Achieve victory in every
spiritual war!
Luke 12:1-12*
Key Verse: 5
Introduction: When we become fat, our immune
systems become weak. So, have a little FAT and achieve victory in all your
spiritual fights!
The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were
the most respected groups of people in
the Israelite nation. They were more educated and wealthier than other groups, such as farmers or shepherds. They were also well
respected for their stringent observance of the Law of Moses. These men held
important positions in the society, occupying the majority of the positions of
power and authority in Israel, including all the religious ceremonies. In this
way, they constituted most of the
leadership for the nation.
So, the ordinary people could not do anything
without the Pharisees’ guidance and help, and the Israelites respected them for
what they did and might have even envied what they had. In many aspects the
Pharisees and teachers of the Law were the model of godliness, and their lifestyle
was the utmost form of success in life.
In this regard, what they thought of Jesus was
very important for the rest of the people in the nation. But by claiming that
Jesus drove out demons by the power of the prince of demon and by requesting
more signs from heaven, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law not only
raised a serious doubt on the belief
that Jesus was from God, but also went further to ascribe Jesus’ work to a
Satanic force. This went beyond the threshold of God’s patience for sin. Jesus
delivered the truth about what was wrong with such thinking and what would be
the consequences. He ended his talk with these people with words regarding an
on-coming judgement (i.e. the three woes to the Pharisees and the three woes to
the teachers of the Law). By this, Jesus was declaring a war against
falsehood and the ungodliness of men by delivering six woes against
them. As we know from the events from this point forward it was obvious that these
men did not repent and instead stood against Jesus.
This signified the beginning of the division
between the King and those who held power in Israel. This started with their
rejection of Jesus’ work, i.e. driving out demons and ended when they crucified
him. However, the real end did not come with Jesus’ death; it came when he rose
from the dead, stripping these authorities of their power by either death or exile. In this way, Jesus, the true King of
the world, proved himself to be the one and only authority of the world. How
did Jesus win the war? In today’s passage, Jesus teaches us how we can engage
in this warfare in order to ensure that we will achieve victory.
1.
Avoid
the worst enemy within, hypocrisy (Luke 12:1b-2).
At the end of his long discourse with these
religious leaders, Jesus turned his attention to his disciples.
Luke 12:1 – “Meanwhile, when a crowd of many
thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus
began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard
against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.””
Yeast is symbolic of evil influences that permeated the
people’s minds. Thousands of people were watching and listening to what went on
between Jesus and these religious leaders. Doubts raised by respected leaders had
a greater influence on people’s minds, even spoiling the hearts of some
believers. Jesus’ disciples were no exception; they heard what the Pharisees and
teachers of the Law were demanding. For Jesus, protecting his disciples from
evil and ungodly influences was of utmost importance, so, putting aside the thousands
of people around him, Jesus spoke first to his disciples.
He captured the core of the Pharisees’ and
teachers of the Law’s problem in one word: hypocrisy. This term is defined
as insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities and beliefs
that one does not really have. The original Greek word derives its
meaning from ‘acting’. Simply put, their inner being did not match up with what
they appeared to be. They acted like righteous and godly people, but inside of
them was filled with ungodly things. Their efforts were driven by their desire to
present themselves as men of goodness and godliness. They did not do much to change their hearts, in order to conform to God’s
words. Instead, they worked hard to present themselves as good and godly men,
worthy of respect and honor. What was in their hearts? Paul noted the ungodly things
that were in his heart before his conversion.
1 Timothy 1:13 – ““Even though I was once
a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown
mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.””
Jesus charged the Pharisees with neglecting
God’s justice and love, loving the most important seats and most respectable
greetings, and being like unmarked graves. He charged the teachers of the Law with
loading people down with burdens and failing to lift a finger to help them. They
also killed God’s prophets and took away the key to God’s kingdom. These are
the expressions of what was inside their
hearts, hidden and unseen by others. So they could get by without damaging their
own lofty, noble, and godly images.
Were they the only ones who have such character? Such a nature or tendency
is built into the human nature under the power of sin. None of us are an exception
to this rule. It is seen much more among
those who want to be right and good according to godly principles, i.e. we
believers, as well as the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
Hypocrisy acts like yeast. Its effect is invisible, and it looks very
innocuous; however, it is actually insidious and its influence is great. Once a
small amount of yeast is put into some dough, then it will spread throughout
the entire batch of dough, and, in a matter of hours, the entire dough is
saturated with yeast. Likewise, one man’s hypocrisy spreads rapidly and infects
many other people, eventually destroying the purity of the whole batch.
Then how can anyone avoid making such a mistake?
Jesus turned his attention to his disciples and said this to them:
Luke 12:2-3 – “There is nothing concealed that
will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard
in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will
be proclaimed from the roofs.”
The Pharisees believed that they could hide
their sins from people, and they did so. But could they hide their sins from
God?
When our sins are exposed, our image, pride,
dignity, and honor will be badly damaged. Others will look down on us and we
will stand condemned. It is difficult to face incrimination and judgment from
other people. We all want to avoid this as much as possible, so we like to hide for as long as we can. But
here, Jesus said that all will be exposed and nothing can be hidden. When it is
exposed, the outcome is grim. When and how will this happen?
2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due
us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
We may be able to hide now, but we cannot hide
forever, because we all must appear before Christ’s judgment seat. What did
Jesus mean? Is he just telling us that nothing can be hidden? What Jesus
implied in this revelation is that sin must be dealt with now, as it is happening. If it is not dealt
with now, then it will surely come out when we stand before the judgment seat.
There was a man, Otto Adolf Eichmann, who was
born on March 19, 1906. He was a key member of the Jewish deportation to
extermination camps, where about three million people were killed. After the war, he hid in
Austria and then came to Argentina. He was caught there in 1960, 15
years after the war. He was put on trial and all of his atrocities were
exposed. In 1962, he was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging. He
hid for long time, but eventually his sins caught up with him and he paid with his
life for his sin.
Why would people harbor sins in their hearts?
One reason might be that we are scared to bear the immediate consequences of their
sins, so we like to put it off and off and off. But what if we could take care
of it now, without such humiliation and serious outcomes?
My wife and I share our thoughts on various
matters of life. We often do this at bedtime
and no one knows what we said. Often times, we share our discontent with others’
behaviors and blame others for the wrongs that they’ve done. In this way, we
vent all of our grievances, unhappiness,
and pain that have sat in the depths of our hearts. Some of them come from our
selfishness and greed; some come from
our self-righteousness. Also, we talk because we cannot harbor so many
unresolved problems in our hearts; so whatever there was in our hearts will
surely come out in time. It is just a matter of time, not if but when this will
happen.
Nobody knows what we talk about, but are we right or loving in
God’s eyes when we talk like this? Can we hide what we say from His eyes? Many times, we have surely failed to meet God’s
expectations, as well as those of our beloved fellow believers and coworkers in
Christ. If God can judge us according to what we do between the two of us, we will surely not be able
to stand before the true Judge. If we leave such ungodly talk unresolved and
yet we go about our business with big smiles, we will live and remain as
hypocrites.
Likewise, if we harbor any unhappiness, grudges,
bitterness, or hatred toward others, it
will surely come out of our mouths in time. It may be a secret only to him or
her, between two trusted friends, a husband and wife, or among a group of people.
We must realize that we have to answer for what
we have said, even in the most secret place; it may not be before men, but it
will surely be before God. So, the best way is to resolve these sins before God
now and do away with them. In your hearts, keep only what is of God and His
love for us. We are known to God from the inside out. The psalmist said this:
Psalm 44:21 – “would not God have discovered
it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?”
Psalm 94:11 – “The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.”
A war has begun within mankind, a fight against the sin and sinful
nature within us. The first step to
victory is to avoid hypocrisy; this is the most common form of doing away with
sin in our heart. Believers are most prone to such weaknesses, but in
hypocrisy, godly truth cannot be built. The best way to avoid hypocrisy is to know two things: whatever is
inside of us will surely be exposed in time, and we cannot hide ourselves from
the Lord.
2.
Fear
God instead of men.
"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid
of those who kill the body and after that can do no more” (Luke 12:4).
Jesus gave his disciples the second key to help
them win the war; they were to fear God, instead of men. Jesus knew
that his disciples would surely face death threats from the Pharisees and
teachers of the Law. The moment Jesus’ disciples decided to serve him
as their Lord, the religious leaders of the nation became jealous and made all
kinds of threats against them so that they might turn away from Jesus and
follow them instead. As we read in the book of Acts, the first obstacle Jesus’ disciples faced was persecution from the religious leaders.
Likewise, as we believers express our unconditional loyalty to Jesus, such
threats will surely come to us as well.
Then how could His disciples then or we today,
handle threats to our lives? Jesus gave
them an answer to this question. In order to understand this better, it is good
to capture the basic premise of Jesus’ teaching, which rested its principle on a particular perspective of
life. This was God’s perspective in truth, and could be summed up as the
following:
a.
Physical Death is a
natural process, leading to eternal life
in God. It is not the death of our lives at all; it actually has no impact on our life itself. Our life
depends on God and His will.
b. After our physical death, we are given two
choices: one, to spend eternity in hell, and the other is eternity with the
Lord.
c. While we are in our physical bodies, we live
according to what we choose to do, but after our physical death, it is God who
determines where we are to spend eternity, either in hell or with the Lord in His
eternal kingdom.
d. God will decide where we are to go by what we
do now on the earth; if one confesses Jesus as their Lord, then, as He
promised, we will be with Him in eternity. If not, we will be assigned to hell
for good. God delegated this role of Judge to His Son, Jesus, and he judges the living and the dead.
This is the biblical understanding of our lives
in their entirety, and forms the fundamental frame of human history. Whatever
beliefs we have on various aspects of our lives, those beliefs must fit into
this frame. If any of those beliefs does not fit, then it must be discarded.
They are not of God or of His plan at all. Simply speaking, eschatological
hope must be the governing principle of various facets of the Christian faith,
since God’s ultimate hope for us and our hope in Him is to be with Him in His
kingdom forever. This principle is subsumed in this passage. Though most of
us know this, we often neglect or tend to ignore such truth.
What would be the nature of the threat?
The powers of this world threaten Jesus’
disciples so that they may submit to them, but the worst that they can
do to us is to kill the body,
nothing more. The problem the disciples had was that they were all born
with the fear of death; this is true for us also and for all human beings. So,
the words, “valor” or “courage” are much cherished words among men. In
Revelation 21:8, one of those who would be put to eternal shame was the coward who
lacked of courage or valor. Almost all men submit to such threats, because
death is the most fearful thing for them to face. So in order to survive a
death threat, people overturn their decisions and justify themselves in doing things that they would never do under ordinary
circumstances. So death threats are a great test of one’s integrity.
So in order to position oneself better in the final stages of life, many devise
a plan to bring death threats to another party. As long as we are under death’s
power, (i.e. we fear it) we cannot escape from the reign of evil and ungodly
forces. There is no man who can undo the power of death, except for one, Jesus
the Son of God. So our commitment to God must go beyond death, and our
faith in Jesus must enable us to go beyond death’s power.
How can these be possible?
“But I will show you whom you should
fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed,
has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him”
(Luke 12:5).
Here, the word “fear” is an imperative
command. You must fear God! God is the final and ultimate decision
maker in our lives. No one can do anything to us unless God says so. So it is
very powerful rhetoric to say that “if God is pleased with us, then who can be
against us?” (Romans 8:31). But if God is not pleased with us, then all the
favors and blessings might not mean as much! Even when one faces a death
threat, he or she needs to fear God instead of men. We are not to give
in to the pressures of this world; instead, we are to show our undivided
loyalty to the Lord, because He is God and holds life for us. Death
threats are the ultimate test of our faith in the Lord. If our
faith is genuine and godly, then we will
surely overcome death’s power.
Is there anyone out there who can help me when my life is threatened with death? When
one’s life is in danger, everyone else may shy away from them because no one
wants to endanger their lives as well. That was what happened to Jesus; all of his
disciples were gripped with fear and hid themselves, because they could not do
anything. Jesus shouted “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew
27:46; Mark 15:34). Death and being cut off from the Lord are the most fearful
moments we could ever face. Like Jesus, and for us as well, this may be or
most likely is, a lonesome decision, because, in facing such a threat,
no one can come to help us, and all men run away from us, including our families. Then, did God abandon
Jesus? No! Though all of his disciples could not do much, God was with him,
even in such a tragic death. God raised him on the third day and made him the
Lord of all. Jesus is sitting at God’s right hand. As God was with Jesus, He
is also with us, even though all men may leave us. So trusting in God’s love, goodness, and justice is very important in
times of crisis. If God’s love is assured, then we can dare to die for His
purpose. When we dare to die, there is nothing to fear. But when we fear death, everything bothers and worries us.
How can God’s love be assured?
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than
many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7).
Jesus was talking directly to his
disciples, “Indeed the very hairs of your head are numbered.” This
captures the depth, width, and height of
God’s care for His people. Actually, Jesus himself was the embodiment of God’s love.
While we were still sinners, Jesus died for us, so that we may not perish, but
have eternal life. If God gave His own Son for us, then what would He not do for us now? This is proof of God’s love for Jesus’ disciples, and
this gives us certainty that our eternal life with the Lord is secured. As God’s love lives in us, we
shall not fear men, but rather God.
3.
Acknowledge
Jesus as Lord (Luke 12:8-9).
The third important thing in spiritual warfare
is to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord. I have seen many people wearing wooden cross necklaces. Some also
hang crosses in their cars. I like that, because he or she clearly identifies
themselves as believers in Jesus. Even such a minor thing needs courage, but
‘acknowledging Jesus publicly’ means more than just a symbolic demonstration of
one’s association with Jesus or Christianity.
What do we mean when we confess Jesus as our
Lord? This is well summarized in the Apostle’s Creed; the Apostle’s Creed has
three parts: first, for God the Father, second, for Jesus, and third, for the Holy Spirit. It describes Jesus
in this way:
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third
day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the
right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living
and the dead[B1] .
But here, I would like to highlight few things:
a.
Here, Jesus called
himself the Son of Man. He lived as a man’s son, but he did the works of the
Son of Man, as God had promised Ezekiel.
The most distinctive aspect of the Son of Man was his death on the cross and his
resurrection. Jesus, who lived like a man and died on the cross like a man, but
was raised to life by God - that Jesus is my Lord.
b. When one calls someone as his lord, it simply
means that he belongs solely to that person. The lord has authority and power
over him. Our relationship with Jesus and our belonging to him as
his possession or as his servant is declared to us in joy and happiness.
We are to be very proud of Jesus and unashamed
of the One who was crucified like the worst criminal of all! In Him is the
truth and the life we need!
c. We can find this in the actual history of the
first church:
i.
Salvation
is found in no one else but Jesus (Acts 4:11). He is the only source of salvation for the
entire human race.
ii.
Jesus
is the king (Acts 4:25-26), the
absolute authority over all kings and authorities in the world.
iii.
He
is the only Son of God,
through whom God revealed the grace and power of salvation (Acts 5:29-31). So
rebelling against his word is the same as rebelling against God; rejecting him
is equal to rejecting God.
All of these are summed up in one phrase: “Jesus
is the LORD”.
Certainly, it may look better to disown Jesus
when our lives are on the line, because we may escape immediate danger. However,
this rejection bears an eternal consequence; Jesus, the only source of our
life, will disown those who disown him. He will say: “I don’t know you!” When
we confess him with our mouths, our relationship with Jesus is solidified and,
through this relationship, the triune Godhead becomes one with us; we become
united with the Trinity (i.e. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy
Spirit).
4.
Trust
the Holy Spirit and do not resist Him (Luke 12:10-12).
“And everyone who speaks a word against the
Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10).
Trusting the Holy Spirit is the fourth
principle in our winning against the powers of this world.
It’s good to learn about the disciples’ understanding
of the Holy Spirit. At that time, they had not received the Holy Spirit yet, but,
near the end of Jesus’ ministry, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit (John
16). So at this time, they were totally unaware of the Holy Spirit’s character and
nature, including His method of
presentation. As His name indicates, He is an invisible spirit, but He also has
all the power and authority of God Almighty. As amazing and shocking as Jesus’ miraculous works to the
Pharisees and his disciples were, so would be the works and presentations of
the Holy Spirit. What I mean is that what the Holy Spirit would do for them would
be far beyond what they expected to see. They were of God and His mighty power,
just as Jesus’ works were!
Our situation is similar to the disciples.
Before we knew Christ, had we ever encountered the Holy Spirit or experienced His
works? No! As far as our knowledge of the Holy Spirit was concerned, we were
like blank paper. So no one should ascertain or judge the Holy Spirit’s works by
his or her own prior experience. If one does this, they are making a grim
mistake; however, we have another way to discern the Holy Spirit’s work.
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he
will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak
only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).
What Jesus did while he was on earth is what the Holy Spirit continues to do today,
in and among his followers. Just as Jesus’ works consisted of extraordinary
miracles and teaching, so will be the work of the Holy Spirit. What does this
mean for us? Do not ascertain the Holy Spirit’s works according to the knowledge that we have picked
up from somewhere else! When we are not sure, then we should ask for guidance
in our prayers to the Lord Jesus!
The Holy Spirit is the only help we have in such crises of
life as facing death threats! What He is asking us to do and what He does is beyond our understanding and may be
unlike anything that we have ever experienced. Once Jesus and his disciples
were in a boat and a squall struck. The disciples panicked and shouted ‘Master,
master, we are going to drown’. Jesus woke up, rebuked the storm, and it suddenly became
calm. In such a crisis, instead of listening to our prior knowledge or
wisdom, we should listen to the Holy Spirit and conform to His will.
"When you are brought before synagogues,
rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or
what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you
should say" (Luke 12:11-12).
Listening to the Holy Spirit and conforming to
His will is the key, no matter how
different, extraordinary, or
unreasonable it may seem to our understanding.
More often than not, the Holy Spirit’s works are
considered as to communicate a spirit of goodwill! If this was the sole act of
the Holy Spirit, then it was most likely
not His work at all. The Holy Spirit is in and with us, so that we may win the
fight. As we listen and conform to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, His presence is
evident and the joy of having Him with us becomes apparent when the victory is
delivered to us.
How can we fight the spiritual battle we are
facing? We’ve learned four things from our study of this passage: Avoid
hypocrisy, Fear the Lord, Acknowledge Jesus as
our Lord, and Trust the Holy Spirit. We can make this into an
acronym: A FAT (Have A little FAT and
win the victory in your fight!).
May God bless you and give you victory in all your
war efforts!
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