Walk in the Light - Luke 12:1-12

1:07:24 Teaching begins

Notes

Jesus says His disciples are to confess Him before men. Do you have a hard time with that? I’ve always found it hard. I think it’s because I care what people think about me. They’re going to think I’m stupid. I realise, I fear the opinion of men.

But I do believe in the judgment of God that will come. I believe that Jesus is the only hope of being saved from judgment.

So I don’t confess Jesus to prove I’m perfect or that I’m anybody. It’s not about me. I fear God and I live in the light of truth.

I’m reading in Luke 12 from verse 1.

1. Jesus is talking to His disciples in the midst of a huge crowd.

A. He’s just been talking with religious people.

1. Remember they are a group whose interpretation of the Scriptures has been dominant for at least a hundred years. They’re the Pharisees.

2. He’s told them they’re religious but they have no relationship with God. They’re His enemies. They are careful about insignificant things and totally ignore justice and mercy. They’re missing what Jesus has to give.

B. Now He’s in the midst of a huge crowd pressing in on one another. They’re hoping to get healed or fed or see a miracle or hear Him teach. Do they want the most important thing Jesus has to give? Or are they missing the point as well?

C. Jesus speaks to His disciples because He wants them to get the most important thing in life, which is how to live in order to please God, what it means to be in right relationship with God.

2. First, He warns them what not to do—watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

A. Leaven is a biblical symbol for sin. It puffs up bread dough as a result of corruption.

B. These men were puffed up with pride because of their corruption, which is, they trusted in their own righteousness. They fulfilled religious ceremonies correctly. They could prove to themselves that they fulfilled the requirements and were acceptable to God.

C. But they were hypocrites, actors playing a role which is different from who they really are.

1. Jesus told them to their faces, Luke 11:39 “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.”

2. This is not name-calling, it’s actually true, but the Pharisees don’t accept what Jesus says. “You insult us!”

3. It’s scary that Jesus can’t tell them the truth about themselves. They reject the truth and they reject Jesus.

D. Jesus doesn’t want His disciples to ever go that way.

3. You keep from deceiving yourself by living in the light of judgment.

A. Jesus says there is nothing covered up that won’t be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

1. You say things in the dark, there’s no one around, who would know? You’re whispering in an inner room, doors shut, rooms away from the street where anyone would hear. Who would hear you?

2. God is there in the dark. He in the inner room. He hears your thoughts like you were shouting, loud and clear. Like when God told Abraham he was going to have a son. Sarah his wife overheard and she laughed in her heart. “Really? We’re old.” God said, “Why did Sarah laugh?” She said, “I didn’t laugh.” God said, “No, but you did laugh.” Sarah found out, He heard her laugh in her heart.

B. God is the One who will reveal the secrets of men’s hearts to every man and every angel. This is the Day of Judgment.

1. What is most awesome is that judgment will be according to truth. There won’t be lawyers and solicitors arguing points of law, examining evidence, and trying to use spin and cross-examination to get at the truth.

2. God will judge with absolute justice because it’s according to absolute truth. Even you will agree with His judgment because the truth will be crystal clear and you can’t deny it.

C. In the light of this certain judgment of God you care for only one opinion. What does the Judge of all the earth think? You want to live your life to please God. That’s what Jesus means when He says, “Fear God.”

1. Men use their authority to cause fear in those they don’t approve of. “Change your opinion to agree with us or we will execute you.” Do you not fear death? Jesus says, all they can do to you is kill your body. That’s temporary.

2. But God can kill your body and cast your soul into punishment forever. You will never come out.

3. Whose opinion is most important? God’s opinion. So you fear God. You walk in the light of judgment.

4. Walking in the light of judgment leads directly to walking in the light of salvation.

A. Because we have a problem here, don’t we? God knows all my sins, everything that’s wrong with me. That light of judgment strips me naked before God. I’m dead, right?

B. Here is the light of salvation: God has provided a substitute for you, who took all your wickedness upon Himself and died in your place under God’s judgment, and God accepts that sacrifice. You receive that, you trust that God accepts that sacrifice, and you are clothed in perfect righteousness. You’re not naked anymore. You pass out of judgment into new life with God in relationship.

C. You don’t stop fearing God. You respect God’s opinion of you even more. But you don’t live in fear of judgment. You become assured and confident that God really does love you.

D. Jesus uses this comparison between you and sparrows.

1. Sparrows are cheap. Five for two pence. However, God remembers them all. How many sparrows are in the world? Millions? He keeps track of all the sparrows. He’s also numbered all your hairs. Same thing to God. He’s named each star, Isaiah 40:26. Because of the greatness of His power, not one is missing.

2. You are of more value than many sparrows. How many sparrows are you worth?

3. The price of your redemption is the life of the only begotten Son of God. You are more valuable to God than the heavens and the earth, as valuable to God as His own Son. That goes beyond price.

E. You are irreplaceable to God. Therefore He won’t lose you, ignore you, give up on you, ever, ever, ever. You are supremely precious to Him. Eventually He will convince you that He really does love you.

5. If you walk in the light of judgment and in the light of salvation you will bear witness to Jesus.

A. The natural result and the direction of your life is to live for the truth.

1. God knows the truth about every person, every person has sinned against God. Every person is coming into judgment.

2. God has loved sinners and provided salvation for them so they can be saved from His wrath to come.

3. Only Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead. Only He can take away sins and give new life with God. There is only one name given under heaven by which we can be saved, only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him.

B. This is the natural direction of your life because it was the direction of Jesus’ life. He stood before Pontius Pilate the Roman governor and said, “I have been sent into the world to bear witness of the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37

C. We confess Jesus before men in just the same way. Testifying to the truth is the proof that it’s true. I may do a terrible job, but because I believe it is true, therefore I tell people. We live the truth no matter what.

D. If I don’t testify to Jesus then I’m saying I don’t believe it is true.

E. In verses 8 and 9 once again Jesus shows us the light of judgment and salvation:

1. If we confess Him before men, He will confess us before the angels of God. He will confess the truth. This person believed Me, received Me, stayed in relationship with Me, did not fear men, but feared Me. He testified that I am true. I testify to you angels that he is true.

2. If we don’t confess Him before men, He will deny us before the angels. This person didn’t believe Me. He lived as though I didn’t die for the sin of the world and rise from the dead. This person was ashamed of Me because he feared men. I am ashamed of him.

3. This is the practical working out of my great respect of God’s opinion. I am going to testify to the truth.

F. Do you think, “Oh no! I’ve denied Jesus before men! He is going to deny me before the angels! I’m in real trouble now!” Realise that Jesus is talking about the whole arc of your life.

1. Somebody might not believe in Jesus at the first hearing. They might blaspheme Jesus. But later on God works to bring them to faith. All their blasphemies against Jesus will be forgiven. The classic example is the Apostle Paul. He thought he had to do many things against the name of Jesus. But when Jesus stopped him and called him, he knew he had been ignorant and that Jesus forgave him.

2. But if a person resists the Holy Spirit drawing them to believe in Jesus their whole life long, there is no forgiveness. You can’t reject Jesus and still go to heaven.

3. You don’t testify to Jesus on your own. You do it through the Holy Spirit. You can ask Him to teach you: “How do I do this?” You learn on the job. You learn from your mistakes. You learn to pray, “Lord, open a door for me, give me the courage to use the opportunity when You give it.” God is bigger than your mistakes. If you let Him teach you, you will learn to testify to Him. So you pray, “Help me! Work through me!”

6. Jesus gives confidence that our witness will be acceptable because He is with us.

A. Here’s the extreme example. They will try to intimidate you, make you fear them more than you fear God. They will bring you before synagogues, rulers, authorities who use their power to make you afraid for your freedom, for your life. “Do you know that I can set you free or execute you?”

B. Jesus says don’t worry, the Holy Spirit will teach you what to say. You are never on your own. You testify together with the Holy Spirit.

C. The great example of this is Stephen in Acts 7. The Holy Spirit has him give the whole history of Israel to show his enemies that they have always resisted the Holy Spirit. As they are stoning him to death, the Holy Spirit leads him to cry out loud, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Paul was not a believer then; he was guarding the murderers’ coats while they stoned Stephen. But you can bet he heard it. Undoubtedly it came back to him. That wasn’t cursing he heard, it was a man forgiving his murderers. That was divine. He’d never heard anything like that before.

D. You can ask God to help you testify to the truth because He loved you when you were a sinner, He loves you now, He’s numbered your hairs, and He has a lot more to give you.

7. So what?

A. Do you walk in the light of judgment? God knows you completely, everything will be revealed to everyone, so that you will not stand in the judgment?

B. Do you walk in the light of salvation? Do you see that Jesus died for your sins and you are supremely valuable to God? Have you received Jesus as your Saviour?

C. Then bear witness to Jesus with your whole life.  They need to know, and you need to practice the truth. Pray that God makes you aware of opportunities. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from them and keep going.

D. Walk in the light and you will not be afraid of men.

Let’s pray.