pray with me.
Father, this is your word.
And your word is living and active.
It's sharper than a double-edged sword.
It pierces to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
It cuts to our hearts.
So, Father, we ask that it would do that by your Spirit this morning.
Even if it hurts, even if it challenges us,
Father, might it show us our hearts and might it show us our Savior.
Search us, O God.
Know our hearts.
Try us.
Know our anxious thoughts.
See if there's any wicked way in us so that you may point us back to the way everlasting.
We need Him.
We ask it in His name.
Amen.
If you are heading somewhere and you see one of these signs, it's not good.
You know to be careful.
There's danger ahead, right?
Any number of things might happen.
If you continue on the path that you're currently on, you might merely slip and fall.
That wouldn't be too bad.
You might run into a very unfriendly dog.
Perhaps you've done that before.
It's not good.
Could be even worse.
The bridge could be out.
And there's no way to go forward.
You can't stay on the same path.
You could be facing even, one of the signs I hadn't personally seen before, danger of death.
Yes, I'm not sure how, but stay away from that area.
Don't keep going down that path, right?
Jesus this morning is speaking to those of us who are on or considering the path of following Him.
And He's saying, danger, warning, look out.
And it's not just that you might get hurt, but Jesus is warning us of eternal dangers.
He's raising the stakes beyond even these signs.
And He's challenging us to consider seriously some eternal realities that are not merely matters of life and death,
but are matters of eternal life and death.
And let me remind you, these warnings are not for someone else.
They're given to people like you and me.
They're not for someone else.
The audience of these warnings as Jesus speaks here to His disciples would be found in church on a morning like this.
Would be hanging out, looking around, inquiring about Jesus.
Jesus, we dare not treat these clear warnings lightly.
They are tailor-made for us.
People just like us.
So first, Jesus says, warning.
Religious pretense will be exposed.
Look at verse 1.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.
Therefore, whatever you've said in the dark shall be heard in the light.
And what you've whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy.
That thing that the world tells Christians that we're guilty of all the time, right?
Perhaps so much so that you've kind of brushed it off.
You don't really take that accusation seriously anymore.
I'm not a hypocrite, right?
But this time, it's from Jesus.
Jesus says, beware of hypocrisy.
He's been talking to the religious leaders about this danger of having your outward religiosity
not match your inward reality.
Doing lots of good religious things, but not having a genuine reality in your heart.
You remember last week we saw in chapter 11 several examples of this as he talked to the Pharisees.
Verse 39 of chapter 11, I think.
Is that on the next slide?
Verse 39.
There it is.
Now, you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you're full of greed and wickedness.
You fools, did not he who made the outside make the inside also?
You see what Jesus has been challenging the leaders on, right?
He does this repeatedly.
The outside looks nice perhaps, but you're ignoring the inside.
Inside.
And now, Jesus says, that two-faced, double-life struggle that they have can seep into all the people around them.
It's a danger for anyone following Jesus.
That leaven, that yeast works its way through the whole loaf of bread.
It starts with the leaders and spreads into all of the followers.
Watch out, Jesus says.
Be on your guard against hypocrisy.
Why?
Because one day everything will be known for what it truly is.
You're not going to get away with it.
You may fool your friends.
You may fool your business partners.
You may fool your spouse or your kids.
But one day our ultimate commitments, what we truly value and truly live for, will be exposed for all to see.
So hypocrisy is very short-sighted.
It won't get you where you want to go ultimately.
Be warned.
Danger.
How would you feel if everything you ever did or said was uncovered?
Exposed?
That makes you feel a little uncomfortable as it does me?
Then you can see at least the seeds of hypocrisy sown in our hearts, right?
Maybe we don't think of ourselves as hypocrites.
I mean, we're not the Pharisees, right?
What should we watch out for as signs that the bridge is out ahead, so to speak, in our lives?
That we're not truly following Jesus?
Here are some examples.
Huntsville hypocrisy to consider in your own heart.
Hypocrisy looks like saying God is sovereign and in control,
but following your own feelings of what is best for your life,
or trusting only your own plans for your life.
Hypocrisy looks like being kind and patient in church and at small group,
but being insufferable and hateful and quick-tempered at home.
Hypocrisy looks like never missing time with God when others are watching,
like right now.
I'm here.
But never making time for God in private.
This leaven of hypocrisy, I don't know where it might show up in your life,
but be honest with yourself.
When that leaven starts to work its way in your heart, it's insidious, it's dangerous,
it's devastating in our hearts.
My girls like to play pretend, to make up stories where they get to play a variety of different roles.
In particular, they like to play mommy and have someone else be the baby.
And one time not too long ago, I was offering to play with one of my girls,
and she wanted to make up a story.
She wanted me to be the baby, and she would pretend to be the mommy, the one who is in charge.
And this was delightful for a couple of minutes,
until what began to happen is she started to kind of believe this story,
that she was really in charge.
And so what that meant was that I could only do what she told me to do.
I couldn't quit playing the game and go do something else when I wanted to,
because I was the baby and she was the mommy and she was in charge.
Sit back down, Daddy.
You see how quickly that happens for us?
Sometimes if we pretend long enough,
we begin to believe there's reality where there's not.
Sometimes the yeast does in our heart what it does to a lump of dough.
What happens to the bread if you've ever baked it?
It begins to expand and to blow up so that it looks bigger,
but inside it's actually not as substantial.
There's nothing there.
And so I play church and pretend to be religious for long enough that I begin to think,
maybe I do know God.
Yeah, maybe there is spiritual reality there.
I think I've got everything I really need.
I've kind of figured this church thing out.
You just kind of go enough times and wear the right stuff
and make sure you don't say the wrong thing.
And yeah, there is reality there.
And Jesus says,
beware of the temptation to think.
The outward religiosity creates inward reality.
Watch out.
Secondly, Jesus says,
warning, warning,
don't fear man more than God.
Verse 4.
Next slide has verse 4.
There we go.
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 has killed
has authority to cast into hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear him.
What are you afraid of?
Does it scare you to think of being exposed?
Your hypocrisy being revealed
so others can know the truth about you?
Do you fear failure?
Criticism as a Christian?
Are you afraid you will suffer physical harm
for your beliefs?
I've dealt with all of those recently
as I consider traveling to India
to preach the gospel in a country
where many are less keen on that taking place
than the place I usually am.
And the fear of other people's negative opinions
is a daily struggle for me.
Perhaps the most consistently frustrating struggle
throughout my life.
But Jesus says don't fear those temporary things.
Rather, there's an appropriate fear of God
we should have.
An awareness of His awesome greatness.
And that before Him,
we deserve not only physical harm,
but eternal damnation
when we see who He is.
The Bible tells us
one of the results of our sinfulness
is that there is no fear of God
before our eyes.
We don't consider the weight of His glory.
We don't bow before Him quickly.
We don't follow His commandments naturally.
And as a result,
there's a danger for all of us
that as we stop fearing God,
we become driven by other things we fear more.
Things like physical harm,
loss of reputation,
status with men,
discomfort,
whatever the things are that you fear.
Jesus says don't let those lesser fears
drive you.
You must fear God.
Have you taken a sober look
at His perfect holiness,
His righteous anger,
His just wrath against sin,
and realized you should rightly tremble before Him
because of His awesome greatness?
Have you glimpsed just a little bit
of His infinite majesty
and seen yourself as finite?
Perfect.
Small.
Vulnerable.
Before Him.
See, most of us don't regularly face
those who are intent to kill us
as Jesus' disciples soon would.
And yet, we too find fear of man
overwhelming our fear of God,
don't we?
Can you imagine
what the temptation would be like for you
if it actually was your very life
that was threatened because of your faith?
You're already being driven by
lesser concerns than that.
What someone might think,
what someone might say,
how you feel about yourself,
and those things are driving us.
When you begin to see your life
driven by fear,
Jesus says,
watch out.
There's one whom you should fear
and with Him consequences are eternal.
Not merely years of pain and embarrassment,
but an eternity of torment and death.
Which consequence is more fearful?
He says.
Finally, Jesus says,
warning.
Warning.
Again, watch out.
Willfully rejecting Jesus
will have eternal consequences.
You see how these three warnings
are connected
as Jesus continues that theme
of what happens eternally
by painting here a picture
of the judgment seat of God.
That's the picture here in verse 8
that Jesus is giving for us.
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.
That's the setting here.
God's eternal judgment
before the throne of God.
Whether or not one has embraced Jesus
is the key to what happens
before that throne.
That's what it all hinges on.
And Jesus continues,
verse 10,
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.
Perhaps no more frightening warning
in the world.
You can't be forgiven.
What's the unpardonable,
the unforgivable sin?
Those words get our attention,
don't they?
They got my attention
when I was a kid.
I remember reading them
and going in tears to my dad,
scared to death
that I had committed
the unforgivable sin,
even though I had no idea
what it would have been
that I would have done.
I just,
I knew there couldn't be
a worse place to find myself.
Dad, what does this mean?
Have I done it?
I don't want to spend a lot of time
on this verse,
but two things to say
about it briefly.
And the first is,
what is it?
This blaspheming
the Holy Spirit?
In the context here,
this unpardonable sin
seems to be persistent,
willful rejection
of Jesus.
The person, Jesus,
that the Holy Spirit
testifies to us
is the Son of God
and the Savior of sinners.
It says we can say something
against Jesus.
We might have a negative word
to say about Him
and be forgiven for that,
but not against
the Holy Spirit
when we willfully
and repeatedly
shut our hearts
to the truth of Jesus
from His Spirit.
We're choosing
to face death
on our own.
Secondly,
have I done it?
Perhaps it makes you feel
as it made me feel
when I was a child.
I'll tell you
what my dad told me.
If you are worried
about it,
you haven't done it.
Because of the nature
of the sin
described here
and elsewhere
in Scripture
as this unforgivable sin,
you can know
that sincere conviction
and concern
not to be stuck
in this sin
is evidence
that you are not
stuck in this sin.
If there's a sensitivity
to God's Spirit
in your heart
bringing conviction
of some sin
upon you,
then keep listening
to Him
and let Him
point you
to the forgiveness
of Jesus.
See, that's the whole point
of this final warning
in these verses
is that eternity
hinges on your
active embrace
of Jesus.
You must be
clinging to Him
or you are standing
on shaky ground.
if you are merely
pretending
religiously
but don't truly
know Jesus.
If you are more afraid
of earthly consequences
than eternal judgment.
If you are denying
Jesus
before men,
then beware
when you stand
before the judge
of all the earth
and your only hope
is that Jesus speaks up
to advocate
for you.
There is a judge.
There is a heaven.
There is a hell.
And the determining
factor for your
eternal destiny
is not what you've done
or who you're
associated with
but whether you
know Jesus.
The judge will either
say,
welcome
my child
or depart
from me.
I never
knew you.
To those of you
here this morning
still wondering
about Jesus
still trying to figure
out what you would
make of Him.
Let me encourage you
fully to entrust
yourself
forever
to Jesus.
If He speaks
on your behalf
before His Father
the judge
that's all that matters.
It's all you need.
I remember
my childhood
best friend
his father
was the head
of the P.E.
department
at Memphis
State University
is what it was
called then.
And so
he and I
could go
and as little
kids
we could go
into the
practice gym
where the Tigers
practiced
college basketball.
It seemed
incredible.
I think it was
just a normal
court.
But we could
go in there
after hours
with all the
lights off
and we could
flip a switch
and go
play basketball
and man
we felt like
we were awesome.
Except every
once in a while
his dad
had gone
to his office
and somebody
would walk
down and stick
his head in
and look at me
like I was
doing something
I shouldn't
be doing.
And I felt
very guilty.
I felt like
I was being
caught somewhere
I wasn't
supposed to be.
And I'd look
for my friend
really fast.
Hey Bill!
Bill!
And he would
come up
Hey!
He's okay!
He's with me!
And they'd
smile and wave
and go off.
And I kind of
hung next to him
and thought
yeah that's right
with him
I can be right here.
I can come
right into this
place where
nobody else
gets to come
where all
these awesome
basketball players
are because
I'm with
him.
If God's
son speaks
on your
behalf
before his
throne
you're good.
You're in.
It's all
that's required
is for you
to be connected
to the son.
In fact
it's the only
thing that
matters.
It's not
what you've
done.
It's not
how you've
failed.
It's not
even how
hypocritical
you've been
that determines
your eternal
destiny at that
point.
It's whether
or not
Jesus
acknowledges
you.
His blood
pays for
your sins.
His
perfection
replaces
your failures
and your
eternity
is secure.
Nothing
else is
enough.
Nothing
else
matters.
Nothing
else
is
needed.
So if
you haven't
embraced
him don't
be content
dabbling
with religion.
Don't be
content
playing around
with church
and showing
up
occasionally.
Be all
in on
Jesus.
Entrust
yourself to
Jesus
forever
as you
do so.
As we
trust in
Jesus
the comfort
offered to
us is
as profound
as the
warnings that
we've been
given this
morning.
It's a
comfort from
the Father,
the Son,
and the
Holy Spirit.
All of
them together
speaking comfort
to us.
First we
see here
your secure
identity
from the
Son.
If you're
headed towards
a dangerous
dog,
if you're
headed towards
a bridge
that's out
ahead,
the danger
of death,
and someone
gives you a
sign to let
you know
that,
that's a
friendly thing
to do.
Right?
Friends
warn us of
danger.
Good friends
say hard
things to
those they
love,
particularly
warning them
of danger
in the path
they're walking
on.
These may be
stern warnings,
but Jesus
speaks them
as a friend
and even
reaffirms
that intention
in this
passage.
The one
place in
all the
Bible where
He addresses
His disciples
directly as
friends.
Verse 4,
I tell you
my friends.
My friends,
Jesus says.
There's a
wealth of
security in
those words
as Jesus
warns those
He loves.
But listen,
if you're
with the
Son,
if by faith
you're a
friend of
Jesus,
the one who
is by nature
a friend of
sinners,
your identity
is secure.
You're safe
in the gym.
Your relationship
with God
is settled.
There's also
comfort from
the Holy Spirit
in this
passage.
At the end,
verse 11,
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.
The Holy
Spirit with
you,
constant help
from the
Spirit,
ever present,
dwelling in
you.
Because yes,
this passage
speaks primarily
of eternal
dangers,
but it doesn't
overlook the
earthly dangers,
the trying
situations we
will face
beyond our
wisdom or
strength to
handle.
Jesus says
be comforted
because the
Spirit will
show us how
we can testify
to Jesus.
He will give
us the words
to speak before
men that will
proclaim our
hope in our
Savior.
What a great
comfort that is
for whatever
the trial we
will face,
for whatever
the situation
we will find
ourselves unsure
of what
faithfulness to
Jesus will
look like.
He gives
us His
Spirit for
constant,
unfailing
help.
But I think
easily my
favorite word
of comfort in
this passage is
the assurance of
our unchanging
value from the
Father Himself.
Look at verse
six.
Are not five
sparrows sold
for two pennies?
And not one
of them is
forgotten before
God?
Why, even the
hairs of your
head are all
numbered.
Fear not,
you are of
more value
than many
sparrows.
The very one
who because of
our natures we
are told rightly
to fear,
because of our
relationship we
are told not
to fear.
Verse five,
fear Him.
Verse six and
seven, fear
not.
The one who
because of what
we're like and
what He's like
should be the one
we would fear
above all others
because He's our
Father,
do not fear.
Have you ever
considered putting
a price tag on
your children?
Don't answer that
if they're sitting
next to you.
How valuable
are they to you?
Your heavenly
Father says you
are precious
to Him.
He cares about
sparrows,
about things
that others
overlook and
devalue and
are worthless
to them.
He's interested
in the minute,
seemingly
insignificant
details of
our lives.
That's how much
He cares.
Some of you
find it more
amazing than
others that He
can count all
the hairs on
your head.
I understand
that.
For many of us
I'm told it's
over a hundred
thousand hairs.
And He knows
every single
one.
The Bible tells
us He counts
our hairs.
It says He counts
our tears.
You may have
cried a lot.
It says He calls
us by name
that He knows
every activity
we're ever
involved in.
His eye is
on the sparrow
and so I know
He watches
me.
It's a great
reminder, a great
comfort.
let not your
heart be troubled.
His tender
word I hear
and resting
on His goodness
I lose my
doubts and
fears.
Though by the
path He leadeth
but one step
I may see
His eye
is on the
sparrow
and I know
He watches
me.
His eye
is on the
sparrow.
I can't
sing that
part.
And I know
He watches
me.
Even though I
only see one
step maybe
I don't actually
know whether
the bridge is
out, whether
there's danger
ahead.
There's someone
watching me
who cares
for me
and it's the
comfort of
that beautiful
song.
It's the
one that
Jesus is
giving us
here speaking
about our
value to
His Father.
That's the
kind of
comfort offered
to every
one of you
this morning
in the
gospel of
Jesus Christ.
The warnings
in this passage
are clear that
if we continue
in our hypocrisy,
if we shape
our lives
around the
fear of man
and deny
before others
the authority
of Jesus,
we do so
at our own
peril.
We find
eternal
safety
nowhere else
but in
fully
entrusting
ourselves
to Jesus.
And the
comforts
tell us
that as we
trust our
God,
not just
once but
again today
as you
trust Him,
we're His
children.
We always
have His
presence
and His
help and
we are
treasured
and cared
for by Him
beyond
what we
could
understand.
And it
won't stop.
He treasures
us and
cares for us
forever.
When you
see the
bridge out
ahead,
if you see
that this
morning,
that the
path you're
on won't
get you
to God,
cling to
Jesus.
Find Him
to be the
bridge to
the Father,
the great
Savior we all
need.
let's pray.
Jesus,
thank You
for loving
us enough
to warn
us.
Thank You
for knowing
that when
we see those
warnings for
what they
really are,
we need
Your comfort
too.
And so
where we
need to
be shaken
into seeing
the reality
of our
hearts and
lives,
would You
do that
by Your
Spirit?
And call
us back
to the only
place of
comfort.
Call us
back to
clinging so
tightly to
You that
we couldn't
possibly stand
without You.
Might we
trust You
again today?
Might we
depend upon
You every
moment of
this week?
And might
we then
stand before
our God
confident
because of
our great
Savior.
We ask
it in
His name.
Amen.
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