We turn once again this morning to the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke. Before we reflect together upon another incident that took place in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, Let us pray and ask that the Lord might be pleased to make our study this morning profitable for all of us, that we might be better servants of Jesus Christ. And so let us pray together. Our Lord God, indeed, this is a very blessed time, that in peace we can assemble together You have given to us the Holy Scriptures. You have said that the Scriptures are able to make us wise into salvation. Our Lord said that by means of your truth, our sanctification is furthered. And also we are told that it is our responsibility to grow in grace and knowledge of our Savior. And so we ask for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to guide us this morning, that the word would be properly handled. And Lord, you know the need of every heart that is here this morning. And you have revealed that you are the Great Shepherd and you do love your sheep. And so Lord God, deal with your sheep. Grant them comfort and strength, wisdom and direction. Only you, only you alone can accomplish these good things. We ask it in your name. Amen. I've got a secret. I've got a secret. And so with that in mind, let's go back in time just a little way, say to 1953. We'll make it 1952. And I know most of you here were not alive in 1952. But nevertheless, from 1952 to 1967, there was a very popular TV show. The title? I've got a secret. It was a family show. It was a show with a lot of comedy in it. I remember watching that on a small black and white TV. Yes, in 52, they had TVs. And there was a small screen. It was only black and white. They didn't have color in those days. And if I remember correctly, there was a host by the name of Steve Allen. And then there would be a panel of three or four people, and then there would be a guest who would come in, and the guest would whisper his secret into the host's ear. What good does that do us? Well, at the bottom of the screen, it would give forth, I've got a secret. What is the secret of this person? And those secrets were usually so silly, so foolish. And I remember one looking it up, and the man's secret was, I ride the tallest unicycle in the world. Now, that's quite a secret. Maybe he should have kept it a secret. And so you have the panel, and each one has, oh, 30, 40 seconds to ask some questions of the guest to try to figure out what is his secret. And after a round or two, it's over, sometimes the panel would guess that secret. At other times they would not, and so that guest would walk away with a good sum of money, and then he would try and demonstrate, you see, his secret, like riding that big, tallest unicycle. I've got a secret. Now, I know. I know quite well that most of you here were not alive And you've never seen that show. But I know something else about every one of you here. Each one of you. And that is, you've got a secret. You may have a number of secrets. And you're going to do everything within your power to keep that a secret. Because if the secret got out, Oh, would you be embarrassed, and would family and friends truly be shocked? You're going to keep that secret. But at the same time, you do know this, don't you? That there is a day coming, a judgment day, and all secrets are going to be revealed. In that second chapter of Romans, Paul says, you know, the day comes when God will judge the secrets of men. It'll be across the whole moral universe. But thankfully, thankfully as believers in Jesus Christ, all of our secrets and all of our sins have been covered by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. For He very plainly said, I take their sins and cast them as far as the east is from the west, and I remember them no more. But at the same time as believers working out our sanctification, we do have some secrets, don't we? Some secrets that, once again, we're going to work very hard at keeping them to ourselves. Well, this morning in our passage of Scripture, Jesus speaks about secrets. And he brings out the fact, you know, that there are some secrets that men have, some secrets that men really work to cover up, but those secrets are going to be exposed. They may be exposed during this time, or they'll certainly be exposed at the judgment. But then he goes on, and he says, you know, there are others who have some secrets. But those secrets are only temporary. And those secrets need to be broadcast across the whole world. Secrets. And so we'll read about it, and you can see what you think. And so finally we've entered into this 12th chapter, even though we've got to go back to chapter 11 ever so often. And so you notice the first seven verses, in the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples, first of all, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. And I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that no more that they can do, but I will show you whom you shall fear. Fear him who After he is killed, has power to cast into hell, yes, I say to you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows. Amen. What do you think is the largest crowd of people that you've ever been in? The largest crowd of people that you've ever been in? Well, if you're a Suns fan and you go to a game and they have a sellout, I think it's about 17,000. That's quite a few people to be around. If you're a baseball fan and you go to a Diamondback game and they sell it out, you're talking around 48,000. And if you happen to go to a Cardinals football game, I guess people go to Cardinals football. I'm not sure. But if they have a sellout, you're talking about those 68,000 people. Now that's a lot of people to be around. But if you stop and think about the Sons, or the Diamondbacks, or the Cardinals, and you're in that crowd, and they're 60,000, it's not too bad. After all, you have a chair you can sit in. You can stand up and shout and scream your lungs out and high-five your neighbor, and then you can sit down and you can rest. And, oh, look over here where there's somebody selling some goodies. Bring us some popcorn and pop. And so you sit and you eat and you enjoy. It's a nice atmosphere, you see. Not too bad at all. But we look at a crowd this morning. You notice how it says? in the meantime when an innumerable multitude of people gathered together." And so they're not sure how many people. You've got the Greek word myriad, and myriad means 10,000, and it's in the plural. So here you have thousands of people pushing, shoving all around the Lord Jesus. You notice what is said here. They were stepping up on one another. trampling underfoot, and so it was a noisy crowd. Someone says, get off my foot! Oh, you quit shoving me! Be quiet! I can't hear the Savior! So it was a rowdy crowd. We could almost put it into the category of it's a mob. And so here are all these people. Jesus, his disciples, we'll assume, are somewhat in the middle of all this. How is it that there is this great multitude of people Well, we kind of go back. You remember what took place in that 11th chapter? You picked it up at verse 37, or we can. He spoke, a certain Pharisee invites him to dine with him. Now I use the term a lot of times, dinner and a dinner party, and I think in our day and age you think of dinner usually and perhaps think of like supper and evening meal, but back in that day and age, you know, you could have a breakfast, you could have a brunch, and yes, you could have an early afternoon. So I think maybe we ought to consider this kind of an early, early afternoon. And so you remember the story how the Pharisees upset Jesus didn't engage in this ceremonial washing. And so he deals with those Pharisees. He's very straightforward. He calls them hypocrites. The lawyers stand up. They want to take on Jesus. So he deals with them. And so it's a very hostile situation. Back and forth. Jesus doesn't back down. And so it seems before they can even get to dessert, the party's over. And so if we follow one text, it appears that Jesus walks out of that house, he goes through the area where you have the approach to the house, he goes into the street, and it appears that these lawyers and even the Pharisees are following him, and they're yelling these questions at him, trying to trip him up, but already outside there's a crowd of people. You see, Jesus couldn't go anywhere, but what people took notice, if He was at a certain house, they would crowd around the house. If He was at a certain synagogue, they would show up there. If He was in an area teaching, crowds of people would follow and try to be near to Him. And so he walks out, and they got these people after him shouting at him. He runs into a crowd, and of course the shouting attracts more people. And so there is this multitude of people, you see, beyond a number. And so it's in the midst of this multitude of people, this is the circumstances, Jesus speaks forth some very sobering words. In fact, this whole chapter as reference to some very sober warnings by our Lord Jesus Christ. And so you notice what is said here. So they trampled one another. He began to say to his disciples first of all. And so what does he do in the midst of this crowd? He addresses his disciples first of all. This is a message for his disciples. And you notice what he does. He says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. And so here is the Lord, and he's giving forth a warning to his disciples. Well, do disciples need warnings? After all, these men had been with Jesus, what would we say, maybe two years or more? And all apart from Judas were regenerate men. And so do these disciples need to be warned? And the very word that he uses here, he speaks about this matter of beware. Beware and continue to beware. Stop and think, let it get fixed in your mind what I am saying to you. You beware, you notice, the Pharisees. The leaven of the Pharisees. And you know what leaven is, and our Lord uses this on more than one occasion. It's something like a little piece of sourdough, and you mix it in with other dough, and it causes it to rise. Now, my wife every year makes special rolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And she works it out, puts it in a big, big bowl, and puts a little pinch of leaven in there, and then she covers it over and puts it in the cabinet and goes about her work. Well, she sometimes says, I wonder if it'll rise. So I come out of my office every so often and I peek at that. Nothing's happened. And I don't hear anything. And so the point of leaven is, silently and very slowly, it permeates everything. And so I'll come out two or three times, get a cup of coffee, and I'll look, and lo and behold, It's beginning to rise, and it gets bigger. And she says, now it's time. Do you want to punch it? See, she lets me punch it sometimes. So sometimes I do. I think of somebody I don't like, and I punch it. But anyway, that's what leaven does. It's used in a bad sense in the Bible. It's used in a good sense, a good sense. Jesus said the spread of the gospel is like a little leaven you put in bread. It spreads, you see. So it can be used in a very good sense. And then it can be used in a bad sense. And so you remember the Lord, he's dealing with the Corinthians, and we talked about disciples being warned, and disciples need to be warned because none of us have achieved that perfect sanctification. And so you read the epistles to the churches again and again, there's these warnings that go out. But you look at this fifth chapter, And what do you have here? Well, you have the people allowing some sin going on in the church, and so you've got a man, he's taken his father's wife, and they haven't really exercised any discipline in this matter. And the apostle is warning them, you need to exercise some discipline in this matter of sin amongst you. If you don't, you notice what he goes on and he says here, Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole loam? If you don't put a stop to this now, it'll spread. You'll have other people who engage in a certain sin, and you'll want to correct them, and they'll say, wait a minute, you didn't correct so-and-so, so if you open the door with this, it'll spread. And so he's urging them, you exercise some discipline. Well, little Evan, oh, it spreads. It spreads, you see. And you can make that a personal application in our own lives. If you allow, say, an indulgence in a particular lust, and you don't nip it in the bud, as we say, it spreads, doesn't it? That little lust is always hungry and says, how about feeding me a little more and a little more? And so here there's this warning about this matter, the leaven of the fairs. It's hypocrisy. Well, disciples, believers, we don't worry about hypocrisy. I mean, we're just as straight as an arrow, aren't we? Well, it's kind of interesting. We all know about the apostle Peter. And we know that terrible fall that he took, right? Denying the Lord and the Lord restored him. The man was heartbroken. Well, he learned his lesson, didn't he? No, he didn't. You go and you look, say, at the book of Galatians, and Paul has to rebuke him because Peter got carried away in the hypocrisy of others. You see, we have to be careful about that little leaven. Be careful about that hypocrisy. And in fact, you can look at another place where the Lord Jesus used this matter of the leaven of the Pharisees, and disciples were kind of confused. Well, did he mean we forgot bread? Then he goes on and says something. He said, Oh, oh, oh! He's referring to the teaching of the Pharisees, the teaching of the scribes. And what was that? Well, that was kind of a self-righteousness, wasn't it? Kind of a works righteousness. And does not the Lord again and again confront these Pharisees? Does he not say on the Sermon on the Mount, except your righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees? You'll never enter the kingdom! Why they look so good on the outside! Oh, Pharisees like externals, you know, little rules and regulations. And what happened when we looked at that 11th chapter? Jesus said, you look so good on the outside, but within you're full of rottenness. You're full of sin. And didn't Jesus again, you go back to the Sermon on the Mount, you know, the Pharisees, they were strict on this law. I'm not committed adultery with my neighbor's wife." Yeah, but Jesus said, you look in lust, you're guilty. You see, the Pharisees, it was all an outward righteousness of show. They didn't concern themselves about the heart or the spirit. Doesn't the Bible say you are to love the Lord thy God with what? All your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength. the whole of your inward being, or if you do that, well, the outward will show. And so here he gives this warning. He gives this warning, and you notice how he drives the nail over? For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. And so that hypocrisy gets exposed. It can get exposed in this life. Isn't that what Jesus did in the preceding chapter? Didn't he expose those Pharisees and those lawyers? Didn't he expose them and tell them really what was going on in his heart? What was that? Well, it was the words of Christ. And the words of Christ to this very day, they still have a way of exposing hypocrisy. And so I doubt if it affects anyone here, but there are those who might sit under the preaching of the Word of God, and what happens is that word goes forth, and it kind of exposes the hypocrisy. It exposes your real lack of sincerity. And is not that word like a sharp two-edged sword piercing to the innermost being? And so here, here is this warning. You beware of the scribes and the Pharisees, hypocrisy, in another place it speaks about their teaching, and we know with reference to the Sadducees, they didn't believe in the resurrection. Well, that will never bother Christians, but it seemed to have a little effect on the Corinthians in that 15th chapter, didn't it? And so as Christian people, we have to Take heed with reference to this hypocrisy in our lives. You know, we really want people to think, my, we are spiritual. I'm very spiritual. And all the while, I'm hiding from wickedness. I'm practicing on the side. take heed, and take heed to the teaching." You remember the apostle warns the elders, he said, take heed to yourself and to the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseer. And he goes on and he speaks about he preached forth the whole council, take heed to your doctrine, take heed to your life. But then he goes on and he says something that causes a lot of controversy. You notice verse 3, And here I think he's giving forth an exhortation to his disciples. Notice. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetop." You mean to say that the disciples, they had some secrets, some things they talked about just amongst themselves, maybe in the privacy of a room, or maybe upon a housetop, just the two or three of them together? That appears to be exactly what the situation is. In other words, we know, don't we, that Jesus with his disciples did a lot of teaching in privacy. In privacy. And so you have those words that he sets forth in a similar way, and you pick it up over in the 10th chapter of Matthew. And along the same line, but pick it up at verse 27. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples, whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And so there were those times that the Lord, with His disciples and privacy, He did this in teaching, and He was telling them, for a while, you keep this to yourselves. Isn't that what He did with reference to Peter? Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God! And Jesus says, hey, as far as that confession, keep it to yourself for a while. It's not ready to be broadcast on the rooftops. And again, you remember the Lord and the Mount of Transfiguration? What did He say? You don't tell this until after my resurrection. And so there were certain things they were to keep for themselves. There were just certain truths that should not, until after His death and resurrection, be proclaimed. And you remember what Jesus said and what we refer as the Great Commission. You go now to His disciples. You go now and you preach this gospel to all the nations. You teach them all that I have taught you and you baptized. And so here, here's this exhortation. He says, the time is coming when what I've taught you, you are to proclaim it on the rooftop, and the rooftops, remember, were kind of flat areas where people would gather, and you could stand up there and you could speak across the neighborhood. And so for a while, here are some things I have told you. A little later, you'll proclaim them. The people are not ready for it now. And maybe think about your life and how the Lord has brought you along. Did he teach you all that reform doctrine all at once when you were first converted? No. You couldn't handle it. And so, little by little, he brings you along. There's truth that at one time you were not ready for, that now you rejoice in. And so he's telling his disciples here, what I've told you in secret, the time will come when you will proclaim it aloud. And of course, that took place, really, at the day of Pentecost and then on. But then, he wants to give them Some encouragement. A little encouragement. What's this all about? Well, you notice, I say to you, my friend, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who, after he is killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore. You are of more value than many sparrows." Why did he say this? Well, because, just think what has previously took place when we looked at that 11th chapter. There is this confrontation between Jesus, the scribes, and the Pharisees, and it gets hostile, doesn't it? And these disciples had seen that take place more than once. They had seen their Lord and Master speak forth the truth, and the hostility, and the hatred, and maybe they heard about the scheming that was going to take forth, we're going to kill him! And so they knew, when you go out and preach this gospel, there can be some very severe opposition. And doesn't Jesus teach them, if you love your life, or you love your father, your mother, your wife, or anyone else more than me, you're not worthy of me. And so you see there are those times when you stand and proclaim the truth, it may cost you your life, and we move on in the book of Acts, you look at that seventh chapter, don't you have a martyr there? He stood for the truth. And so he's saying to them, don't fear. I'll show you whom you really fear. He says, there are those who can kill the body. And after that, no more they can do. And that word, do not be afraid. I've thought about that. If I was facing death, and it was a terrible death, I'd be afraid. I'd really be afraid. And I remember, I think, reading Mr. Spurgeon. He was in a room once, and he was thinking about the martyrs, and he thought about, man, if they tied me to a stake and set me afire, I might deny my Lord. But then he came to this conclusion. When it comes time to die, the Lord God will give you that dying grace, that dying grace, that grace that you'll need and will enable you not to deny your Lord. But he says here, they can kill the body, But I'll show you whom you should fear, fear him who after he is killed." My, does that say God kills people? Well, I think it does. And you look in the Old Testament, you remember Judah had a couple of sons, and they were real rascals, and it said God killed them. No one departs this life apart from the will of God. He may use various means, but ultimately it is God. who takes the life. He says he killed Saul, the king, but then you read about what? He evidently committed suicide. That was God's way, God's means. But he goes on, he says, you know, don't fear those who kill the body, but here, fear Him. He has the authority, He has the power to cast your soul into hell. That's the one you want to fear. But then he goes on, and this is encouraging, I think. Are there not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. And you read Matthew's account, not one little sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And so it was God who brought that little sparrow into existence. He was there, that little sparrow breaks out of the egg, and the Lord provides for him, and the sparrow grows, and then at a point in time, dead! God did all that! And you know, if God knows the very hairs of your head, and a sparrow falls not without the will of your Father, don't fear, For you are more of value than many sparrows." God cares for that little sparrow! But look at you! You're an image-bearer of God! And He redeemed you. He sent forth His Son to shed His blood for you. You're that valuable to Him. You're that valuable. That He would send forth His Son to suffer. to redeem you, to bring you into His eternal kingdom. Don't fear. You have more value than many little sparrows. Amen. Our Lord God Almighty, we know that it is in love that you confronted us with this portion of Holy Word this morning. Out of love you desire that we examine our ways, for Lord God, in our self-righteousness, how prone we are to think that we are beyond any kind of hypocrisy. And so this Lord's Day, this day of rest, may we reflect upon our ways and consider how we can improve our living for you. And now the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.