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I pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we're there in Luke chapter number 12. And we are in a series called our Journey with Jesus. And we are on a journey with the Lord Jesus Christ, going through the life of Christ in the Gospel of Luke. And we're making our way. This morning, we ended at Luke. We got the last part of Luke chapter 11. And we ended in Luke chapter 12 and verse three. So we're in a new chapter now. And tonight, we're going to look at this passage here in Luke chapter 12, verses four through 12. And there's a theme in these few verses we're going to look at tonight. And the theme is that of not being afraid. I want you to notice there in verse four, Jesus says, and I say unto you, my friends. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. I love the intimacy there. He looks at his disciples and he says, I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid. Be not afraid. That's the theme. I want to just show this to you real quickly. We'll come back and look at the rest of that verse in a minute. Skip down to verse number seven in the same chapter there, Luke chapter 12 and verse number seven. He says, but even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. I want you to notice this little phrase again. He says, fear not. Fear not, therefore ye are of more value than many sparrows. So I want you to notice that in these verses, Luke 12, four through 12, there is a theme regarding fear. He says, be not afraid, fear not. Now, why is it that Jesus feels the need to teach his disciples about fear and how to handle fear? And the reason for that, and if you were with us this morning, you would have seen that in the chapter that the disciples and Jesus are dealing with a lot of hostility. Things are getting pretty hot. I mean, the Lord Jesus Christ just preached a pretty hard sermon to the Pharisees in our context here. And now things are starting to look pretty dangerous. Notice there, you're there in Luke chapter 12. Flip back just real quickly to Luke chapter 11. Let me just show you a few verses just to kind of show you what's going on. You remember this in verse 47. Jesus said, woe unto you, therefore ye build the sepulchres of the prophets and your fathers kill them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers, for they indeed kill them and ye build their sepulcher. Therefore, also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles and some of them they shall slay and persecute. So I want you to notice that Jesus is, in chapter 11, was looking at these Pharisees and saying, I know you're gonna persecute us. I know you're gonna slay us. I know you're going to try to hurt us. And I want you to notice that the apostles, as they're sitting there and listening, their ears would have perked up a little bit. While Jesus was going through his six woes, remember we saw that this morning, he is preaching against the Pharisees, he's preaching against the lawyers, he's telling woe to the Pharisees, woe to the Pharisees, woe to the Pharisees. Then he says woe to the lawyers, woe to the lawyers. The apostles, I believe, their ears would have perked up and maybe they would have began to be a little worried, which is why Jesus says in Luke 12 four, I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid. You say, what would they have been afraid? Well remember, they were chosen by Jesus as the 12. And they are the 12 apostles. And Jesus is referring to the fact that the Pharisees, you know, they honor the prophets and they build the suffragors of the prophets. But he says in verse 49, therefore, Luke 11 49, therefore also said the wisdom of God. So this is Jesus telling us what the wisdom of God said, what God is basically saying. Here's what he said, I will send them prophets and the apostles. Notice that Jesus says, I'm gonna send them prophets and the apostles. He's been talking about the fact that they've been killing the prophets. And now Jesus says, the wisdom of God says, I will send them prophets and apostles and some of them, they shall slay and persecute. So Jesus says, look, I know that you've killed the prophets and God's wisdom says, I'm gonna send you prophets and apostles. Now, when Jesus would have said and apostles, the 12 apostles sitting there, their ears would have perked up and said, oh, he's talking about us. And he says, I'm gonna send prophets and apostles and you're gonna slay and persecute them. And the apostles probably were like, wait, what? What'd you say? You know, you're getting us involved in your fight, Jesus. Look again, verse 49, therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles and some of them, they shall slay and persecute that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation. Look down at verse 53, same chapter, Luke 11, 53, just to kind of give you the context, Luke 11, 53, and as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently and to provoke him, to speak many things, laying weight for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth that they might accuse him. So I want you to notice that things are starting to get pretty hot here in the life of Christ. The Pharisees are coming at him hard, the scribes and the lawyers and Jesus is not backing down. He's coming back at them pretty hard and insulting them, publicly preaching against them and then he says, I know I'm gonna send you prophets and my apostles and you're gonna kill some of them. And the apostles are probably like, oh, good night. What are you talking about? So that's the context in which Jesus, now he finishes his sermon against the Pharisees and he looks at the apostles and he says, Luke 12 and verse four, and I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid. So now Jesus is going to shift into this lesson for the apostles on not being afraid and it's about not fearing and this is a common theme with the Lord Jesus Christ. He teaches to fear not, fear not. He's constantly telling people not to be afraid. He's constantly telling the disciples not to be afraid. They're on a ship, it's sinking. He's telling them don't be afraid, fear not. He's walking on water. He's telling them don't be afraid, fear not. This is a common theme. But I want you to notice that in this context, he's speaking to them about not being afraid and also he's speaking to them about preparing for persecution because he just told them, hey, apostles, these guys right here, they're gonna slay some of you. They're gonna kill some of you. They're gonna persecute some of you. They're lying in wait. They're gonna kill me. He's already told them this. So Jesus is speaking to them on the subject of be not afraid in the context or within the context of preparing for persecution. And I'll give you four thoughts tonight in regards to what Jesus says to them about be not afraid. Within the context of preparing for persecution, you say, what does that have to do with us? Well, you know what? The Lord Jesus Christ does not want you and I to be afraid. And you and I need to be ready to endure persecution. Now, we know that there is coming a day called the tribulation period in which all believers will be persecuted by the antichrist. And it is possible that that may happen in our lifetime. But even if that doesn't happen in our lifetime, just in life and in general, you're going to suffer persecution. The Bible says, yea, all that shall live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. In fact, if you at some point are not having somebody attack you because of your faith in Christ, because of your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're not doing it right. You're not living the Christian life correctly because we're all going to suffer persecution at some point. And Jesus speaks to his disciples in regards to be not afraid and preparing for persecution. So let me give you four thoughts tonight in regards to what it is that Jesus says to them. The first thing is found there in verse number four. Notice that again, Luke chapter 12 and verse four. And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that, he says, look, because he just got done telling them, they're going to kill you. Some of these guys are going to kill you. But he says, hey, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that, have no more that they can do. Now I love Jesus' mode of counseling here because sometimes, you know, when my wife and I do counseling, sometimes I feel bad that I don't tell people, you know, more that I don't give more like therapeutic, like feel good type stuff. Because, you know, people come to me and they're like, I'm struggling with this. And I'm like, stop it, you know? And it's like, I keep, you know, shoplifting. It's like, stop. You know, I'm a habitual liar, stop lying. You know, I drink alcohol, stop it! You know, sometimes. And Jesus here, his way of counseling is kind of similar. He says to them, hey, I know you just got scared because I told you that these guys are gonna kill you, but let me encourage you a little bit. Be not afraid of them that kill the body. They're thinking like, okay, why is that? Are you about to promise that angels are gonna come down and defend us? Are you about to promise that a chariot of fire like that of Elijah is gonna come out and swoop us? Jesus says, no, no, I'm just saying, hey, if they kill the body, that's all they can do. And after that, have no more that they can do. He says, look, the worst thing they can do to you is kill you. And to that, you and I would say, that's what we're worried about. But the context and the idea that Jesus is trying to teach them is this. Are you saved? Do you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you assured of a home in heaven? Are you relying on Jesus to save you? Look, if you're here tonight and you say, I'm saved, I'm on my way to heaven, I put my faith in Jesus Christ, I've accepted Christ as my Savior, however you wanna put it, I'm 100% sure if I died today that I would go to heaven and that's based off Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, not my works, not my righteousness. I can never lose it, I can never earn it. It's a gift that has been given to me. I know I'm on my way to heaven. If you know you're on your way to heaven, then realize the worst thing this world could do to you is kill you. That's the worst. And to be honest, that's not even that bad because if they kill you, guess what happens? You get to go to heaven. So Jesus says, hey, number one, be not afraid. Here's point number one, be not afraid because man can only do so much. There's only so much that man can do to you. He says, and I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them to kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. You say, that's not very encouraging. He says, well, here's the other side of that, verse five. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. The word forewarn means to warn in advance. He says, don't be afraid of them. Let me tell you who you should be afraid of. Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. He says, you know what, when man kills you, that's the worst they can do. When they take your life, that's the worst thing they could do you. You know who you should be afraid of? You know who they should be afraid of? You know who everyone should be afraid of? God almighty God, because when he kills you, he can also cast you into hell. He can throw you into hell and within that context, Jesus says, so don't be afraid. What's the worst thing they can do? Kill you? You'd go to heaven, go to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, you're there in Luke, keep your place in Luke, that's our text for tonight. Go backwards, pass Mark, into Matthew, Matthew chapter 10. You say, that's not very encouraging. It's what Jesus said. Maybe you think too highly of your life. Matthew 10, 28, here in Matthew 10, 28, Jesus says it again, he says, and fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And look, the truth of the matter is, if the worst possible thing the world can do to you and I is take our life, then we should never be afraid, we should never fear, we should never be afraid of the world can do, because look, they can't do anything to us worse than send us to heaven. See, the worst thing that man can do is kill you. Go to Psalm, Psalm 56. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you're more than likely following the book of Psalms. Psalm 56. And you say, okay, but what about all the other stuff? They can take my house, they can take my car, they can take my stuff, they can throw, they can take my freedom, they can throw me in prison. Hey, let me tell you something, all that stuff, that house and that car and those clothes that you're so wrapped up in, those are temporal. They're gonna burn up on this earth. They mean nothing regarding eternity. You say, what if they put me in prison and I lose my freedom? Hey, your life is but a vapor. It appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Here's what I'm trying to tell you, is that the worst that the world can do to you is not that bad, because in light of eternity, in light of eternity, it'll seem like nothing. Psalm 56, look at verse four. Psalm 56 and verse four, notice what the Bible says. Psalm 56 and verse four, in God, I will praise his word. In God, I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. When your trust is in the Lord, you don't have to put your fear in flesh. You don't have to be afraid of what man can do to you. Go to Psalm 118, Psalm 118. Look at verse six, Psalm 118 and verse six. Do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something in Psalms, because we're gonna leave it and we're gonna come back to it. I'd like you to be able to get to it quickly. Psalm 118 and verse six, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear. Notice, what can man do unto me? If you're saved tonight, you have nothing to fear. You have nothing to fear because, you say, why not be afraid? Be not afraid because man can only do so much. There's only so much that man can do. And if God is on our side, I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. What can man do unto me? I have nothing to be afraid of. Keep your place there in Psalms if you would. Go back to Luke chapter 12. Be not afraid because man can only do so much. There's only so much that they can take from you. There's only so much that they can impose upon you. The worst thing they can do is take your life. In our response, what would you say if somebody threatened to take your life? You know, I don't know. I hope that I would say, hey, you can't scare me with heaven. Now look, the Bible says that safety is of the Lord. The Bible says that we should prepare the horse for the day of battle and safety's of the Lord. So look, obviously safety's of the Lord. If God wants us to die, if God wants me to die at a certain time, that's when I'm gonna die. And as it is appointed unto men, wants to die, but after this the judgment. If God, you know the Bible says that we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil. If God wants to lead us through trials and tribulations and persecutions and he wants to keep us alive, then they can't hurt us. And if God wants to take us away, then nothing you do, no matter how many vitamins you take and how much organic food you eat, if God wants to take you away, he's gonna take you away. Okay, life and death is the power that God has. So you say, well, what do you do, Pastor Jimenez? I try to make myself as valuable to God as possible. Try to just, you know, hoping that God would just see the investment being done here and say, let's keep that guy saved, send a couple angels. Now look, that doesn't mean that because there are stages of the Lord that we can just, you know, be dumb and be foolish. Obviously, we should try to protect ourselves. Obviously, we should take measures. There's a reason why we have a safety team running around here with a bunch of, you know, concealed weapons. You say, Pastor, you're not supposed to say that. You know, whatever. You say, why do you have a safety team and they've got concealed carry permits and they've got concealed weapons? Here's why, because you can't piss off as many people as I've pissed off in the last 12 years and not expect, hey, prepare the horse for the day of battle. But at the end of the day, safety's of the Lord. At the end of the day, our trust is in God. At the end of the day, hey, I have put my trust in God. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. So Jesus says, hey, guys, friends, be not afraid because man can only do so much. You say, that's not very encouraging. Okay, well, Jesus, let me give you another one. Go back to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. He says, look, Jesus looks at his, the worst thing they can do is kill you. I mean, they're like, that's not really helping. He says, okay, well, how about this one? You know, number one, be not afraid because man can only do so much. But then number two, he says, hey, in verse six, he says, are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? A sparrow is a small bird. And he says, look, sparrows are pretty inexpensive commodities. He said, you can get five sparrows, Jesus says, for two farthings. Now, what two farthings are exactly and how that equates to our society, we don't know for sure and nobody knows that. But we can gather from the context that two farthings are not a lot of money. And he's saying like, look, you can get five sparrows for two farthings. I mean, it's not even like an equal, it's not like, okay, you get two sparrows for one farthing, four sparrows for two farthing. It's like, once you get them two farthing, they're like, we'll throw in the fifth one, all right? I mean, these birds are not very expensive. They're not something that people are just saving up money to purchase. He says, are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? Notice what he says, and not one of them is forgotten before God. Jesus says, you know those five sparrows you get for two farthings? You know that God knows exactly what happens to each one of those sparrows? He knows when they're born. He knows what they do throughout their life. He knows when they die. God knows that about these sparrows. He said these cheap little sparrows, you get them on sale all the time. He says, are not five sparrows sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God? Verse seven, notice what he says. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. He says, look, and notice what he says. He doesn't say that God knows the number of hairs on your head. That would be easier for some than others, but that's not what he's saying. He's not saying that God knows how many numbers you have on your head, how many hairs you have on your head. That is true, God does know that. But what he's saying is that God knows the number assigned to each hair. He says the very hairs on your head are numbered and God knows how many of them are on your head. And when you take a shower and seven of them go down the drain, he knows it's 332, 1056, number seven. That one's not real. You know, that's the Rogaine or whatever. I mean, God knows. He knows the five sparrows are sold for two farthings and yet not one of them is forgotten before God. He knows even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. And Jesus says, because God knows that, he says, notice in verse seven, fear not. You say, why not? Here's why. Because five sparrows are sold for two farthings and not one of them is forgotten before God. And he says, because of that, therefore, fear not. Therefore, you say, why? Here's why. Ye are of more value than many sparrows. See, number one, you say, why should I not be afraid? Be not afraid because there's only so much man can do to you. Man can only do so much. But number two, be not afraid because God is on your side. God has a keen interest in you. In fact, he has such an interest in you that the very hairs on your head are all numbered. And here's the truth. Go back to Psalms if you watch Psalm 27. If God is for me, I need not be afraid. If God is for me, what do I need to fear? Psalm 27, look at verse one. Notice what the Bible says. Psalm 27, verse one, a Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. I hope you can say that tonight. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Notice, who shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, come upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumble and fell, though an host should encamp against me. My heart shall not fear. The war should arise against me. And this will I be confident. And what will I be confident that the Lord is my light and my salvation? Go back to Psalm 118 in verse six. We already saw it, but I want you to notice the part of the verse we did not emphasize. Psalm 118 in verse six, we emphasized this part earlier. What can man do unto me? Here's what I want to emphasize for you. Now, the Lord is on my side. See, there is two parts of the same coin. I love Psalm 118 in verse six because it's three phrases. It's a question divided into three phrases. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What man can do unto me? Question mark. The idea is this. I will not fear. Why? Because of what man can do unto me, I will not fear. It is limited what they can do unto me. And by the way, the Lord is on my side. That's why I will not fear. So Hebrews says, you don't have to turn there. Hebrews 13, six, I'll read it for you. It says, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. A quote from Psalm 118. This is why Paul wrote, in fact, let's go to Romans, if you would, Romans chapter eight. If you have your place there in Luke, you've got John, Acts, Romans, Romans chapter eight. I'm here to tell you something. You need not be afraid because it's only so much that man can do to you. And you need not be afraid because God is on our side. Someone said this, we need to stop telling God how big our problems are and start telling our problems how big our God is. Romans 8.31, notice what the apostle Paul wrote. He said, what shall we say to these things? What things? The things that cause us fear, the things that cause us anxiety, the things that cause us to worry, the things that cause us to stay up at night. He said, what shall we say to these things if God be for us, who can be against us? So he says, be not afraid. You say, why not? Here's why, because man can only do so much. He says, be not afraid. You say, why not? He says, here's why, because God is on our side. And I want you to notice, thirdly tonight, go back to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Look at verse eight. He gives the apostles another reason to not be afraid. Luke 12 and verse eight, also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. And he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Now let me just say this, that in Luke 12, verses eight and nine, these verses can sometimes be a little bit of controversial verses, in the sense that people like to interpret them differently. Some people will interpret these verses in the context of salvation. Now, I definitely believe that you have to confess the Lord Jesus Christ, call upon the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. You say, why do you believe that? One simple reason, the Bible says it. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And by the way, those of you that like to argue whether you have to confess, be careful about positioning yourself against the Bible. When the Bible literally says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God is made from dead, thou shalt be saved. And people wanna be, well, I don't think it really says confess. You don't know what the Bible says. If God said it, just go with it. If God said it, look, if God said confess with your mouth, I'm just gonna tell people, confess with your mouth. Well, I don't think that, you're an idiot. Stop thinking, you're not good at it. You say, I don't think you said that. Jesus says it, we're gonna look at it on Wednesday night, I think we're gonna be in the take no thought. That's good advice for some of you. You think too much. And when your thinking puts you at odds with what the Bible says, you're just wrong. You're wrong on so many levels, it's not even funny. It's not even worth talking about. It's not even worth talking to you about. So look, I'm all for confess with thy mouth. That's what the Bible says. I'm all for call upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. That's what the Bible says. But I'll be honest with you, I don't necessarily, it's not my position that Luke 12 verses eight and nine are talking about salvation. Because here, because when the Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, or whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, that's something you are communicating to God or to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, this is confessing before men. And if you look at the context, as we've been walking through the context tonight, and we've walked through the context this morning, it's about persecution and hostility. Again, let me just highlight it for you. Here's the context of Luke chapter 12 verses eight and nine. Verse 10 says, and whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him. That's referring to a reprobate. Look at verse 11, and when they bring you into the synagogues, when who brings you into the synagogues? The reprobates. When they bring you into the synagogue and unto the magistrate and powers, taking no thought how or what thing you shall answer or what you shall say, for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say. So look, it's very clear that the context of Luke 12, eight, and nine, before it's about persecution, don't be afraid what man can do to you. Worst thing they can do is kill you. Don't be afraid that God is on your side. And after it's persecution, so you say, well, what do you think verses eight and nine are about? Persecution! Don't arrest a verse from its context. Luke 12, eight. Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before man, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denieth me before man shall be denied before the angels of God. You say, what's the lesson? What's the takeaway? Here's the lesson. Number one, be not afraid because man can only do so much. The worst thing they can do is kill you. Number two, be not afraid because God is on our side. And if God be for us, who can stand against us? But number three, be not afraid because if you stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, he will stand with you. I believe that this is a reference to lots of things. I mean, I believe that it definitely applies in our lives today, but that it's a reference to the coming day of judgment. That look, one day, if I take a stand with Christ today, if I confess him before men, then at the day of judgment, on the day of rewards, on the day when the assignments will be given out for the millennial reign of Christ and who will rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ, on that day, he shall also, the Son of Man also, shall confess us before the angels of God. But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels. That doesn't mean they're gonna die and go to hell. It just means, no, you're not gonna get to judge over angels. He's gonna deny you on that day. He's gonna say, well, you just stand with me. I'm not gonna stand with you. You say, why should I not be afraid? Here's why. Be not afraid because if you take a stand with the Lord Jesus Christ, he'll stand with you. That makes it worth it. You say, no, I think it's about salvation. Well, look, there are people in the Bible that were saved and did not confess Jesus publicly. So if you believe that, then you've got a contradiction. Let's run some verses. Go to John chapter seven. John chapter seven. Look at verse 11. You're there in Luke, just go to John. Look, here's all I'm saying, is it's possible for someone to be saved and to not take a public stand for Christ. That's why there are people, they get saved and they don't, I don't wanna get baptized. You don't wanna identify yourself with Christ publicly? No. Does that mean they're not saved? Of course they're saved. Salvation had nothing to do with baptism. The thief on the cross never got baptized and Jesus said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. So what's baptism? It's a public stand with Christ. I'm publicly identifying myself with the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter seven, verse 11. Then the Jews sought him. The context is they're looking for Jesus. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said he is a good man. Others said, no, but he deceiveth the people. Look at verse 13. Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. So look, some people were for him, but yet no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. Go to John 19. John 19, look at verse 38. You say, well, I don't think those people were saved. Okay, well, this guy definitely is, John 19, 38. John 19, 38, and I'm not saying those people were saved. I'm just showing you an example that sometimes people could be for Christ and not speak openly of him. John 19, 38, and after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, notice these words, but secretly, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, why was he, he was a Secret Service Christian. He was in the Secret Service. Some of you are in the Secret Service. We went to your job and said, hey, do you know so-and-so? He's a Christian. He's a Christian? I didn't know they made Christians like that. Well, he was in the Secret Service. He was deep undercover. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, why? For fear of the Jews. For fear of persecution. This is why Jesus says, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. But he that denied me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. And look, Joseph of Arimathea was a good man, but here, it's documented for all of eternity that he was a disciple of Jesus. He was a follower of Jesus, but secretly, for the fear of Jews, he besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave, and he came therefore and took the body of Jesus. Go to John chapter nine. John chapter nine. Look at verse 21. John chapter nine, verse 21. John nine, 21, the Bible says, but by what means he now seeth, just to give you the context, Jesus heals a man born blind from birth. He heals him, and the Pharisees are all upset about this because this notable miracle have been done because people have seen, have known this man since birth he was blind. So they bring his parents, the Pharisees bring the blind man's parents, they start questioning them, asking about how did this guy receive his sight? And here's their response, John nine, 21, but by what means he now seeth, they said, we know not, or who hath opened his eyes? So they're asking, well, who made him see? And they said, or who hath opened his eyes? We know not. And then they say, he is of age, referring to their son. They say, he's a grown man, ask him. He shall speak for himself. Now notice, why did the parents respond this way? Verse 22, these words spake his parents because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. So here's what Jesus says. Don't be afraid because if you stand with me, if you stand with me, I'll stand with you. If you confess me before men, I'll confess you before the angels of God. Go to 2 Timothy chapter four, 2 Timothy chapter four, find the T-books, they're all clustered together towards the end of the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy chapter four. Several years ago when one of the sermons I preached went mega-viral and we had all sorts of protests and stuff, there was news people that were just camped outside my house and they would just constantly be trying to interview me. And of course, I did many interviews, several interviews. But you better believe that something, sometimes people often commend me or they will thank me because they've seen some of the news clips and they'll say, thank you for taking a strong stand for the Lord. You got on that interview and you said it, you did not back down, you did not apologize for the word of God. And I appreciate the encouragement. But honestly, one reason that I was as bold as I was is because every time that I got in front of one of those cameras, I thought to myself, this is gonna be recorded for all of eternity, this is gonna be my testimony. Did I confess the Lord Jesus Christ publicly? Did I confess him before men or did I back down? So yeah, I got up on that camera and said, I don't apologize for anything, I love Jesus. I'm with Jesus. You're making all of us, you're offending us. I don't care about you, I care about Jesus. Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. Hey, don't be afraid, let this give you boldness, the realization that if I stand with Jesus, he'll stand with me. You say in heaven, on the day of rewards, yes, in heaven, but also on this earth. This is why the writer of Hebrews, he said, let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. We ought not be afraid to identify ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought not be afraid to take his reproach. Go to 2 Timothy chapter four, 2 Timothy chapter four. I wanna show you that when you stand with Jesus, he'll stand with you, 2 Timothy four. Look at verse 16, 2 Timothy chapter four and verse 16. Notice what Paul says, he says, at my first answer. You say, what is Paul referring to? He's referring to his first court appearance. Because you know, he's in Rome, and he has to appear before Caesar. Here's what Paul says, he says, at my first answer, no man stood with me. Which is a sad statement, because when you read the epistles of Paul, he's constantly just talking about all his friends and his fellow workers and his fellow laborers. And we know that not everybody forsook him. Some people were just not able to be there. We understand that, but he says, by and large, he says there, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it be laid to their charge. But then notice what he says there in verse seven. He says, notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. See, when you stand with Jesus, he'll stand with you. He said, all men forsook me, no man stood with me, all men forsook me, notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. He said, why do you want the Lord to stand with you? Notice what he says, notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me that by me the preaching might be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. When we stand with Jesus publicly and suffer with him publicly, he'll stand with us at the day of judgment and here, now. He'll stand with us, he'll strengthen us, he'll help us. And is this not what that beautiful hymn is referring to? We sang it tonight, I was thinking about it as we were singing it in your song books. If you wanna look at it, it's number 144. A mighty fortress is our Lord. Is this not what the song, is that Martin Luther wrote these words? Is this not what he was referring to when he wrote the words did we in our own strength confide our striving would be losing? We're not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Does ask who that may be, Christ Jesus it is he, Lord Sabeoth, his name, from age to age he is the same and he must win the battle. You say, who's your confidence in? It's not me, but we're with the right man. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. And though this world with devils is filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him, his rage we can endure for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall foul him. A mighty fortress is our God. We need not be afraid. We can stand because there's only so much man can do. We can stand because God is on our stand. We can stand because when we stand with Jesus, he'll stand with us. Not withstanding, the Lord stood with me. And I want you to notice there in verse 10, it seems as though Jesus shifts gears a little bit and I'll explain to you why he does. It's all within the context. In verse 10 he says, and whosoever shall speak a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him, but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him. And it may seem like God, like Jesus kind of just brings us up randomly, this idea of blaspheming of the Holy Ghost, but he brings it up because if you remember, we talked about it this morning, all of these things are happening simultaneously. They're happening just right one after the other and they're all within their context. Now please understand something. Just because there are verse divisions and chapter divisions in your Bible does not mean that those divisions mean that there is a division of time. Now we're thankful for the verse divisions. We're thankful for the chapter divisions. I think that I'm glad they're there and I think it's helpful for us to be able to say, go to Luke chapter number 12, look down at verse number 11, as opposed to all of us just bringing our scroll out and say about halfway through that 15th scroll right there. I'm thankful that the chapters are there, but understand that the chapter and the verse divisions do not necessarily mean that there's a division within the context and the reason that Jesus brings up the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, because we saw it in chapter number 11, they said to him, go back to Luke chapter 11, look at verse 14, this is all within its context. Luke 11, 14, and he was casting out devils and it was dumb and it came to pass when the devil was gone out. The dumb spake and the people wondered, but some of them said he casted out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. This blasphemy, you say what is, because people often ask, what is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost? Okay, let me just quickly give you some thoughts on this. If you want to know what, because people like, they want to know like, can you blaspheme the Holy Ghost today? These stupid kids on YouTube will go, I've never seen this, but I've had people say this to me, that there'll be, there was like a channel or something where people will go on and record themselves just saying the most vile and offensive things towards the Holy Ghost, trying to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. And it's funny to me that YouTube will allow that garbage on, but won't allow biblical preaching, but you know, whatever. You say, you sound really upset about that. I am, if you haven't got that from me. But you say, what is it that blasphemed the Holy Ghost? Well, literally, when you look at the passage, when Jesus brings up, and in other gospels, it comes up a little more succinctly, where it's like, they said he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, and then he says, you have blasphemed the Holy Ghost. Okay, that's in other passages. You can study that out on your own time, but that's the context. That's the story of the blaspheming of the Holy Ghost. You say, what is it? The Pharisees said that Jesus was casting out devils by Beelzebub, the prince or the chief of the devils. You say, who's Beelzebub? Well, Jesus identifies Beelzebub as Satan, because in verse 15, Luke 11, 15, but some of them said he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils, and then Jesus responds to that. Well, look at verse 16 to get the context. And others tempting him said, attempting him, excuse me, sought of him a sign from heaven. Verse 17, but he, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. So notice that Jesus says, when you, he's telling the Pharisees, when you said that I cast out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils, what you were saying is that I am casting out devils through Satan, because the house of Satan is the house of Beelzebub. And that is the context in which he says, verse 19, but if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, shall they be your judges? Verse 20, but if I with the finger of God, and I preached about the finger of God when we were in Luke 11 several weeks ago, but let me just tell you this. If you look at the parallel passage of this story, where Jesus says, Luke 11, 20, but if I with the finger of God, the parallel passage synonymously says, but if I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you. So you say, what is it that is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost? Because then in Luke 12, 10, he says, and whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven. He said, look, if you say something against the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, it shall be forgiven, but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. So you say, what is the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost? Well, just literally, if you look at the story, the blaspheming of the Holy Ghost is when Jesus cast out a devil, the Pharisees saw him do it, and they said, he didn't do that by the Holy Ghost, he did that by Beelzebub, and Jesus said, you just blaspheme the Holy Ghost. And he says, and this will not be forgiven you. And in other passages, it says other sins will be forgiven you, but the blaspheming of the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. He said, not in this life or in the life to come. So what is blaspheming the Holy Ghost? Literally, it's to look at Jesus cast out a devil, and then attribute that to the devil versus the Holy Spirit. Now people will often ask like, can you blaspheme the Holy Ghost today? Sometimes people are like, I think I might have accidentally blasphemed the Holy Ghost. Look, let me tell you something, you don't accidentally blaspheme the Holy Ghost, okay? If you're worried about blaspheming the Holy Ghost, you're probably fine. But let me just say this, whether somebody can blaspheme the Holy Ghost today, I don't know, I mean, honestly, it's not like you can see Jesus casting a devil and say, no, he didn't do that, the devil did that. So, you know, I tend to think that it's not even possible to blaspheme the Holy Ghost today, because when it happened, there's only one time it's ever referred to, and it's brought up several times in the gospels, there's only one context in which it's brought up, and it's when Jesus cast out a devil, and they said, you did that by Beelzebub, the chief of the devils, or the prince of the devils. So I don't even know that it's possible for someone to blaspheme the Holy Ghost, but either way, even if it is, this is talking about reprobates, people who lose their opportunity. And let me just give you some real quick applications on the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Whether you agree with me or not, that you can or cannot blaspheme the Holy Ghost today, that's irrelevant. The applications I'm about to give you are, apply no matter what your position is on blaspheming the Holy Ghost, all right? Number one, the people who blaspheme the Holy Ghost were not saved. So people today, they'll say like, because we'll ask them like, you know for sure if you died today, are you on your way to heaven? Yes. What are you trusting in the gate to the heaven? My faith in Jesus Christ. Do you believe you could lose your salvation? They're like, well, what if I blaspheme the Holy Ghost? I could lose my salvation. That's not what happened here. These people did not lose their salvation. They were never saved. They were unbelieving false prophets, Pharisees, and Jesus said, when you blaspheme the Holy Ghost, you lost your opportunity to ever be saved. So don't let people fool you and say, well, if you blaspheme the Holy Ghost, you could lose your salvation. You can never lose your salvation. Nobody can lose their salvation. If you're saved, you are saved for all of eternity, period, end of story. That's what salvation is. You say, well, what if I'm saved and I blaspheme the Holy Ghost? No man speaking by the Spirit of God called Jesus a curse. If you're saved, you're not gonna blaspheme the Holy Ghost. If you're saved, look, if you're saved, there's just some things that you're never gonna do. You're not gonna blaspheme the Holy Ghost. You're not gonna take the mark of the beast. What if I actually take the mark of the beast? You're not gonna take the mark of the beast. Stop worrying about it. Stop being so stinking afraid. A saved person's not gonna take the mark of the beast. A saved person's not gonna blaspheme the Holy Ghost. Look, a saved person's not going to accidentally take scripture out of the Bible or put scripture in the Bible. If you translate your own Bible and you just corrupt it, you were never saved. He removes your part out of the book, your opportunity to be saved. A saved person's not gonna do that. And why you're even trying makes no sense. You got the King James Bible, it's perfect. Just read it. A saved person's not gonna go to bed with some, some dude's not gonna go to bed with some other dude. A saved person's not gonna do that. Okay, there's just some things, you may not like me saying it, but there's some things that saved people are just not gonna do. Once you're saved, you're always saved. Now, does that mean that a saved person can't backside? Of course, look, saved people can become drug addicts, can commit adultery, can kill, can get divorced, can do all manner of things. You know, sometimes people say things to me and I just think to myself, it makes me wonder, are you even saved? Because somebody will say to me, so-and-so, I'm not even so-and-so saved. And I'm like, why? Because, you know, they're an alcoholic now. And I'm like, so? Look, I'm not, I preach hard against being an alcoholic and being a drunkard, but that doesn't mean anything. You know, you say, Pastor, if somebody just commits adultery, becomes a drunkard, robs a bank, goes to prison, does that make you think that, question their salvation? Absolutely not. They're just walking in the flesh. You know what makes me question somebody's salvation? Is when they convert to Islam. Or they convert to being a Mormon. You say, what do you say then? Did they lose their salvation? No, I just say, they were never saved. Because salvation's about what you believe. So if all of a sudden, you're some Jehovah's Witness, then I think to myself, you must have never been saved. But if you're just living in sin, look, I'm trying to teach you this to help you discern things. Because salvation's not based off the things you do. It's based off of the Lord Jesus Christ, period, end of story, do you believe in him, are you trusting in him? So the people blaspheming the Holy Ghost, they were never saved. It's not that they lost their salvation, they were never saved to begin with. And what they did lose was their opportunity to be saved. That's what the passage is teaching. Go to Luke chapter 12, look at verse 11. We'll finish up. Jesus is talking about being not afraid, be not afraid because there's only so much man can do. Be not afraid because God is on your side. Be not afraid because if you stand with Christ, he'll stand with you, praise God. And then here's the last thing, number four. He says this in verse 11, Luke 12 and 11. And when they bring you into the synagogues, because remember, he's preparing his apostles for persecution. He's telling them, don't be afraid due to persecution. And when they bring you into the synagogues and onto magistrates and powers, and he says, notice what he says. Take ye no thought. That's what I was talking about. I thought we were gonna deal with that on Wednesday night, but I guess we're dealing with this night. Stop thinking, you're not good at it, okay? Take ye no thought. How or what things ye shall answer or what ye shall say, for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that same hour what ye ought to say. He says, be not afraid, why? Here's why, because the Holy Spirit will guide you. Now again, let me just take this in the context because I've heard people say some ridiculous things about verses like this, where like guys will, I've heard people say like, the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that same hour what ye ought to say, and then they try to apply it to like preaching. That's why I don't study. I don't have any notes. I just get up here and just the Holy Ghost teaches. That's why you preach a bunch of stinking heresy, idiot. This is not talking about the pulpit ministry of a pastor. You want a verse about the pulpit ministry of the pastor? Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. That's the pulpit ministry of the pastor. And by the way, it's not hard to tell the guys who study and the guys who don't. It's pretty easy to tell when a pastor's just phoning it in. It's pretty easy to tell when a guy spent more time on the golf course than in his study. That's why sometimes people come to our church and then they go to other church, people are like, what do you think about them going to the church down the street? And I think to myself, if they can come to this church and they can go to that church and they can't tell the difference, then they don't belong here. You should be able to tell the difference. It should be like pretty clear, like whoa, that church is different. They're giving you the word of God in heavy doses. So this is not about studying. This is about when you're brought, you know, if we end up going through the tribulation and you get arrested and you're brought before Joe Biden or whatever, and they're just like, and you have to, you know, like don't, what he's saying is don't worry. Don't be anxious about what to say. He said the Holy Ghost. That's the same idea that Jesus will stand with you. That's what Paul was referring to when he said, at my first, he said there in 2 Timothy 4, 16, at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. He said, notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. And for us, the Lord will stand with us in the person of the Holy Spirit of God. And we need not worry about what to say, taking no thought, how or what thing you shall answer or what you shall say for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that same hour what you ought to say. And look, if you and I ever end up finding ourselves in those positions, don't worry about it. You just stand up and just open your mouth and let the Holy Ghost take over. And the things you'll say, and obviously he's not gonna give you some new revelation. You know, he's going to, the Bible says that the Holy Ghost only speaks of those things of the Lord Jesus Christ. He only speaks those things that you learn in the Bible. And by the way, let me just help you with something. You say, I want to be a Holy Ghost filled with the Holy Spirit preacher. Okay, well, the Holy Ghost can only use what's in the word of God. Say, so what do I do? Get filled with the word of God and you'll be filled with the Holy Ghost. And look, he can only use what you've already deposited in there. So I'll be honest with you, for some of you, when you get arrested and you stand before, you know, they're going to be like, what do you have to say? And you're going to be like, and the Holy Ghost will be like, John 3.16, for God so loved the world. It's like, that's the only verse you know. You know, I just, I don't know about you. I just want to be able to say something a little more epic. So if you want to say something epic, study the Bible. Memorize the Bible. Know what the Bible says. You know, I want to stand up and say, we ought to obey God rather than, not, not. Well, for God so loved the world, that's the only thing I gave the Holy Ghost to work with. It's the only one I knew. You know, so he says, Jesus is telling his disciples, hey, be not afraid, because the Holy Spirit will guide you. The Holy Spirit will be with you. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say, this is being not afraid. This is what he tells his disciples. And what I'd like to communicate to you tonight is this, being not afraid. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. How many of you, Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for this passage of scripture where Jesus teaches us on this subject of not being afraid within the context of, within the context of persecution. And Lord, I pray you'd help us to trust in you, trust in your word. We realize that trials and tribulations will come. Help us to take a strong stand for you, like Daniel, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would help us to stand up for you. And we know that when we stand for you, you'll stand with us. You met the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. You stood with them. The fourth man in the five. Lord, help us to have confidence in that. We love you in the matchless name of Christ. We pray. Amen. We're gonna have Brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song. Just wanna remind you that in your bulletin, you have one of these cards, and it's for the family and friend day. I wanna encourage you to take this with you and be praying, be praying about who you can invite.