Let These Words Sink Into Your Ears

And this really is the point of the sermon. It's something that we're going to come back to at the end. And it's very simple. And the simple thing is that truth has consequences. Truth has consequences. And if you seek to deny the consequences of truth, what you're denying is truth. You can't have the thing without the benefit. We can't claim to believe God's word and refuse its implications for our lives. This morning, Jesus teaches his disciples that his words, God's words, have consequences. And so this morning, we're going to be talking about our disposition towards those words, towards what Jesus has said and what Jesus has done. And we're going to be called to follow him and to obey him and to bear our cross like he bore his cross. Because we won't rest with him and dwell with him in eternity if we don't live as he lived here on earth.

That's the goal this morning. That's the point, is to look at how Jesus lived and what he taught his disciples and realize the implications of those words and other things that Jesus has said for our own lives. Would you please stand for the reading of God's word from Luke chapter 9, verses 43 through 45. This is the word of the Lord and it is eternally true. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them, so that they would not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this statement. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. It's been a little bit since we've been in Luke, and so I want to give you some context about what's going on here. Earlier in the chapter,

Jesus has given authority to his disciples to go out into the villages and to preach the gospel and to heal, to cast out demons. And so they go out and they do this work. And then they come back to Jesus and they report to him everything that they've said and done. And they're tired and they want to go away and rest. And so they try to go away and rest, but the people follow them. the disciples tolerate the crowds for the day. And at the end of the day, they come to Jesus and they say, Jesus, you've got to send these people away into the villages. It's late. They need places to sleep. They need food. And we don't have any of that stuff. And Jesus said to them, you feed them. This is the feeding of the 5,000. And they're going, how do we feed them? And he says, give me the bread and the fish that you have. And he multiplies it. And all the people are fed and they're satisfied. And so now the disciples are particularly tired. And they go on.

and they're learning about what ministry with Jesus is like. And his ministry is just getting going. And then they're dealing with this work of teaching and casting out demons. And at one point, Jesus leaves with a couple of the disciples, with Peter and James and John, and they go up on the mountain to pray. And while they're up on the mountain, Jesus is transfigured. He's revealed to Peter and to James and to John in the presence of Moses and Elijah. And the disciples are up there going, this is a good thing. We need more of this. Let us build you some tabernacles so you guys can hang out. And Jesus says, you guys don't understand what's going on. And then they leave. And then they come back down the mountain to this ruckus that's going on down at the mountain. And there's this argument that's going on in the midst of the crowds because there's this demon-possessed boy that the disciples can't heal. And the Pharisees are there saying,

We thought you guys had power and had authority, but why can't you cast this demon out? And the disciples are wondering the same thing, going, why can't we cast this demon out? We don't understand what's going on. And so Jesus casts out this demon. And then when he's aside with his disciples, he says, they're asking him, how come we couldn't cast out this demon? And he says, because these kind of demons only come out through prayer. And so this is the work that's been going on. The crowds have been growing. The disciples have been learning. And Jesus' ministry has been expanding. More and more people are coming after him. More and more people are following him. And you have to think, why were the people coming? Why was his ministry growing? You know, here we are, we're a church. We want our ministry to grow. We want our reach to be extended. And we look at this and we go, this is successful, good gospel ministry. And this is the sort of thing that we want to be a part of.

And if you were there, you would have been excited. It would have been amazing. And you think, why can't we be in places like this and be doing things like this? And it's a fair enough question. And we ought to seek to be faithful in our ministry. But I want you to know, particularly this morning, what Jesus does in the midst of all of this excitement and this amazement and this wonder at what he's saying and what he's doing. Our text this morning is Jesus in the midst of all of this hullabaloo and all of this... this wonderful, positive, and encouraging stuff, he grabs his disciples just for a second, and he has a sidebar with them. And what does he say to them? He says to them, I'm going to die. And here's all of this excitement, and he, you know, time out, what a party, you know, crash, or what a downer. He, in the midst of all that, says, let this sink into your ears. I'm going to die. And then the disciples don't understand what's being said, right?

It says that they just didn't get it. And they didn't ask him about it either. And so that's our text this morning. I want to open it up a little bit for us. One of the things that goes on, how do you explain Jesus' words here in the midst of what's going on? It seems completely contrary to his life and ministry and what's going on. And the disciples would think so. We would think so. We think this is what gospel ministry should look like. growing by leaps and bounds, people coming from all over the place to hear the word, to be healed, to be saved, to grow. This is what we want. And that was their present reality. That is what they're dealing with. And Jesus says to them, essentially, it's not always going to be this way. I'm going to die. And nothing could be further from the disciples' understanding or expectation than for Jesus to say, essentially, All of this that's going on right here and right now, it's going to stop. It's not going to continue. Now, if you were the disciples, what would you want? You would want this to continue. You would want this to go on. You would say, this is a good thing. You would say what Peter and James and John said up on the mountain. Lord, this is good. Let's have some more of this. But Jesus says, I'm going to die. This is not going to continue. And there's this...

This disconnect in the disciples' minds. How can we be here and you be telling me that that's coming? It's sort of like a weather report down in Florida. You know how you always hear about hurricanes down in Florida? And then you watch the news reporters who were there before the storm hits? And everything looks beautiful. Looks like Florida. Bright, sunny, warm, blue skies, palm trees, all that. But there's news reporters there and there's power company crews there because they know what's coming. And yet you look around and you go, you mean there's a hurricane coming? And the answer is yes, there's a hurricane coming. You better board your windows and block your doors. And so there's a disparity between the current reality and what's going to become in the future. Excuse me. And so Jesus, to get their attention, he says, Let these things sink into your ears. What he's saying, essentially, is listen to me. Stop what you're doing and listen. I have something to say. Let these words sink into your ears. I'm going to be killed. Now, in Luke, it doesn't say, I'm going to be killed. But in Matthew and in Mark, the parallel accounts, it does say that. He says that the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him and he will be raised on the third day.

In Mark, it says they will kill him and after he's dead, he will be raised on the third day. And so there's, you know, while Luke doesn't record the specific words that Jesus said, the disciples understood in this context clearly what Jesus was saying. I'm not going to be with you. I'm going to be killed. The disciples couldn't conceive of it. They couldn't understand. I mean, you're with Jesus Christ. He's teaching. He's healing. People are coming by the by the by the loads to him. And then he says, I'm going to be handed into the hands of men and they're going to kill me. And the disciples are thinking, for what? For what? You're the Messiah. You're the promised one. You're the one that all we've been waiting for for years and years and years and years. What do you mean people are going to kill you? Why? Why would they kill Jesus? The disciples did not understand his statement.

It was concealed from them so that they would not perceive. And they were afraid to ask him about it. Now you have to ask, why didn't they understand? Why didn't the disciples understand what Jesus had to say? Was it because God hid it from them? It can't be that God hid it from them because here Jesus is telling them and he says to them, I'm going to be handed over into the hands of men and they're going to kill me. Is that understandable? Do you understand those words? Do you think the disciples understood? The words. They understood the words. And yet it was concealed from them. Now sometimes it's God's, Jesus' habit to speak in parables. So that hearing they will not hear and seeing they will not see. But here, he's not speaking in parables. He's speaking plainly. They're going to kill me. And anyone who was listening would understand what he was saying. And so if it wasn't that God hid the meaning from them, you're left going, how was it concealed from them?

How was it concealed from them? It was concealed from them because they weren't willing to see it. They weren't willing to hear it. They would not accept it. Think of being in math class. And if you were like me, you didn't do your homework. And the worst math class I ever took was geometry. Because in geometry, you had to memorize theorems. And you just had to memorize them. And if you didn't memorize them, what happened when the test came? What was the answer? The answer was concealed. It was hidden. It was unavailable to me. Why was it unavailable to me? Because I wasn't willing to do the work of understanding it. Explain how wide this angle is. I can't. I don't know how. It's bigger than the other ones. The other two are small, so this one has to be big. There's theorems that explain that much more properly. But that was my level of understanding because...

It was concealed from me. I hadn't done the work. I wasn't willing to put in the effort. And it's interesting that when you don't understand something in math class, what should you do? I have a question. I have a question. I don't get it. Now, what do you think of the kid that raises his hand and says, I don't get it? You think, they're stupid. Because you, when you don't understand, are smart enough not to ask. And yet they'll do better on the test because they raised their hand and said, can you explain that teacher? I don't get it. And yet here we find that the disciples did not understand. It was concealed from them. And they were afraid to ask him about the statement. They wouldn't ask. And so their ignorance, they perpetuated their ignorance by their unwillingness to understand. This is how we should think about students in math class who don't do their work. You got bad grades because you weren't willing to do the work.

of understanding. You wouldn't do the homework. You wouldn't ask when you didn't understand. And therefore, the knowledge isn't yours. And when the test comes, it's exposed. I said that the disciples didn't understand because they didn't want to. What Jesus said was understandable. It's not that they couldn't have perceived it. It's that it didn't jive with what they were experiencing right then. Remember that they're in the context where Jesus' life and ministry is growing. like gangbusters, exponentially. People are coming. People are being healed. They can't get away. He's in such high demand. They've been given authority to teach and to cast out demons. These are exciting times. And Jesus says, it's all going to end because I'm going to die. And they go, I'm sorry, did you say something? They missed it. They heard it, but they didn't grasp it. Even though Jesus said, let these words sink into your ears.

When this idea of letting it sink in, you think of rain. And it's like, you can have just a downpour. It can be dry and parched and be in the middle of a drought. And if you get a downpour, it's harmful. Because none of the water sinks in. It all just sheets off. And so when you have a drought and you need rain, what kind of rain do you want? You want a nice, slow, calm, soaking rain. You don't want the rain coming down sideways for 20 minutes, dump an inch and a half on you and then go away. You'd rather have half an inch that comes down over four or five hours and soaks in. It takes time. The ground's hard. It has to be softened up. It has to be loosened up so that it receives the water, so that it's beneficial. This is the sort of imagery that's going on when Jesus says, let these words sink into your ears. Take time. Give attention to them. Don't just let them sheet off.

The surface. But the disciples didn't understand what happened. It ran away and they didn't grab it and say, wait, what do you mean? It's interesting. Our text for next week, you know what happens right after this? Jesus says, I'm going to die. They don't understand it. Then they're walking somewhere and the disciples get into an argument about who the greatest one is. It seems so backwards to what's just been said. I don't know if it was just the next day. We're not given the exact timeline. But Jesus says, I'm going to die. They don't understand it. And then not long after that, they're arguing about which one of them is the greatest. It doesn't make any sense to be talking about that if you've just been told that your master is about to die. The things that Jesus said to them, that he spoke to them, were very clear and understandable. They just let wash away. Because it didn't fit together with their understanding of what God's kingdom being established was going to look like. They thought this thing that they were enjoying right at the present moment, all of these people, all of this praise, all of this,

this adoration, all of this honor, that that was just going to be. That's just what life was. Honor and glory and wonder and amazement just perpetually. And Jesus says, no, it's not always going to be like that. I'm going to die. It didn't fit together with the disciples' understanding and their desires. And so they dismissed it. Here's what Calvin has to say on this text. Speaking about the disciples' willful ignorance, he says, So great is the influence of preconceived opinion that it brings darkness over the mind in the midst of the clearest light. The apostles had imagined that the state of Christ's kingdom would be prosperous and delightful, and that as soon as he made himself known, he would be universally received with the highest approbation, the highest praise, the highest honor. This is what they had expected.

And when Jesus says it's not going to continue like this, they were unable to conform their understanding to what Jesus said. And so they lost it. Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6 is a very dear passage to me. Part of the reason that this passage is dear to me is that when Vanessa and I were broken up and going through all kinds of pain on the inside, personally I was, one of the verses that I was... one of the things I was told to memorize was this verse. And it was a comfort to me and a real help to me in the midst of difficulty. And it gave perspective to what I was experiencing. Now, I wasn't experiencing the great joy and happiness that the disciples were experiencing. It was quite the opposite. Very sad, very discouraged. But either way, we have our understanding of things, whether they be a good thing or whether it be a bad thing.

And what scripture tells us to do in Proverbs is it says, lean not on your own understanding. Do not lean on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. That's what you're to do. You're to trust whatever the circumstance, be it good like the disciples are experiencing, be it difficult like I was. Trust in the Lord, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. This is what the disciples failed to do. They trusted their understanding. They said, we like it like this. We're going to keep it like this. And yet we know and we observe in our own lives that the decisions that we make, there are some times that we have difficult things come into our lives, hard things. And one of the options we have is to ignore them. You guys know anybody who might have cancer but won't go to the doctor?

Do you know people who would do that if they thought they had cancer? I do. I know people like that. They say, I'm not going to listen to what the future has. I'm going to live now, here and now. I've got this pain. I've got this ache. I'm not going to address it, though. You say, well, I can't accept, I can't bear the pain, the hardship, the agony of the truth of what's actually going on or going to happen. So I'm just going to ignore it. And I'm going to live now, in the moment. Squeeze as much life out as I can out of these days with no regard to the future and what's to come. This is the failure of the disciples. Another example would be, you know, politically, a lot of people talk, you know, we talk about how the government spends money and how they should and what they should spend money on and what they shouldn't spend and why they should and why they shouldn't.

But there's this reality that some people are more aware of than others. It's that there's only so much money. There's only so much money. And if you spend more money than you have, eventually the gears are going to come to a grinding halt, and it's not going to work anymore. Because the truth is, there's only so much money. And the consequence is, if you spend it poorly, you will run out. You can't say, well, we've got money, so we need to spend and we need to spend, and what we need is more money and more money and more money, because eventually that well is going to dry up. And then the consequences of those decisions are going to be brought to bear. And so truth has consequences. Jesus says, I'm going to die. There are going to be consequences for the disciples that they aren't looking at, letting sink in, dwelling on. They just let it go. Like the water sheets off the parched ground, so Jesus' words just went away.

They didn't understand and they were afraid to ask about it. Why? Do you want to know what's going to happen to our country when we run out of money? Do you want to have a conversation, a real conversation about that and what it's going to mean for you and for your retirement and for your kids and for your grandkids? Do you want to talk at length about what life's going to be like for your kids? No, you don't. You're afraid to talk about it. You go, it's so bad, I don't even want to think about it. And so the disciples were afraid and they didn't ask. And it was inappropriate of them. So truth.

has consequences. I want to talk a little bit about the content of what Jesus tells them. He tells them, I'm going to be delivered into the hands of men. Now, what's that mean? That means he's going to die, right? Now, I want to talk about his death. First, the comfortable part about Jesus' death, comfortable, if there is such a thing as comfortability with Jesus' death, it's this. It's that his death was voluntary. He was willing. to die. He tells us in John 10 verses 17 and 18, he says, for this reason, the father loves me because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from my father. And so the first, and so you go, praise God that he was willing to send his son. And that in the midst of the

When it all came to a head and Jesus is praying in the garden and he says, if there be any other way, Father, let this cup pass from me. He's saying, if I don't have to die, please don't let me die. Nevertheless, your will be done, not mine. We see in perfect focus that his death was voluntary, that he wasn't killed against his will. He was willing to die for the salvation of mankind. For our souls. For us to be saved, he had to die. And he went to that cross willingly. And praise God for the love that he's had for us in doing that. But I want you to realize that, I want to ask you a question to get at what I'm driving at. Could Jesus have lived a full life into his 70s or 80s, perfect, sinless, teaching, healing, helping, comforting, doing all of the things he did and then died at that point and had his blood still be effectual for us? Could his blood still have accomplished its purpose if it had been 50 years later? It could have. And so what I want you to bear in your mind is that while his death was voluntary, it was not passive. He didn't go out into the woods and go, I know I need to die for the sins of my people.

Die. That's not what happens to him. What happens to him? He was handed over into the hands of men and they tortured him and they killed him. Why did they do that? Remember that the disciples are enjoying all of the wonder and the amazement of Jesus' ministry. And he says, I'm going to be handed over and they're going to kill me. It's going to be an active hatred of Jesus Christ that brings him to death. He died, he submitted to it voluntarily. But he was almost universally hated at the point of his death. There was no one with him. He was killed as an act of aggression for the things that he had said and done. The things that he was doing at this point that were bringing him all of this praise and all of this amazement and all of this wonder. These are the very things that caused the Jews to hate him and to kill him. To free a convicted murderer, Barabbas, so that they could kill him.

And when Pilate says, I don't find anything wrong with this guy, you see to it to yourself, they did. They took him out and they killed him. So what's the implication when Jesus says, let these words sink down into your ears. Pay attention, listen hard. I'm going to die. But not just I'm going to die, I'm going to be killed. What does it take to kill somebody? Intent? Yeah, it takes intent. It takes some sort of desire. I mean, I've never killed a person, but I have killed, I've killed deer. And generally speaking, the bigger the animal, the harder it is to kill. This is a general rule of thumb for hunters. If you hunt or if you have kids that want to hunt, you'll find that they'll have a real hard time shooting a big animal because it's not like a bird. The bigger the animal gets, the more it represents life to them and the reality of taking it. And when I first started hunting, the first time I had the ability to kill a deer, it was for me.

to be in Georgia away from me, and had no clue that I was here, and I had a rifle with a scope. I could have killed him with a slingshot if I had good enough aim. And I sat there shaking, looking at that deer, and I could not pull the trigger. I couldn't do it. And that deer just walked by, just slow as could be, just eating his corn, just moseyed on by me. It takes a lot to be willing to kill something. You have to recognize what life is. And then you have to, you know, in that... killing an animal and killing a person being killed are two very different things, different motivations. But if you're willing to kill a man, you're not killing them for food. You might kill them because you're angry, and that's what Jesus has endured. Barabbas, who was part of the insurrection, part of the men who had killed Jews and been locked up for it, they said, we want him out so that we can kill him with our own hands.

And the disciples didn't have the ability to take hold of this, what was going to happen. That this Jesus that they loved and who was adored, that the whole world was going to turn on him and that he was going to be put to death. So what's this mean for us? What does his death mean for us? Well, for one, where the disciples failed, there are two applications. And the first is where the disciples failed for not understanding and not asking, you ought not to fail. If there are things you do not understand, whether it can be as simple as math class or as serious as the life and death of Jesus Christ, when there are things you don't understand, you are obligated for the sake of your soul to find out what's going on. You have to understand. You can't be in the dark. One of the lies we believe when we decide not to ask what's going on is we assume that our ignorance won't be exposed.

In the same way that the child, when he has a math test and he decides, I'm not going to study or I'm done studying and yet there's work left undone. What is his heart's desire about the test? His heart's desire is, I hope this question's not on the test. I hope that my ignorance is not exposed. So what happens when the thing that you've left undone or you've remained in ignorance, you haven't sought out the truth and fought for an understanding? of it. What happens when that is the test and there's nothing else? Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know why he had to die? Do you know who you are? You cannot be ignorant and think and hope. I hope and call it faith that you're going to inherit the kingdom of God if you don't know who God is and know who you are. His words matter. And if you don't know who you are and you don't know what your tendencies are and what your...

what your sins are or what the consequences are of them actively right now. Not potentially what could they be in the future if, but right now with who you are and where you are and what you've done. If you don't have a knowledge of what is actually happening, what God has to say about that, you've put your soul in danger. We are obligated to know the Lord, to understand his words, to understand his ways. Don't hope. Don't hope. Don't be foolish enough to hope that the things that you've neglected won't show up on the test at judgment. Because they will. Not one word or thought or deed from your whole life is hidden from the sight of God. Not one. Let these words sink into your ears. Nothing is hidden from him. He knows you. If no one else in the world knows, he knows.

And he's the one with whom we have to do. He's the one that we're going to give an answer to. And so you can hide it from me and you can hide it from your parents and you can hide it from your wife and you can hide it from your husband and your employer and your whole family. You can hide it from the world, but you can't hide it from the Lord. Jonah in the belly of the fish down at the bottom of the sea was not hidden from the Lord and neither will your sins be. You have to know the consequences of your actions. You say, but pastor, if I know the, if I know the, you mean you're saying I have like, But I love that stuff. But there are things that I like, but that's really hard. And I say, that's right, it is. It's a fight to get into heaven. It's a fight to love Jesus Christ. It's a fight till death to persevere. And it's a fight you have to engage in. If you're not willing to engage, if you're not willing to sacrifice, to change, to give glory to God with the way you live,

and the things you say, and the things you do, then Jesus' death isn't for you. You can bear your own load before God, and you will. But it doesn't have to be that way. It can be very different. If you let his words sink into your ears, that he had to die, that he had to be killed for your sins, that there was no other remedy, no other solution, no other fix for that problem. He had to die. Don't live your life in ignorance. It will not end well for you. It will not end well for you. Know the Lord Jesus Christ. Know his word. Know what he says. Let the Bible describe who you are and what you are. Use biblical language. I was just told this last week, Dave, you should stop saying sleeping together and you should start saying fornicating and adultery. Because sleeping together is palatable, but fornicating and adultery, it's not. And it was a good exhortation. I was exhorted, be biblical in the way you talk.

Be biblical in the way you think of sin. Because sleeping together is much more palatable, not nearly as bad as adultery. You're an adulterer. It's very different. Don't be ignorant about the things that Jesus has to say. That's the first application. The second application is that life will not continue to be as comfortable for you as it is right now. Not if you're faithful. Life will not continue to be as comfortable for you as it is right now if you're faithful. Why do I say that? I say that because Jesus went from being the praise of the crowds and the peoples to being spit on and rejected and despised and beaten and killed. And his way is not too good for us. It's enough that a pupil become like his master. In Matthew 10, 24 and 25, Jesus says, A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher.

and the slave like his master. If you have a principle within you that life such as it is right now, whatever good things that you have that you want to hang on to, if you cling on to those things and you say, I will not have these things stripped away from me. There's nothing that is worth losing this. Then I say, you will be given those things and you'll get to have them and nothing more. The rich young man in Lazarus are the example that we have of this very thing going on. Lazarus is poor. Lazarus has sores that the dogs lick. And the rich man has all of his good things, and then they both die. And Lazarus is in heaven and in glory with Abraham, reclining on his bosom. And the rich man says, I'm thirsty. Send him to get me some water. And Abraham says, I can't. There's this big chasm between us. He can't. We'll send him back to tell my brothers. No, they won't listen.

He says, send them a dead man. If a dead man comes back, they'll listen. And Abraham says, no, they have the prophets. Let them listen to them. And then the condemnation of the rich man is this. While you were on earth, you had your good things. And now they're all gone. But Lazarus, who suffered and was weak and was without, he now enjoys comfort. And he will for eternity. Jesus says in John 15 to his disciples, He says, if the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of this world, because I chose you out of this world, because of this, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know the one who sent me. Your expectation for your life going forward should not be ease and comfort and growing and growing joy and happiness. Does that mean that you won't have any of that in your life? No. But it does mean that you won't be getting that stuff from this world. The joy that you have, the peace that you have, the satisfaction that you have, they won't come from the things of this world. They won't come from your job and they won't come from your car and they won't come from your house and they won't come from your kids. They won't come from your marriage. You know, the world idolizes, they don't care about marriage and they don't care about kids. They don't care if you get married. They don't care if you get divorced. They don't care if you have kids. They don't care if you kill kids. They don't care if you teach them or discipline them or anything. They don't care. They have their idols.

They have their money. They have their stuff. They have their beautiful places. And Christians say, well, I'm going to repent of all that worldly stuff. And I'm going to get this other stuff over here. And it's going to be my joy. And it's going to be the thing that I find satisfaction and the thing that I find hope in and the thing that it makes it all worth it. And it's going to be my marriage and it's going to be my kids. And so we pour all of our heart and all of our energy and all of our time into these things. And what happens when they don't turn out? What happens when you raise a child that's an Esau?

that doesn't serve the Lord. And it's not for lack of teaching or instruction. It's because he's Esau. What happens to the marriage then? Do you know what happens to the marriage then? The marriage doesn't go well because the idolatry of the home is being exposed. There was hope put in these things. And you say, but they're good things. A marriage is a good thing. A good marriage is a wonderful thing. And godly kids, isn't that what we're here for? And I say, no. No, you're not here for that. What happens if your spouse is unfaithful? What happens if your spouse dies? What if you never have a spouse? Do you have a purpose? What if you don't have children? Do you have a purpose? Do you have anything to look forward to? Do you have anything to work towards, to put your hope in? Or is your hope in these things that it's going to go away? Is marriage good? Yes. Is there anyone here who's going to say that they don't want to have a godly marriage?

Is there anyone here that's not grieved at the difficulties of their marriage? Or of the marriage of their parents? Is there anyone here who doesn't care about the condition of their children's soul? Well, if they turn out great, fine. And if they don't, well... No, of course not. You all care about these things. And you should. But you should care about those things and you should minister to your children and care for your marriage. And you should manage your money. And you should take care of your house. And you should do all of that stuff because you love God. Not because you love that stuff. Whatever that stuff is. You love money, I'm telling you what, you're going to face trouble in this life, in your life, because the government's going to take it away from you. They already take plenty of money away from you, and they're going to take more of it away from you. They're going to take money away from our church. They're going to affect us wanting to build a building. They're going to affect salaries. They're going to affect your ability to do your job. Can you say, I won't call a boy,

She. Are you allowed to? Not in school, you're not. Not in the workplace, you're not. It's a protected class. So what's going to happen to your money and your job if you're faithful and you say, no, God made him a man and I'm going to call him he because I love him. You know what's going to happen? What's going to happen? Do you know? You're going to lose your job. You're going to lose your livelihood. At some point, faithfulness is going to have a cost. God's truth, you're going to have to pay the bill for it. Because the world doesn't love Jesus Christ. The world killed him. That's what he was telling his disciples. They're going to kill me. And they say, no, no, I hope no. And even Peter, to the point that when Jesus is telling them, they're going to kill me. And Jesus says, may it never be. And Jesus says to him, get behind me, Satan, for you have your mind set on man's interests and not God's interests. His disciples never got it.

Before he died, they never understood. Even to the point when they came out into the dark and they arrested him like a robber and Peter pulls out his sword and lops off the guy's ear, he still didn't get it. Jesus' kingdom is not of this world. And he does not promise you ease and comfort and enjoyability and a great marriage and godly children and lots of money. He doesn't promise you that stuff. That's not part and parcel of being a Christian. Those aren't the contingencies for you serving God. What he promises you is life eternal because his son died. And he promises you that all the pain and all the hurts and all the difficulties and all the hardships and all the sufferings that you endure in this world for his sake, you'll be repaid for in abundance. And will you wait for them? Or will you have your good things now? Will you be like the disciples who couldn't bear the thought of Jesus dying because they said, but it's too good now. How could that happen?

How can things be so good now? How can they turn so bad later? We cannot think or conceive of a Christianity that does not follow Jesus in the way that he lived. He taught and he healed. Why? Because he loved his father and because he loved man. That's why he did it. And so your goal is not to go get yourself killed. Your goal is not, I need to go lose my job because I'm not faithful if I don't. I need to be disinterested with my kids whether they do well or not. No, no, no. Those are not the things that you should be doing. Those are not the goals. The goal is faithfulness to God. Let his words sink down into your ears. And then save them. Live them. I'm going to read to you a quote that's commonly attributed to Martin Luther, but he's not the one who actually said it. It was an English writer, poet, early, mid-19th century. Elizabeth Rundle Charles. She's a Christian.

And this is what she writes. She says, it is the truth which is assailed in any age which tests our fidelity. And so what she's saying is the truth, the part of God's truth that's under scrutiny and is being attacked in our age, that's the test of whether or not we're faithful. That's the test. There's lots of people, you know, this year is what? This year is the 500th anniversary of what? The Reformation. We're Reformed people, and we love Reformed doctrine, and we're really excited about it. And so it's the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and isn't that wonderful? Yes, it is. Here's the thing about the Reformation. The reason we have a Reformation to celebrate is because those men fought the battles of their day. And it's not our place to walk through the museum of history and rejoice in their battles and neglect our own.

We have different battles to fight today. And it's the point at which the truth of God's word that's under attack today, that's the measure of our faithfulness. That's the measure of our fidelity. It is the truth which is assailed in any age which tests our fidelity. It is to confess we are called, not merely to profess. If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity. Where the battle rages, the loyalty of the soldier is proved. And to be steady at all the battlefields besides is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that one point. So I say, don't shy away from God's words. Let his words sink down into your ears. And you know what?

Quote, this is the filter that all of God's word needs to go through in your mind. And that filter is designed to catch the scripture that is under attack in our culture. That's what needs, in your mind, that's what needs to be strained out, and that's what needs to be dwelt on, understood, professed, confessed. That's the point at which you're going to see trouble in your own life. You can go argue for... countless hours about justification by faith alone and you'll never lose your job over it. Even if you have a Roman Catholic boss and you work for a Roman Catholic company, they won't fire you for that because you're a Protestant and you're adamantly so and it's justification by faith alone and not Mary and not the sacraments and not infusion and not all of that. No, justification by faith alone. You can keep your job. They don't care. But go and tell your employer, I don't want...

men in the bathroom with me because I'm a woman and I don't really care what he thinks he is. He's not a woman, so I don't want him in here. Please? That's the point at which we're under attack. That's one articulation of it. We could go on and on and list the other points where God's truth is under attack. And it's our work to understand those points and to not let them just sweep away. like the water off the parched land. I'm going to die. We didn't understand what he said. We're moving on. Who's the greatest anyway? No, it's our place to catch the parts of Scripture that are under attack and then to stand right on them and look the opposition squarely in the eye and with love say, God's word is true, though all men be liars. And you can kill me if you want, but I'm not going to deny Jesus Christ because he bought me and my life is his. And it's hidden with him. And you can't take that away.

That's what letting his word sink down into your ears looks like. His truth has a cost. You will not get from now until you die without there being a cost for you loving Jesus Christ. And that might be in your home, and that might be in your marriage, that might be with your kids, that might be at work, that might be your extended family or your neighbors. It might be all of those places constantly until you die. And if it is, and if you fight, and you're faithful, and you confess God's truth at every one of those points, and you're maligned and you're hated and you're gossiped and you're slandered and all of that stuff, I tell you because God says so it will be worth it and you will receive a crown of glory. And when you look back on it, you won't be sad. You will have spent your time and your energy and used your gifts appropriately. Your aim, my aim, is faithfulness to God. You say, but that'll be hard. If I say that to my wife, she's going to get mad. And I say, she might.

She may well. You guys might have a real big problem. But if you're aware that you have that real big problem, if you say that thing, let me tell you, you're a fool if you don't address it. Because it ain't going to go away if you ignore it. Any more than cancer will. But if I say that to my kids or if I do that to my kids or if I do this thing, I tell him he can't date. I tell him he's got to go to sleep. He'll hate me. I don't want my kids to hate me. And I say, no, what you don't want is your kids to hate God.

That's what you don't want. Let them be angry at you for a little while. Let them learn. Teach them that you love God more than them. And you'll do them a service that the world cannot do them. Be faithful. In every area of your life, your goal is faithful. And you won't be done with it when you die. Your life's not going to just kind of coast into death. Oh, all of my work's done and everything's all tied up. That's not how it happened. That's not how Jesus' life ended, is it? There's all this stuff. left undone and they just come and get him like a thief in the night and drag him away and have a kangaroo court and then kill him. You've got to trust God and you've got to seek to serve him every day of your life and in every way. And when you fail, know that God knows that. He doesn't expect you to be perfect. If he thought you could be perfect, if you could be perfect, he would have kept his son with him in heaven and said, figure it out yourself. There's a real narrow, thin path. Some people can walk it. I hope, good luck.

He knows you're going to sin. That's why he sent his son. That's why his son had to die. And it was because of his faithfulness that he was put to death. And so your aim and your goal is to be faithful to God no matter what the cost is. And if you do that, you'll find rest for your souls. And you won't fight about and be all tied up in knots about and worried about and anxious about and mad about and all that about the things of this world. All of those things will come into their proper context. You'll actually... Seek the good of your marriage by telling your husband, you know what? That's wicked. And I ain't going to put up with that anymore. And if you don't stop, I'm going to go talk to the elders. Be faithful. By faith, be faithful. Trust God. Listen to his word and study it. You will have an infinitely harder time in this world if you don't study God's word. Because you will not be inoculated against the wickedness of our age.

You'll be susceptible to the lies. You'll say, well, that sounds kind of good. Or that doesn't sound that bad. Maybe they don't mean that thing by it. Maybe they mean this less harmful, less invasive thing by it. And I say, you won't think that if you read God's word and you let him inform how things happen, how things ought to be, what the standard is. The standard is not a comfortable life. The standard is faithfulness to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's your calling. That's your work. Be about it. And you'll be glad. when they are done. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for giving us your word. We pray that you would forgive us for the many ways where we are deficient in our knowledge and our understanding, the ways that we have turned away from you and sought our own comfort and our own peace, just like the disciples did. We pray, Father, that you would forgive us and that you would bring us to repentance as you brought those men to repentance. As Peter preached and James wrote and John wrote,

Father, bring us to repentance and give us boldness and love for you that's not intimidated and cowed into silence by the threatenings of this world. Give us faith, Father, to fear you, whom after killing our body can cast our souls into hell, and not merely men who can speak harshly and wickedly about us, but can do no more than take our life. Give us perseverance, Father, and make us fruitful. As we do this work, Father, I ask that you would give us joy in it. and that you would help us to see not as man sees but as you see. Help us to work for your kingdom and for your truth. And we pray, Father, that you would bless our efforts and that you would increase our love and the number of people who know you as a result of the work that we do by faith. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.