Path of Discipleship - Luke 12:1-12

We look forward to a blessing from the Lord just for being here today. Especially as we look into the word and as we sing praises to the Lord. We pray that it's a blessing to all of you. Okay and now now listen up real good and get your pencils out because next Sunday morning, what time do we normally have Sunday school?

9 .30. Next Sunday we're going to start Sunday school at 10 o 'clock. And we'll probably, and the reason being Jack and Bev McMahon, missionaries that we support, missionaries to New Zealand will be here for our service next week.

So during the Sunday school hour from 10 to probably 10 .30 they're going to show their PowerPoint and talk about their ministry in New Zealand. And so I'd encourage all of you to be out if you could for 10 o 'clock to get acquainted with our, one of our missionaries that we support.

And they will be here next week. But then Jack will be speaking the Sunday morning service. Just might mention Jack and Bev McMahon were our missionaries of the month for last month. Our missionaries of the month this month is Steve and Joyce Louie.

They came from the Bay Area originally and was pastoring in a church there. But the Lord led them to BMW headquarters because they're very well equipped to get together literature and to arrange things for the missionaries.

And so they work in the headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The next Bible study is Wednesday, November the 8th at 5 .30 here at the church. So put that on your calendar. They're going through the book of Ruth.

Everyone's welcome to that. So also biblical counseling course. I'll just say for the month of November they do not meet. They start again in December. But you ladies also look at the women's Christmas tea.

It's going to be December 9th at 10 a .m. in the morning. And so keep that in mind and they'll probably have more instructions before then. So keep your ears open for that. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father we come before your throne this morning thanking you for the privilege that we have to get together corporately as a church, a body of Christ, to meet together with one another, to praise you, to listen to your word.

We would ask Lord that you would be a blessing to each one of us today for as we praise you in music, we pray that you would be a pastor as he brings your word. And we would pray Heavenly Father also for our missionary of the month, the Louise and their ministry there at the headquarters of biblical ministries worldwide.

We pray that you would meet their each and every need. We thank you for their willingness to serve you in that capacity. We would pray Heavenly Father for our country, Lord. We see things that we do not like to see personally, Lord.

And we would wish for the time when we consider ourselves a Christian nation,.

Lord.

And we would just ask for our leaders that you might direct them in your direction, that you might have, we pray that we might have leaders, Lord, that at least depend to know that there is a God and put the trust in you and we would thank you for it.

We pray now that you would be with us in all that's said and done in the rest of this service and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Stand together with me if you would.

The Apostles’ Boldness Before the Sanhedrin

Today's scripture reading is taken from the book of Acts chapter 4 verses from 8 to 13. Scripture reading is taken from book of Acts chapter 4 verses from 8 through 13. By him this man is standing before you well.

This Jesus is this stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which he must be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

May God bless this reading. Please turn with me.

Warning Against the Leaven of the Pharisees

To Luke chapter 12 verses 1 through 12. Luke chapter 12 verses 1 through 12. 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 year of 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 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. 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. Also, I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him, the Son of Man, also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now, when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we're thankful, despite the promise of persecution that you never leave us and that you would carry us through the trials. Help us to trust in you for everything, including the words that we would say in our defense and in defense of the gospel.

Help us to know that we are truly yours and we belong to you and help us to remember how much you love us and how much of worth we are to you because of Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. This passage follows last week's text, which was a great condemnation against the Pharisees and the scribes.

And now, after condemning the religious establishment, Jesus addresses his disciples. Because we go through the books of the Bible, we don't necessarily have topical sermons, but rather the text allows for it.

We do kind of go into a topical series. The majority of chapter 12, from verses 1 through 48, is all about how the disciples are to live in this world. So, in that sense, it is topical. The whole of chapter 12, really, is about Jesus' instruction to the disciples, his followers, how we ought to live.

And today, we get to see the disciples' relationship with the world that is hostile. Note how the majority of the text is about whom they ought to fear, but also why they ought to not fear anything but God.

And that's because persecution is assumed for Christians. As Victor prayed, we did live in a nation that was so friendly to Christian ideologies and Christian practices. Many of the leaders were openly Christian and lived that way.

Right? Now, we have some of the leaders who are openly Christian and may not live that way. And the reason is, for the majority of the world and majority of history, that was the norm. The norm was that there's hostility toward Christians.

And we do see this increasing more and more, right? Christian bakers, florists, they get sued for, quote-unquote, discrimination when they're practicing what the Bible tells them by believing marriage is between one man and one woman.

Persecution is ramping up. It might not be exponential, but it sneaks in. And it's a little step like that, little precedent after little precedent, that it becomes full on. And for the majority of the world, many Christians in the world, persecution is a daily reality.

I talked to one church history professor just stopping by saying, how are you doing? And he was old and he was not doing well. He was battling cancer. But I didn't know that until later. He said, you know, doing all right.

And then with tears in his eyes, he said, you know, there was one Nigerian brother who talked to me and he said, on a given Sunday, if there's no explosion during the church service, that's a good Sunday.

And I'm not saying that there will be explosions in America, but what we do need to remember is there is hostility against Christianity. And it's only going to get worse unless God intervenes. But this lesson that Jesus is teaching us is an instruction on whom to depend on when there is persecution, not if, when.

Right. So the main point of this text is despite the growing opposition, we live without hypocrisy because God will provide for us in every way. Despite the growing opposition, we live without hypocrisy because God will provide for us in every way.

So first, it starts with a warning in ministry. Beware that we don't live a double life because our hearts will be revealed in the end. Beware we don't live a double life because our hearts will be revealed in the end.

So the beginning of verse one sets the context of Jesus warning to his disciples. In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another. So what this is saying is Jesus has become so popular that there is no space for even each person to stand.

They're stepping on each other. That's how crowded it was becoming. Now, for many ministers, seeing a sea of people, that's an occasion for celebration, right? Many churches and seminaries even might label it as a revival, like, wow, people are getting saved.

Not Jesus. Instead, Jesus sets his disciples aside and warns them. He began to say his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. When Jesus' popularity grew, his caution increased.

He did not let the positive impact of his ministry go to his head. He remained a realist rather than an optimist. And this is a strict warning to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. And this is a metaphor, of course, the leaven.

Pharisees are not bakers, right? It's not saying don't buy leaven from the Pharisees. Leaven in baking is an organism that makes the bread rise. And for any bakers out there, you only need to put a little bit of it.

And the process of fermentation will affect the whole loaf. And the fermentation produces gases, carbon dioxide, and that would make the bread rise and fluffy. And the important note of this metaphor is that even a small amount of it will have a huge impact on the whole loaf, right?

So the warning then is to beware of the way of the Pharisees, their hypocrisy, because even a small amount of it, although very tempting, will affect the whole church, the whole group. Now, let's talk about hypocrisy.

So what is this leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy? From last week's passage, we know how the Pharisees carried themselves, right? While their inside was full of wickedness and filth, they rigorously kept the outside clean, right?

Following the traditions of men, nowhere in the law, and they would place that standard on other people. And it was becoming very, very overwhelming to carry. And they basically lived a double life, right?

Externally, they impressed the people and pleased the people, but in the end, they had really no regard for God's people at all, right? They fed off the positive opinions of men rather than the word of God.

And they placed obstacles on people who truly want to access God by putting all sorts of standards that they themselves did not even touch. That's the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. It's about the outward concern, how they're viewed rather than who they are.

And Jesus knew that such a temptation would be powerful for even his disciples, right? Think about this. Jesus' ministry is growing so much. And as, you know, the disciples of Jesus, they're a rung ahead because they're close to Jesus, not in rank necessarily, but they're close to Jesus.

So the eyes are watching, wow, they're the original 12. The temptation is, yes, we are. The temptation is, yes, you look to us. The temptation is to start making your outside personality shiny while neglecting the inside.

It's to start decorating, embellishing how you're viewed while the inside remains the same. What Jesus is warning against is that his disciples must not become Pharisees 2 .0, self-centered, appearance-obsessed, and serving as obstacles to others who want to know God.

And that is all too common in the church today. Pastors who use words and concepts that are popular, but their inner life is nowhere close to God, filled with sexual immorality and greed. Pastors who are serving publicly when the camera is rolling, but when it's turned off, there's no regard for the person they're serving.

Now, why must they beware of the 11 of the Pharisees? Verses two to three tell them the reason why they must beware. For there is nothing covered that will be revealed nor hidden that will not be known.

So verse two, ultimately, Jesus' disciples are motivated in ministry as they work day to day, thinking of the last day, judgment day. Their faithfulness and integrity in ministry are dependent on Jesus' status as the judge and guaranteed promise of judgment.

And the promise is actually twofold. It's not just negative, but I will cover the negative first. In a negative sense, it is a warning against hypocrisy. If Jesus' disciples do adopt the 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, because God knows their hearts and the intentions of the heart cannot be hidden from God, their hypocrisy will one day be revealed.

And this does not bode well for the hypocrites, like the Pharisees, your family, friends, and followers may applaud you, right? As the best. But what Jesus is saying, you are not fooling God. Not only that, not only God knows it, the world will know it.

It will be public knowledge. And that's guaranteed. In a positive sense, it is an encouragement for endurance. Jesus knows that his followers will be persecuted and slandered. After all, if you don't go along with the religious establishment and follow their hypocrisy, well, naturally you will be attacked.

Because it's either in the eyes of religious leaders, establishment, either they're right or you're wrong, right? Either they're right or you're right. Well, what would they do? With all their power, they will actually try to attack Jesus' followers.

Kind of like what we saw in the reading of Acts 4 that Karlix read. And what Jesus is saying is, you guys, you disciples, you followers of Christ, all the things, no matter what lies, what rumor, what gossip, that these people may speak against you, the truth will in the end be revealed.

It means that God's people will one day be vindicated, right? We live in a culture where we're called bigots for faithfully holding onto scripture on marriage, sexuality, gender, all sorts. But what Jesus is saying, you'll be vindicated.

It will be known that you will be on the right side of history because you are on God's side. Now, what does that look like? Verse 3 tells us, therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light.

And what you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. And this is a clear portrayal of full revelation. First, just as the light exposes the dark secrets, all of your thoughts will be revealed.

Nothing will remain in the dark. Second, we see a more concrete example. Even the secrets whispered in the privacy of your bedroom will be publicly announced. All the thoughts and intentions will be made known.

Nothing will be hidden on the last day. And this is an important warning because it is easy to live a double life as followers of Christ. And what's more is that it is dangerous to live for the attention of others.

You live by the positive opinions of men. You die by negative opinions of men. You're no longer living for God. And this is how people promote themselves, how they are self-promotional. All you have to do is learn to speak the right words.

Praise the Lord. God bless. Amen. But draw the attention to yourself in the end. That's self-promotion. Praise the Lord that I got to finish this big project. Learn to serve in the right ministry. One that is obvious.

One that you can take credit for. And then add in Jesus or God after your accomplishment. But mention how important this was for the church. And you just had to take that on. How good it looks. Oh, man, that really looks good.

And then another thing you can do is you can buy the opinions of men. Donate an exorbitant sum of money to the church. Of course, make sure it goes to something noticeable. Like, you know, maybe the cross needs some remodeling.

Have you seen that cross? It's been paid for. And of course, never anonymously. If you could get a plaque there, do it. Write your name on it. That's self-promotion. That's the leaven of hypocrisy. And the danger in all of this is that you may look like a saint, talk like a saint, worship like a saint, but God sees what's inside.

God sees the motivation and the intent that's driving all that you do. That outwardly look. Fabulous. You may fool the congregants. You may fool the pastor. You may even fool yourself. I'm a really good person.

You may believe serving yourself is actually serving God. Ironically, if you are God to you, then yeah, I guess. But you can't fool the true God. You can verbally praise the Lord, yet praise yourself inside.

You can pour out hours in serving God's people, yet fill your heart with self adoration. These behaviors can be honed so much that most Christians will not have the slightest idea of your true intention.

And Jesus in this passage proclaims that there's actually an expiration date for hypocrisy. Now, only he knows what is truly in your heart. But the day is coming when the content of your hearts will be publicly poured out like a filth from a bucket, and it will be cast on live television.

And on that day, no amount of flattery will cover it. Well, that's how it looks like, actually. And this is the warning. Don't follow the path of the Pharisees. The adulation may be sweet for now, but the judgment will be utterly bitter.

Now, how do you avoid this fate? The only antidote to hypocrisy is a permanent heart change. It's a heart change. It's a change on the inside. In fact, if you look for more things you can do to appear pure, you're just slapping on another layer of hypocrisy, right?

If you get a book that says how to not seem like a hypocrite, then you're just covering it on with another lie, a heart change only occurs when you honestly face how wicked you are and how no possible good things you can do can purify your filthy desires, filthy hearts.

And when you realize everything you do to make yourself even seem clean on the outside that is futile, you actually look to the one who can actually purify the inside, no problem. You look to the one who can power wash even the deepest crevices of your heart.

You look to Jesus who purifies your soul by taking away that filthy sin and nailing it on the cross. You look to Jesus whose blood whitens even the darkest corner of the heart. You trust in Jesus and in him alone.

And that's the beginning of the heart change. Hypocrisy cannot be fought with another behavioral modification because it's not a behavioral issue. It's a heart issue. And only Jesus can purify our hearts.

Fear God, Not Man

Now, how must Jesus' disciples survive against a hypocritical religious establishment, right? Now, the second part is the attitude for ministry. Do not fear anyone who has no power over your soul, but only fear God who completely cares for you.

So, the next address focuses on how Jesus' disciples must survive. After all, leaving the life of hypocrisy means directly opposing the hypocritical religious establishment, the Pharisees. Now, how could these uneducated, barely known followers of Christ survive such persecution of the powerful establishment?

Verse four, and I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body. And after that, you have no more that they can do. Here, Jesus calls his followers friends. What this means is if you're not living the life of hypocrisy because you have trusted your life in Christ, then you're his friend.

Those who follow Jesus from the heart and live it out are his friends. And his friends are dear to him. His friends are precious to him. You matter to him. And his exhortation is to not fear any human persecution.

And this assumes that trial and persecution actually will be a part of the church's DNA. Any teacher or pastor or person who claim to be Christian and tell you that life will be good and smooth as long as you do ABC is trying to sell you something.

It's fraud. The Bible does not talk about smooth and easy life as a Christian. Now it is when persecution comes, what our attitude must be. And it is that a boldness. We do not fear any human persecutors because they have no authority over our lives.

Sure. They may harm the body. They can kill the body, but after they have nothing to do with us. And Jesus tells us whom we need to really fear. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him who after he has killed has no has the power to cast into hell.

Yes, I say to you, fear him. The only being that Christians need to fear is God himself. He not only has authority over your life now, but after it as well, he has complete authority. And first we do need to note that Jesus has no problem talking about hell.

It is a place of torment and it's an eternal place of torment. And God alone has the authority to send the wicked to hell. None of us. He does. Second, because we don't really, we live in a culture that jokes about hell.

And it's such a vague idea for most people because they don't have that biblical foundation. I have a great illustration of what hell, a glimpse of what hell would look like. The Jews back in the days knew of a place called the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, which lies about Southwest of Jerusalem.

And many believe that's what, uh, eternal hell would look like. Cause it was that, it was that grotesque and, and torturous place. In this Valley, people discarded trash and executed criminals. And after a while, it builds up.

It's a valley. It's low, but still it builds up. Well, what do you do? You burn it. Now you, you smell the burning trash, which is disgusting already, but burning flesh anywhere. Anytime you go near that Valley for them, it was the closest thing to hell on earth.

Not only that, historically, the evil Kings of Israel use this Valley to perform child sacrifice again, by burning them, passing through the fire. That's what it would say in the old Testament. It's not just physically grotesque.

It's morally heinous. It's disturbing. It's disgusting. And that's just a glance of what hell would be like. Now, how is this God comforting, comforting to the disciples? If Jesus ended there, that's just scary.

Fear Him. Yes, it is scary. He has the full authority over your soul. While God's disposition toward the wicked is hellish. God's disposition toward Jesus followers is that of utter compassion. Verse six makes the argument of how God cares for the small and significant insignificant things.

How much more than does God care for you? Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins and not one of them is forgotten before God. Now in Israel, sparrows were, uh, the cheapest animals that you could buy with two copper coins and you could buy them at a market.

Now two copper coins are about about a half an hour wage, right? For most people. So if you work at McDonald's, it would be $10 nowadays. The argument is that if God takes care of and remembers these sparrows, the least valuable animals in the whole market, God remembers them.

If God is mindful of the least of the beasts, how much does God remember you? Right? How much more does God remember you? If he is considerate of the sparrows. Now this is comforting during the persecution.

The one who has absolute authority over heaven and hell remembers you, finds value in you as you're of greater value than the sparrows. And the second illustration is more personal, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Do not fear. Therefore you're more value than many sparrows. Not only is God aware of the birds, but he is personally aware of you. Not just you, but your own head and all the hairs that are growing from it.

God numbers each strand of your hair. And the hair strands are seemingly the most insignificant part of your body. They fall out anytime and hopefully none of you grieve over that. Most of us, it's just forgotten.

I don't know how many hair strands I've lost even this morning. I scratched, comes out, falls, it gets vacuumed up. But it's just the insignificance of that. But God numbered each one. If you lose one hair, what's it to you?

But to God, he has numbered it. His care for you is thorough. It's meticulous. He doesn't miss a thing. And what Jesus is saying, if he cares for each of your hair strand, do you think he has forgotten the whole body?

Do you think he only cares about that hair? Now the answer of course is, he values the whole body, your whole self. When you're going through the hard time, he sees worth in your whole self, body and soul.

Now for those who are persecuted for their faith, those who are abandoned for their faith, those who are rejected for their faith, this exhortation is an excellent encouragement to endure. Think about it.

You may lose out on a promotion because of your faith. Because if your faith is public enough, they know you're Christian. They know what you believe. You don't have to post it on social media. They'll know.

You may receive a worse grade because of your faith, right? A lot of public schools, especially public universities, are notoriously known for, you know, failing or giving them the, you know, lowest passing grade for the view, the Christian view.

I think my wife did, I forget what grade she got. It was not, it was either B or C because she said in her college course that she doesn't believe in evolution. That's a form of persecution. Your friend may unfriend you on social media because of your faith-related contents.

Your family may shun you because of your stances. All of a sudden, you find out you didn't get invited to the family gathering last year. Oh, there was one? Well, then it might be because you became that crazy uncle who's a Christian.

Your co-workers, friends, family may reject you for your faith, but there is someone who will never forget you. There is someone who watches over even the seemingly most insignificant things about you.

There is someone who takes the time, takes the care and the effort to know who you are and has numbered each of your hair. And that someone has full authority over heaven. That's the encouragement that the persecuted have in Christ.

When you worry because you face some persecution or rejection because of Christ, you can always consider how much God cares for you through this time. God is present during your persecution. Despite the persecution, God will be there with you.

And this is really important to note that Jesus does not promise the absence of persecution when you follow him. He promises the right person will care for you during the persecution. And that is God.

Confessing Christ Before Men

Now, how must the disciples respond to God? The third is the response in ministry. When you respond in faith to Jesus, God will completely provide for every need during persecution through the spirit.

When you respond in faith to Jesus, God will completely provide for every need during persecution through the spirit. The third difference between the Pharisees and Jesus disciples is how they respond.

Verses eight to nine show the eschatological consequences of the opposite responses. Eschatological is in regarding the last days. Also, I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, him, the son of men also will confess before the angels of God.

There are only two options when it comes to responding to Christ. You receive him or you reject him. There's no middle ground. I sort of like him, but I don't really want to commit to him. That's not an option.

I respect him, but he's not my savior. That's also not an option. And verse eight starts with the faithful response. When you confess Jesus publicly, the son of men will also witness that you are his.

You belong to him before the heavenly court. The son of man language actually comes from Daniel seven. This is a mysterious figure in Judaism, right? And he receives all the authority to rule and judge the world.

All the nations, the ancient of days, God himself gives a manlike figure, all authority. And what Jesus is saying, he is that man. He's saying, I am that man. And I will confess you before the court. If you confess me publicly, right?

So although it may be difficult to confess your allegiance and loyalty to Christ publicly, those who faithfully respond to Jesus will be publicly recognized in heaven before the angels higher than any court on earth.

You'll be recognized, acknowledged by the one who matters the most. That is the greatest honor you can ever receive in life. A recognition from Christ himself, the court of human opinion. May you may find you guilty over and over again, but you will be acquitted.

And not only that, but honored before the heavenly court. However, the opposite is also true, but he denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Those who publicly reject Jesus will be publicly rejected by him.

And there is, there is a tremendous shame in that to be rejected by the one who matters the how you respond to Jesus now by receiving or rejecting your eschatological fate depends on it. Then verse 10 delve specifically to how a person responds to Jesus.

And anyone who speaks a word against the son of men, it will be forgiven him. But to him who blasphemes against the Holy spirit, it will not be forgiven. This is the famous passage of the unpardonable sin.

And there are Matthew and Mark equivalence of this parallel passages. Many of you may have thought that you have committed the blasphemy against the Holy spirit on accident. I will explain what it is and assure you that you probably did not commit the unpardonable sin on accident.

However, we do need to look at the first sentence. If you've let blaspheme against the son of men, there's a chance of forgiveness. This is astounding as a statement, knowing who the son of men is that's built up here.

He's the one who has all authority over everything. He's going to judge the whole world, but you blaspheme him and you could be forgiven. That's that's got to shock us. I don't know if I could get away with cursing out the president or even the governor.

I don't think they'll forgive me for that. But if you blaspheme slander against the son of man and be forgiven, it really shows what kind of king he is. He's compassion. He doesn't hold grudge. He's not self centered.

That king will forgive you even if you blaspheme against him. Now, what is the blasphemy against Jesus? I'll show you what it would look like. Well, let's say you heard the gospel and you understand that Jesus bore your sin and on the cross and he was punished for your sin.

He faced God's wrath on the cross so that you may be forgiven and you hear about the resurrection on the third day. But you're not ready. You don't want to commit to him right now. You don't think you really need him.

And the moment you think that you don't really need what Jesus did and what you who Jesus is, you've completely mischaracterized who he is because he is the only savior in the world. But to say you don't need him to think that you don't need him, you've made him a liar.

And so you reject Christ and the work on the cross, the atoning work on the cross, because you believe that not right now. Now, even this rejection in the future, you come to Christ and you realize you've been wrong the whole time.

You go to Christ, you confess to him and he'll forgive you. There's some of us who have gone through something like that. You've heard the gospel, but then you were drawn back and you're forgiven, even though you blasphemed against the son of man.

Now let's get to the difficult part. But to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. The question is, what is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? When we take a look at Matthew's past, it is in the context of the religious leaders.