Luke 12:1-12

Hey, thanks for tuning in to the Haven City Church podcast.

My name is Josh Taransky.

You're going to be listening to a sermon from the Book of Luke, and it was recorded this past Sunday, July 8th, 2018.

And uh this is a sermon that was given by Scott Waldash, who is a part of our church.

He's been with us from the beginning.

Um, he helps us oversee the setup team and the sound system.

Uh great brother.

He's been doing ministry in Maryland for a number of years, and we appreciate him uh sharing uh this past Sunday.

If you have more questions about the church, uh meeting times, what we do, what we're up to, check out Baltimorechurch.com.

We're also on social media if you go to Haven City Church on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.

Okay.

God bless.

Hey, good morning, folks.

Wow, it's it's very exciting what God is doing with us in this little church, isn't it?

Um we're gonna uh we're just gonna keep on rolling right through Luke.

From uh last week, he I think Pastor finished up with um, wow, I just completely blinded myself.

I looked at the okay, I gotta watch the so he finished up in the in the last part of Luke 11.

And um, wow, let's just uh pray for a moment because uh I didn't get off work until midnight last night, and I was really excited about being here this morning, so I like really didn't get any sleep at all.

So, Father God, we just um as I walked up here, Lord, my mind went completely blank, which is a wonderful, just it's a wonderful Lord, because that means that you're in control and you're gonna touch us and speak to us here today, Lord.

Please open the scriptures, open our hearts to hear from you, make us hungry for you, for truth, for righteousness, for your love, for your forgiveness.

Make us hungry, Lord, for mercy.

Make us hungry for grace, Lord.

We just love you today, and we praise you and thank you for this opportunity to be able to come together and worship you.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So in Luke 12, we're gonna go through the first 12 verses, 1 through 12.

And oh, what uh what translation do you have there, Derek?

Okay, so I'm gonna read what you guys are reading because I go from I'm gonna be I usually read the uh King James.

So just starting off, we got meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that there were so that 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 showed fear.

Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority 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 public publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also acknowledges them before the angels of God.

But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.

And every one 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 synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourself or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.

Wow.

Powerful stuff.

It is um um, I was, you know, we're paying attention so much to what is happening in the world today.

And there are so many things happening in the world that we've never seen before.

I mean, I'm only a young 47.

I used to be an old 46, but now I'm a young 47.

And I've never seen some of the things that are happening.

I mean, just last night I read that Japan got hit with another storm.

There was water running through the streets 16 feet deep.

Unbelievable.

It's like, it's it's it's just it's so many things in the world.

So just one question that I want to start off with is do you know God's heart and character?

And we'll come back to that answer later on.

So starting off in verse one, let's start unpacking this.

As Pastor Josh would say.

I wanted to say that.

Let's start unpacking this.

So in the first verse, I'm gonna go back to my translation because that's what I studied in, so it'll be easier for me.

He began to say unto his disciples, first of all, beware you of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Now, if you guys remember, last week we went through the um in the end of chapter 11, Pastor Josh was talking about the Pharisees and how Jesus Christ was lamb-basting them, like really laying into them about their hypocrisy, about, you know, like teaching the law, just like ramming it down people's throats and not living it themselves.

Doing what, doing, you know, just uh putting burdens on people, making people worry about things that they don't have to worry about, making people like consumed with thinking about their own selves and how they really can't even, really can't even, you know, accomplish the law.

And Jesus said, I have come to fulfill the law, right?

So, first of all, think about all the stuff that's going on in your life.

Okay, stop.

Don't don't do that.

Think about all the stuff that's going on in the world.

No, stop.

Don't do that.

First of all, Jesus says, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

Beware.

Now think about this.

Jesus is here.

Just get this picture.

I was like, I was kind of like overwhelmed thinking about it.

Like, there's an innumerable multitude of people there, and they're almost trotting on each other.

They're all surrounding Jesus, they're all like wanting to hear, like, and a lot of them really don't even know.

There's so many people, like, people don't even know what's going on.

So Jesus, like, there's this huge multitude, and Jesus, he just, he just, he turns to his disciples.

He's not looking at the crowd of people.

This massive amount.

Can you imagine if you looked out in front of you just right now, and there were like so many people that you couldn't even count them all?

Would you be like a little bit overwhelmed?

I, you know, it's like overwhelming.

Jesus is not even worried about the crowds.

He goes and he focuses on his disciples.

The people that are most interested in what God is doing, no matter what is going on, he's gonna turn right to you and focus on you.

He's just gonna focus right on you.

And he's gonna tell you exactly what to be worried about and what not to be worried about.

So he's probably gonna tell you not to worry.

So he says, first off, be aware and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees in our own hearts.

Because we know in Jeremiah 17 it speaks about our own hearts.

The prophet tells us that our own heart is desperately, it's it's deceitful and it's desperately wicked above all things.

Our own heart.

Now, I understand that verse because I know the sin that is in my own heart.

I I know my own failures, I know my own thoughts where they go in the middle of the day or wherever.

I I know my own trespasses in the past.

As much as I know them, God has forgiven and wiped them all away, just as he has with you.

They're all gone.

And that's what I love about grace, because Jesus took our sins and placed them on the cross.

Not only my sin, not only your sin, but the sin of the whole world.

The sin of the Pharisees, the sin of the diplomats, the sin of the rulers of the world, the sin of our boss that sometimes we just hate so much.

Sin of the person who is stabbing you in the back just to try and make their self look better.

Like he's paid for everyone's sin.

He's paid for it all.

So now this the issue of sin is taken care of.

So let's not focus on that.

Beware of hypocrisy, the leaven of the Pharisees.

Hypocrisy is then like I can step forward and I can show myself so good, and I'm the best at it.

No one can show themselves being good, like Scott is the guy, man.

I am the good, like, no one can show how good Scott is better than me.

But what hypocrisy, right?

Like, it's we step forward and we put forth grace like Jesus.

Jesus Christ has paid for myself.

He is good.

I loved it when he said to the Pharisees, like, you call me good.

We went through it earlier this month.

Pastor Josh taught on it.

You call me good.

Like, why?

Why do you call me good?

There's none good but God.

So, that being said, in the men's meeting last month, we said we are we are not sinless, right?

And then what we said, Don, we're like, we're not sinless, but we sin less.

I love that.

That's what grace teaches us.

It teaches us not to focus on sin.

It's amazing.

If you have kids, you'll kind of understand what I say.

If you've had kids, you and even if not, I mean, it's a really simple thing.

If you tell someone not to do something, like, don't touch the oven.

It's hot.

What does your little son do?

He just goes right up and he touches it.

Ah, he screams, it hurts, right?

Just tell him not to do it.

He goes ahead and does it.

You know, it's interesting.

Like, when I first became born again, I was 30 years old.

So I was a grown man and I learned the ways of the world.

And when I tried to apply grace to my life, it was extremely difficult.

So what I had to do is I had to unlearn everything that I had already learned.

And I had to relearn everything in the grace of God.

So now when like that old Pharisee inside of me rears up and says, Scott, like, don't do that sin.

Like, why am I even focused on that?

It's so easy to walk away or not sin, walk away from sin or not sin if you just don't even look at it.

You don't even focus on it.

Like, you don't even think about it.

If it's not there, then it's it's no it's no subject, right?

It's not even a subject.

So the Pharisees love just to put people in bondage with their hypocrisy and just point things out, you know, and so we don't want to focus on that today.

We want to focus on the grace and the love of God.

Hypocrisy, boy.

Moving on, let's go to verse 2.

Hypocrisy is such a it's such a venomous thing.

You know something else hypocrisy does is that it points out you're wrong when there is no wrong to make you wrong.

And uh as we have been, as we've been studying through and going through the demons and what they do to us, how they trip us up, you know, there could be nothing wrong at all.

And the demons can literally uh like oppress people or bring forth something that's wrong with you that isn't even true.

And now all of a sudden you're like thinking, like, I have this issue.

Jesus says, Don't think about it.

Just don't think about it.

Think about me.

Because I got a purpose for you in this situation, and I'm gonna walk with you.

Because as you're in the situation right now, I'm focused on you.

Just like in the multitudes of people, think about all the people in the world, and Jesus, he says, I'm focused on you today.

I'm focused right on you, I'm right here with you.

Don't think about that.

Think, let's let's think together.

Because I want to reveal my love to you.

Second verse, verse 2, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known.

Therefore, whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

That's it's I I um just a little story to move on.

I was with um I I started this part-time job, and I'm working with a guy, and I I just this guy, he's like, he wants to work, and he tries to work so hard, but he's very overweight, and he has he has health issues.

And so in instead of you know working with everyone and just you know, try like he goes behind your back and he tries to talk down about you behind people's back.

So that that way people won't look at the things he's doing wrong.

And uh it just it kind of breaks my heart.

So I'm I'm like trying to help him, and uh it just it doesn't work because it's backfiring on him.

Like everyone knows what he's doing.

Like everyone.

Like he thinks he's getting away with it, like he really thinks he's getting away with it, but everyone sees right through it, and it's it's it's like he's it's like he's slicing his own neck.

It's like he's cutting his he's cutting his own his own self off from like you know the position that he actually has and that he's in.

Which is uh which is very sad.

And it happens all the time.

Like um, beware, beware of the hypocrisy, and don't let it rear up in your own heart.

I love uh like Pastor Josh was really preaching last week about what the Pharisees were doing.

It was focusing on the Pharisees, but this like verse 1 through 12 is more so focusing on us.

He's like really looking at us and he's telling us, he's talking right to us on how to how to think about our situation, how to think about God.

So there are many things to beware of, but the first thing is hypocrisy, and the second thing is that all the things that are done in secret shall come out to the like boy.

I don't watch the news much, but it seems like I don't know, in the last year there's been a whole lot of leaders that like all this dirt has been coming out about them and they've been losing their jobs and and people are getting sued.

Like, I've never seen this before.

I've never seen so many, so much drama in the Senate and the Congress.

Like, I don't know, the people that lead us, you know, it's it's it's true.

There is the world is literally ruled like by principalities and powers and demonic forces in high places.

So um, and and we're seeing that today.

It's like it's like it's kind of it it can really hurt your heart if you think about it, but then on another hand, it's really exciting because we know the end of the story.

We know the end of the story, and the story is that heaven is coming, and our names are written in the book.

Like he said, uh Pastor Joss saw yeah, um it was maybe uh six weeks ago, five weeks ago, or something.

You know, don't don't so much worry that you can tread on the heads of demons and serpents, but this rejoice that your name is written in heaven.

Hallelujah.

Verse 4, and I say unto you, my friends, I just gotta pause right there for a second.

God is saying to you and me today.

This is what God is saying to you today.

This is what he's saying to me.

And I say unto you, my friends, this you know, what is what is too big for God?

What is you know, I, you know, I what is what is my worries?

Are my worries too big that he's not gonna meet me where I am?

This is what he's saying to me right now.

This is what he's saying to you, my friend.

It's you know, in John 15, he goes through a just a beautiful portion of telling us how he involves us in what he's doing.

And one thing that he says, he says, My friend, if you ask anything in my name, it shall be given to you.

It shall, isn't it isn't, and it's true, isn't it, Marvin?

It's so true.

As we've seen over the last year in this church, like we have asked for things and we have cried out for things, and we have fallen on our knees for things, we have been broken for things, and the Lord has been faithful with our health.

I've seen I've seen folks in our church, like with our health, just massive turnarounds, things like uh just blessings from doctors that just weren't there.

Like, you know, this time last year, all of a sudden there's like answers from doctors this year.

There's just we've been praying and Like we've all seen things.

And it's it's he's saying, My friend, you're my friend.

I'm not gonna let you, I'm not gonna leave you, I'm not gonna forsake you.

You're not in this alone.

I'm with you.

So he says, in this, I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear.

Fear him which after he has killed has power to cast into hell.

Yea, I say unto you, fear him.

I uh uh just uh my own personal situation uh this month there was something that happened to our money, and all of a sudden we couldn't pay the rent.

Like we just we couldn't pay the rent.

It was due on the first, and the money was was not there.

Boy, that is like that can really strike a cord of fear in your heart, right?

Especially, I don't know if you guys are like me, but if you've ever gotten one of those notices saying, like, you know, if you if it's not paid by this time, we're gonna start eviction notices.

Oh man, I I just love it.

I I I love it because times like that is when God wants you to put him on the spot.

Now, first off, what would happen to your money that you couldn't pay the bills that that God would allow?

If God's with me and God would allow that, like, hold on, what's really going on here?

What's really going on here?

Are the demons trying to mess with me?

Is Satan playing with my life?

Or is God like trying to build character in me?

Am I am I am I trying, is he trying to get me to trust him and believe in his character and nature that he is with me?

I, you know, these are the questions I started asking myself because I put God on the spot.

I'm like, okay, God, the rent's yours.

What are you gonna do?

I I did my part, you know, I worked, I made a paycheck, you know.

I said, Lord, I'm worried.

I'm worried.

I don't, I don't.

And, you know, on the seventh day of the month, two days after the grace period, because there's a five-day grace period, on the seventh day of the month, the money was there.

Praise the Lord.

My wife was out of town, she came home, we had a meeting of the minds, and then a miracle happened.

The money was there.

I'm like, okay, great, Lord.

Paid the rent.

And my wife, she woke up this morning.

Boy, she was just in a happy mood.

She was so happy, you know.

I was just, wow, things were a little different two days ago, though, you know.

So we just trust in the Lord, you know.

Oh boy, it's just so good.

So um, you know, today there are more Christians dying around the world than ever before.

There are more Christians that are being persecuted for their faith than ever before.

Um, you could say, because there's more people on the earth than ever before, but if there's more people on the face of the earth than ever before, then that means that there's more wicked hearts on the face of the earth.

Like we said, Jeremiah earlier, right?

There's more wicked hearts, and there's more people listening to demons than there are Jesus Christ.

So Jesus tells us, he says, don't fear them.

Fear the one who has the power to say who goes where.

Say, you know, I love thinking about the sovereignty of God.

In Hebrews 1, I think it's verse 4, it says, He is the one that formed the worlds.

He created the worlds.

Um, John 1-1, in the beginning was God, uh, was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We look at Colossians 1, later on, down in Teens, I think like 15 to 18, like he is, he, he's, he's the master of the universe.

You know, I you know, people talk about asteroids hitting the earth or something.

Yeah, I don't know.

They just want to get fear in your heart.

Like, why would you and I be worried about an asteroid hitting the earth today if God is in control of everything?

This is I gotta, man, I gotta jump down.

Lord, you are so good.

I just gotta cut myself off because there's so much more I can say about that.

But even verse seven, but even um, let's go to verse six are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God.

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Again, he says, Fear not.

Therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.

You know how we thought about the people, like the multitude, innumerable amount of people.

Think about every sparrow in the world today.

Like how many sparrows do you think are in the world?

Are are any of them worried about their rent today?

Are are any of them worried about their next meal?

I don't think so.

I think they're out there chirping like a bird.

Just chirping away, and they're like getting their little worms, and they're just so happy.

They're just like, you know, the sun is shining.

There's no humidity.

Well, we're in Maryland.

Okay.

Whoops.

Sorry.

That was definitely not true.

Okay.

Um, but there's less humidity.

Whew.

Man, a little breather.

Um, you know, I was driving to work one day.

This is like a long time ago, and I um I was rushing, I was late, I was going down a, you know, a neighborhood road in front of a, I don't know if you guys know where it is, Mervo Tech.

And there's a um, there's a I was behind it on the in the neighborhood, and I was rolling, you know, it was like early in the morning, way before people like, you know, get up or move around.

And so I wasn't worried about traffic or kids or anything.

Um and man, a sparrow, this bird came up flying right in front of me, and I was like, oh, and uh I felt it.

And I looked immediately in my rear and I saw feathers flying up in the air.

I was like, I just I couldn't believe it.

I I I couldn't believe it.

You know, this was like this was like 2003, like 15 years ago.

But I felt so bad about running over that sparrow, and I still remember that sparrow today.

I have never forgotten that sparrow.

Like, how much more?

How much more does God think about you?

How much more?

You know, Psalm 40, he talks about God's thoughts towards us, and he says that they are more than the sands of the seashore.

I don't I don't have you ever picked up a handful of sand?

Could you count those grains in your hand?

There's no way.

I I mean I couldn't.

Just in your hand.

He says his thoughts towards us are more than the sands of the seashore.

That's that's it's too much for me to think.

I don't know.

It's just it's just wow.

And then in Jeremiah 29, 11, he says, every thought that I have for you is it's good.

All those thoughts, and every single one of them is good.

Not one of them is bad.

God doesn't have one bad thought towards you today, not one.

That really gives me purpose to rejoice.

And I remember that sparrow.

I think God did it to me on purpose, just so I would always remember his thoughts towards me.

Because I'm not forgetting a sparrow, and I can't tell you how many things I've forgotten in my life, but I have not forgotten that sparrow.

And God doesn't forget anything, He knows the end from the beginning.

That's man, uh wrap your head around that one.

Okay, I gotta move on to close.

Oh, it's nine after shucks.

You know, let's just let's just close on that thought.

Sit here and try to get through everything.

You know, um I was in 2001, I was in jail, and I started uh prayer um with with the guys.

You know, I just I I didn't know anyone, and I was with the worst people in Baltimore City, probably on the East Coast.

Um I remember I remember a bank robber.

This guy had robbed something like 18 banks.

I don't know how he got away with it, but he like I was in there with him, rapists, murders, like there was a lot of murders.

There was a lot of guys in there for killing someone.

Um uh just like everything.

Just and every the the darkness in there is, you know, it's it's incomprehensible.

But this guy, I will never forget him.

Um I I just started with just one guy.

And it and then it and then it was two of us, it was three of us, and and then um just before we went to bed, and then there was like then there was, you know, there was five of us, then there was there was eight of us, and then twelve, and it got up to like almost 40 guys, and we were praying before every meal and before we went to bed.

I had no idea what I was doing because I was I was born again just like a few months earlier in the summertime, June 26, 2001.

And uh, but uh this guy, he knew the song.

It's a uh a hymn, you probably know it.

Um it's called His Eyes on the Sparrow.

And I'd never heard that song before.

And this guy had one of those voices, it was deep.

It was like so deep, like, you know, like it resounded, like you, you know, you felt it in the chat, like everywhere, like it was just his normal voice.

It was like, I can't even, I you know, it was just so deep when he talked.

And he sang, he he he just he sang a song, and it it broke, it broke all these men who were looking at a destroyed life in front of them.

And I remember tears, and I remember men coming to the Lord and crying their heart out to each other, and we were praying for each other, and miracles were happening.

And I know that God is the God of impossible.

He He can He can change everything, He can change the whole world.

Like, first off, He said that the world was gonna be going through what it's going through today, right?

He said it.

It was written thousands of years ago.

He said it.

It's right there, it's in the Bible.

It can't be disputed, although people do somehow.

Some maybe I would have too if I hadn't have gotten saved back in, you know, when I was 30 years old.

But the impossible is possible for you today.

The impossible is possible for you today in Jesus Christ.

In Christ Jesus.

Is it health?

Is it is it the rent?

Is it the car?

Is it is it family?

Is it that one that you've been praying for for so long and they just like won't, they just won't change?

They just like keep hurting themselves, or or they're they're hurting other people.

My mother just, I'm gonna close right here.

Shucks.

My mother was an alcoholic, and she died at 64 of cirrhosis of the liver.

And two years before she died, like she was gonna die that year, but there was a miracle that happened in the hospital.

And God gave her two more years to live with with me in faith.

And I uh and I saw her all the time, and you know, I'd go and take her to shopping.

Those last two years were the most precious years of my life.

Now that that was an impossible thing for me to see.

That my mother would get saved, that she would become born again.

Unbelievable, unbelievable.

God is the God of impossible.

He is.

Let's trust in him today, amen.