Fear Not: God's Sovereignty and Our Salvation

grips us to the point where we're not in line with God's Word. I mentioned politics a moment ago, you know, we are supposed to be afraid of invasion by immigrants and yet we're all sitting here, just about all of us, as immigrants, descendants of immigrants that came to this country in search of a better life and a better way of life for their children and their families. They want us to be afraid of Muslims. Muslims have no power over Christianity. Muslims have no power over the child of God. We have the God of the universe on our side. What more could you ask for? No nuclear weapon, no Scud missile, nothing can compare to the power of God that we have. So I challenge you to fear not. What about our personal fears? What do we fear most? What if people found out what I truly think or how I behave in a dark corner? Is that something to fear? Well, I'm here to tell you it's a child of God, it's not. Because everything will be revealed someday. If you have your Bibles, if you want to turn with me to Luke chapter 11, we have a lesson here by Jesus Christ. Chapter 11, verse 52, and I'll be reading through chapter 12, verse 7. I'm going to ask you to stand in honor of God's Word this morning. As we honor God's Word, as we read it here, we're going to focus in on instructions given to the disciples by Jesus Christ. We start with His warning to the Pharisees in verse 52, chapter 11. It says, Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering. When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely, and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say. Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousand had gathered 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 should fear. Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has the power 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 on your heads are all numbered. Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, as we enter into this time of learning and listening, we just pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to take over this place, Lord. Help us to see your face this morning, in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. Fear not, because God cares for you. Fear not, because God is in control. Fear not, because even though it looks like the world has gone crazy with this nation and everything in it seeming to be more and more evil as the days go by, fear not, because God is still in control. Can I get an amen to that? Amen. Alright. In the previous chapters we read there, Jesus has been warning the Pharisees and telling them, woe to you. Woe to you, Pharisees, for what you're doing. He says in verse 52 that they have taken away the key to knowledge. What is the key to knowledge? Well, he explains that in the next few verses. The key to knowledge is the fear of God. That's a good place to amen. The key to knowledge is the fear of God. If you start with that place, if you start with the fear of God, everything else falls into place. Woe to you, because you've taken away the key to knowledge. You've not only refused to enter into the key of knowledge, the fear of God, but you've hindered others from having that same fear. You see, they thought it was more important for people to fear them. As the leadership of the Jews, they thought it was more important to be able to tell them what to do and for them to do everything they said. That's hypocrisy, Jesus says in chapter 2, I mean chapter 12. He says that be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. And hypocrisy is saying one thing and living like another. You know, it's okay to be good here Sunday morning at church, but what happens those other 167 hours that we're out in the world? You see, that's what I hope there's 168 hours in a week. I just second-guessed myself. But that's the way it is. When we worship, we worship outside these walls. We come here to exhort each other, to build each other up, to teach each other about the gospel, to practice on each other, sharing the gospel message. But then, when we leave this place and we take it out into the world, that's where we truly worship. Hypocrisy is saying, I believe in Jesus and nobody outside these walls knowing it. Jesus says in the second, third verse, that all the secrets that you have in your heart will be revealed. He says, there is nothing concealed that will be, 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. You know, we like to take comfort in the idea that all my sins are going to be forgiven. When I die and I go to heaven, everything's going to be erased. And I'm going to go, I'm going to walk into those pearly gates and they're going to say forgiven. Well done my good and faithful servant. But you know there's a place and a time between you and God when everything is revealed. That's what Jesus said. I didn't make it up. He said that everything's going to be revealed. The focus this morning is on verses 4 through 7. As we read, I tell you my friends do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. You see we're not supposed to have fear of man. What is our motivation? Is our motivation in living what people are going to say about me? Is our motivation what's going to happen on the day we die and they put us in the ground and they have that that service afterwards and and they're going to tell everybody what a great guy I was? Is that our motivation? You see our motivation must be only in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our only testimony. You see I'm bad. Jesus is good. I'm a sinner. Jesus is perfect. I'm unholy and unclean. Jesus is the very picture of holiness. That's what we should declare to the world. Not keeping up with the Joneses or making sure that we have all our ducks in a row. Hypocrisy is dishonesty. Saying one thing and living like another. But did you know that hypocrisy is really a revelation? It's a revelation of a lack of power. You see in our humanness by ourselves, we have no power. We have no power over sin. How many of you ever committed a sin knowing you shouldn't? Yeah, the whole room goes up, right? Because we are sinful. We have that sin nature and in and of ourselves we have no power. Note here in this verse Jesus starts with the words, I tell you. He says that again in verse 8 when he says, I tell you whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. You see Jesus is getting our attention here. He said, I tell you if you don't acknowledge me now, then I won't acknowledge you then. He calls us his friends. Verse 4, my friends. Do you call Jesus friend? Is he a friend of yours? If so, your enemies have no power. If so, ISIL has no power. If so, the gangs on the street have no power. If Jesus is your friend, he has all the power. You see he says here that those who kill the body and after that do no more. You see we can suffer no permanent injury through violence, through death. When we declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ like those two did this morning, that's a transition from our heavenly home being in hell, our permanent eternal home I should say, or in heaven. And once our residence is in heaven, then whatever happens to this body, doesn't matter anymore. What's worse? To be killed? To have this physical body dead? And to go to hell? Or to preserve this body? To live a few more years here on earth? What is the choice? They have no power to kill the soul. If you want to follow along with me to Joshua chapter 1. Joshua, that servant of God is about to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. And God says to him, be strong and courageous. I'm sorry, it's Joshua chapter 1 verse 9. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. That's a promise. A promise from God to us that God will be wherever we are. As we look back in Luke's gospel and we think about what God had told Joshua there and we take that promise to heart and we realize God is wherever we are. Wherever we are, God is. And think about your missionary friends or those that you've read about or seen on videos or all the things, you know, leading up to the Lottie Moon offering. We watched those videos about those missionaries going all around the world to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes into very dangerous places. I think about my buddy that went to Burma a few years ago and they went there to deliver some money and supplies and Bibles and to teach Bible to those folks for a few weeks. And in order to get that money in, they had to strap it to their body. Because there at every turn was some official or police officer or somebody wanting to take it from them. And the only way to get those resources into Burma was to hide it. Are we willing to do that here on our streets? Willing to put our life on the line for the gospel of Jesus Christ? Jesus continues here in verse five. He says, but I will show you whom you should fear. You see, we shouldn't fear man. There's nothing man can do to us that's permanent. We should fear God. Why? Because he has the authority. It says, fear him who after the killing of the body has the power to throw you into hell. You know, there's some people that don't believe in hell. But you see, with no hell, there is no heaven. We believe God has the authority because he is sovereign, because he is God. When you think about it, he made the universe. He made the planet. He made everything that we see in here. Everything that we feel, every atom, every molecule, everything that is in existence. God made it. He is the power over it. So he has the power to do what he will. Now, think about that for a moment. And I want you to dig deep down inside for a moment. And think about what that really means. Because so oftentimes we look at God as, you know, some gray-haired bearded man up on a mountain somewhere. And we go to him for advice. And if we need something, we ask him for a favor. And it's kind of like, hey, bud, you know, help me out here. Can't you see I'm struggling? What an irreverent view of God as a chum, as a pal, as a buddy. Follow with me one more time to Isaiah chapter 6. These first few verses in this chapter describe Isaiah's encounter with God. He gives us a time cue here in the opening verse. He says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. And the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings. With two wings, they covered their faces. With two, they covered their feet. And with two, they were flying. And they were calling to one another. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook. And the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me, I cried. I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips and live among people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. When is the last time you saw God that way? Isaiah here gives us a description of unbelievable things. Of something so glorious, he couldn't even take it all in. I can't hide, he said. The King James says, I am undone. When's the last time you were undone before God? When you stood there naked in front of him and said, God, I don't deserve to be here. You see, that was Isaiah's viewpoint. As he stood there and he witnessed the scene that unfolded before him, he was undone. I can't take this. I'm merely a human being, I'm unclean, I'm with unclean people. I can't be here. You see, it's a holy and reverent view of God we have. He is God Almighty. And no matter how well we cover it up in this lifetime, he knows every secret in your life. He knows every time when you have denied him in front of others. He knows every time that you have disrespected him with your sin. You say, well, preacher, nobody's perfect. Yes, there is somebody perfect. See, God is perfect. And we say, God, come meet me in my heart. Please, Lord, come into my heart as we give our lives to him. And when he comes to live and make his residence in our heart, then we have perfection in us. You see, don't give in to sin. Sin is lying to you. You know, there in the early part of the Bible in Genesis, as Cain, you know, he came and he brought an offering that was not worthy of what God had required. And so he was disappointed because it wasn't accepted. And he was kind of crestfallen. And he was moping around like, oh, he don't take my thing. I don't see what's going on. How come he won't take my offering? I gave him some stuff. God said, Cain, why are you downcast? If you do what's acceptable, then you will be accepted. But sin, it lies at the door. It's waiting for you to give it a little bit of an opening. Isn't that how sin is? When we give sin just a little bit, it takes over. That's what God told Cain. He said, sin's waiting. waiting to master you, but you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, must master it. You say, well, I don't know. Nobody's perfect, Lord. Nobody's perfect, preacher. Yes, Jesus Christ is perfect, and His Holy Spirit lives in you. Trust God. Trust God when you turn away from your sin. You know that's what repentance means? It means reversal. You're going this way, turn around, go the other way. Go toward God. Go toward perfection. Go toward holiness. Fear God. Stand in awe of Him, of His majesty and His holiness. Fall on your face before God. Surrender to His Spirit. Jesus said, fear God, if we go back to Luke chapter 12. Fear God, because He is God. We look at verse 6, and it seems like a strange place to put talking about sparrows and selling sparrows here, but Jesus wants to make a point with us. He says in verse 6, are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid. You're worth more than many sparrows. Jesus calls our attention to value here. How important is it? You see, God cares so much about His creation, so much about every single thing that He has made in His creation, that not even the sparrows, who are worth, you know, five of them for two pennies, they're only worth that much, and yet they don't escape His attention. And yet, you are more important to Him than the sparrows. You are more important to Him than many sparrows, He says. You know, in a way, this kind of is the understatement of eternity, that you are worth more than many sparrows. How valuable are you? Think about that the next time. Say, I'm just a sinner. I can't help it. Is that how valuable you are? How valuable is your soul? Your soul is so valuable that God sent His only Son to buy your soul for heaven. Your soul is so valuable that Jesus Christ gave up His place in heaven, which He did not have to do, and came here as a little baby and lived for 30 plus years on this earth as a man so that He would be the perfect sacrifice to pay your penalty. You are so valuable that He knows every hair on your head. Think about that. Every hair on your head is valuable to God. Go just a little further in the scripture. We read verse 8, but it says, I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Is the Spirit of God living in you? If the Spirit of God is living in you, then the majesty and the holiness of God should be more than you could take. The incredible glimpse of glory that we get through studying God's Word, that we get through prayer and meditation together as people, the little piece of heaven that we get to see here on earth should make you fall on your knees and beg for mercy. God, I'm undone. I don't deserve to be in your presence. Now the rest of that story is that God provides a way for Isaiah to be in his presence. He has coal taken and put on his lips to purify. You see, that's a representation of Jesus Christ. As Jesus Christ makes you holy in the sight of God. But you see, God wants you to be holy in the sight of man. Because he doesn't want your friends and neighbors to go to hell. He doesn't want ISIS to go to hell. He doesn't want anyone to go to hell. He wants us to be holy so that we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world. He wants you to love your enemies. You say, well how do I love my enemies? How do I love people that want to kill me? How do I love people who want to change my way of life? We love through the power of the Holy Spirit. We love through God's Word and Jesus Christ's example. Verse 11 says, when you are brought before the synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you would defend yourselves or what you will say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. Is the Holy Spirit living in your soul so real and so alive that when you are confronted with your faith, you know exactly what to say? Jesus loves you. Jesus loves me. How's it go? Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Let the ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. You see, even the youngest child can understand that God's power is more powerful than all the devils of hell. As I close this morning, I want to encourage you to take a moment, as we have a moment of invitation, as we come and have some invitation music play, I'm going to give you this opportunity to see God as He really is. I want to invite you to meet Him here at this place. If God is your God, if God is your King, if God means more to you than anything that people would say, then perhaps this morning is the time to see God for who He is and to meet Him here at this altar. Perhaps you don't know Him as Savior. Perhaps you're here and you've never made a profession of faith and you don't know about all this stuff, but you know you're a sinner in need of forgiveness. This is the invitation that we give for those to come forward and declare that they want Jesus to be Lord of their life. Or perhaps you're a Christian, but through the toils of this life and the problems that happen as a result of pain and suffering, you've lost your way. You're invited this morning to find your way, to see God as He really is. Let's all stand.