58 in the. Last Sunday, I believe that Jesus gave to his disciples when he was ministering the province of Galilee and a little bit south of the Sea of Galilee. Now, these six warnings and encouragements were delivered to his disciples and in the process of seeking to encourage as words that to those who are not committed to him, could come across threatening, could come across harsh. So it really depends on where you are in relationship to Jesus as to how the words of these teachings will come across to you. And I trust that if you're here and you didn't have a personal relationship with Christ, My prayer even now would be that he would warm your heart towards what the Lord is saying so that you could take warning and encouragement as well as he intended for his disciples. Now this event is taking place as Luke is recording this narrative of the final part of the final five months of Jesus' ministry on earth. This event is taking place. fairly, what we're hearing taught is taking place fairly soon after Jesus has wrapped up an experience of having lunch with a group of Pharisees and scribes. And during that meal, we are told by Luke in chapter 11 that he chastised them because of their hypocrisy. Now we need to understand that the Lord Jesus Christ was not one who was as often as painted meek and mild and never had a direct word to people in sin who needed to be slapped up awake so that they could have the hope of repentance. Oh, he was very gracious. And sometimes, you know, if you're in a very deep sleep, it takes more than a time to get up. If you have children who need to get up for the bus and there's no movement, sometimes it takes a little bit more than a, it's time to wake up, right? Sometimes it takes a little bit of, hey, shaking it. Well, as Jesus is leaving this event where he's been having a meal, I often times wonder to myself, Would I have been able to eat in that kind of circumstances? I don't know. I think my stomach would have been churning, but I don't know. The Lord seems to have been fine. But we find at the end of chapter 11 of Luke's description of what happened, Jesus is leaving lunch. And Luke writes, when he left there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things, They were lying in wait for him to trap him in something he said. I'm sure this is a description of the ongoing treatment by the religious Pharisees of that time and day. You see, I almost misspoke and called it the press. The paparazzi of that day, although this would have been the highly religious paparazzi of the day. But I pointed out last Sunday that during that meal with the Pharisees, huge crowds were gathering in that location. And Luke tells us at the beginning of chapter 12, if you were to glance at verse 1, in these circumstances, a crowd of many thousands came together so that they were trampling on one another. This is a big crowd. And Luke is using, I think there's no reason not to take him literally here. This is a large crowd of thousands of people. Of course, word must have gone out that Jesus was present there, and as I said last week, there's always excitement when Jesus is having lunch with the Pharisees. There's gonna be sparks flying there, and a crowd always loves to come and see if they can get a look at controversy. And so it was back then, just as it is today. And when Jesus could get back to his disciples, we see Luke telling us in verse one that he began to say to his disciples first. I talked about how, in spite of the fact that there was this mass opportunity for evangelism, that was not the focus at this time in Jesus' ministry. This was time to especially practice the principle of concentration. Concentration of his focus, concentration of his time. concentration of his teaching on these men because in six months there was no plan B. Either these men were going to carry forward the message of the kingdom, the message of the gospel, or the whole thing was going to crash and burn. He had no other plan. And so once Jesus began to address his disciples out in front of this gathered crowd, He had six warnings and encouragement, six warnings and encouragements. They intersperse as he presents them. We looked at the first three of these last Sunday. I'll just review them as I go along here. But first of all, he said in verses one through three, don't fall into hypocrisy. That had been the debate and that had been the controversy all during lunch. Straight up telling the Pharisees, you guys have a problem. A deep-seated problem. You probably don't even see your problem. You're hypocrites. Smoke them! Be on your guard, he says to the disciples, against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. You see, those guys were accomplished actors. Essentially, that's what the Greek word hypokritas means. You're an actor. You put on the masks of the Greek theater to cover up who you are in order to play a role. Well, they could put on quite an external show of religious piety. They were like many religious leaders today. Lots of religious talk, rituals, social activity, but no connection with God. They may think they've gotten cover for their sins, but in the end, on Judgment Day, what is real, what is real is going to be disclosed, and a reckoning for sin is coming. And that's what Jesus talks about in verse 2, if you take a look at that. There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered, nothing hidden that won't be made known, therefore, Verse three, therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. Ladies and gentlemen, it's all coming out. At the judgment seat of the white throne of God, it will not be happiness. At the judgment seat of Christ, that which is not glorifying to God will be burned up, but that which is glorifying to God will become your rewards. There is no condemnation at the judgment seat of Christ, only at the great white throne judgment where unbelievers will go. Now, the second point Jesus made was fear God, not your persecutors. That's in verses four and five. Anyone following Jesus could see that the hostility between him and the religious leaders was mounting. It was like a volcano. It had not yet erupted, but they could feel the shaking and they could see the little spits of lava coming out. And it would be natural if you were following Jesus, it would be natural for you to be a little bit like, I feel that shaking. It's getting hot around here. Is this safe following that guy? Jesus knew that. He knows when you feel that way, that it's shaking and it's getting hot. If you ever drop his name in a situation, He's with the angels in heaven and they're all cheering. Oh, my name is going out. But you may be feeling like, I want to be careful here. But you see, back then, they could have been very quickly excommunicated by these religious leaders. They could have their businesses ruined and they could be, we would call it today, a lynching. On the spot stoning. And the common people would just back off and say, well, they're the religious authorities. They're the ones who know God. So it goes. So you see, it could have been a bit worrisome for the fellows. But because a reckoning with God for all sin is coming, the point Jesus is making is we need to have more concern about the wrath of God than we do about the wrath of men. The wrath of men may take the body, but the wrath of God can take the soul and send it away forever to hell. That's why I'm telling you at the beginning, this is not all happy talk, but it's truth. Look at verse four. And I say to you, my friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing. Today in the USA, we are still, for the most part, protected from persecution that can be physical attacks on us. We are seeing persecution come through the back door in the legal system in recent years. This past year in particular, we've seen Christians trying to be true to their biblical convictions, being sued for refusing to offer their business services to people who would, in a sense, require them to participate in the celebration of things that they felt were immoral. And by them being taken to court, they've lost businesses, they've suffered massive fines, and it's been difficult. But Jesus encourages us not to let this kind of intimidation paralyze our hearts. Easier said than done, I understand that. But this is where a daily conscious attention to Christ as Lord becomes serious business. Because when the intimidation comes, if that's where you're dialed in and your focus is, those kinds of threats are not as able to knock you off the course of following Christ and living the righteous life for the kingdom of God. And Jesus encourages us here not to let these things paralyze our hearts. And hopefully we'll see some of this legal intimidation rolled back as justices are appointed who honor the original intent of our constitution. Now, in contrast to fearing people, Jesus went on to say in verse five, but I will show you the one to fear, fear him who has the authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear. And we talked last week about what is righteous fear as opposed to paralyzing dread, which does not honor God. And yes, God, Jesus being quoted by Luke says, God created hell and he alone has the power and authority to put people there after death. He's the one who should be held in reverential awe, and if that fear is truly reverential, it will also incorporate or involve a certain level of rejoicing because it understands that God is sovereign, God is in control of all things, and because of his justice and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins, We have atonement. We have a covering by the blood of Christ for our sins, and therefore we can stand safely in front of a holy God accepted in Christ. Is that not wonderful? Dial in on that declaration when the threats of people start to intrude on your space of comfort. Now that word of comfort to that one, Jesus adds a fourth point, a word of assurance. And we move into verse eight where we see him telling us to remember, remember my disciples, remember Crossway Church, that the glory of heaven awaits believers. I heard a sermon the other day about Revelation chapter seven, and again, it was one of those moments where you're translated into the presence of heaven, and you see the Lord wiping away the tears of all the martyred saints, and it is just one of those pictures that's exquisite, filled with hope of the prospect of such a marvelous future and inheritance that every believer has. And Jesus says in verse eight, I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before men, the son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. Wow, and I think of that throne room scene in the book of Revelation, and I think about how the angels are the agents of God's judgment. And what I see being pictured here is the angels, the holy angels, who have to employ all of their power to restrain themselves from dashing to judgment upon sinners. And as they're on the edge of their seats wanting to impose judgment on the sin that they see ripe on the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ is pointing to those who belong to him and he's saying, Not them. Not them. You hold it. Not them. Fear of men as opposed to the fear of sovereign loving God is the problem. It kind of runs through the fabric of this passage. We saw it earlier, verses one through four, but now it again becomes part of Jesus' concern for his disciples. And he expands on this problem in verses eight through 12, which concludes this discourse. Look at verse eight. And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges me before men, the son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. This is to be comfort. For these men, as they are right in the middle of this crowd, and this is not a crowd that's come to cheer for Jesus. This is a crowd that's been gathered out of a curiosity about conflict. Of course, there are some in Perea who will be followers of Jesus. but not many, and the disciples are feeling the tension, and he is ministering to them comfort. So Jesus is simply saying, whoever is faithful to me before men, I will claim as my own before God and the holy angels. This is a promise of eternal protection. It's a promise of safe deliverance to your heavenly home. Now, in contrast to that assurance statement, Jesus says that the rejection of heaven awaits those who reject Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And he moves here into his fifth statement that begins at verse nine. Take a look at that. but whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Anyone who refuses to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and embrace him as their Lord personally will in that final judgment face ultimate rejection, ultimate rejection. We all experience feelings of rejection. If that's been anything recent for you, it's raw. It hurts. If time has gone by and it's not so difficult, but if you can remember that feeling and you amplify that millions and millions of times, that's the feeling. people will experience when they are in that place and Jesus is not holding the angels back from condemnation on them. Are you feeling a bit sobered? That's what I've been dealing with this week. It's not fun, but again, beloved, this is Jesus. It must be loving for us to be confronted with this. He always does what's loving, holy love, which is truth speak. And I'm sure he dealt with it in a fashion that was extraordinarily kind and gentle, but it was nevertheless hard truth. John Mormon writing, not Mormon as a Mormon, but Moorman, makes this point in writing about what Jesus is saying here. He says that there are religious people today who claim to be Christians, but actually deny Jesus. Who are they? How does this happen? He says they deny his deity. They deny his miracles. They deny his claims to be the only way to God. They deny that Jesus will ever condemn anyone. It's like, what Bible do they read? I don't know. But I've been in the presence of people like this. And they're very confident. And they speak so assuredly that they know what Jesus teaches. And I said, show me. And they don't. All these points of denial only elevate people above Christ and essentially show that they think they are smarter than he was about spiritual things. It's like it takes my breath away. Where does that come from, that sublime arrogance? There's no lordship of Christ in that kind of belief. It's a denial of Christ, although very subtle. We might not readily think of this group of people as Christ deniers, but they're in the churches, they're in the colleges, and they're in the seminaries. That's why it's very important what seminary someone was trained in. Denying the essential truths about Jesus, yet claiming confidence to be Christian preachers and teachers? Oh yeah. Oh yeah, and they're on TV too. Evangelical preachers spouting things about theology that are like, where did you get that? Oh, I see, contortion of the text. Creepy. Wolves, Jesus said, would come masquerading in sheep's clothing. But whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Now his fifth statement, Jesus said, the rejection of heaven awaits not only those who deny me, but also those who deny the power and gracious working of the Holy Spirit. And here we have Jesus acknowledging the Trinity. Look at verse 10. Anyone 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. This reference to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit reflects back on Jesus' teaching in chapter 11 that we went over. But in Luke's rendering of this teaching, he didn't actually use the terminology blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but you look at parallel passages to what Luke says in chapter 11, and you find in Matthew chapter 12, in those parallel passages, that he does use this term, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And in that context, and even in the one in chapter 11, we see what it means is attributing to the Holy Spirit. Satan's working and when the Holy Spirit has done something wonderful, done something miraculous for a person entrapped by Satan. The Pharisees are saying, oh, that that work of deliverance was actually done by Satan. And we went through the craziness of that kind of an argument when we went through Luke chapter 11, but this is essentially what this sin was that Jesus says is not forgivable. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, attributing to Satan the workings of the Holy Spirit. Understand, it was not that the Pharisees did not believe that the miracles Jesus worked were not valid. This is what is so interesting when you read the contemporary critics who say Jesus didn't work miracles. The scholars of his day had no problem with the veracity of what Jesus was doing. So are we smarter than the guys who actually saw it and were the scholars of the day? Oh yes, we don't agree with their theology, But we don't say that they were insane and could not see a miracle of a man healed from blindness and other kinds of miracles. No, they didn't have a problem with the veracity of what Jesus did. They just didn't like it. Because it was a sign pointing to his being the exalted Messiah in position. I like the way Lewis Burkoff, theologian Lewis Burkoff, handles this whole subject of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He says, concerning those who would commit this and who were committing it in front of Jesus and his disciples, their conscious, malicious, and willful rejection and slandering against evidence of testimony of the Holy Spirit, respecting the grace of Christ, was what they were doing. They were slandering the source of this evidence that they subscribe to. They attributed that goodness to the prince of darkness out of hatred towards Christ. He continues, this sin is unpardonable not because its guilt transcends the merits of Christ or because the sinner is beyond the renewing power of the Holy Spirit, No. This sin is unpardonable because there are also, in the structures of God's morality, certain laws and ordinances. Hang with me now. Hang with Berkhoff. And the law in the case of this particular sin, the law of God, the moral fabric God has established in his universe, that he manages by his sublime justice. The law in the case of this particular sin is that it excludes all repentance, sears the conscience, hardens the sinner, and thus renders the sin unpardonable. And Burkoff goes on to characterize this kind of sinner. They express a pronounced hatred to God, a defiant attitude to him, and all that is divine. They delight in ridiculing and slandering that which is holy and possess no concern respecting the welfare of their soul and their future. I see people talk like this on the news and on YouTube. No one of us can judge their status, but when they vomit out this foul speak against God, it makes me reflect on whether this is not in proximity to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Now, it can be reasonably said that any believer who fears that they have committed this sin and expresses sorrow about it and asks fellow believers to pray for them about a concern about this, Berkhoff goes on to say they haven't committed it. Because their hearts are still open and wanting Christ's help. Now, this is a sin that's easily misunderstood today because no one since the days of the apostles is walking around performing the kinds of signs and works of power that Jesus and the apostles worked. Oh, there are people who say they can, but it's not a gift because it's not something that they can do on a consistent basis. And if they were doing it, I am sure that the news media would be all over them because this would be astounding. And when seemingly miraculous things do happen today, most people are happy about it. They're not going, ah, Satan did that. God may not get much credit for what he's doing, but I don't hear people attributing it to Satan today. That's why I'm saying there could be some confusion about this. But Jesus is making a warning. He's essentially telling us who trust in him not to allow these kinds of cynics, these kinds of Can I say it? God haters to rattle our cage. You need to understand this is reality and Jesus has forewarned you and you ought to be forearmed. Don't be shocked. It's part of the landscape of living life in this world, which is broken and for the most part separated from relationship with God. The judgment of Jesus' opponents is coming and they will work their mischief against us until he returns. But during these days, Jesus is saying the Spirit of God is going to help you. He's gonna help you through these kinds of trials and tribulations. He is with you. In fact, we know He is in us by the teaching of Paul. If you're a person who has denied Jesus' right to rule in your life, all is not lost. It's only when you move to a place of such hardness that you actually feel comfortable saying things of denial of Christ, hatred towards God, that should be a red flag waving. That's when you should become very, very concerned. But if you're a person who has denied Christ, there is opportunity right now, and as long as you're breathing, to ask God for forgiveness. And he will always respond to that appeal. He loves to hear the appeal of a sinner for the forgiveness of his son. That's his plan. That's his gift. That's his delight. And then you'll be able to stand before God at the judgment, forgiven, accepted, totally safe, moving into a world, it's unspeakable glory. But for anyone who will not repent, God will give you your choice. He will. He will say, you have your choice, and I will confirm that for you for eternity. And then you will suffer the ultimate denial, rejection by God. And finally, Jesus encouraged his disciples to stand confident that the Holy Spirit will be there. He will be our help in times of persecution. Look at verse 11. Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry. I love that. I need that. Don't worry. Say it again, Lord. Yeah, I hear you. Don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. And look at verse 12. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said. To be brought before a synagogue could be equivalent today to being prosecuted in a law court or threatened by your school's administration of being expelled, or reprimanded by some group of religious clerics for speaking the gospel openly and clearly. I got that for a baccalaureate sermon many years ago. Being accused this way could be a terrifying experience, but Jesus tells us in his own not to be anxious what kind of answer we're gonna give. And as a speaker, I love this. I mean, he's basically saying when you need it, All of the scripture that you've been learning, the theology that you've been taking in as a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit's gonna take pieces of that and he's gonna work it together and construct it in your mind in a miraculous way and you will know exactly what you need to say in the moment. And like I said, as a public speaker, I'm saying to myself, that's fantastic. I mean, I can't plan for that on Sunday morning. I didn't gonna happen with this brain. But in that situation, he is telling us, do not worry, the Spirit of God will help you. And you will know what to say in the moment and it will glorify God. Wow. I mean, that helps me with anticipation of, you know, what's gonna happen? What am I gonna say? When they tell me, You know, what would you say about this Jesus? And I got to tell the truth. Spirit of God is going to say, here's how you should say it. Of course, this does not guarantee that I will be, you know, exonerated and, you know, let go, acquitted and all that. No. There are no guarantees that the world will not take those words and twist them and use them against us. But it will still be truth that for some who are hearing will be disturbing. Because they will not be able to disconnect the words from your character. And that will be something where they will go, And I don't get it because there's something there that's powerful, something there of conviction that I don't have, what's missing in me. But it means through humble openness about your faith, the Holy Spirit will help you honor Christ regardless of the situation. And let me bring this in for a landing. Jesus is telling us that in these times when the temptation to deny your faith may hit you, remember, Your heavenly father knows your situation, and he cares for you. Jesus is claiming you as his own before God's army of angels in heaven. Don't touch him. That's mine. And the Holy Spirit stands ready to instruct your mind in exactly what you need to say in the moment of threat, intimidation, and actual persecution. You have everything you need to lead a sincere and fearless life in service to Christ. That's the word of the Lord for you. Now, I'm going to just have a moment of prayer in just a moment, but we're gonna do something special today. And John Cosgrove knows nothing about it, I think. But this is his 10th anniversary being on our staff at this church. And he thinks he's heading up to the youth center to do wild side, but we got you covered. So we got celebration stuff in the cafe and while I'm praying I'm giving John and Rhonda a special dispensation to get up and head around the corner to the cafe so they can be in there first, okay? And then we're gonna go in there and we're gonna celebrate, and then there's more stuff coming on afterwards here, so let's reconvene here as promptly as possible at 11 45. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for this morning. Thank you for Jesus' encouragements and warnings, and we ask that you will help us to acquire them, help us to let them settle into our hearts and be of encouragement to us. In Jesus' name, amen.