Three Bewares
Notes
Transcript
Intro
One night, at my cousin’s house. Two of us alone. Couple of guys came to prank us. Handed me a baseball bat. Told me to run to the other side of the house, and he would come up behind them. I was the bait. They shot at me.
Main Idea: Be careful of who you listen to
Need: We have so many voices telling us what to do and who we are. Plenty of false information. Youtube, podcasts, too many voices. We must be diligent to not listen to everyone.
Jesus has just went off on the lawyers and Pharisees. Now, he turns to the crowd to speak.
Luke 12:1-12
Command #1: Beware of hypocrisy (1-3)
Exp. Notice that there are thousands to watch. First time we get general number. Spoke first to the disciples. Verse 1. Leaven = sourdough. Leaven could be corrupted which ruined the whole loaf. Pharisees were infecting the truth of God’s word and Jesus calls it hypocrisy.
Ill. Amish bread starter. I didn’t have correct ingredients. Ruined every loaf and it multiplied. Had to throw it out. That’s what the Pharisees are doing.
Exp. Verse 2-3. Synonymous parallelism. Saying the same thing in two ways. Here is what he is saying:
The Pharisees’ hypocrisy is finally coming to the light. This has been the way the think and talk.
What you do in secret will be brought to the light. Your sin cannot hide forever.
Jesus said earlier that you don’t light a candle and hide it. True believers don’t talk about Jesus in secret, but bring him to the light. To keep Jesus in secret is the height of hypocrisy.
Christ - Pharisees suppress the truth of the Messiah by twisting the message. The pharisees contaminate the gospel message, whereas Jesus makes it holy! Jesus sets the record straight. He purifies what they have tainted. Jesus is the culmination of the gospel and the plan of God for salvation.
App. What do we do? Watch out for the hypocrisy of others, watch what you say in the dark.
Watch for the hypocrisy of others. Are they contaminating waters of the gospel? Don’t lie in wait hoping someone messes up. Careful of false teachers.
Take care of your sin in the dark. It will come to light. Would I do this or say this in public?
Command #2: Beware of who you fear (4-7)
Exp. Along with hypocrisy is who we should truly fear. Verse 4. Pharisees, lawyers, Sanhedrin. Luke’s audience is the church post-ascension. They are in the middle of it now. Verse 5. Heavy. Hell = Gehenna. Valley of Hinnom. The unrighteous are punished here. We don’t like to think about this, but this is the end for the unrighteous. God can do more than the Pharisees.
Ill. Deciding between mom and girlfriend in high school. Thought my gf being mad at me was worse than my mom. She held a bigger spot so I feared her more. Jesus warns not to hold the Pharisees in such high esteem that fearing God is overshadowed.
Arg. Proverbs 1:7
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Ill. “Only God can judge me.” That’s not what you want.
Exp. Beyond what he can do. Verse 6-7. God takes care of the sparrows, things you don’t think about. God knows the hairs on your head, something you don’t think about. He’s beyond what you can comprehend.
Christ - Jesus is the way for the righteous. Fear God, and the gospel will be clear. The righteous will stand with Christ. Take the bruises like him. Be scorned like him. Wear his scars.
App. What do we do? Have an eternal mindset, rest in the love of God who knows more than you and cares for more.
Fear God. Reverential awe. Glorious wonder, guilt for sin.
See yourself how God sees you. More valuable than the sparrows. This is thinking rightly of yourself.
Command #3: Beware of denying Jesus (8-12)
Exp. The passage gets more dense. Verse 8-9. Continuation of thought. Contrasts hiding in secret, but acknowledging Christ before men. Do not fear men, but acknowledge Christ in front of them. If you deny Christ, then you will be denied by Christ before the angels. Luke 9:26
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Exp. You should expect the Pharisees will oppose you. But Christ will oppose you if you fear them. Verse 10. A few things to understand while dealing with this:
Luke’s audience is the church. Christ has ascended and the HS is dwelling in the church.
Jesus is speaking to disciples who will deny him at the crucifixion, i.e. Peter. But will be forgiven.
Blaspheming the HS is denying the work of the Spirit through salvation and conviction of sin, which make repentance impossible.
Blaspheming the HS is synonymous with denying Jesus because Jesus already warned them about denying him AND he sent the HS. You deny both. You can’t have one without the other.
Ill. You can’t be a fan of a sports team and just get angry when they don’t win. Buffalo Bills fans, in snow. They accepted the terms of being a fan. To accept Christ is to accept the work of the Spirit.
Arg. Pharisees said Jesus casted out a demon by Beelzebub. You can’t claim to love God and deny the things of God. Deny the Messiah or the Spirit.
Christ - Denying the HS and his work eliminates repentance. There is opportunity for forgiveness for those who deny Jesus on earth. Jesus sent the HS to dwell in the hearts of believers. All initiated by his sacrifice.
App. What do we do?
If you claim to know Jesus, claim all that comes with him. Conviction of sin. Repentance. Community. Being hated. Spiritual warfare.
Conclusion
Be cautious who you listen to. All comes back to the parable of the sower. The truth goes out, how do you receive the truth?
