Luke 12:1-12

When all else fails, we can take comfort in the fact that God is all knowing, including our motives, and the life that we live. The religious leaders had a character disconnect from who they really were. But, Jesus will not elevate the proud.

Father, we ask you Lord that this morning that you would lead us as it were in the season change that we can feel the seasons a little bit.
Anyway, in southern California changing outside, there’s a Christmas to the air.
We ask you father that this morning you would be our strength, our power and father that you would speak to our hearts this morning on this very serious gripping but well, much needed beneficial message that Jesus lays out to us this morning.
Lord bless the going forth of your word.
We ask you now in Jesus name and all God’s people said, amen.
Listen, grab your bibles this morning and turn to Luke’s Gospel chapter 12 this morning.
Luke chapter 12, it’s a miracle, but we are in Luke 12.
And boy, I got to tell you, you’re gonna wish we were back in Luke 11 after we get into Luke 12 here today.
Why is it intensifying? Remember several weeks ago, I mentioned to you that the Ministry of Jesus now had left the region of Galilee and he’s heading southward towards Jerusalem.
He’s nearing the end of his earthly life.
He knows that he’s been telling his disciples in the gospels that the son of man will be betrayed and sold into the hands of sinful men and be crucified.
But on the third day, be risen from the dead. He kept warning them.
The Bible says they didn’t hear him about that. They weren’t listening, they didn’t get it, they didn’t believe it.
And I understand that they were so in absolute awe of who and what Jesus Christ was and is, and they were overwhelmed and they just didn’t register to them that suffering pain and death was on the agenda.
They didn’t see him as the one who had first come as the suffering servant, but they only saw him as the one who would be the ruling king.
He is the ruling king, but the physical establishment of his kingdom is not yet. It’s coming.
Jesus first would go and die for our sins. So this morning’s message is entitled Christian.
When all else fails, will you jot that down please?
When all else fails Christian, there’s hope for us when all else fails.
And when God speaks to us, he speaks out of his word. The Lord never contradicts his Bible.
The Bible is the most important thing that you can embark upon daily.
It is the witness by the way of the gospels, the four of them that give us great challenge as to why we should always consider God’s word, the gospels, four of them.
Matthew, Mark Luke and John are spoken to us by the Holy Spirit working through these men of God from four different angles, never contradicting themselves.
But rather as you know, by now, an overlay of God’s revealed word.
One gospel does not Trump, the other one is not more important than the other.
We understand the revelation of God concerning Jesus Christ, his nature and his doctrine.
When we begin to look at the gospel message, either be it Matthew Mark or Luke or John.
But when we look at all four gospels overlaid as it were a map, one on top of another, we see a very powerful, clear revelation of God.
And so it’s very important by the way that we see the brilliant presentations of the Lord’s message to us and His existence.
Three things you don’t need to write this down.
It’s just in the introductory part, it’s important to where we’re going.
Three things that we ought to always consider when we think about God’s revelation, especially through the gospels is that it is the Lord that’s communicating to mankind.
The gospel evangel is good news. The word means good news.
God’s word announces it’s good news to all mankind. Keep that in mind of where we’re going today.
Number two, that God keeps his word, my friend. He will never, never change his word.
That’s good news because the promises God makes, he will not negotiate or resend them. He won’t take them back.
God’s word. He keeps the psalmist said under the inspiration of God that he honors his word above his own name.
That’s how much he will keep his word.
And then thirdly that he is left to us, the eyewitness accounts of the gospels Deuteronomy chapter 19 verse 15 says by the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter or the word facts shall be established.
Why four gospels by the mouth of two or three witnesses, the truth shall be established.
God set that as his own standard. In the Old Testament. Four gospels are given here in Luke chapter 12.
There’s a, if you’re a note taker or a bible student this morning and I pray that you are the parallel to what we see here in Luke 12 is found in Matthew 16 verses one through 12 and mark eight verses 14 to 21.
But there’s a key statement regarding the events we’re going to study this morning found in Matthew’s Gospel.
Listen carefully. You can turn there if you’d like or mark it down Matthews 16 verses two and three concerning where we’re going this morning in our study.
Matthew 16 verse two. And Jesus answered and said unto them, that is the Pharisees, the scribes that were gathered around him in the context of our study today.
When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning, it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and threatening you hypocrites.
You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Jesus said that to the, to the Pharisees and the scribes the lawyers of the word of God.
He said, you guys, you look and you say, oh look, we better take a raincoat today.
It’s a red, red sky. The red sunrise shows us, the clouds are red, reflecting the sun, clouds are coming, it’s going to rain.
We better put on our, you know, our raincoats or if the sun is setting and the sky is red.
Well, you know what it’s going to be thus.
And so it’s either clearing, we predict or it’s going to get stormy. We predict.
Jesus said, if you guys can predict the weather, your accuweather broadcast program, then why can’t you understand that in every generation?
There are indicators about the age in which you live? There’s warning signs.
Jesus said that a believer needs to be watching as it were the the rise of the sun, so to speak, and the setting of the sun and the weather of events.
Very important. Jesus is saying that every generation has discernible events that speak of their days in which they live.
Chapter 12 is powerful to us regarding this before we get into verse one, verse, one is an answer to the closing verses in Luke 11, beginning at verse 53.
And as he said these things to them.
Luke 11 50 the scribes and the Pharisees listen, began to assail him, the heinly attack him to cross examine him about many things laying in, wait for him and seeking to catch him in something that he might say that they might accuse him.
The word, accuse him here means that they might catch him in something that would warrant the death penalty.
They want to kill him, they want to kill Jesus. That’s the spirit.
That’s the mindset of a religious godless group of people. They want to kill Jesus.
So now Jesus is going to do some pretty fantastic, awesome, powerful preaching.
By the way, the word preaching in English is in Hebrew and it means this, it means to thread the pearls together until you have a necklace.
That’s what preaching means. Isn’t that interesting that if someone’s preaching properly, they’re going to preach the word in such a way that either hour by hour or day, by day, week, by week, it threads the truth like a string of pearls until it comes around to completion.
Jesus is doing that all the way through down to Jerusalem.
He’s going to be now preaching the kingdom of God follow with me now as he does that, Luke 12 verse one.
In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude or great throng of people had gathered together so that they trampled upon one another.
That’s sad and terrible. Amazing. He began to say to his disciples.
First of all, beware of the 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden, that will not be known.
Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light and what you have spoken in the air in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the house tops.
And I say to you, my friends do not be afraid of those who will kill the body or he who kills the body regardless.
And after that have no more than that, they can do unto you.
But I will show you whom you should fear or be in awe of fear. Him.
That is the Lord who after his killed has the power to cast into hell.
Yes, I say to you fear.
Him are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins are not one of them and not one of them is forgotten before God, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear. Therefore, you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Also, I say to you, whoever confesses me before men, Him.
The son of man also will confess before the angels of God.
But He who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God verse 10.
And if anyone who speaks a word against the son of man, it will be forgiven Him.
But to Him who blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.
Now, when they begin, bring, when they bring, when they begin to bring you to the synagogues and Magistrates and the authorities do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour.
What you ought to say. Church point number one Christians.
When all else fails, what do we get out of this teaching this morning? Number one is this? Remember?
Oh, we need to remember. Some of us get older. It gets harder to remember.
That’s why we need to be in the word of God. Number one is this Christian.
When all else fails in our lives. Remember, our God is all knowing. Our God is all knowing.
Our God knows. All says the Bible.
When God begins to reveal himself to us in his nature, he assures us and calls us to remember that He knows everything.
Look at this, remember this, that He knows the hearts Christian and listen non Christian this morning.
The God of the Bible knows our hearts. Listen. Are you ready for this? You?
And I may think we know our hearts. We cannot listen, we cannot know our hearts.
We do not know our hearts. The Bible says that our hearts are desperately wicked. We cannot know them.
He says it’s not very encouraging on such a beautiful Sunday morning to hear we are unable.
It is not humanly possible for us to know the depths of our hearts.
Remember, God knows our hearts, every one of us. And so we understand this very important thing that we see.
First off that with absolute authority, Jesus speaks of the divine nature of not only God in totality, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit as we shall see, but the attribute of God is that He’s all knowing.
He knows all He knows everything you’re feeling, everything that you’re thinking.
What’s awesome about our God is that He knows what you and I are going to be thinking tomorrow afternoon.
He knows what you and I are going to be feeling today at three o’clock.
I wish I appreciated that more.
I’m sure you would agree with me that if we appreciated this more and remembered more and more that God knows.
Our God knows the God of the Bible reveals his all incredible knowledge, omniscience.
The word is that He knows all you’re listening to real life with Pastor Jack Hibbs.
You know, to hear more episodes and maybe catch up in the series. Just go to Jack Hibbs dot com.
That’s Jack Hibbs dot com. And for now let’s get back to our teaching. Once again, here’s pastor Jack.
He says in verse one here, beware of the 11 of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
God knows the heart for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden, that will not be known in first Timothy one verse 17, the Bible says, concerning our God now to the king, eternal, immortal, invisible to God who alone is wise.
All knowing God can’t learn anything to be honor and glory forever. Never amen. Our God knows it all.
And Jesus is saying to the Christian, listen, God knows in the midst of all of these Pharisees with all of their incredible religious looks.
Can you imagine just being a simple peasant who’s listening to the teachings of Jesus and you love him and you’re believing in the message.
But then there’s this the picture of religion and you can’t match up to that.
The announcement Jesus is saying to all those listening that Christian, we need to remember that our God knows and it’s a beautiful thing, Jesus is warning them against the nature of hypocrisy which puts on this front that it knows everything they’re criticizing.
They’re attacking Jesus, they’re the authority. Now these scribes and Pharisees hypocrisy claims to know.
Well, only God knows the heart and listen.
You need to hear this in the Jewish mind when the scripture here is, is speaking about God knowing everything and everything’s gonna be revealed in the last days.
Both Judaism and Christianity teaches a final judgment, a judgment for the believers, a judgment for the nonbelievers.
Yes, that is true. But what’s also very important about this is as we look to this in the revelation of the fact that God knows everything.
It challenges you and I this morning that we need to, we need to surrender our worrying if God knows everything.
You know that cute sticker. I’ve seen it on a bumper sticker. I’ve seen it on shirts.
Um I may not know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow.
He said, oh, that’s a cute little, I think I saw that on a precious moments little figurine.
Well, I understand that but that’s pretty powerful stuff.
If we would believe it and trust in the fact that our God knows everything, it gives me great comfort that He cannot be taught anything because He knows it all.
Listen, verse three. Secondly, is this, remember that He knows the life.
He knows the life that you and I live. He not only knows all and knows our hearts.
He knows the very life that you and I have.
He says, therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light.
This is a term that we would say today is full disclosure.
The warning that Jesus has given is something that God listens. He is in on everything.
Nothing is secret from him. And God knows that you see Jack, is that supposed to be good news to me?
Is that supposed to bring me comfort? Yes. Listen, Christian, listen this morning. God knows our hearts.
He knows our lives. He knows all. Now follow with me.
Listen, don’t, don’t let me lose you here, Jesus is announcing that the knowledge of our father is so deep and so piercing and so perfect that he knows everything about us and you and I might be feeling this morning at this moment.
Oh oh oh man. Then there’s no hope for me. That’s the, listen.
That’s the exact opposite of where he’s taken us in this message.
It’s exactly the opposite conclusion that he wants you to have. Listen, because God does know everything I surrender.
Hey, didn’t we sing the song this morning? I surrender all.
Yes, because He does know my heart because He does know my life that there’s nothing going on in your life that escapes him.
You shouldn’t run in the corner in fear and terror. You should stand before him. Yes. In reverence.
Awe in a holy trembling. Oh God. There’s nothing hidden from you. And he says that’s right, Jack.
Nothing is hidden. What is Jesus in the context of chapter 11 and 12 teaching us that because God knows everything.
I don’t need to hide anything from Him.
To hide is to be a hypocrite you see, to hide is to be cloaked in something that is not real.
Remember those faces we showed you in our last teaching of the hypocrite. One smiles and one frowns.
Jesus says, throw those mask away.
Billy Graham has chosen in the years of his crusades to always sing that song at the end.
You can almost hear it. In your head come just as I am, I come just as I am.
You know that song is that the name of the, I don’t know the name of the song but come just as you are or come just as I come just as I am or whatever, you know what I’m talking about.
That’s the reason why he picked that and she his worship leaders because that is so doctrinally accurate.
That is so true. See, the temptation, listen is for us to think I want Christ, I want eternal life.
I want to have the gospel message in my world in my life.
I’m going to clean up my life and then come to God. You can’t do that.
Then what am I supposed to do? Are you ready for this? You surrender, you take off the mask.
Once in all we would say and say Jesus. Here I am.
I need you see the hypocrite, scribe pharisee the religious person who’s more bound up in their religion than their relationship or knowledge of God.
They can’t think like that. They will never surrender, they will never give up.
They’re more enthralled with disguising themselves to man and thinking that they’re fooling God.
It’s a strong and powerful thing to realize as Christians, listen. Second Corinthians five verse 12.
2nd Corinthians five, excuse me. Second Corinthians 5 10 says concerning the Christian for we must all appear, that’s the believer.
This is not the nonbeliever. This is the Christian.
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body that is during this life according to what we have done, whether they be good or bad, knowing.
Therefore, the terror or the reverence, fear, awe of the Lord.
We persuade men, but we are well known to God. And I also trust are well known in your conscience.
What is Paul saying? Listen, we have come to you and preached the gospel of Corinthians.
And we present to the fact that it’s you and God.
And someday believer, listen, a lot of Christians have not read their Bible carefully.
Did you know every Christian will stand before the judgment of Jesus Christ?
You say, I thought we weren’t going to be judged. We’re not going to be judged of the father.
We are not appearing at the Great White throne judgment where the non believer appears. This is true.
We will not be judged for our sins. Well, then what’s he talking about right there?
We will be judged as Christians in this life for what we did regarding our motives and the intentions of our hearts as believers.
Why did we watch? Why did we do this?
And so when we ministered, shared the gospel, sang the song uh blah, blah, blah, whatever it is as a believer.
Now in Jesus name, we will be judged before Christ on those things.
And you are tempted to say, well, then that’s why I’m not gonna do anything.
You can’t do that either.
You can’t take your gifting and talents that God has given you and bury it in the ground and wait until He comes back, what he’s given you.
He’s going to hold account of our lives.
I will stand before the Lord alone before Jesus and I will be judged as to, for example, the teaching of the word of God.
Did I point people to him or to me?
Did I try to impress you or did I try to be faithful to God? All?
See what’s the answer, Jack? You know what? Every bit of my fiber I plead against myself.
Does that make sense? I plead against myself? Oh God, don’t let my flesh show up.
Don’t let my flesh be involved. We prayed this morning as we do on Sundays and Wednesdays before messages.
Dear God, don’t let us have our fingerprints on our messages today.
Junior high high school in the main sanctuary, children’s ministry. God keep me out of it as humans though.
We are prone to sin is their stuff intermingled.
That’s of the flesh there has, there’s got to be well, what is it, Jack.
I don’t know, but there’s got to be, I just pray this at the end of today.
When I’m going home after third service, I will pray this as is my personal uh way of doing things God, whatever was of me today, evaporated from them.
What was a view burning into their hearts if that happens? That’s gonna be a good thing.
But I’m gonna be judged and my motives are as to did.
I like to see my name in print.
Well, look, look, it’s on this and it’s on that or it’s on the internet. That’s hypocrisy.
That’s wrong. But Jack, it feels good when we see our name somewhere.
When somebody listen to who is the glory going, you say? Well, that’s kind of subtle, isn’t it?
I don’t know if it’s something or not.
I’ve looked hard into this message this morning and quite frankly, I agree with Paul.
There’s a terror, there’s an awe of the Lord that I don’t want to have anything to do with what I’m doing.
Oh, God. Empty me out and be a channel or let me be the channel.
You be the power or the message.