Harbor Church - Mid City

Investigating Jesus (On Fear)

Lk. 12: 1-12 6/5/2011

I don’t know why I didn’t rig the preaching schedule to get out of preaching this text.  I should have thrown Jake under this bus—put the new guy up here and let him take the heat.  This is one of those where it would be nice to be preaching topically.  It is just one of those tough passages.  For all of you who think that Jesus spends his whole life floating on clouds stroking little fluffy white lambs, get ready.  Strap on your seatbelts.  Let’s go.

V1 “Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another.”  A crowd of many thousands had gathered.  Now picture this.  The average town in Israel is 80 to 100 people.  Here you have Jesus drawing a crowd of thousands.  He has gotten to be a big deal.  So much so that people are trampling all over one another.  Jesus is sorta like Lady Gaga or Beyonce.  Some of you are like—did he just say Jesus is like Lady Gaga or Beyonce.  How?  In that he has achieved legendary status.  He has a mash pit of thousands.  People are getting caught up and trampled to hear what this rock star has to say kinda like people are trampling over each other to get to Lady Gaga’s new album, which I find ridiculous.

So Jesus has a little backstage meeting of the band, if you will, with his boys.  “Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying, ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”  So he starts off and says, “Listen, I have been ripping the Pharisees pretty good.  If you have been with us the last few weeks, Jesus has been throwing grenades, called woes, at the Pharisees.  So he gathers his boys back stage and says, “Get ready.  They’re coming b/c I have called their hypocrisy out and they don’t like that very much.  Get ready.”  But then he says, “Don’t worry, they’ll get theirs.  It is all going to come to light.  And he says the same thing 4 different ways…

V2 “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 inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”  At the University of Virginia, where I went to school, there is a building right in the center designed by Thomas Jefferson called the Rotunda.  Brilliant building and it is the centerpiece of the campus, what Mr. Jefferson insisted be called the grounds.  So, in the Rotunda there is the giant, domed ballroom that originally functioned as a library.  Students could go up to the 2^nd floor, but there was a trick.  Because of the domed shape of the roof, you could literally whispher something to a friend if you were standing by the wall of the dome and it could be heard on the first floor all the way across the room if you were standing in the right spot.  So, you can imagine, a number of secrets were revealed this way and practical jokes played this way.  That is one of the great architectural wonders of the arc or dome—sound travels along it. 

See that is what Jesus is saying, “What you are whispering, it will be heard.”  God hears even the whispers of your heart.  You need not even whispher it, just think it and it travels along the arc of his all-knowingness.  It is one of the great architectural wonders of God’s power.  Do it in the dark, he sees it..  I’m gonna hold them accountable for even the thoughts they have. But they will do more than think and say bad things about you…

V4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.”  He says, “Don’t fear them.  All they can do to you is slit your throat.”  No bigge.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure that would have been the words of comfort I would have been looking for. I probably would have raised my hand (or at least thought to myself), “Jesus, I kinda like having a pulse.”  So why does Jesus say this.  Well, add a little more.

V5 “But I will show you whom you should fear:  Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him.  See he is saying, “There is something so much worse than death.”  And that is hell. “It is so much worse than death.  You’re cut off from God and that means you’re cut off from all goodness and beauty and laughter.  And guess what, “God makes the determination about who is going to hell and who isn’t.  So, he says, “You’re fearing the wrong person.”  Fear God, not them.  All they can do is kill you and make your life better than it has ever been at any point in your life.

So, let me ask you:  what does it mean to fear God?  Well, I am going to highlight 2 major ways the Bible uses this term of fearing the Lord.  One is to reverence & awe and worship.  We’ll come back to that.  The other is fear—like be scared.  That is what is in view here.  The lexical range—that is fancy word that just sorta means that when you look something up in the dictionary they list a.b.c.d.  It is the word from which we get phobia—a clinging, gnawing, nagging, overpowering fear.  Knee-knocking terrified is the picture here.  Here is the deal.  When sinful man comes into contact with a holy God, it can be terrifying b/c God has a terrifying holiness.

This is Adam & Eve shaking in the garden.  This is Isaiah coming before the terrifying holiness of God and saying “Woe is me.  I am ruined.  For I am a man of unclean lips.”

But the Hebrews says he is a loving father who disciplines his children.  And we need to know that and have a healthy fear of our loving Father’s discipline. I wish I could tell you that I always obey God out of the right motives.  It is because I love him and He loves me and that is what leads to obedience.  I wish.  Sometimes I do it because I am downright scared of God and the consequences that I know, as a loving Father, he will let me endure.

I don’t know about you, but there are sometimes when my kids get really scared and fearful of me.  They know I love em and as a result I will discipline them when they need it.

My daughter is a perfect example.  We went camping recently.  And there was a little general store that had all kinds of trinkets.  She really, really wanted this little 3 dollar necklace with a guitar on it.  We said no, not happening.  She fussed and tried to persuade us, and then gave it up.

So, 2 days later, we’re cleaning up the campsite.  I reach into my back pocket of my jeans that I wore the entire time.  As I did, I pulled out a necklace with a little guitar on it.  Hmmm.  How did that get there?  Before making a false accusation, I wanted to do a little discovery.  I go to our tent, ask Bradford, “Hey babe, did you circle back and buy that guitar?”  “No” she says.

So I go the next most likely suspect.  “Milly. how did this guitar get in my back pocket?”  “I put it there,” she says coyly.  “You did?  Did you know that is stealing.  And stealing is a big deal—people get thrown in jail for stealing?”  Her eyes darted up at me.

So we processed it together, we prayed together, and then we headed back to the shop.  It was closed and I was bummed, but Jesus brought the owner by just as we drove up.  My daughter walked in, handed the guitar back and confessed her sin.  Then we headed off to the proverbial woodshed.  I could see her fear building with each step.  My daughter’s pain threshold is almost non-existent.  She absolutely hates pow-pows, so we reserve them for really serious stuff, like stealing.  And for her, all it takes is a tap and she is wailing. See let’s be honest—being fearful of the consequences of disobedience is a good thing.  And that is what is in mind here in our text.  Fear the one who has ultimate authority over heaven and hell.  He holds everyone accountable. 

But let me balance this out before all of you called CPS on me.  Let’s talk about the other major way the Bible uses the phrase, “Fear the Lord.”   It is Fearing God that isn’t associated with terror. See the other way the Bible uses the term, “Fear the Lord,” is to reverence God, to be in awe of him.  See that is what Jesus is getting at in v6 “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 of your heard are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  Birds, hairs on your head, and fear.  Jesus starts talking about sparrows and hair on your head like somehow they will clear everything up about fear.  What is going on here?

Well, it actually does help. But you gotta dig a bit.  See he says that 5 sparrows are sold for two pennies.  Don’t think copper pennies like we know.    The pennies in mind here are called assaria.  2 assarians is the equivalent to an hour’s wages.  So he says: an hours pay would buy 5 sparrows. 

Now, let’s equate it to our world.  Say you make 10 bucks an hour.  For $10 bucks an your, Jeuss you get you 5 sparrows.  We don’t buy sparrows so think chicken. 10 bucks, 5 chickens.  Inflation has gotten us a bit hasn’t it, but maybe if you hit the right sale. 

Or if you are in Africa.  Chickens are a whole lot cheaper in Africa.   In fact, I have a great chicken story from Africa.  Let me tell it you.  And it is going to seem like this story is so far out in left field that it isn’t even in the ball park, but I think we can bring it around. $10 bucks (an American hourly wage) would have bought you a truckload of chickens.  And they wanted to teach us a lesson about preparing and cooking food in the developing world, so they had us, the interns, prepare the meal.

Well, the chickens were just walking around out in the back yard.  Some of us were like, “Hmm, I thought chicken came in cellophane packages and was cut up.”  Well, we were supposed to cook fried chicken that night.  Which meant that we had to go catch Ricky the Rooster first and kill him. 

So everyone looks at me, and I am like, “What.  Why are you all looking at me?”  And they say, in unison, “Because you are from Alabama.” Regional profiling—can you believe it.  Everyone just assumed that since I was from Alabama that killing chickens was a regular part of my life.  That I had grown up every day waking from my bed of hay, throwing on my overalls, milking the cows, and killing the chickens for dinner. No.  I grew up in the city.  Nonetheless, Bama boy is pigeon-holed or chicken-holed as the chicken killer.  So I gotta go catch the chicken.  And I start off, knife in one hand, other hand free.  Ready. 

30 minutes later, I realized that the knife might have tipped my hand just a bit. You have never seen a chicken juke and jive like Ricky..  Finally, I realized the knife is not helping my cause.  So I Lay it aside and I now have 2 hands for my diving technique.  Drenched in sweat, I finally nab the chicken, retrieve the knife and cut his head off.  Then I made the mistake of putting the rooster down and found out why there is a saying called “running around like a chicken with your head cut off.”  It really happens. 

Some of you are becoming vegans as I tell this story.  Others of you are thinking about calling the SPCA.  I am going to have CPS and the SPCA on my doorstep when I get home.  I told you this wasn’t going to be a good day for me.

Now, let’s bring this around.  Is it possible?  -Here is the point.  every chicken that is slaughtered in the poultry factory or chased around by some idiot from Alabama with a knife in his hand, God hasn’t forgotten them.  Jesus says so Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  God says he hasn’t forgotten the chicken being chased around by the idiot from Alabama.  God sees, knows, and understands the plight of the chicken and can comfort a chicken being chased in Africa, then how much more one of his children.  For, he says, you are worth far more than chickens.  You are my son and daughter, whom I love, and with you I am well pleased.

That leads to reverence, to awe..  Reverence, delight, worship, awe—b/c He is involved in every little detail of your life.

So, after Jesus emphasizes that He is with you in everything, no need to fear man, just fear God.  Jesus then lays out 2 fearful situations that would induce fear in most of us.  Let’s go down to v11 first then come back to v8.  V11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”   So here Jesus foreshadows what is about to happen to him and the rest of his little backstage band.  You’re going to be brought up on charges in the synagogues, rulers, and by the authorities.  Don’t worry about preparing your speech.  B/c God will be with you there.  If he is with the chicken on the chopping block, you know he is with you.  And God’s Spirit—Holy Spirit—will put words in your mouth. Remember Stephen as he was being stoned—He saw the heavens open up. 

And then the ultimate knee-knocker is v8, when you appear before God himself.  “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.”  Hard to imagine anything more fear inducing than to be disowned by God when you appear before him.  And here he says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  An unforgiveable sin.  Yikes.  What is it?

No, it isn’t cussing—using the Lord’s name in vain isn’t the unforgivable sin.  It isn’t committing suicide—Rms. 8 says nothing can separate you from the love that is yours in Christ Jesus, not even a sin at the moment of your death.  The unforgiveable sin isn’t denying Jesus, because Peter did that.  It isn’t doubting Jesus b/c Thomas did that—both were reconciled.  The unforgiveable sin is this—going to your grave rejecting Jesus. See our text refers to it as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit b/c the role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal and glorify the work of Jesus.  John 15:26, “The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus.”  So to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to openly and willfully reject Jesus Christ. And if you are worried that you have done this, then you haven’t.  See people who have done this are not at all concerned about Jesus or forgiveness.  They don’t believe or trust him.

Let me give you an example of someone heading in this direction in the Tribune this week. British physicist Stephen Hawking is an incredible intellect and has won just about every award imaginable.  Yet, let me quote him on God, "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”  He can repent and Jesus will forgive him.  But, if he holds this view until his death, then Jesus says, “You are in huge trouble.  See the Son of Man is the term Jesus takes out of Daniel to show that God became man.  So here Hawking doesn’t buy into a creator, into God or this so called fairy-story of heaven.  And Jesus says, “Ok, as you wish, but one day it will all be clear to you and you’ll be standing before God having denied my existence your whole life and I won’t then jump in on your behalf, nor will want me to b/c by that point you will be so hardened against me that I will grant you what you want—eternal separation from me in hell.

So let’s wrap it up.  Biblical fear means 2 things: terror and worship.  Holy terror before a holy God.  There is nothing more terrifying than for sinful man to stand before God and be asked to give an account without Jesus and that day is coming for all of us.  Yet, there is nothing more awe-inspiring, more worship-inducing than for sinful men and women to stand before God with Jesus.  See b/c Jesus tells us how it plays out in Lk. 15.  Before we (the prodigals) even get to the pearly gates, our Father comes running and kisses us and says, “Welcome home.”  And you, as the prodigal, look over at your faithful older brother Jesus Christ, who was held accountable for everything that you ever did wrong or should have done.  Every time you feared man more than God and did something really stupid, he was held accountable.  Your sin has been wiped off the books by your brother, your redeemer.  And you look and you worship.  And you look around and you realize you aren’t alone, but you’re with the most diverse crowd of brothers and sisters from every tongue and tribe and nation.  All terror is gone; only worship remains.

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