Living Waters Christian Fellowship - Lake Nacimiento - California

53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,
54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

12:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
3 “Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
9 “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Introduction Jesus encourages us to love Him, love others, and to be real, genuine, consistent, not hypocritical. This is true, genuine Christianity. Those who promote true, genuine Christianity in this world often come under criticism, opposition, persecution, even martyrdom. Then there may be a temptation to bail on genuine Christianity and fall back into the business as usual of hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy works two ways - claiming but not being, or being but not claiming. To honor God in this world, we need to have both; a consistent integrity in our lives.

We should be more aware and concerned about what God thinks than what people think; about what God can do to us than what people can do. We must be loyal to Jesus in our whole lives, with integrity, not hypocrisy. “Fear, do not fear.”

So because He loves us, and wants us to be able to be real, be ourselves, be healed, come into a life of loving Him and truly loving other people, Jesus challenges hypocrisy. When hypocrisy is challenged, and genuine godliness is encouraged, it can cause a bad reaction, because they are exposed and the religious game is up. Resistance, even demonic outrage.

In ch 11 He charged the religious rulers with unbelief, refusal to repent, inner wickedness, wrong priorities, lack of love toward God and other people, honoring prophets and those who killed the prophets, imposing religious requirements but refusing to help people actually become more godly, hiding the key of knowledge.

They reacted by wanting to trap and kill him. When we are having our little reactions, we should be aware that we will be held accountable, and there will be consequences. So fear God, do not fear man.

1. Jesus and His people may be persecuted v53-54, 11-12

53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,
54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

God’s true people have always been persecuted with a Satanic backlash to our lives and our message, our loyalty to God, and our encouragement of others. Religious persecution is a real issue in the world today. VOM

2. In persecution, Jesus is still worthy of our loyalty v8

8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

When there is a high price to pay for being a Christian, we may have a tendency to downplay our faith, be secretive about it, or even to deny Him as Peter did.

But this is not God’s will. He wants us to be loyal, even bold, and trust Him for the outcome - to deliver us, either in this life, or to reward us in Heaven.

Bishop Polycarp, before being burned at the stake, “For 86 years I have served him, and he has never wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King and Savior?”

3. There are serious consequences for not being loyal to Jesus v4-9

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!
6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
9 “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

This is serious. Notice:

God is paying attention to our lives.

God knows if we are disloyal to Jesus, renounce our only Savior, we cannot be saved

If we are not saved, Hell is the result

He wants to be able to confess us in Heaven, save us from Hell

We need a healthy fear of renouncing Jesus, falling away

4. Ways we can demonstrate loyalty to Jesus

a. Fear God more than men v4-5

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

b. Recognize our value to God v6-7

6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

c. Confess Him before men v8-12

8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
9 “But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
12 “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Should I claim to be a Christian without really being one, when it suits me?

Should I be a genuine Christian, but not admit it, when it suits me? No, it should be both/and. He gave everthing to be loyal to us and save us. We should be willing to give all to be loyal to Him.

5. A warning to the persecutors

a. Religious leaders

53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,
54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.

11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

Who are the persecutors today? Muslim Imams, preachers of hatred and violence. Hindu radicals, who chained and burned missionary and sons. Communist dictators. Militant atheists. Vicious liberal professors who will give a student a bad grade just for what they believe about God, or creation, or morality, and negatively affect his/her future.

I am getting really tired of some people in this world thinking they have the right to control every aspect of other people’s lives.
The ultimate outrage is when they demand control of your mind. No one on this planet has the right to tell another human being what to think or what to believe in his or her heart.

We as Christian leaders may try to convince or encourage, but we must not threaten or persecute or incite violence against someone for what they do or do not believe.

b. Murderous

4 “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

From Cain to the AntiChrist

c. Speak against God

10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

d. Not forgiven v10

10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

6. There is great reward in being loyal to Jesus v6-7, Matt 5:10-12, John 15:17-16:4

John 15
17 “These things I command you, that you love one another.
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 “He who hates Me hates My Father also.
24 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.
25 “But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
27 “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
16:1 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
2 “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
3 “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
4 “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Luke 11
6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

Matthew 5
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Conclusion Will you join the line with Jesus, the apostles and prophets, and God’s people of all ages who have given all for Jesus?