You Must Take a Stand

Introduction:

It’s been some time since we studied the Book of Luke and we were right in the middle of Jesus traveling all over northern Israel in the region of the Sea of Galilee performing miracles, teaching the people, and drawing the attention of the religious leaders called the Pharisees and Scribes.

Jesus just warned the crowds to beware of the Scribes and Pharisees and their teaching. This was a slap in the face to the Jewish leaders. You need to understand the backdrop of the political and religious atmosphere to realize how big of a deal this is.

The people were looking for a political Messiah. They wanted someone to get rid of the Romans and restore autonomy to the Jewish people. The people had one nation after another from the Assyrians, to the Babylonians, to the Ptolemies in Egypt, and now the Romans invade their land and wars had been fought back and forth across the land with the Jewish people often as their victims.

The Old Testament prophets has closed with God condemning His people for failure to keep the Law and covenant with God and now the people lived under constant fear of Roman retaliation against any scent of rebellion that might rise up.

The people that you would need most in order to overthrow Rome and establish a kingdom would be the vast network of religious leaders and teachers that were throughout Israel.

But now here is Jesus, a prophet who is gaining popularity among the people. He is drawing the crowds by the thousands and demonstrating the power of God with His miracles. He is the perfect candidate to lead a rebellion against the Romans, but now He is saying things that outright attack the character and teaching of the religious and political leaders of Israel.

He has drawn a new line in the sand and everyone has to make a decision. Who will they follow? In the midst of this crowd there are people who really like Jesus and what he teaches. He is refreshing and not like the religious leaders. He teaches with authority. But then there are those that see the weakness in his non-violent approach. How can you overthrow a military juggernaut like Rome without fighting.

As sides are picked, families and friendships are divided. Some people try to secretly follow Jesus, while openly denying Him. Jesus now turns to these people and gives a stern warning.

Let’s take a look at that warning this morning.

Read text. Pray.

When Donald Trump won the Presidential election in 2016, something happened in the church that has not happened in a long time. People were so divided that friendships and relationships were strained and stretched and some could not withstand the pressure. Many people could no longer be friends or worship at the same church together because of which side the other came down on.

No human or political election should ever divide us like this. No matter what, Presidents come and go and time marches on. We can have our opinions and principles, but we should not hate one another because we are of another political persuasion.

However, with Jesus, we all must take a side. There is no neutral ground with Jesus. You either believe He is the Savior, God’s Son, that was sent from God to rescue you from your sins, or you do not believe in Him and remain in your sin and separated from God.

1. Beware of Hypocrisy (vv. 1-3)

Jesus warned the people to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. In some places in the Gospels, the leaven in the teaching of the Pharisees, but here it is their false motives. They are selfish shepherds of Israel that only want to prosper themselves.

Leaven here is not like what you might think of with a packet of yeast. It’s similar, but not exactly the same. A few years ago, I was talking to Mrs. Hazel Crow about her bread that she always made for Homecoming. That bread was so good, you could actually live by bread alone from what she made!

She told me she called the bread Herman bread because it was made from a starter of bread dough that she kept from the last batch of dough in her refrigerator. She fed it and everything. It was a living thing that she named Herman!

Thats the same idea used here of leaven. It was a small piece of dough that was folded into the new batch and quickly grew through the whole lump.

Jesus is not using this as a complement, but is saying that the attitude and teaching of the Pharisees was infecting the people. There were many false converts that were using religion as a gain for themselves rather than really seeking to follow God.

There have been a lot of people in the church’s history that have tried to do the same thing with the church and their membership. They join a church for how it makes them look. They even try to run the church because they feel that it is their right.

Jesus warns that true and false conversions will ultimately be brought to light. Everything will be exposed. For the followers of Jesus who sought to remain anonymous, there would come a time where they would have to make a stand for Christ. It could even be costly to them, but they could not remain in the dark.

Inside houses were inner rooms used for storage and they were the most secretive rooms in the house. Jesus tells the people that what you whisper in private will be declared from the housetops where news would be shouted and announced. In other words, you can’t be a private follower of Jesus!

2. Pick a Side (vv. 4-5)

Naturally then, we must pick a side. Either we are with Christ or we are against Him.

Jesus said in

Mark 16:13 ESV

And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Mark 9:40 ESV

For the one who is not against us is for us.

And again in

Luke 16:13 ESV

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

The ESV translates Mammon as money, but really Mammon is the god of this age. You either serve Christ or the world.

Jesus wanted to encourage His followers to not fear the religious leaders or the Romans or anyone else who sough tot harm them. People can only do so much to you. However, God has the ultimate say so on the Day of Judgment as to where you soul will end up. If you don’t trust Christ, you will be sent to Hell to experience punishment for your sins against God. If you trust Christ, your sins have already been punished on the cross when Jesus hung there as God’s wrath was poured out on Him.

Some people were afraid to pick a side. Jesus wanted to encourage His followers to not fear the religious leaders or the Romans or anyone else who sought to harm them. People can only do so much to you. However, God has the ultimate say so on the Day of Judgment as to where you soul will end up. If you don’t trust Christ, you will be sent to Hell to experience punishment for your sins against God. If you trust Christ, your sins have already been punished on the cross when Jesus hung there as God’s wrath was poured out on Him.

There is a book called Foxe’s Book of Martyrs that has recorded how many followers of Christ have had their lives taken from them because of their testimony for Christ. It is intended to be an encouragement to remain faithful to Jesus despite the world’s efforts to scare you away from following Christ.

That is exactly what ISIS tried to do. They wanted to illicit fear in Christians and get them to renounce their faith in Jesus. But Jesus would say to those Christians in the clutches of the hands of any terrorist or oppressor of Christians that we should not fear them. They may kill us. They may injure us. We may suffer. But, we will not suffer alone. We will not be left alone. And, our oppressors can only do so much. God is the one who has the final say, and He is a rewarder of the faithful!

3. Recognize Your Value (vv. 6-7)

The next thing we see is that Jesus told His followers of their worth and value to God. Does God need us? No! But God delights in us. He created us for His pleasure, and it is His pleasure to have fellowship with us.

But, we must also realize something else about God. He not only is our Creator, but He is the Creator of the whole world; and as Creator, He has not set things on autopilot, but is actively involved in managing His world that He created.

Jesus said that it is God who feeds the sparrows. These birds were so small and so cheaply purchased, yet God cares for them. Jesus said, not ONE of them is forgotten by God.

Then Jesus kicks the illustration up another notch, as Emeril Lagasse would say. Jesus says, “If these sparrows are so cared for by God, how much more do you think you matter to God?” Then he says that God even has your hairs on your head numbered!

That’s not the picture of a God who sitting far off with His arms crossed. That is a God who is intimately connected with His people. He loves you!

The world will use you. It will use you for what you can offer and then dispose of you. We are in college football season now and I love to watch the games and read the hype about all of the teams. It is exciting and fun, yet there is also a dark side to the sport and fandom. I see the comments people make when a player leaves a school and goes somewhere else or if they get injured. Some say it is “next man up,” and I get that. But the truth is, your worth only matters to the world so much as you have something to offer.

We have nothing to offer to God that He needs, and yet He places value on us! We matter to Him! That’s amazing! When it comes to picking sides, you need to remember this. Who has your best interest in mind? Jesus does! Why would you not follow HIm.

4. Publicly Declare Your Allegiance to Christ (vv. 8-12)

The last thing Jesus instructed His followers about being true disciples and not hypocrites is that they must publicly declare their allegiance to Christ. You cannot be a secret disciple of Christ. You either trust Him and follow Him or you are against Him.

Jesus sets two realities before you. Heaven and Earth. Earth is temporary. Everything in it. Time marches on and things change no matter how much we may fight for them to stay the same. Nothing will stay the same. You aren’t even the same. You have cells that are constantly replacing themselves. I can honestly say that I am not the man I used to be!

There is this world with its fickle people and rulers with limited power and authority on earth. Then there is heaven. It stands eternal. It will never be moved. There are angels in heaven with power that thousands of humans can never have.

Jesus says, if you will acknowledge me in this temporary, imperfect, earthly realm before limited finite people, I will declare you are forgiven before the very angels of God and my Father in heaven. Wow!

Conclusion:

We spend a lot of time worrying about what other people think of us. We put a lot of focus on this life and the joy that it can bring us. You know, there are a lot of great things that this world has to offer, but nothing compares to the glory of knowing Christ and walking in His ways. The life we have on this side of eternity is far better for us and the life to come is truly out of this world.

I hope this morning that you will take a sand. The line is drawn in the sand and you have to make a decision. If you have been secretly following Jesus, it is time to make it public. Let the world know that you are not ashamed of Jesus. There’s an old hymn that goes like this,

Verse 1

I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian I'm not ashamed His name to bear I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian I'll take Him with me anywhere I'll tell the world how Jesus saved me And how He gave me a life brand new And I know that if you trust Him That all He gave me He'll give to you I'll tell the world that He's my Savior No other one could love me so My life my all is His forever And where He leads me I will go

Verse 2

I'll tell the world that He is coming It may be near or far away But we must live as if His coming Would be tomorrow or today For when He comes and life is over For those who love Him there's more to be Eyes have never seen the wonders That He's preparing for you and me O tell the world that you're a Christian Be not ashamed His name to bear O tell the world that you're a Christian And take Him with you ev'rywhere

Will you tell the world that you’re a Christian today?