Sermons

Introduction

Let's turn to Luke chapter 8, that's where we're going to be. We're going to look at verses 16 to 21. I'll read the text, I'll pray, and then we'll unpack the message this morning. So, this is in the middle of Jesus giving a teaching on the parable of the sower, and so we start right in the middle of a message Jesus is giving in verse 16.

"No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." Then His mother and His brothers came to Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd. And He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You." But He answered them, "My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." This is the very word of God. Let's ask Him to be with us as we seek to understand it.

[Prayer] Lord, thank You for Your revelation. Thank You for Your word. Thank You, ultimately, for the Word, Jesus Christ, who enlightens the world. Help us now to understand what You are saying to us through Your Son, that we might be transformed into His image. That's the goal, Father, that we would be made like Christ. Accomplish that goal in us this morning, we ask in the name of Christ. Amen. [End]

Well, as Austin began last week – if you were here last week – he entered this chapter and this teaching from Jesus on the importance of hearing, and specifically, how you hear the word of God. And I think we know this well, that there are times in our life when we can hear someone speaking, but not really hear what they're saying. Husbands, where are you at? Talk to me here. There are moments where I love listening to my wife. I love coming home and asking her, "How was your day?" and getting the recap of things that went on. And when we get those moments to come together and talk, it's special.

But I've got to admit, there are times when, if I have something on my mind, my wife can see the cues where I'm physically hearing what she's saying, like my ears are not closed, but I'm not really hearing what she's saying. And usually this gets revealed when we talk about stuff like who's supposed to pick the kids up from school. Then it's exposed that I wasn't actually locked in because I was distracted, my mind was somewhere else. And so I heard what she said, but I didn't respond appropriately to what she said. I didn't respond in action.

Now, those are pretty inconsequential moments. Oftentimes she'll say, "hey, Jer, you've got something on your mind," and we'll lock in. But there are other times in life where when you're hearing but not really hearing and responding appropriately are much more severe, like when you hear that rattle of the snake in the bushes. That rattle is meant to warn you, "Stop. Back up. Move away." And if you just allow that rattle to enter your ear but you don't respond appropriately, well, you might face the consequences.

When it comes to Jesus, how we hear Jesus affects everything in our life. In fact, eternity hangs in the balance on how you hear Jesus. It determines if you walk in darkness or in light. It determines your eternal destiny, whether you will get to the gates of heaven and be welcomed in as a family member or be shut out as an enemy.

Jesus spoke and He spoke often, and people heard Him. Many people heard Jesus, but were they really listening? That's Jesus' purpose here in this teaching in Luke 8. He's concerned with how people are listening to Him. And so, for a little bit of context of this chapter and where we're at in Jesus' ministry, if you go to verse 1, you see, "He's going through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God."

So, at this point in His earthly ministry, Jesus is in full swing preaching. He's going from town to town. And Jesus was very popular. It says, "The twelve were with Him," – He's got His disciples – "also some other disciples, women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary Joanna and Susanna and many others," – Luke says in verse 3 – "many others." And then look in verse 4: "A great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to Him." So, Jesus is preaching to hundreds, probably thousands of people, and they're following Him throughout His journeys.

And so, in verse 5, He begins to give them a lesson that we know as the parable of the sower, and it's a lesson, really, on listening: "Be careful how you hear." And so Austin last week gave us – I think he was in verses 1-15, and he talked to us about the importance of how we hear the message of Jesus. And I'll just say this. It's a simple reality that when Jesus speaks and you hear Jesus' words, you cannot be neutral. There's no neutrality with the teaching of Jesus. There's a line from a song that I like where it goes, "You can't be neutral on a moving train. You're either on the train going with the train, or you're off of it. But you can't have one leg on, one leg off of a moving train."

It's a reality of Jesus' words. When He speaks, you're either with it or you're not. And He reveals that in the parable of the sower, doesn't He? The word of God, the gospel goes forth, and there are different hearers of the word. Some hear it and immediately they give in to the satanic deception and the word is snatched away. Others hear it, and they sprout up with a response of joy and acceptance, but soon the trials of life come and they forget that gospel message, they're so embroiled in the difficulty of life. Still, yet others hear the word, but soon the cares of this world choke it out. They're too busy. They're too preoccupied with the pleasures that this life has to offer, and so they put the word of Jesus on the side. But then there are yet others who hear the word, and it goes deep down into their soul and it changes them. And they are – using the analogy of the sower – the seed sprouts and it grows and it bears fruit in their life. Those are the receptive hearers. And those are the hearers Jesus wants us all to be, those who receive the word.

Now, Jesus is talking about hearing because He has a deeper concern, and that deeper concern is He wants you to be part of His family, His family. Jesus Christ wants you to be joined to the family of God. Family language is all throughout Scripture, and it's an important theme, Jesus wanting us in His family because it's through the family that we gain inheritance. It's through the family that we have relationship. And so Jesus is inviting us into His family. And we see this bookmarked, or bookended, I should say, in this text. I think Austin pointed this out in the first few verses.

Jesus is making a point to show that His people are around Him, His disciples. Mary and Susanna, they're around Him, the twelve are around Him, and they're walking with Him, and these are, as we'll discover, His true family because this section ends in verse 21, look there" My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." Jesus' blood relatives come to Him, and He makes a very clear statement about who is truly His family, and it's those who hear and respond appropriately to what they hear.

I'll just say at the outset, Jesus is inviting you and me into His family. He wants you to be in His family. And just think about the reality of family for a moment. Your family is sacred to you, it is. You protect your family. You guard your family. Your family is the closest to you. Think of your children and how they're the most important ones in your life. And, well, I think about this often as a minister. You hear of ministers who are so obsessed with their ministry, they sacrifice their family. And from the start of going into pastoral ministry, I've wanted to keep it at the forefront of my mind that my family comes first, that my family is my first ministry because family is special and sacred, and those are the ones you most love.

And you just think about the family of God, those whom God knows and loves and protects, those to whom God has promised an inheritance, to whom every blessing, every possession, everything He has is reserved for His family. And Jesus is inviting us into the family of God this morning. He wants us to know Him and to love Him. And He's telling us how we can be His family, and it has everything to do with how you hear the gospel and what that hearing does to you. How does it transform you?

So, here's what we're going to do in the text. I have three points. One, we're going to look at verse 16, is, "Hearing is light or darkness. Hearing is light or darkness." Verses 17 and 18, "Hearing is fear or hypocrisy." And then finally, verses 19 to 21, "Hearing is family or enemy." And what this has to do with is there's a way to hear the gospel, there's a way to hear Jesus that brings you into the light, and there's a way to hear it that keeps you in darkness. There's a way to hear the gospel that brings you into a fear of God, or there's a way to hear the gospel that leads you into a life of hypocrisy and deception. There's a way to hear the gospel that makes you a family member of Jesus, and there's a way to hear the gospel that makes you an enemy of Jesus, and He reveals that in these few short verses in our text.

So really, just another matter of context. We're jumping into the middle of this teaching. It's sort of like jumping into the end of a sermon; you're walking in at the conclusion, the last point. And that's what we're doing here, we're walking into Jesus' conclusion of His message and then seeing what happens afterwards. But there's a cohesive message here. He's wrapping up His concern with how we hear the gospel.

Hearing Is Light Or Darkness

So, let's look at point number one. And we're going to spend the majority of our time on point number two. So don't get nervous when I'm in point number two for ten minutes or so and you think this sermon is going to go on forever. Don't worry, that's our majority. But we're going to look at verse 16 first, point number one, "Hearing is light or darkness." And this is sort of a mini parable Jesus tells. It's a parable about a lamp and not covering it. "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it on a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light." Very simple parable, profound meaning though. But He's just saying, "If you light a lamp, you light it to keep it uncovered."

We assume light all the time because it's as simple as flipping a switch. We don't really think about the darkness much. But you've been camping, right? Or you've been in a place where the light is manual and you have to light it physically, like a match, and light a lamp or a torch. Maybe we haven't been with a torch, but...

You know what deep darkness is? These folks to whom Jesus was preaching would have been very familiar with deep darkness. They would have ordered their day according to the sun, and when the sun goes down, that's it, it's dark. And so they were acquainted with deep darkness, which is why Jesus over and over is using this really great metaphor of light and darkness. And we see it all through the Gospels this metaphor being used.

John introduces Jesus onto the scene in John 1 as the light of the world that the darkness could not overcome. Jesus is shown to be the light. It's a common theme, this metaphor of light and dark, and it's a great metaphor for hearing the words of Jesus and responding in faith because Jesus Himself is the light of the world. We're told that throughout the Gospels. The gospel that He preached is called the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ – Paul calls it that in 2 Corinthians 4. So the gospel itself is called light. But for those who respond to that gospel in faith, you are called light, Matthew 5:14, "You are the light of the world." And so what we see is Jesus is giving this little parable of, "If you light a lamp, it's meant to be displayed, and you are light if you hear and respond to the gospel appropriately."

Now, that simple little metaphor has profound meaning because what He's saying is, "If you have truly heard the gospel, it changes you. You become something that you were not." What do you become? Light. John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus is light, and when you are joined to Jesus, you become light, and this means something actually changes. In Ephesians chapter 5, the apostle Paul reminds us in verse 8 that "you were at one time darkness." Now, he doesn't say, "in darkness." No, no, no, "you were darkness."

Before Christ, if we understand, really, the testimony of the Scriptures against us as sinners, it's not that we were just amongst the darkness. No, we were darkness. We were active participants in the darkness and advancing the cause of darkness. But then, Paul says, "But now you are light in the Lord." So Jesus is saying, "If you have heard genuinely, you have actually become something. You've become light, you're a lamp that's lit. And as light, you have a responsibility to shine."

You did not receive the gospel merely to admire it intellectually. You did not receive the gospel to talk about it occasionally. You didn't receive the gospel to enjoy it privately. You received the gospel to be light. That means you are meant to live out the gospel. You are to walk in the light. You are to proclaim the light. You are to put that light on display. And isn't that what we see with Jesus in this very passage going from town to town, proclaiming the light?

As light, you also have a responsibility to others to shine. J. C. Ryle said it this way: "The highest form of selfishness is that of the man who is content to go to heaven alone." If you have heard the gospel, you've become something light, and you have a responsibility to walk in that light and to shine that light to others. A lamp is meant to be seen. The gospel is meant to be proclaimed. And if you've heard the gospel and received it by faith, you are the light of the world, the light of the world. There's no other light except you.

We forget that sometimes, don't we? So, you actually fall into this where you think that on Tuesday whatever happens in the election will determine the light that goes forth in this world, perhaps. Maybe we fall into that and we see it out there like, "Oh, that election needs to affect change. Oh, that event needs to happen. Those people in power need to affect change in this dark world." And while I'm not saying we don't have a responsibility to be involved to affect change with every opportunity we have as people, what I do want to remind you of, Christian, is that you are not a light of this world, you are the light of the world. This world is darkness aside from the light that is you, as you proclaim and put on display the beauty and reality of Jesus Christ living through you.

However, if you don't hear the gospel and respond in faith, you are the darkness, and you're actually contributing to the darkness. And we could go back through the parable of the sower and look at each person who received the seed and demonstrate how, in their rejection of the gospel, they don't just stand neutrally on the sideline and go, "I won't have Jesus, but nor will I have the darkness." No, no, no, no. The one where the satanic deception snatches the gospel away are choosing to actively follow and obey and believe Satan. The one where the trials of this world come are actually standing in defiance against God, saying, "I won't believe in a Jesus who causes me to suffer. I don't want that faith." And so they blaspheme the One who is sovereign over suffering.

The ones who are choked out by the cares of this world, again, are participating in the Adamic blasphemy that Adam and Eve in Eden partook in when they said, "I want the gifts and everything He gives but without Yahweh." That is darkness, my friend. For you to reject this gospel is to be an active participant in the darkness, to contribute to it. So, that's the first point: "Hearing is either light or it is darkness."

Hearing Is Fear or Hypocrisy

But consider this: "Hearing is fear or hypocrisy. This is point number two. Look at verse 17: "For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."

We're going to see some stuff in these verses that is sobering and, yet, encouraging. I want you, as we go through these verses, to be sobered, to stand in a measure of fear, but to come out of these verses with hope and encouragement because Jesus says some things in here that we need to take into account. He says some things that are profound and radical and unexpected.

So, let's look: "Hearing is fear or hypocrisy." The meaning of this little mini parable about secrets is that nothing is or can be hidden that will not be revealed. That's it. There's nothing that's a secret. As long as God is, secrets do not exist. You realize that? For God to be God, there's nothing hidden in this world, nothing.

Now, the deeper meaning has to do, again, with how we hear and respond to the gospel. Jesus is saying that the kind of hearer you are will be exposed. There are hearers, like in verse 14 of this chapter, who when they hear, they rejoice, they rise up with acceptance; but then as they go through life, the pleasures and cares of this world choke out their embrace of the gospel. They want salvation, but they also want their sin. They want Jesus in a ticket out of hell, but they also want the secret pleasures of their life and they don't want them to be revealed. This, my friends, is called hypocrisy. And Jesus is exposing hypocrisy. The hypocrite thrives in the secret place; but they will not always. The hypocrite will be exposed. Just look at those phrases: "Nothing is hidden, nor is anything secret." That's heavy. There is nothing secret.

Now, think about your life and think about those moments when you are alone. My mind immediately goes to Nathaniel meeting Jesus for the first time in John 1. Remember that? And He says, "Nathaniel, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." What was he doing under the fig tree? Because he immediately remembered. He didn't go, "Wait, fig tree? When was I there?" He goes, "You are Yahweh. You are God. You are the Messiah." Have you noticed how stark that is? All Jesus does is say, "When you're under the fig tree, I saw you," and he goes, "Yep, you're Him. You're Him. Done. Following."

What was he doing under the fig tree? He thought it was a secret. Whatever it was, nobody saw. And Jesus, in a moment, declares His omniscient Godness and He says, "I saw you." And for Nathaniel, it was enough. Now, think about your life. He could say that to us, too. "When you were there, I saw you." Nothing is hidden. This is heavy.

Now, realizing this truth and believing it is called the fear of God. Realizing this truth and believing it is called the fear of God, living life under the gaze of God's watching eye. There's a moment in 2 Timothy 4 where the apostle Paul, in verse 2, says to Timothy, "Preach the word." But do you know what he says right before that: "In the presence of God and of Jesus Christ, I charge you." Paul would often utilize language like that. He even says to Timothy at one point, "In the presence of God and of the elect angels, I charge you." Why was Paul saying that? Because he was aware of God's eyes, that God's watching, that God is seeing. In fact, let me give this to you as a little bit of a framework.

Do you want to understand Christian maturity? What is Christian maturity? Christian maturity is simply this: living life with an awareness of God. Do you want to grow in maturity as a Christian? You will grow in your awareness of God's watching gaze. That's what it means to be more and more mature, because what that will cause in your life is a greater pursuit of holiness, just like your boss walking in on you when you've got your hand in the cash register causes you to close the cash register, right, just like when you're a kid and you've got your hand in the cookie jar and mom walks in. What do you do? You don't say, "I need six months of rehab to get over stealing cookies." You close the cookie jar and you go, "What's that? My hand wasn't in the cookie jar." It stops you. The presence of someone else walking in on your rebellion stops that rebellion, doesn't it?

You wouldn't do what you do in secret if it wasn't secret, if there were people watching you, if there were people following you. That's called living life in the fear of God. James Boice says it insightfully: "Who we are when we are alone is who we truly are before God." Do you want to know who you are? Who are you in private when no one's around? And for the Christian, to grow in maturity is for them to live their life recognizing that "God is seeing me even if no one else is," that God's presence in this room right now is more real to me than your presence in this room because God sees even beyond what you see. You see me and you hear me. I'm here, I'm talking, look at my jacket. But you don't see my thoughts. But even at this moment right now, God sees my thoughts. He sees right through me, and He sees right through you. And Christian maturity is just coming to understand that and live your life in light of that.

This is the entire purpose of Ecclesiastes. Remember, Ecclesiastes says, "Rejoice, O man, in the days of your youth." This is Ecclesiastes 11.9. But just remember that God will bring all things into judgment. He's not saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, go have fun, and God's going to get you for it." No, that's not what he's saying. He's saying, "Yeah, go enjoy life; but no, live life in light of God's judgment." That's the end of Ecclesiastes, when all has been heard, "The end of all things is this, fear God and keep His commandments, for He will bring every deed into judgment." So the Christian lives life knowing, "Yeah, God is watching me."

Now, ignoring this reality is called hypocrisy, thinking that you can say one thing and live another and nobody will know. That's called hypocrisy. In fact, this kind of hypocrisy is the atheism of Psalm 10. Turn to Psalm 10 for a moment. This is the kind of atheism that is prevalent among churches. This is the kind of atheism that could exist in this room right now, where you acknowledge that God is real and you believe deep down in your bones that there is a God in heaven, and yet you live your life as if there isn't.

Look at Psalm 10:4, "In the pride of His face, the wicked does not seek the Lord; all of his thoughts are, 'There is no God.'" And you say, "Ah, that's the atheist." That's the one who has been convinced by scientific data and research that God doesn't exist, and though God has displayed Himself in the creation, it's not enough for the atheist. They need something more. They genuinely don't believe there is a God. No, no, no, no, that's not this kind of atheist because look down a few verses to verse 10: "The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by His might. He" – speaking of the wicked – "says in his heart, 'God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it.'"

Wait a second. Who has forgotten? God has forgotten. Oh, the atheist knows there is a God, he just doesn't think that God is going to call him out and expose him. And what Jesus is saying back here in Luke 8:17 is, "Oh no, my friend, there's not a single secret in this universe. Everything will be called out by God. Everything will be exposed." Ignoring this verse, this reality, is hypocrisy, or practical atheism: knowing there's a God but living like there's not. But realizing this and believing it is called living in the fear of God, having a greater God awareness.

Now, Jesus says secrets are going to be exposed. When are they going to be exposed? Well, we could go to other texts. For the sake of time, we'll not go there now. But in Matthew 10, Jesus reveals by saying the same thing, that this revelation of secrets will happen at the judgment seat. Your hypocrisy will be exposed, Jesus promises it, and it will be exposed on the judgment day, which means for the hypocrite, you can get away with fooling the church, you can get away with fooling your family, you can get away with fooling the people closest to you, but you cannot fool God. He sees through it, and He will reveal it.

Now, let me just make this note. For the hypocrite who's exposed in their sin, while they still have breath in their nostrils and blood in their veins, is receiving a mercy from God. There is no other way to describe the exposure of hypocrisy in this life other than mercy. Paul says to the religious elite, the hypocrites in the Pharisaic religion, in Romans 2:4, "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance." And for your sin to be exposed while you're still alive means one thing, that God has chosen not to expose it at the judgment seat when there is no recourse, when there is nothing for you to do in response when your sin is exposed to you and to everyone else, and the only thing to hear is judgment. No, no, no, now while there's still breath in your nostrils, it's exposed for one purpose: repentance. And friends, that's mercy. That is mercy, because Jesus shows us what happens when it's exposed, and it's terrifying.

Look at verse 18: "Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." You will be shown to either have been a true hearer or a hypocrite. And if you're true, if you're genuine, notice what He says: "To the one who has, more will be given." What is that more? Well, all you have to do is go to the Sermon on the Mount to see what that more is: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who weep now, for they shall laugh. Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." My friend, for those of you who have heard the gospel and responded in obedient faith to the Lord and you've allowed the word of God to go deep down into your soul and to change you, to penetrate your very being where you are now a disciple of Jesus who is light in this world, to walk in obedience to Christ, you inherit everything. What you have in this life, only more is given to you in eternity.

But notice what He says to the fake Christian: "And from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." Friends, I think that that word "think" is the most terrifying word, definitely in this passage, maybe in Scripture: "thinks." Whatever, "even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." You know why that's terrifying? Because it's one thing to know that you're a rebel of Christ, it's another thing to think you're a disciple and to wake up in hell. Isn't that terrifying?

The reality of Matthew chapter 7, when they stand before God in judgment and say, "Lord, Lord, did we not do many mighty works in Your name? And we testified of Your name, and we did miracles, and we cast out devils in Your name. Look at us, the most faithful of the faithful. We had the greatest ministry and we were the most devout, loyal to You, Lord." And He says, "Depart from Me, I never knew you."

Friends, what that shows us is that they themselves were deceived by their hypocrisy. They somehow got to a place where they thought they could have their secret sin and be faithfully serving the Lord and it would never be exposed, and they themselves were deceived by the sin because sin is inherently deceptive. It's what it is, it's DNA. You cannot participate in sin and not be deceived. And Jesus is saying that there are those who hear, and they believe they've responded in faith, and they think that they will have the kingdom, but even what they think they have will be taken away.

This is terrifying because it's showing us that you are not in control of your own sin. You can actually convince yourself that you are okay in your hidden secret sin, and Jesus is giving us some news: "You're not." And if what you think you have is taken away in the judgment day, all that's left is judgment. Friends, eternity is at stake here.

So then, you look at Jesus' words in the beginning of verse 18, "Take care then how you hear," and you realize that this is not a frivolous throwaway statement. In fact, if you look up that phrase "take care," throughout Scripture, you know when you'll find it? Jesus telling the Israelites, "Take care that none touches Mount Sinai when God descends upon it, or you die." It's God telling Israel when they've entered the land of Canaan but have allowed idol worshipers to remain, "Take care that you are not deceived by their idolatry and are destroyed like them." It's like the author of Hebrews saying, "Take care that there is not found in you an evil, unbelieving heart." These words "take care" is Jesus giving a sober and a somber warning to His listeners: "Make sure that you are hearing Me correctly and responding appropriately."

Now friends, I get it. A message like this is terrifying. And there should be a healthy fear in our own hearts. And so we ask, "What's the hope, Jesus? If sin is deceptive, and if we see hypocrisy exposed, and if, by nature ,I would be the most deceived in my hypocrisy, what hope is there for me?" Well, Christian, it's very simple. Don't keep secrets. Christians do not live in the shadow of secrecy. Christians don't keep things hidden because Christians are confessors. I think of David in Psalm 32 when he says, "I acknowledged my sin to You, I did not cover my iniquity, and I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," – and then this beautiful statement – "and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."

Friends, your Christian life begins with confession, doesn't it? You confess your sin to the Lord, and you cry out for forgiveness. That's what repentance is: confession. If we as believers – or Christians are called believers. We call each other that, right? "Oh, he's a fellow believer." I would like us to use, interchange with that "confessor" or "repenter." "Oh, he's a fellow repenter," because our Christian life begins with confession, but it never stops there. It continues throughout a life of confession where our relationship with sin is not a relationship of hiding and coddling, it's a relationship of exposing and killing, isn't it, where as Christians, we're sinners, but we confess our sin, and we bring it into the light, and we kill our sin.

And some of you in this room, maybe you've never confessed your sin truly to the Lord. It would be a terrifying thing to truly confess your sin, to truly admit who you are as a sinner. That's why you've always made excuses for it: "Yeah, but, well, you understand, it wasn't that bad. Well, so you've got to understand the situation. Well, I'm doing the best I can," because if you confess your sin, and you don't have a Savior, that's the worst thing you can do, to expose yourself.

But David, in Psalm 32, says, "Oh, no, no, no, I laid it all bare. I confessed all of it. Why? Because I have a Savior who's taken it upon Himself. So, of course, I'm going to be vulnerable and open to confess my sin because Christ on the cross said to, 'Tetelestai, it is finished. I've borne the weight of wrath because of your sin upon Myself.'" And so you can run to the throne of grace knowing, "I'm forgiven of all my sin." So, the appeal for you, the gospel appeal, is if you've never confessed your sin, confess it to the Lord and find freedom and the washing and cleansing from your sin that He offers. He will never turn away a confessing sinner, ever.

And Christian, the same continues for you today. Have you forgotten that? Have you begun to believe the lie that your Christian life is about performance and perception, and so you've allowed sin to grow in the shadows? Confess it, bring it to the light. That's what we are as Christians. Hypocrisy is not being a sinner. That's not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is being a sinner and pretending you're not. Hypocrisy is saying you're one thing when you're another. Hypocrisy is not being a sinner, for all have sinned. In fact, read 1 John 1, "If anyone says he's without sin, he's a liar, and the truth isn't in him. But if you confess your sin, He's faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness." Christian, you're a confessor.

Remember the Lord's Supper when it was first instituted, and Jesus said, "At this table is the one who will betray Me." Do you remember the question the disciples asked? "Is it I, Lord? Is it I?" As you see hypocrisy exposed in the lives of others, or if you see hypocrisy exposed in your own life, and you see a text like this where He says, "There's a deception where you think you'll inherit heaven, but you won't," I think it's a good question to go, "Is it I, Lord?"

But here's the hope-filled answer. Do you want the hope? No, it's not you, if you live confessionally, if you expose your sin, if you refuse to allow sin to grow in the hidden parts of your life and you confess it to the Lord and to those it's impacted, and you bring it to light, whether that's with your family, or your pastor, or those in your life and accountability, and you say, "I'm not doing this alone. I can't fight this alone. The same devil that calls David to fall on that rooftop is the same devil tempting me to the same sin. I'm exposing it for all to see, and I'm confessing it to the Lord, and I will not allow this sin to grow in my life. Is it I, Lord?"

No, my friend, not if you expose your sin. But if you willfully choose to hide it and to protect it, do not expect anything other than to hear those words, "Depart from Me, I never knew you." It's a terrifying thing to play with sin and to take it lightly. But the answer and the hope is so simple: Confess it. Confess it. Bring it to the light. Oh, and there is forgiveness to be had.

I tell my daughters, six and three, every night, "Jesus loves to forgive." He loves it. He enjoys it. Jesus delights in forgiveness. Have you thought about it in that context where Jesus actually enjoys forgiving you? He wants to forgive you. He yearns to forgive you. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I would have gathered you under My wings. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," with tears streaming down His face as the incarnate Christ is just wishing, "Oh, if only they would have confessed and come to Me, I would have loved to have wrapped them up in My love and salvation." Jesus loves to forgive. That's your Savior, Christian. So run to Him in confession, and He delights in forgiving you.

Hearing Is Family Or Enemy

Hearing Christ will either lead to a fear of God or hypocrisy. Which is it in your life? Finally, verses 19 to 21, "Hearing is family or enemy." "Then His mother and His brothers came to Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd. And He was told, 'Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside desiring to see You.' But He answered them, 'My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.'"

The closest people in the world to Jesus, His actual blood relatives, couldn't reach Him in this moment, He was so popular. So I imagine Mary, probably whispering to some boy, "Hey, sneak through the crowd, get up to Jesus, whisper in His ear that I'm here." It's one of those, like, presidential moments where the president's in a very important press conference, but then you see the intern run up and whisper. And then the president changes, "Oh, guys, sorry, we've got to close this down, I've got something to attend to." It would have been one of those moments. I imagine Mary would have suspected that would happen.

As soon as He heard, "Oh, guys, I'm so sorry, My family's here, I'll see you guys later," and Jesus would walk off stage and go interact with His family. But that's not the response He gives. And how often is it Jesus – He has different priorities than we do or we'd expect Him to have, right? And He says, "No, no, I'll tell you who My family is. This is My family, the ones who hear My word and do it."

Listen to what Bishop Ryle says again: "According to verse 21," – and let this sink in – "according to verse 21, the holy family cannot assume privilege, and sinners cannot assume rejection." The blood relatives of Jesus cannot assume privilege and priority, and sinners cannot assume rejection. Jesus looks amongst the crowd and says, "This is My family, those who hear Me and respond in obedient faith."

Like I said at the start, it's a privilege to be family, and you, me, family with Jesus. A last name can get you places, right? What are some last names around here that might have some influence? I don't know. What's that? I was thinking like Chip and Joanna Gaines, I don't know, close to Waco. You think about the heritage of names, and when you find out, "Oh, that's so-and-so. Oh, it is? Wow." Might get you in the door. Might get you some relationships. The privilege of family. And Jesus, the God of the universe, Yahweh incarnate, is looking at you and me and saying, "This is My family." That's a remarkable thing, Christian. Like the author of the Hebrews says, "He is not ashamed to call us brothers." He should be ashamed to call us brothers. I would be ashamed to call me brother.

Think about your life, Christian. He's not ashamed of you, of you. And think about verse 17. He knows who you are better than you do. He's seen you under the fig tree. He knows, and He says, "That one's Mine. I want them in My family." The privilege of family. And Jesus is saying, "Your family, why? Because you've earned it?" No, because you simply heard His word, and you received it, and you responded in appropriate faith.

You didn't respond by going, "Eh, I've got better things to do," the cares and riches of this world. You didn't hear it go, "Eh, I believe what Satan is saying that I should live for today." You didn't – you receive it and see the sufferings that you endure and go, "It's not worth it. If I have to endure suffering for that, it's not worth it." No, no, no, you're simply one who received it and went, "Yeah, I'll follow Him. Yeah, He's worth living for, and He's worth dying for." And, "Take this world, but give me Jesus. He's the friend I want." That's it. You simply received His word, and you responded in obedient faith, and He looks at you and says, "Family."

You know, at this point in His ministry, even some of His brothers refused to believe in Him. And you and I are closer family to Jesus than His actual siblings who refused to believe in that moment, who grew up playing blocks with Him in the nursery. You and I are closer. Why? Because we heard, and we believed. What an invitation this morning. In this room in Dallas, Texas, you're receiving an invitation from the King of kings and the Lord of lords to enter His family, if you respond to His word in faith.

Conclusion

Now, I want to end here with just an encouragement to you Christians on the simplicity and beauty of this message. There is a man who was teaching through this, and this is how he ended his teaching, and I want to read it, because what he's calling us to do is hear the word of God and do it. And there's a beautiful simplicity to this, and yet there is a required dependency, and I'll tell you what I mean.

Listen to what this man says: "Hearing is worthless if it doesn't result in doing. Attention to God's word must be coupled with a willingness to do it, or the truth of it will fade. Has God's word impressed on you that you must forgive? Then do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must confess the wrongdoing? Do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must apologize? Do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must speak the truth regardless of the consequences? Do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must discontinue a certain practice? Do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must make a gift? Do it. Has God's word impressed on you that you must bear witness to an acquaintance? Do it today if you can. Has God's word impressed on you that you must leave all to serve Him? Do it. Or, if you realize that you are a soil other than the good soil, repent and believe without delay. Ask God to put eternal life in your soul today and to produce the fruit of the Spirit abundantly in your life."

There's a beautiful simplicity to that: "Do it." Respond in faith. Do it. Obey Him. And yet, Christian, there is a recognition that apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, we're incapable of obedience, and so the Christian lives in this tension of pursuing active obedience to Christ: "I will do what He says while recognizing that unless the Spirit that He gives empowers me to do so, I'm helpless." And so we're constantly living in this tension of interdependency on the Spirit and pursuing action in obedience to Christ. That's why, Christian, you find yourself going throughout the day going, "Lord, give me patience," because you need Him to give it to you. It's a fruit of the Spirit to have patience, not something you can muster up. It's why in the moments of temptation you say, "Lord, give me self-control. Lord, give me love. Lord, help me to love the unlovable. Lord, help me to show mercy to my enemy. Lord, empower me to walk in obedience." The Christian life is a life lived dependent. But He promises if you ask, He'll give.

And so Christian, as we hear the word of Christ, and we understand that those who hear it and do it are His family, may we go forth this morning, determined, "Lord, help me to walk in obedience by the power of Your Spirit." And when you fail, Christian, confess it. We think we're confessing that which is secret. You're not. It's not secret. There's no such thing as a secret when God is watching. And so we go forth as confessors this week, dependent upon His Spirit to help us walk in obedience.

So grateful for you. Thank you for allowing me to come and preach the word. Let's pray as we close.

[Prayer] Father, You are a kind and gracious God. Help us all to walk in obedience to You, to live life under Your gaze, Your watchful gaze, we pray in the name of Christ. Amen.