Right and Wrong Fear

Thanks very much, Neil. Good afternoon, everyone. Great to have you with us today.

If you were here last week, you'll remember that we were listening to some pretty challenging words

that the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, lots of woes as he went through.

This morning, we're in the same kind of area, just fairly shortly afterwards,

and the Lord Jesus is again saying some very challenging words, but this time it's to his disciples.

So the audience is different, and the emphasis is a bit different as well.

Because alongside the challenge, as Neil helpfully pointed out, there is encouragement

and the knowledge that whatever difficult times we go through, that God is with us if we really fear him.

So let's read together from Luke chapter 12. We're going to read the first 12 verses.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 12, reading from verse 1.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Here's what it says.

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so they were trampling on one another,

Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying,

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,

and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that can do no more.

But I will show you whom you should fear.

Fear him, who after the killing of the body has power to throw you into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Don't be afraid.

You are worth more than many sparrows.

I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.

But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.

But anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

When you are brought before synagogue through as an authorities,

do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.

And pray that God will help us to understand his word and to apply it to our hearts today.

I was 13 years old when Arthur Blessett came to Edinburgh.

Arthur Blessett is an American evangelist.

He's best known because he goes everywhere carrying a cross.

He's in the Guinness Book of Records.

He's been to 324 countries and territories around the world.

And everywhere he goes, he has a cross with him.

There he is in Edinburgh with it many years ago.

Arthur Blessett first came to Edinburgh in 1971.

He preached his first sermon at the foot of the mound to an audience of two.

There was Ian Leach, a well-known evangelist in the city,

and a teenage girl who he'd met when she was running away from home.

I heard him a year later.

And he came back.

And by that time, he was really well-known in Edinburgh.

And I can well remember standing outside a city centre church

in a crowd that may well have numbered thousands,

certainly a huge number of people, mostly young people.

And there was a real, real excitement and buzz about it.

At one point, a window upstairs in the church opened.

Arthur Blessett poked his head out and waved to us.

And everyone went absolutely mad.

And I thought of this at the beginning of the week,

as I read the beginning of this passage,

where it talks about the crowd of many thousands who had gathered,

so they were trampling on one another.

That's the only crowd of that kind of sort

that I can ever remember being in

and experiencing the excitement of.

Then we had the bomb in Manchester on Monday.

And I thought about another crowd,

a crowd of young people, mainly.

And they were probably falling over themselves

as they tried to escape.

And what was there in their minds

was not excitement at that point.

It was fear, it was terror

about what was going to happen to them.

A very different kind of crowd

and a very different kind of response.

And I thought, as I thought about the disciples

in this passage,

they may have had both of these emotions

as they saw the crowd there.

There was excitement.

The people were excited about Jesus.

Now, when we think about this crowd,

we have to remember Jesus is no longer

on the hills and plains of Galilee,

preaching in the open air to lots of people.

He's moved to Judea

and he's in the streets of the city.

And still there's a huge crowd,

a different crowd.

Still there's a huge crowd with him.

And they're listening to him

and they're engaged by what he has to say

because what he has to say

is radically different.

And for them it's quite exciting

as he tears into the religious leaders

and exposes their hypocrisy.

And I could see the disciples

being really excited

that the message that they were bringing

and that they were giving,

that the Lord Jesus was giving to the people,

was hitting home

and it was attracting so many to him.

But alongside that,

as we thought about last week,

there were the religious leaders

and they were so upset

by what the Lord Jesus was doing

that they were really out to get him

and potentially anyone who followed him.

And so the disciples may well have been feeling,

yes, this is in one way,

it's very exciting,

but in another way,

actually, this is pretty dangerous for us.

It's quite possible

that we could go through times of persecution,

that we could be dragged before the judges

and religious courts

because we are followers of Jesus.

And so Jesus, in this passage,

he is trying both to challenge the disciples,

not to get too excited

and to get dragged into some of the things

that would feature in the Pharisees

and others in this world.

He is also trying to encourage them

and to say, be brave.

Think of the things that really matter

and don't get caught up in things

which ultimately,

although they're important,

although they're difficult,

although they would naturally make you afraid,

ultimately, they're not the things

that are really important.

And I think he really,

in the first verse,

he brings out what is going to be

the key message of the whole passage

when he says,

be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees,

which is hypocrisy.

The Lord Jesus is very aware

that the religious establishment of his day,

although they appeared good,

although they appeared to be living lives

that some would say,

well, they're lives that are obedient to God.

They try to obey all the things in the law

going beyond what the Old Testament

would have to their own laws.

They appeared to be good,

but actually they were hypocrites.

A hypocrite is someone who wears a mask,

someone who's something in one place

and something totally different somewhere else.

So the Pharisees in public,

they were religious,

they were holy people,

they liked your parade,

their goodness before others.

In private,

their hearts and their minds,

their attitudes and their actions

as well were wrong.

They were wearing a mask

and what you saw

was not necessarily what they really were.

And Jesus said,

even for my true followers,

for my disciples,

there is the danger

that we could get into that as well.

A picture of yeast

is in bread making,

obviously.

It's the yeast that is used in the bread

to raise it

and the bacteria of the yeast

go throughout the whole dough.

Everything gets infected by it

in the words of Jesus.

And Jesus says,

if you're not very careful

the kind of attitudes

the Pharisees and others have,

they could infect you

and you could become like them,

you could become hypocrites.

The real challenge for us,

I think,

is what I am on a Sunday

in church.

What I am when I go home

or what I am when I go into work tomorrow

or when I go to my sports club

or to the other situations

I have during the week.

Jesus says, I think,

four things

as we go down through the passage

and I've used words

that look quite similar

to try and help us

to remember them.

Four key things

that he says

as he goes through.

And the first thing he says

is there is something

unforeseen

that is going to happen.

The Pharisees,

the religious leaders,

hypocrites down through the ages,

they think,

I'm okay,

I can keep up

my outward appearance,

I can make everyone think

that I'm good

and I'm living

a life for God

and what I do

behind the scenes,

what I do

in the privacy

of my own home,

nobody really knows about.

And Jesus says,

hypocrites

will be exposed.

The picture he uses here

is of a typical Jewish house.

So a typical Jewish house

wouldn't be built

with bricks and mortar

the way ours are,

be built with clay

and it wouldn't

in many senses

be that secure

on the outside.

It wouldn't be that difficult

if someone was really determined

to break in

to get through

that outer wall

and to take something

maybe even when

the household

was sleeping.

So what they used to do

was they would have

a room right in the middle

of the house.

A room with no

external walls

or windows.

And that was the most

private place

in the house.

It was where you'd keep

your most valuable things.

It's where they were safest.

And it's where if you wanted

to have a really

confidential conversation,

you might go

because no one

outside the house

could hear it.

You are protected

from everything.

So Jesus says,

it's a bit like

going into that dark room.

That room with no windows

waiting.

Nothing can be seen

or nothing can be heard.

It's a bit like that.

That you are trying

to hide what you really are.

And yet,

what you have said

in that dark room,

it will be seen

in the daylight

and it will be proclaimed,

he says,

from the rooftops.

Now exactly what

or when

the Lord Jesus means

it will be proclaimed

isn't entirely clear.

Sometimes hypocrisy

is exposed

in this world

and the hypocrite

is held up

as someone

who really hasn't

been doing

what they should have been.

Perhaps sometimes

we'll never be found out

if there's hypocrisy

but God knows

and God sees

and what we have done

in the hidden place

it will be seen

in public.

Now that needn't necessarily

just be something

to challenge us.

It's something also

I think that can be

an encouragement.

Because I'm aware

of many Christians,

Christians in this church

and one I'm not aware of,

who the work they do

for Jesus

and the prayers

that they bring

before him

and the encouragement

that they give

to others

is unseen.

Most of us

know nothing

about it

and yet we can be sure

that God knows

and that God

will reward

appropriately.

The things that we have done

in the hidden place,

God will,

Christ will give us,

a credit

will give us reward

for in public

because we have been

faithful servants.

So there is a challenge here.

There is also,

I think,

an encouragement

for us.

But a real warning

against hypocrisy.

So there is something,

says Jesus,

unforeseen

that is going to happen.

Jesus then says

there is something

that is

unforgotten.

And he is thinking

now of the fact

that he

and his disciples

are going to go

through times

of persecution.

And as the disciples

are looking around,

they may quite

legitimately

be afraid

as they see

the way things

are going

and the treatment

that they are getting

from the religious leaders.

And Jesus says

it is natural

to be afraid.

It is human

to be afraid.

that actually

you don't really

need to fear

what man

might do to you.

What's really important

is not the worst

that men can do

that you can imagine.

What's really important

is that you are

right before God

and that when you

stand before him

you can stand there

with the assurance

that your sins

are forgiven

and that you are

not going to be

condemned.

Men can kill

the body,

says the Lord Jesus.

The one we should

really fear,

the one we should

really respect

is the one

who ultimately

is going to be

the judge

of our souls

and who is going

to judge us

on what we have

done with the Lord Jesus.

Have we taken him

as our saviour

or have we

rejected him?

And again,

along with the challenge

there is

an encouragement.

Two examples

the Lord Jesus gives

which are illustrated

in the pictures here.

the sparrow.

The sparrow

was a very basic

foodstuff

in Jesus' day.

If you wanted

cheap meat

you could go along

to the market

and buy sparrow.

And the normal price

for sparrow

was two a penny.

That's referred to

elsewhere

in the New Testament.

Sparrows were sold

for two a penny.

But a bit like

some of the offers

that you get

in supermarkets today

if you decided

to buy four sparrows

they throw another one

in for nothing.

So you get

two sparrows

for a penny

or you get

four sparrows

for tuppence.

Not literally pennies

in our terms

and probably

about an hour's wages

would be equivalent

to what we called

a penny.

And that fifth sparrow

you might think

was utterly worthless.

It's something

that can just be

thrown in as an extra

that costs the vendor

almost nothing

and is almost

just a kind of

goodwill gesture

to you.

But Jesus says

God knows

and God cares

for that sparrow.

When he says

think about the hairs

in your head

can you count the hairs

in your head?

No of course you can't.

Even those of us

who are losing the hair

on our head

we still can't

begin to count

how many hairs

we've got.

But yes

says Jesus

God has

even your hairs

numbered.

That's how much

he cares

about you.

And don't think

that if things

get difficult

in this world

if it seems

that the going

is hard

and you're

struggling with it

don't think

in any sense

that God

has forgotten

about you.

God cares

about the sparrow

cares even

about the number

of hairs

on your head.

How much more

does he care

for you

if you are

seeking to follow

him

and to live

for him

and because of

that you get

into a time

of difficulty.

God loves

you.

You are of

great value

to him.

And if you are

trusting in him

you can rely

on him

absolutely.

It's really

coming back

to what Peter

was saying

isn't it

in the children's

talk.

We can rely

on God

we know

he won't

forget us

we know

he won't

abandon us

even in the

time of trial

the time

of difficulty

he'll be

there with

us.

And even

if the worst

happens

and very

unlikely

in this

country

even if

the worst

happens

and someone

is martyred

for their

faith

they can

have the

confidence

that their

soul is

secure

that they

will get

the reward

from the

one who

truly judges

and the

only one

whom we

should

really

fear.

We are

unforgotten.

Third word

is unforgiven

and this

is the

most difficult

and perhaps

the most

solemn

part

of our

passage.

Look at

half a dozen

commentaries

you get

at least

half a dozen

different

answers

for exactly

what it

means.

But this

is something

that a lot

of Christians

have found

really difficult

and a real

struggle with.

Some of the

older folks

here will be

aware of a

book written

by a man

called Edwin

Goss

which is

called

Father and

Son.

It's actually

still in print

but I suspect

not so much

read by younger

people these

days.

Edwin Goss

grew up

as his

mother died

fairly early

he was brought

up by his

father who

was a

brilliant

academic

a very

devout

Christian

but very

very strict

with his

children.

And Goss's

book is

essentially

about that

with I

think a

little bit

of exaggeration

in places.

One of the

characters that

Edwin Goss

presents to

us is a

man called

Mr.

Padgett.

And Mr.

Padgett is

utterly convinced

that he's

committed

the

unforgivable

sin.

Now no one

actually knows

what sin it is

he thinks he's

committed.

He never

tells anybody

but he goes

around saying

I've committed

the unforgivable

sin.

My soul

is utterly

damned.

And sadly

he's not alone.

There have been

a lot of people

who have felt

I've committed

the unforgivable

sin.

There's no way

that God

can forgive me

for what

I've done.

Well can I

say this

this kind

of God

is not

the God

I know.

The God

I know

is best

characterized

in the parable

of the

prodigal son.

This son

who says

effectively

to his

father

I don't

want you

I want

your money.

He takes

his money

and he

goes away

and he

wastes it

on wild

living

and at the

end when he's

right down

to his last

penny or beyond

that

he decides

he'll have

to go back

to his

father

expecting

nothing.

Expecting at

best that his

father might

take him in

as a servant.

What happens?

As he's

coming his

father rushes

out

flings his

arm around

him and

throws a

huge party

to welcome

him back.

The father

is not

looking for

reasons to

condemn

his son.

He's looking

for opportunities

to show

his love

and his

forgiveness

to the

one who's

done him

wrong.

That's my

God.

That's my

father.

That is the

one I know

and many

others here

know.

Not someone

who wants

to condemn

and to

punish us

for our

sins but

who wants

us to

accept the

offer of

salvation he

has given

us who

sent his

son to

die on

the cross

for us

so that

everyone who

trusts in

him can be

forgiven for

the sins

they have

done.

And verses

like this

must be

read in

the context

of that

understanding.

We mustn't

look at them

in isolation

and worry

about them.

Quite often

the comments

of quite a

few of them

have read

said if

you're worried

about having

committed the

unforgivable

sin you

haven't.

Because if

you had

committed it

you wouldn't

be worried

about it.

So what is

the Lord

Jesus talking

about?

Well let's

look at it a

bit more in

the context

of the

passage.

Because in

verse 8

and verse

9 he's

talking about

people who

own him

acknowledge

him or

who disown

him before

others.

Of those

who are

willing to

stand up

and say

I belong

to Jesus

I know

him I

love him

and of

those if

they do

know him

who would

not want

anyone else

to know

who would

keep it

a secret

and would

worry about

other people

finding out.

And Jesus

says as he

said earlier

when he's

talking about

hypocrisy

there is a

reckoning

in these

things.

Now it's

not that if

we are truly

trusting in

the Lord

Jesus and

we don't

tell others

about it

that we

lose our

salvation

through that.

The scripture

is very

clear that's

not the

case and

you only

have to

look at

Peter and

the way he

denied the

Lord Jesus

and got

forgiveness

to understand

that.

But Jesus

said it is

really important

that you

don't try

to pretend

that you

don't belong

to me

if you

really do.

And again

I think

that's going

a bit beyond

just not

saying things

to our

friends or

colleagues.

We really

should be

witnessing

about our

love of the

Lord Jesus

and all he's

done for us.

But if we

keep quiet

don't say

anything

I don't

think that

is especially

what the

Lord Jesus

is talking

about here

but it is

more saying

I don't

know him

and I don't

want anything

to do with

him in the

kind of way

that Peter

did.

So Lord

Jesus says

in these

kind of

situations

there is

a reckoning

it will

be taken

into account

if we are

truly believing

in the

Lord Jesus

it doesn't

mean we're

not saved

and don't

belong to

him though.

He then

says verse

10

everyone who

speaks a

word against

the son

of man

will be

forgiven.

Now the

son of man

is Jesus

I think

it's fairly

clear from

the way

he talks

about it

through the

gospels

that he

is talking

about himself

here.

He says

even those

who speak

against me

and who

condemn me

there is

the possibility

of forgiveness.

Example of

that the

apostle Paul

Saul of

Tarsus

Saul who

was so

instrumental in

the stoning

of Stephen

and who

was going

around saying

really terrible

things about

the Lord

Jesus and

about Christians

and seeking to

persecute them

and Jesus

meets him on the

Damascus road

and his life

is turned

round.

very clearly

what Paul

had been

doing

wasn't

unforgivable.

It was

terrible

that he

was

persecuting

the

Christians

it wasn't

unforgivable.

Jesus

says

that can

be

forgiven.

But he

says

whoever

blasphemes

against the

Holy Spirit

will not

be forgiven.

Now let's

get to the

number of it.

What does

that mean?

Two things

which I think

I found

reasonably

persuasive

in what

I've looked

at

about

this.

In the

other

Gospels

where the

Lord

Jesus

says

a similar

kind

of

thing

is in

the

context

of people

looking at

him

and looking

at all

he's done

through the

power of

the Holy

Spirit

and saying

that's the

work of

the devil.

That's not

God's work

that's the

devil's work.

And Jesus

may be saying

if someone

gets to that

kind of stage

where they

see goodness

and they

see God

at work

helping

people

healing

them

teaching

them

doing

everything

that is

good

and they

say

that's

from

the

devil

then

they're

never

going

to

be

able

to

change

in

their

attitude.

So that's

one possible

interpretation.

The other

which I think

I find

probably the

most persuasive

is that the

work of the

Holy Spirit

is to lead

people to

Jesus.

And when

we hear

God's word

or when we

read from

the Bible

it is the

Holy Spirit

who works

in our

hearts

who

convicts

us that

we are

sinners

that we

need

God's

help

and that

we need

to come

to trust

and to

follow

Jesus

and who

leads us

to him.

And if

the Holy Spirit

again and

again convicts

us of this

and seeks to

bring our

sins before

us

and we

say no

I'm not

interested

I don't

need

Jesus

I'm not

a sinner

then there

comes a

point

when we're

no longer

in this

world

when we

said I

don't

need

Jesus

and we've

rejected

the work

of the

Holy Spirit

seeking to

lead us

to him

there is

then no

way of

escape

from that.

If we

persistently

don't allow

the Spirit

to speak

to us

and to

lead us

to Christ

then perhaps

that is what

the Lord

Jesus calls

blasphemy

against

the Spirit.

Now please

don't take

that away

being the

thing that

you really

remember of

what I've

said today.

I think it's

important that

we try to

understand these

verses but

there are

other things

which from

a practical

day-to-day

viewpoint I

think are

much more

important to

us.

One more

thing the

last couple

of verses

of the

chapter.

And again

Jesus is

talking to

his disciples

and he's

thinking about

the fact

there's going

to be

difficulties

for them.

And he

says you

will be

unforsaken.

In other

words when

you come

to the

point of

trial,

when you're

up before

the Sanhedrin

or the

secular judges

of this

world and

they're trying

to condemn

you because

you're a

Christian and

because you're

following me,

you will not

be on your

own.

Don't worry

that you're

going to have

to stand in

front of

these judges

and you can't

think what to

say and you're

terrified because

the Holy Spirit

will be with

you.

And the Holy

Spirit will give

you the words

that you

need.

And that's the

context of

these verses.

This verse

is sometimes

or has been

used in the

past as an

excuse for

lazy preachers

not to prepare

their sermons

and to say

well God

will tell me

what to say

when I get

there.

That is not

what it's

about.

Nor is it

an excuse

for any of

us not to

read the

Bible and

try to

understand and

remember what

it says.

When we

come to the

point of

difficulty,

our understanding,

our memory of

scripture is

absolutely vital.

Remember the

Lord Jesus and

his temptation

again and

again he

repeated the

words of

scripture.

So let's

not get lazy

and think I

don't need to

read the

Bible because

God will

show me at

each stage

what I

need to

do.

But when

we're in

the heat

of the

moment,

when everything

is against

us and in

this case when

the people

were on

trial,

the disciples

were on

trial,

Jesus says

don't worry,

don't fail you

on your own

because you

will never be

forsaken,

my Holy

Spirit will

be there

with you.

Those of

us who

were at

the prayer

meeting on

Thursday,

were thinking

of some

verses in

John 15

which in

many ways

are a

parallel to

this.

Jesus is

talking to

the disciples

about the

trials and

the persecution

that they'll

face.

And he

says that

when the

advocate,

that's the

Holy Spirit

comes,

whom I will

send to you

from the

Father,

the Spirit of

truth who

goes out from

the Father,

he will

testify about

me,

and you

also must

testify for

you have

been with

me from

the beginning.

You must

testify,

we are

God's

mouthpieces

in this

earth,

that is

what we

are here

to do,

to tell

others about

the Lord

Jesus.

But we're

not doing

it on our

own,

we're doing

it through

the power

of the

Holy Spirit

and he

ultimately

is the

one who

gives us

the words

to say

even when

we feel

weak and

inadequate

and perhaps

when we

feel under

a great

deal of

pressure,

we can

trust in

him because

he is

there to

help us

and to

give us

courage and

to give us

the right

words.

So a

difficult

passion,

undoubtedly

a difficult

passion,

I haven't

tried to

cover in

any detail

all the

difficult

interpretations

within it.

But let's

take away

from it

just one

key thing.

and that

key thing

is that

what really

really matters

is my

relationship

with God

not what

other people

think about

me.

We shouldn't

be going

around all

the time

looking over

our shoulders

and thinking

well we need

to look good

before others,

I need to

avoid getting

into trouble

in this world,

I need to

keep an

appearance up,

keep the

mask up

if you

like.

What really

matters says

Jesus is

how you

are before

God.

You might

appear totally

insignificant and

forgotten in

this world,

but God

values you

and God

sees what

you do

and what

is in

your heart.

You may

face times

of trial

and of

persecution

and of

trouble

in this

world,

but God

is there

with you

and God

will make

sure that

you are

rewarded

for your

faithfulness

to him.

Let's just

make sure

that we

know God

as our

loving

heavenly

father,

that we

know him

as the

one who

wants to

have a

living

relationship

with us

and if

we have

sinned,

if we have

done things

that we

think are

absolutely

terrible,

is still

willing to

forgive

and to

see us

restored to

him.

And if

we're in

that position,

let's be

bold and

let's be

willing to

go and

to talk to

others about

him and

not to

be ashamed

of our

Lord Jesus,

but to

present him

before men

and to

recognize

whatever

happens,

whatever the

response is,

he will be

with us

and will

help us.

Let's pray

together.

Father, we

thank you for

your word.

We thank you

for these

verses which

are difficult

to understand

and yet

which present

to us

great

encouragement

as well.

we thank

you that

we are

so valued

by you,

that you

who value

even the

smallest

sparrow,

how much

more you

value and

love and

care for

us.

Help us

to rejoice

in the

love and

the care

you have

for us.

We thank

you are

the Father

who wants

to forgive

us and

to restore

us to

yourself.

We pray

for any

here who

are far

from you

this morning,

whether

far from

you,

as have

never

come to

know the

Lord

Jesus,

perhaps

far spiritually,

having fallen

away from

love for

him.

Help them

to understand

that you

are the

loving

Father

who will

welcome

them as

they come

through the

Lord Jesus

with their

trust in

him.

Help those

of us

who know

and who

love the

Lord to

make that

evident all

around us

that we

won't be

afraid of

men,

that we

will recognise

that our

God is

great,

our God

is with

us,

our God

sees

everything.

And help

us to

have lives

of openness

and honesty

and not

to fall

into this

trap of

hypocrisy

that the

Pharisees

had incited

others into.

Thank you

for our

time together.

We commit

ourselves to

you.

We want to

pray again

for those

who have

been affected

by the

bombing in

Manchester

and for

your comfort

and your

strength for

them.

We give

you our

thanks and

commit

ourselves to

you.

In Jesus'

name.

Amen.