FBC Morning Light – March 20, 2023

Well, a good Monday morning to you. I hope your weekend was a good one and you were able to gather with God's people yesterday, learn something from God's Word, learn something about what God is like, and perhaps some things that God likes, and therefore you were able to see where you needed to make some adjustments in your life.

This is what we call growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. I hope that happened for you yesterday and continues on a daily basis, and that's one of the purposes for these daily morning light broadcasts, is to help us learn a little bit more about our God, about what he's like, what he likes.

Luke 12 and the Fear of God Versus the Fear of Man

And we see this in today's text, in one of the texts that we read for the day, reading in Deuteronomy 3 and 4, Luke chapter 12, and the 56th Psalm. I want to zero in on a couple of verses in Luke chapter 12.

They have to do with fear. The verses I want to look at begin and end telling us not to fear, and in the middle they tell us to fear. Let me explain. Verse 4 of Luke 12 says, Jesus is speaking, and he says to you, My friends, 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 has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him. Who is that? Fear whom? Some have read this and assumed that since it's talking about being cast into hell, we need to fear Satan.

No, that's not what he's talking about. Satan doesn't cast people into hell, that's not his prerogative. God is the one who has the authority to cast into hell, and does so. He says to fear God, that's who he's focusing on.

But then listen to what he says, 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 more value than many sparrows.

It could be confusing at first, because in verse 5 he says, fear him who, after he's killed, has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say fear him, he emphasizes that. Then he says, do not fear therefore. The answer to that conundrum is to realize that the end of verse 7 is repeating the beginning of this little section that you read in verse 4.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that they have no more that they can do. In other words, Jesus is encouraging us not to live in a constant fear of man, what man can do. Think about that in a contemporary context.

We're hearing every day of various threats from foreign countries, and the hatred for the United States, and threats to what they can do. We're hearing about the threats of the Mexican cartels, and who all is coming into this country illegally, and what they're bringing with them with the fentanyl, and all that kind of stuff.

We're being encouraged by the wicked one to constantly live in fear of what man can do to us. What Jesus is encouraging us is that our Heavenly Father watches over us, and he knows the very hairs of our head.

He's got them all numbered. In other words, what Jesus is saying, he's got such a meticulous care for you, that he knows every detail of your life. You don't need to be afraid what people can do to you, what man can do to you.

If you're living in the fear of God, you're trusting in him, you're respecting and living in awe of him, you have received his gospel message for yourself, and you by faith have trusted Christ. You don't need to fear what man can do to you.

No, you have responded to the fear of the Lord by putting your trust in Christ, and your God is continually, constantly watching over you. Knowing the very number of hairs on your head, his care is so meticulous.

That's why this passage is bookended with the exhortation, don't fear, don't fear. You listen to the news, stop fearing, stop fearing. Don't fear God, know that your God knows exactly what's going on in this world, and he will deal with that.

But your God, who knows all that's going on in this world, all the threats and so on to your life, and to society, and all the rest of that, he knows you specifically, personally, and he's got you covered, he's got you protected.

Even if the worst case scenario should come to pass, we get overtaken and overthrown by some hostile country, we get nuclear bombs dropped into our country and wipe out half the population, and that would include some of us.

If that were to happen, that's all that man can do to us. It just ushers us into eternal glory. But it's our God who watches over us, who has the power to cast those who are so filled with hatred and hostility, those who are still living in sin and their unrighteousness, and refuse to turn to Christ.

He's the one who has the power after he takes their lives, cast them into hell. Fear him, not man. So our Father and our God, we thank you for this encouragement today that you know your people, you know your friends intimately, and you care for them.

I pray that we would not be afraid of what man can do to us when our faith and trust is in you. Give us the grace to walk through this day with confidence and with the assurance of you, our God, and your care.

We pray in Jesus' name and for his sake. All right, listen, have a good Monday, hope your week gets off to a great start. Good day.