1 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,840 We're going to continue our study in Luke, the Gospel of 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:15,480 Luke, following Jesus as he goes on a journey to the cross that 3 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,400 will be in this journey with him from Luke Chapter 9 all the way 4 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,600 to his crucifixion that we'll celebrate on Good Friday. 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,800 And I've heard it said that the the word is timeless, but it's 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:31,600 always timely. What a what a timely passage of 7 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,200 Scripture we find ourselves in today. 8 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,320 Luke chapter 12 is where we're going to be. 9 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,880 And it's really Jesus teaching on one of the most important and 10 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:43,880 repeated themes in the entire Bible. 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,360 And he's going to give us a lesson that is, I think, much 12 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,160 needed always, but especially for the times that we're living 13 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:58,280 in. And that is the lesson of not 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,000 fearing. It's one of the most repeated 15 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,880 phrases throughout Scripture is God telling his people not to be 16 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,200 afraid. And Jesus will take his 17 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:15,080 disciples on this journey towards the cross with the cross 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,360 intimate and give them a moment to hear this lesson for their 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,720 lives. Once again, don't be afraid, 20 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,240 don't worry, trust God. And and I say it's timely 21 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,960 because although this is a message that we always need to 22 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:35,640 hear for our daily lives, it's a message that I think we need to 23 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,760 also represent to a world in the crosshairs. 24 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:45,240 As you just continue to turn on the news and just see what the 25 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,840 the topics of conversation are in the culture that we live in, 26 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,160 It is to becoming too commonplace for there to be 27 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:58,040 another tragedy, another rumor of war, another moment where on 28 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:03,440 the horizon line is economic collapse or the the things that 29 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,360 we're so worried are going to happen presented to us in the 30 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,560 form of headline news. And no doubt there's headline 31 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,080 news stirring right now for another tragedy that is befell 32 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,040 our country. And today we look at the, the 33 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,720 gospel of Luke in this perfect moment where Jesus doesn't just 34 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,320 say, don't worry, he teaches how to cure worry. 35 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,840 I've, I've often compared, you know, the preaching of the Bible 36 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,600 to a, a time where you would go and visit a doctor because a 37 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,520 doctor is going to look at your symptoms and he's going to give 38 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,320 you the medicine that you need for your symptoms. 39 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,680 Well, a preacher is going to look at your symptoms and he's 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:42,240 going to give you a passage of scripture. 41 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,880 And this is the passage of Scripture that will medicate 42 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,800 worry in your life. And to do that it is not just 43 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,320 masking worry. Jesus doesn't just say, you 44 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,840 know, don't worry and and move on with your life. 45 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:57,440 Grit your teeth and clench your fists. 46 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,680 He actually is going to give us an an entirely new way to view 47 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,760 the world so that worry can be overcome a new perspective. 48 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,360 It, it is a fundamental necessity to navigate the world 49 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,800 you're living in as a believer to, has have a perspective given 50 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,320 to you by Jesus. And for this lesson, I, I, I, I 51 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,960 can share once again from the mouth of babes. 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,760 Not long ago I was reading the Grinch. 53 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,600 And so I'm going to use a Christmas story because I know 54 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,080 some of you still have your Christmas decorations up. 55 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:30,600 So this is for you. We're on the same page. 56 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:35,480 I was reading the Grinch. And to be fair to my youngest 57 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,000 child, when you really think about the story of the Grinch, 58 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,000 it's, it's actually kind of terrifying. 59 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,200 It's about a a prowler and a home intruder who's dressed up 60 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,920 to steal everything in your house. 61 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,560 And it it dawned on me how terrifying it would be from the 62 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,360 mind of a child. As my youngest said to me, can 63 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,880 you stop reading? This is scaring me and I don't 64 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,040 want to have nightmares. He gets halfway through the book 65 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,360 and to his credit, I thought about and I thought, you know 66 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:03,920 what? Maybe I should stop reading. 67 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,440 And then his sister said something that I share with you 68 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,960 now. She said don't worry, He 69 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,560 actually turns out to be a pretty good guy. 70 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,040 And this is the lesson on worry that Jesus is actually going to 71 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:21,640 help us understand. When you understand the end of 72 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:28,040 the story, the middle details aren't so scary. 73 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,840 When you understand where the storyline is going, all of the 74 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:36,160 things that stir in you, worry and fear of uncertainty, 75 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,480 unknown, become just facts of the matter on your way to the 76 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,120 final destination. And if you're a believer in 77 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,840 Jesus, we are people of the end of the story. 78 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,360 And so with that in mind, I want to share with you and not only 79 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,000 Jesus teaching our worry, but some of the harder sayings of 80 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,240 Jesus. Remember their series. 81 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,600 Our goal is to look at not just the highlight reel of the 82 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,640 gospel, but to to look at the teachings of Jesus that are 83 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,680 often overlooked. These are hard sayings. 84 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:09,200 In fact, if not, if not consumed correctly, you're going to 85 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,200 listen to Jesus speaking about worrying. 86 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,960 And it could inducing you more worry because he's going to stir 87 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,480 in US topics that sometimes without proper perspective cause 88 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,960 us some spiritual startlings. But He's going to share with us 89 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,200 different things that right now, if you're honest with who you 90 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:31,000 really are, are some of the core reasons that you worry in your 91 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,560 life, some of the core fears that you may wrestle with, some 92 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,240 things that you may have already wrestled with. 93 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,520 Just walking into a sanctuary this morning to hear the Bible 94 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,360 preached. And Jesus is going to give us 95 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,480 each time a perspective that will shift us away from the 96 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,120 details that are right in front of us, causing us uncertain 97 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,240 worry into a hope that can help us navigate anything that this 98 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,880 world has for you. So join me in Luke chapter 12. 99 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,360 We'll start in verse one. It says in the meantime, when an 100 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,480 innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that 101 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,400 they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples, 102 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,800 first of all, beware, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, 103 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,800 which is hypocrisy. First topic on the table that 104 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,720 Jesus is going to help his disciples navigate is hypocrisy, 105 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:25,120 which could also be really seen as the fear of people's opinions 106 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,640 of you. At the root of hypocrisy there 107 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,920 is a fear of losing public opinion or people's approval. 108 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,560 The the core issue with hypocrisy is pride. 109 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:41,360 But deep down into why there are temptations in all of us to live 110 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,360 a certain way before people and a certain way in our private 111 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,280 life is because that we fear what people think about us. 112 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,000 And yet, before we get to how Jesus is going to help them 113 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,520 overcome this, look at what we already read, the setup of the 114 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,080 whole scene, he said. Meanwhile, as people gathered 115 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,280 around him and trampled on one another, there are huge crowds 116 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:04,280 of people following Jesus wherever he went. 117 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,640 The the the message and the power of Jesus on display for 118 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,920 his earthly ministry caused people to rush to him to hear 119 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,760 his teaching to be healed of sickness and disease. 120 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,120 And as Jesus sees people trampling one another, he sees 121 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,400 the crowds, he sees the people that are coming to get the thing 122 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:26,760 from Jesus. It says that he says to his 123 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,280 disciples. So on the onset, what I have to 124 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,280 remind all of us of is the perspective that will help you 125 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,000 overcome fear that Jesus will offer his disciples will not 126 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,520 work unless you're a disciple. This is not a message that can 127 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:48,320 be presented to a nation that is hurting and mourning the death 128 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,200 of someone they love or a nation on the brink of war and rumors 129 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,440 of war. To present this to the crowd, 130 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,240 we'll have the rejection of the crowd. 131 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,520 This is a message as all messages are from Jesus. 132 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,480 He says, if you're my disciple, this will work. 133 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,000 So he pulls his disciples and he says, first of all, I want you 134 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:12,600 to be so aware and beware a warning of hypocrisy. 135 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,560 I don't need to unpack hypocrisy a ton for you. 136 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,600 You've probably heard it said that Jesus is, is calling on an 137 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,680 ancient reference point to those who act and put on a mask and 138 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,320 it's an actor's mask. You all know what hypocrisy is. 139 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,240 I I know that when even saying and preaching on hypocrisy, 140 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:32,559 there is something inside of me that feels totally unworthy to 141 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:37,960 preach on it because all of us fall short of the righteous 142 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,919 standards we're called to. So when we say beware of 143 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:44,920 hypocrisy, we're not saying beware of failing in your life 144 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,320 and not living up to your own standards. 145 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:52,440 What we're saying is beware of faking life, which is something 146 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,880 we all need to hear in the temptation to present a life 147 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,880 doing better than it actually is. 148 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:01,040 I think that's one of the reasons so many of us have a 149 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,280 disdain for the the way that people present their lives 150 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,720 online. It just seems like a bunch of 151 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,040 photos of happy, smiley, shiny, polished people that don't match 152 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:16,160 the reality of real life. And we can fake marriage. 153 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,720 We can fake success. And ultimately what Jesus is 154 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,240 getting at is we can fake righteousness. 155 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,160 We can pretend that we're doing well in front of people in 156 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,160 settings like this. You all are perfectly righteous 157 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:32,800 right now, being very good listeners, slow to speak, quick 158 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,600 to listen. Book of James executed perfectly 159 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,400 and yet this really tells us nothing of who we actually are. 160 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,840 And how does the fear of people's approval get overcome 161 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:51,720 in the teachings of Jesus? He says it gets overcome in 162 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,920 verse 2. For there is nothing covered 163 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:59,600 that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 164 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,200 Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard 165 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,680 in the light, and whatever you have spoken in the ear in the 166 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:10,320 inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 167 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:16,080 This, as stated previously, is something that can actually 168 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:20,080 induce worry in you if you really take seriously what Jesus 169 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,720 is saying. He's saying there is nothing 170 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,680 that you have said or thought or done or whispered or kept to 171 00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:31,040 your private life away from the light that will not ultimately 172 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,440 come out. And so just very practically, 173 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:39,440 let me call all of us to the humility that would listen to 174 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:44,240 Jesus warning about hypocrisy. One, it's he says it's 11. 175 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,480 It spreads. It starts small and then it 176 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,840 spreads. Sin grows in the dark. 177 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:55,680 Sin is something that always offers you an enticing first 178 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,400 glance and then it always rips you off and takes more than it 179 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:05,040 promises. And and This is why another day, 180 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,040 another Christian leader who has failed us. 181 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,120 It's only a matter of time if if you've let read the headline 182 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,680 news in the last month, you've heard of an author that has 183 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:16,960 failed the Christian Kingdom. You've heard of a so-called 184 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:20,240 prophet that has failed the Christian Kingdom and this is 185 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,880 how it happens. We think how did someone have an 186 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:24,840 8 year affair apart from his marriage? 187 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,040 How did someone spend years giving fake prophecies and, and, 188 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,240 and getting someone to to believe and, and give to his 189 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,560 ministry on behalf of himself? It starts small. 190 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,680 It starts with a little bit of hypocrisy and then it grows and 191 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:40,800 it grows and it grows. Jesus says beware. 192 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,200 And here's the ultimate challenge. 193 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:50,400 The truth always comes to light, and that can be fearful. 194 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,840 Some of you, as I said, were challenged just to enter into a 195 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,440 church because one of the things you're worried about in church 196 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,080 is that when people really get to know you, you really won't be 197 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,280 accepted. If people really knew what you 198 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,040 were up to last night, last week, last year, the track 199 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,000 record of your life, if they saw the depths of who you really 200 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,200 were, they would run. And so many people keep Jesus at 201 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,160 a distance and people at a distance. 202 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,520 But here's the great news. All of us have felt that at a 203 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,280 certain time, all of us have been presented with an 204 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,240 opportunity to confess. And not all of us have been 205 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:31,680 given the opportunity to humble ourselves and admit our failures 206 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:34,240 and repent of them and pretended things were fine. 207 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:37,680 And it goes all the way back to the beginning of mankind. 208 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:44,040 When you read the Fall of Man, you read about a man and a woman 209 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:50,200 who sinned and it says because they were afraid, they hid. 210 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,600 And in their hiding you have the most beautiful preview of the 211 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:59,120 gospel, the good news that you can overcome the fear of public 212 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,400 opinion. In their hiding. 213 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:05,280 God says, where are you? No, he wasn't playing hide and 214 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:07,760 seek and he wasn't lost. They didn't they didn't lose 215 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,720 him. What He was saying is I still 216 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:16,000 see you and I want to talk. And that is the message that we 217 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,680 can start with an overcoming of the fear of who you really are 218 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,440 and bringing it to the light to live before God. 219 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:29,680 He already knows who you are. Not coming into a sanctuary does 220 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:33,400 not prevent you from living under the sovereign God who 221 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:35,880 knows every detail of your thoughts. 222 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,920 He knows sins that you have forgotten about. 223 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,280 He knows failures that you have neglected. 224 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:46,640 He knows everything about you. And yet, as you will see in this 225 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:54,320 message, the beautiful teaching of Jesus is that he still loves 226 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,000 you. This is a perspective that's 227 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,600 giving us a a call to the view of the end of the story of your 228 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,440 lives. There's coming a day where your 229 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,000 life will be shouted on the rooftops, where everything about 230 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:08,640 you will be presented before God. 231 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:14,840 And we believe in a God who knows you and journeyed to the 232 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,280 cross anyway. You need not fear the light. 233 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,520 You need not fear the the the Lord who says come and beware of 234 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,760 hypocrisy. And the good news is, you'd also 235 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,160 don't have to be sad, disappointed and angered when 236 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,320 hypocrisy is brought to the light, because it is in fact 237 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,080 part of the design and promise of Jesus. 238 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,120 Every time someone you looked up to and every time someone that 239 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,400 was a leader, and every time the the surprising news that 240 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,440 someone's failure is being exposed, it is under the 241 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:49,680 knowledge that God himself has done it. 242 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,960 You need not fear what people think of you, because God knows 243 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,080 the depths of you and still loves you. 244 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,760 So the fear of public opinion is the first way we overcome. 245 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:10,760 And then he says this verse 4. And I say to you, my friends, do 246 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:15,280 not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no 247 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,280 more they can do to you. But I will show you whom you 248 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:25,480 should fear. Fear him who after he has killed 249 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:35,240 has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him once 250 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:40,080 again, if the perspective doesn't shift, if there is not 251 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:44,840 an eternal perspective, that there is a heavenly Father, that 252 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,880 there is something more to your life than this life itself, This 253 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:50,880 is actually a fear that could induce fear. 254 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:58,000 But what Jesus is saying is part of the call of discipleship to 255 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,760 follow him all the way to the end. 256 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,800 Isn't this interesting? And the more you study the 257 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,280 person of Jesus, the more you respect how different he is all 258 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,920 together than most people. Jesus seemingly is at the peak 259 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,600 of his popularity. Jesus has people rushing to him. 260 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,640 He just got done eating dinner at A at a house, and now people 261 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,720 are just surrounding the house. Everyone wants to be around him. 262 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,960 And he uses this opportunity not to talk about his popularity and 263 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,280 all of the ways that he's got plans to do great things in his 264 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,320 name. What he wants to say is that 265 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,680 there's actually a real threat of death that he wants to help 266 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,240 people overcome. And this is a perfect example of 267 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,480 knowing the end of the story. Look, look what he says. 268 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:55,040 Don't be afraid of those who kill the body and have no more 269 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,560 they can do to you, which means to overcome fear, you have to 270 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,640 look at your fear and go all the way to the end of the story. 271 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:05,839 Now put death on hold for a moment and think about just 272 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,000 other practical fears of your life. 273 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,240 Certainly you can go to the end of your story as you look back 274 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,760 to some of your childhood fears. And you thought it was going to 275 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,560 be the end of the world and now you're here. 276 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:18,119 It never was the end of the world. 277 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:21,880 I can once again, I'm I'm, I'm a pastor and a dad. 278 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,040 So I will share stories of me just teaching the end of fear to 279 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,160 my kids on the way to school. We had to swing into Albertson's 280 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,840 this week. And I sent them in to get some 281 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,320 food for lunch. And they said, are you going to 282 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:36,920 come in? I said, no, you guys got this, 283 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,880 which for our culture nowadays, they're like, we can't go into a 284 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,560 store without you. And I said, sure, you can. 285 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,080 And they said, well, what if a stranger talks to us? 286 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:47,280 I said, well, run away if you need to. 287 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,920 And they said, well, what if I can't find it? 288 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,720 I said, well, go talk to talk to somebody wearing a name tag. 289 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,000 And they said, well, what if we can't figure out how to pay? 290 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:55,960 I said, well, here's a credit card. 291 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,040 You're just waving in front of those things now and they pay. 292 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,440 They had all their questions and all their fears and you know, 293 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:04,280 these are childhood fears, all of the what ifs. 294 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,120 And then they come out running with, you know, the bag of 295 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,640 groceries in their hand because they overcame all of these what 296 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,520 ifs. That to you guys, you haven't 297 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,360 thought about those things in 30 years. 298 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,880 When was the last time you were afraid to go into a grocery 299 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,200 store? As you mature in Christ you will 300 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,360 go down the same Rd. You will look back on your life 301 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:27,400 and you think, why was I afraid of that? 302 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:32,280 How did I ever. Why was I ever afraid that if I 303 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,920 stood up for Jesus that some of my classmates in high school 304 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,160 wouldn't like me? Well back then you didn't 305 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,360 realize that high school popularity wasn't the end of 306 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,200 your life. Now you realize the worst thing 307 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,240 that could ever happen to you is to peak in high school. 308 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:52,200 It's like the best thing that you overcame and Jesus it says 309 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,640 at the end of your fear you stand up for me, you live for 310 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,280 me, you do the Kingdom things and all of you will be tested in 311 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,680 this this week. If you radically lived a non 312 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:09,040 hypocritical life and you praise Jesus as loud in your life as 313 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,800 you did in the sanctuary, you would be faced with the fear 314 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,440 that people might hurt you for it. 315 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,920 Your teacher might not like it. Your coach may bench you, your 316 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:19,440 neighbor might think you're weird. 317 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,240 All of those things go to the end of the fear and say So what? 318 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,080 So what if all of those things happen now? 319 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:29,680 Jesus says now go to the very end. 320 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,920 And this is where your actual belief in God hits the road. 321 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,400 Paul says if there's no resurrection of the dead, we are 322 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,720 the most to be pitied. And This is why, because to 323 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:47,000 overcome the earthly fears of this life, you have to have 324 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,400 eternal perspective of a life after. 325 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,760 If you look at the headline news and the tragic reports of death 326 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,560 and rumors of war, and you have no vision for life after this 327 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:04,680 life, be afraid. But as soon as you start to live 328 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,280 your life with the only perspective that Jesus can help 329 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:13,280 you with, that this life is not worth the investment of your 330 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:14,800 money and your time and your life. 331 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,640 The only way you can follow Him is to have a joy. 332 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:22,080 Joy that goes beyond the cross. I'll tell you who to fear. 333 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,720 Fear him. Who after he has, after you've 334 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,120 been killed, has the power to send you to hell. 335 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,120 I said early on the onset, this is not for the crowd. 336 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:42,280 This is not a perspective that I can preach to an aching country 337 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,160 that does not know Jesus and does not know the power of his 338 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,160 suffering and resurrection. He said, now I speak to my 339 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,800 disciples. If you're a disciple of Christ, 340 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,000 what's the worst they can do to you? 341 00:20:56,160 --> 00:21:02,680 They cannot send you to hell. They cannot take your life and 342 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,120 take your name and remove it from the book of heaven. 343 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,520 It says in First Thessalonians, I do not you want you to be 344 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,040 ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. 345 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:18,160 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so God 346 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:26,320 will bring him with him. Those who sleep in Jesus, your 347 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:31,120 death is not the end. And as that theology grows into 348 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:35,400 your heart and becomes a perspective of your life, fear 349 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,120 will diminish. As your eternal perspective 350 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,400 grows, your earthly fears will shrink. 351 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:50,960 And This is why throughout this I'm reminding you that if not 352 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,640 read properly, not understood properly, you are replacing one 353 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,480 fear. 1 unhealthy fear for another. 354 00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,480 There are some who have a fear of hell and they have a fear of 355 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,600 condemnation and they know all too well that God has the power 356 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,760 to judge their lives. And they've replaced the fear of 357 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,280 people judging them to the fear of God judging them. 358 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,040 And This is why Jesus is making it so clear throughout this 359 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,840 entire teaching that God is for you. 360 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,800 Verse 6 are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 copper coins and not one 361 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:29,280 of them is forgotten before God? This is an argument called from 362 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:35,200 the lesser to the greater. If God values small birds that 363 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,600 are worth pennies and His in His sovereignty and His view of all 364 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,040 of creation, not one small Sparrow can fall to the ground 365 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:50,640 without God's scene. How much more does He value His 366 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,920 image bearer? It says, but the hairs of your 367 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,120 head are all numbered. Do not fear. 368 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:03,400 Therefore, you are more valuable than sparrows. 369 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:14,000 There is a simple message that I deliver you in a message rooted 370 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,080 in helping you understand the peace that God offers you and 371 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,640 the fear that you will be dragged into without the 372 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:22,280 perspective of eternity in your life. 373 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:28,480 God values your life. You are not here by accident. 374 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,400 You are not here begrudgingly. You, you did not, you know, 375 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:37,200 overcome your fear to talk God into giving you a message of 376 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,560 hope and eternity. You are here because the 377 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,040 sovereign God knows the details of your life and he has 378 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,400 orchestrated your ears to this message. 379 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,720 You are valuable, he says. If you knew the God of eternity 380 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,600 that created all things, if you knew he valued you, I can tell 381 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:03,920 you now, don't be afraid. And now he goes on to give us a 382 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,320 test of who you fear. You know, the, the, the 383 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,400 beginning of this was a call into the light. 384 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,600 Trust God with the depths of who you are. 385 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,320 And then a confidence that whatever this world throws at 386 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,200 you, you're living for a world beyond this one. 387 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,120 And now here's a test of your life. 388 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,360 Here is your ability to measure this for what it looks like for 389 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,960 you to live this out. He says also I say to you, 390 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:34,040 whoever confesses me before men, him the Son of Man also will 391 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:35,960 confess before the angels of God. 392 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:41,160 That is a picture of final judgement before the angels of 393 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:45,680 God in the in the throne room of his grace and all of eternity. 394 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:50,880 As you confess Christ on earth, He will confess you as one of 395 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,320 His redeemed before the angels in heaven. 396 00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:00,000 But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels 397 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,760 of God. Now here's your test. 398 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,080 And what I don't think this is saying is to require you to look 399 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,960 back on the journey of your life as follower of Jesus or a 400 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,040 believer in God and think back to a a time where you were weak 401 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,360 in the faith and denied knowing Jesus or didn't bear the name of 402 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:19,600 Christian. This is not a trivial moment 403 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:25,120 that Jesus is saying. Jesus is giving you a rubric by 404 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:33,160 which you measure your life by. Tozier puts it this way. 405 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:37,400 The biggest problem in the church today is not atheism, but 406 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:42,280 practical atheism that lives as if God did not actually exist. 407 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:45,000 He is not present in your private life. 408 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:46,960 He is not worthy of your public praise. 409 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,360 He is not concerned with your real life problems. 410 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,520 You believe God exists, but you don't live as though He is real. 411 00:25:55,480 --> 00:26:01,160 You live as though you are not confessing the one hope, the one 412 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:03,920 truth, and the one life that you have in Christ. 413 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,320 Here's what denial might look like as we wrestle with living 414 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,800 in a world where professing Jesus may actually come at a 415 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,920 cost to your life. Denial may look like just living 416 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,600 an ambiguous life. You confess Him as we sing our 417 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,520 songs and you appreciate the teachings. 418 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:27,000 But you live your life. And when you go into the world 419 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:31,080 that you actually live in, no one actually knows who your Lord 420 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,160 and Savior is. You're ambiguous. 421 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,160 Denying him might look like you just being totally neutral 422 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:44,000 because Jesus will never actually fit perfectly into 423 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,040 anyone, fallen world, culture, anytime or any place. 424 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,600 He will always go against the grain of the currents of culture 425 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,240 that are hardening their heart towards God. 426 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:58,400 There will be moments where to live for Jesus means to stand 427 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:03,560 out morally, biblically, profoundly against the ways of 428 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,960 the world. And yet so many of us live 429 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,120 neutral as though we're doing God a favor by singing his 430 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:11,640 praises. And then we can go back to the 431 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:14,480 safe life of not ever offending anyone. 432 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:20,120 Denying him might look like someone who is totally 433 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:22,760 comfortable in the world we live in. 434 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:29,280 And for this simple measurement of whether or not you're living 435 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,160 for Christ, I'll just remind you of the journey of scripture that 436 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,680 we're on. We are walking towards the 437 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:39,640 cross. As we began this series, Jesus 438 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:41,600 looked at some potential disciples and said, you're not 439 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,680 worthy of following me. You're still thinking about your 440 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,600 your earthly patriarchy and your your earthly plow that you want 441 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:50,480 to mess with your fields and your earthly friends. 442 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,240 Following Jesus cost you something. 443 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,520 Following Jesus means people know that you're a Jesus 444 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:01,000 follower because you're willing to stand up for the ways of 445 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,160 Jesus to be a light in the dark of the world. 446 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,760 And because of that, confessing Jesus means that when you 447 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,640 confess Jesus, men might deny you. 448 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,280 And that is now a nerve of fear for all of us. 449 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,360 What does it look like to actually confess Jesus with your 450 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:26,960 life? Jesus will go on to say in verse 451 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,600 10, anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will 452 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,040 be forgiven to him, but to him who blasphemes against the Holy 453 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:38,880 Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now the goal of this sermon 454 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:43,280 series was to to to walk through the hard passages and this might 455 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:46,560 be one of the hardest passages to understand an unforgivable 456 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:48,760 sin. A. 457 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,320 A Another passage that when reading this might cause some of 458 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,560 you to worry and fear because of the teachings of Jesus. 459 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:03,400 And without doing an entire sermon on what this is getting 460 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,440 at, let me just read to you a summary of where I think this 461 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,160 might help us. Blasphemy against the Holy 462 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,880 Spirit is the settled, willful, and informed rejection of the 463 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:18,360 Holy Spirit's testimony to Christ, resulting in a hardened 464 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,880 refusal to repent and receive forgiveness. 465 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:27,760 The unforgivable sin lies not in God's unwillingness to forgive, 466 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:33,080 but in man's refusal to receive forgiveness offered freely by 467 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:36,440 Christ through the testimony of the Holy Spirit. 468 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,960 One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit in your life in this 469 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:49,200 place is to testify of the power of Jesus Christ, is to give you 470 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,240 the assurance that you are forgiven, to give you the free 471 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:58,000 gift to open your heart as the Word speaks into your life. 472 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,280 If you reject it, you're not rejecting me. 473 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,680 You're not saying I didn't like that guy. 474 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:07,200 So I'm going to go on my way as God brings you messengers and 475 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,320 witnesses that are filled with the Holy Spirit to give you a 476 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,400 call into this perspective of eternity. 477 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:18,200 To reject the Holy Spirit is to reject Jesus coming into your 478 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,520 life. And to reject Jesus, to reject 479 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,280 the power of his forgiveness and the grace of the new life that 480 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,920 he offers you is a sin that will haunt you for eternity. 481 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:38,120 And so with that in mind, even now, if that worries you, if you 482 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,880 think if I ever done that, there's a great opportunity for 483 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:45,240 you to overcome that fear. If the Holy Spirit is speaking, 484 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:50,480 submit your heart to him. No doubt a message on hypocrisy 485 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,480 should meet some of us with some areas of our life where we need 486 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,440 reform. If the Holy Spirit is becking 487 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,640 you into the light, come into the light. 488 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:04,560 Repent of your sin and confess if the Holy Spirit is speaking 489 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:09,360 to you about what you actually fear about your perspectives on 490 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,800 this world, if you're actually living for eternity, if you're 491 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,760 living for some man made Kingdom, may the Holy Spirit 492 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,240 have power to shape your mind and your heart. 493 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,640 And the good news is that there is a promise that the Holy 494 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:28,160 Spirit is going to be with all of us as we leave this place and 495 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,080 navigate whatever God has for us to overcome our fear with this 496 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:33,680 promise of eternity in our minds. 497 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,080 It says in verse 11 of Luke chapter 12. 498 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:40,160 Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and 499 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:44,760 authorities, don't worry about how or what you should answer or 500 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,200 what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in 501 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,600 that very hour what you ought to say. 502 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:55,840 For any of this to work, we have to be people who go beyond 503 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,720 sitting in a sanctuary taking notes and thinking through what 504 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:02,280 this might look like to be empowered by the Spirit of God 505 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:04,920 to overcome the ways of this world. 506 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,280 For for people who have the Holy Spirit, there is an incredible 507 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:17,120 hope that shrinks fear for people who have gods the power 508 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,120 of his spirit, giving them the lens to view this world. 509 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:25,960 You will be given the the peace that surpasses your 510 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:27,880 understanding and rejects all your worry. 511 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,800 So this message can be come as simple as you saying, Lord, I 512 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:36,520 want your Holy Spirit. I don't want to live in fear and 513 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,360 worry and anxiety of the world I live in and the future that 514 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,880 haunts me. I want to trust that wherever 515 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:47,480 I'm going, you will be with me. And maybe to just encourage you, 516 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,640 I'll share one story about what this might look like in all of 517 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:56,840 our lives. There is a a hero of the modern 518 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,920 faith named Corey Temboom. And you want to talk about a 519 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:07,200 woman who overcame fear with an eternal perspective, the ways 520 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,880 that she laid her life down. And if you don't know her story, 521 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,120 she laid her life down to protect Jewish people that were 522 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:18,000 being rounded up and taken to concentration camps by smuggling 523 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,200 them and hiding them in her house. 524 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,560 She eventually went to a concentration camp and then 525 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,840 smuggled Bibles in to preach the gospel. 526 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:26,480 And she lived the rest of her life sharing the good news of 527 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,760 Jesus as she offered forgiveness even to her captors. 528 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,920 And you wonder how someone could live such a fearless life. 529 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,040 Well, so did she. She actually tells a story of 530 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:43,560 when she was a little girl, she asked her dad how she would ever 531 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:48,120 be able to overcome moments where she didn't have faith to 532 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:49,960 do something hard. Have you ever felt that way? 533 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:52,120 There's hard things that await for us. 534 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,280 We're living in a time of perilous fear. 535 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,320 And you're being sent out as sheep among wolves to have hope 536 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,400 beating eternal in the spite of fear. 537 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:00,760 And you think, how could I do this? 538 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,960 And he answered with her this. He said, Corey when you take a 539 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,199 train trip, when do I give you the money for the ticket? 540 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:14,600 And she and he said, do I give it to you 3 weeks before or just 541 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:17,719 before you get on the train? And Corey answered, well just 542 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:19,159 before I get on the train, you give me the money. 543 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:21,480 And her father replied, that's right. 544 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:25,719 And our wise Father in heaven knows when things are going to 545 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:29,040 happen to us. Don't run ahead of him when the 546 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,320 when the time comes for you to suffer for his name, He will 547 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,080 give you the strength you need just in time. 548 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,280 This is a message that should give all of us confidence that 549 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,000 as we leave this place. If we truly believe in a living 550 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:49,840 God that is with us that loves us, that says don't fear. 551 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:55,280 I'm with you that if you really believe that no matter what 552 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:59,240 awaits you out this place, God will give you the grace in the 553 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:03,560 moment to be bold for His name if you just have the faith of a 554 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,480 child. Amen. 555 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:11,880 The big idea is that fear will shrink as eternity grows. 556 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,240 So may we be people who celebrate that as we do what we 557 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:21,040 do every week, we will proclaim His death as we wait for His 558 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,840 return. We proclaim His death to 559 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,840 remember that yes, in fact, the King of the Creation and the 560 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,960 Judge of all of our lives desires that none would perish. 561 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:34,680 And He proved his love by sending His Son to die on our 562 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,200 behalf. You are more valuable than the 563 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,600 sparrows. We proclaim His death until He 564 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,760 comes, and that is the end of the story. 565 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:49,160 The end of the story is not a great revival of the golden age 566 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,600 of America. The end of the story is not that 567 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,760 all wars will, you know, stop happening until peace on earth 568 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,720 by mankind is 1. The end of the story is that 569 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:07,640 Christ is on His way and when He comes, every knee will bow and 570 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,880 every tongue confess that He is Lord and we will live in perfect 571 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:14,920 peace. Thanks for joining us today. 572 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,960 If you would like to watch the full service, check out the link 573 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:20,800 in the description. For next steps and to learn 574 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,040 more, visit calvaryboise.com.