The Fear of the Lord

Johannes and Tif Leaving

Men’s Breakfast - 19th 8am

fear - don’t fear - fear - don’t fear

Luke 12:4–12 ESV

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

1. Theoretical problem vs Real Aim

2. Activist’s Testimonies - Youth Pastor and Asexual

1. People want unopposed power over themselves

2. Religious because anti-prayer

a. Daniel, Shadrach Mesech and Abednego

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 ESV

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

The ruling powers trying to resist God’s work.

We should have sympathy for those suffering.

Luke 12:4-5

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

“My Friends”

1. The best Satan can offer is the world.

Matthew 4:8–9 ESV

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

2. The Worst he can do is kill your body (The Crucifixion)

But God has power over eternity.

2.

Abortion - Ban on full-term - 45 babies.

The Anxiety of focusing on this life.

Love of the World leads to evil.

The freedom of focusing on the next.

Good news for the bucket list.

Luke 12:8–9 ESV

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

“Oh, I’ll just keep it quiet, God knows I love Him.”

But, Jesus is Not Trying to Scare Us.

“My Friends”

Luke 12:6–7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:11–12 “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.””

Following Jesus will put us at odds with culture.

1. We may be accused of hate, of harm, of wickedness.

2. We may suffer loss because of our allegiance.

The Fear of People

1. Will motivate us to deny Christ through our actions and words.

Fear of God helps us understand that life is only temporary.

And God will not abandon us.

Luke 12:4–12 ESV

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Last week, the South Australian government passed a bill banning so-called conversion Therapy. Under this bill, any attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, or gender identity would be illegal.

Now, this bill is not the end of the world. Similiar laws have passed in most other states. But it does represent a concerning development in Australian society.

See, in theory the law is designed to stop attempts to force somebody to change their sexual identity; images of children being starved, or locked in dungeons, or having electrodes attached to their heads, or relentlessly bullied come to mind.

However, in reality, those practices have been illegal, and frowned upon, and very rare, for ages. They are already covered by laws about abuse, and domestic violence, and assault etc.

No, as if you listen to the people who pushed for this law, it’s clear that it was meant to address something a little more general, a little more vague.

One activist said they had a bad experience when they told a pastor they were gay and he said, “Try and stop thinking gay thoughts” (Perhaps a poorly thought response, but hardly abuse!) Another, who identified as asexual, was hurt when her friends suggested she wasn’t really asexual, just struggling with self-esteem. (Those friends are smart).

Worship the Idol of Me

This law, and others like it, are the logical extension of the modern worship of self. Thanks to changes in culture, and advances in technology, we now feel that we should have absolute control over our identity. The way God made me doesn’t matter, what matters is how I feel, and how I want to be.

As Carl Trueman points out, if we can control sex and death - the beginning and end of life - then we can convince ourselves that we are God.

What’s the crime? The crime is any pushback against my idol. It’s anyone suggesting to me that I am not who I think I am. It’s anyone trying to change me, unless that change is what I want, because changing me is challenging my power as god.

ITellingly, there was repeated emphasis in the debate around this bill on prayer. Prayer is seen as an abusive form of conversion therapy. Of course, like all human activity, you can use false prayer as an attempt to manipulate or even abuse. But, the suggestion that a great threat to people is that they might request and recieve prayer - that is, help from God - for their sexual struggles, is faintly ridiculous, and very religious.

Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Prayer.

In the book of Daniel, righteous men are persecuted for prayer on two occasions. Daniel, because he prayed to God, instead of the king. And Shadrach, Mesech and Abednego, because they refused to kneel and worship, (a kind of prayer) to a statue of a different King. In both instances, the issue was over, who was God? Was it the King of Babylon, or Yahweh, the creator of Heaven and Earth?

Likewise, the heart of this current cultural issue is who is God? Is it me, with my desire and power to control my identity? Or is the Creator of the Universe who made me in His image?

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (ESV)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

You cannot enter the kingdom of God or recieve the resurrection to eternal life, without first losing your old identity. God has to be God. And the old us, that rebelled against Him, and tried to take his place, has to die. We must leave behind our old loves, desires, habits, practices and beliefs.

This kind of law attempts to hinder that.

If someone comes and says, “I want to follow Jesus,” then part of that following is going to mean turning from sin, and towards righteousness. It will mean change.

And a law like this is designed, whether intentionally or not (Satan is often the architect anyway), to prevent people from changing.

It’s not the end of the world. And, we should not go and antagonize people who are suffering in their attempt to worship a false god hell bent on destroying them.

We should have sympathy for those who are suffering, And who have been decieved, and pray that they are truly converted, as that is the best therapy.

All this is symbolic of how the beliefs that run our country are increasingly incompatible with the Christian faith. Attempting to follow Jesus, and obey his commands, might get us labelled as bigoted, harmful, and even criminal. Christians have lost the high ground.

In these moments, the words of Jesus have incredibly relevance to us.

Luke 12:4-5

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Jesus calls us His friends, and in moments of pressure and crisis, it’s good to be a friend of Jesus.

He says, “do not fear those who can kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”

How does Satan attempt to stop Jesus accomplishing his mission?

First, he tempts him with this life

Matthew 4:8–9 ESV

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

All the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Jesus could have it all. But it would only be a temporary gift. If Jesus had worshipped Satan, he, like Adam, would have forfeited everlasting life.

All that the world can promise is a good life. And after that, it can do nothing.

In the end, Satan’s ultimate play is to kill Jesus.

That’s the best he can do. Now, I’m not downplaying that threat, nor is Jesus, but Jesus is putting it in context.

One reason so many people are anxious and depressed today. We have come to believe that these few, lousy years are all that there is, and so we have to get as much out of it as possible.

My Friends - What an ecouragement, Jesus is talking to those who love him.

Don’t fear those who can

We can end up afraid.

But Jesus says, fear is ok, but fear the right thing!

“Nothing more they can do.”

What empowered Daniel to pray when it was illegal?

What has enabled men and women to give up their lives in the pursuit of righteousness?

What even motivated Jesus to go to the cross?

Empty Threats and Promises

The world makes big promises - “Follow our ways and you will be happy” And it makes big threats - “Go against our ways and you will suffer.”

But the world’s power is limited to this life. It has no transcendent power.

“The fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom.”

Following Jesus will put us at odds with culture.

We may be accused of hate, of harm, of wickedness.

Fear of people will motivate us to respond with anger, anxiety or shame - reverse Hypocrisy.

Fear of God helps us understand that life is only temporary. Eternity is what matters.

And God will not abandon us.

He has not forgotten us. His Spirit will be with us, His Hand will guide us. Even if we pass through the fire, He is there

The Fear of the Lord

Announcements

PREACHING OUTLINE

Luke 12:4-12

CONVERSION THERAPY

Law overview

The Religion Of Self

Christianity is a Conversion

FEAR THE RIGHT THING

Satan’s empty threats and promises

God’s Eternal Promises and Warnings