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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.
Warnings and Encouragements
Series Footsteps of Jesus
| Sermon ID | 22017930312 |
| Duration | 37:35 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Luke 12:1-12 |
| Language | English |
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