WORD TO WITNESSES

LUKE 12:1-12

      David Smith wrote, “It is noticeable what pains Jesus took to disabuse His Apostles of any illusions which they might be cherishing. He was calling them to strife, suffering, and sacrifice. . . .”

“On September 12, South Korean Christian aid workers held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan for six weeks, reported being beaten and ordered at gun point to convert to Islam, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). BBC reported that Yu Jung-hwa said she thought she was going to die. ‘The most difficult moment, when I had a big fear of death, was when the Taliban shot a video. All 23 of us leaned against a wall and armed Taliban aimed their guns at us, and a pit was before me. They said they will save us if we believe in Islam. I almost fainted at the time and I still cannot look at cameras.’ On July 19, the Taliban kidnapped the 23 South Korean Christian aid workers when they were traveling by bus from Kabul to Kandahar. The group’s leader, Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, and another male hostage were killed. Twenty-one members of the group were released last month following an agreement between South Korea and the Taliban. Recalling how Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu was led away to his death, the BBC said Han Ji-young, in tears, added, ‘Bae didn’t even look at us when he was leaving the room. He only said, “Overcome with faith.”’” (Korean Hostages Told Convert to Islam or Die, 13 September 2007, Voice of the Martyrs)

“Abraham Bentar, a Muslim, had studied the Koran since childhood. In 1998, at the age of 48, he had a stroke related to his hypertension and diabetes. After a pastor prayed for his healing Abraham had a dream of a man in a white robe. He thought the man’s face was the same face he had seen on a painting of Jesus at a neighbor’s home. He bargained with the vision saying he would accept Jesus as Lord and Savior if he were healed from the stroke. He was healed and the same pastor arranged for a church near Abraham to disciple him. Abraham was baptized and attended a school for Bible study. He evangelized Muslims as he sold clothing in villages in West and central Java. His brother-in-law filed charges against him saying that Abraham had tried to force Christianity on him and had blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad. On March 7, 2006, Abraham was visiting relatives in West Java when he was attacked by a group of Muslims who beat him severely. They rolled over his van and helped themselves to its contents, including the new clothing merchandise. As the melee continued they were joined by other Muslims and began shouting, ‘Burn him!’ They set fire to his van before police arrived just in time to rescue him. Originally, he was detained in the Tasikmalaya Police station for security reasons, but was later charged with blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. At his trial he was sentenced to 4-1/2 years and then transferred to the local prison in Tasikmalaya.” (Voice of the Martyrs)

“On Dec. 30, 2002, a Muslim named Abdul Kamil walked into Yemen’s Jibla Baptist Hospital and gunned down Martha Myers, Bill Koehn and Kathleen Gariety. Kamil’s wife struggled with infertility and had been a patient of Dr. Myers for nearly a year. After the murders, Kamil was arrested and interrogated by police. ‘My wife told me that no one had ever treated her with such love and tenderness as Dr. Myers,’ he explained. ‘When I saw how this love had so touched my wife, I knew I must kill this doctor. Because a love so powerful was dangerous; it could turn all of my people away from Islam.’”(Don Graham, IMB regional leader urges convention to turn away from the ways of the world, 14 June 2007, Baptist Press)

  I. Do not fake (12:1)

      A. Corrupt

1 Cor. 5:6 [NKJV]. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Gal. 5:9 [NLT]. But it takes only one wrong person among you to infect all the others-a little yeast spreads quickly through the whole batch of dough!

      The term for leaven (Wycliff– “sour dough”) came “from zeo, to boil or seethe, as in fermentation.” God commanded leaven to be excluded from the Passover (Ex. 12:15), purification (Num. 6:17), and the priesthood (Jud. 6:19). Leaven pictured the corrupting influence of false teaching, worldly compromise, and carnality when mixed with that God intended to be holy. Leaven symbolized toleration with evil, though insidious like fermentation.

          1. Leaven of the Pharisees (Mt. 16:12; formalize–traditionalism)

          2. Leaven of the Sadducees (Mt. 16:12; rationalize–no supernatural)

          3. Leaven of the Herod (Mk. 8:15; politicize–material kingdom)

      B. Counterfeit

Mt. 23:28 [GNB]. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.

1 Tim. 4:2 [LB]. These teachers will tell lies with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences won't even bother them.

      A hypocrite referred to an actor on the stage. Hypocrisy meant “wearing a mask of sanctity to hide an evil heart.” Christians fake discipleship by replacing reality with rituals and symbols.

      Federal prosecutors and investigators with the Department of Veterans Affairs have cracked down on phony war heroes who faked honorable service. Phony military heroes has been a growing trend in the years of the war with Iraq. A Missouri man recently received six months in federal prison without parole for claiming to be a Marine Captain and wearing unauthorized medals that included a Silver Star, Navy Cross and a Purple Heart for combat in Iraq.

 II. Do not fear (12:2-10)

      A. Publication (2-3)

      The Kingdom of God preached by the disciples grew first as a secret mystery and then manifested itself from the victory of an empty tomb. The disciples proclaimed the victory of the Lamb, rejected but risen (Rev. 7:14).

          1. Mystery

1 Cor. 3:13 [ESV]. Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

          2. Manifest

Mt. 17:9 [HCSB]. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Don't tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."

      Robert E. Coleman related, “On Easter morning, 1799, the Austrian citizens of Feldkirch awoke to find their peaceful village besieged by the army of Napoleon. Knowing that the town’s defenses could not withstand an attack, those in authority hastily called a meeting, to decide if they should hoist the white flag in surrender to the enemy. The dean of the church rose first and addressed the somber assembly. ‘This is Easter Day,’ he said in a trembling voice. ‘This is the day of our King’s Resurrection. We must have one moment of triumph. Let us at least ring the bells of Easter.’ His counsel prevailed and soon, from the church towers, the bells rang out their joyous sound; the vibrant music reverberated through the valleys and hills of Feldkirch, filling the frosty air with gladness. The invaders, massed outside the gate, were confounded. Why should there be such celebration? Concluding that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to relieve the town, the French broke camp and were in full retreat before the bells stopped ringing.”

      B. Persecution (4-5)

          1. Suffer

Rev. 2:10 [ESV]. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

          2. Second-death

Rev. 20:15 [GW]. Those whose names were not found in the Book of Life were thrown into the fiery lake.

      Robertson commented, “Gehenna is a transliteration of Ge-Hinnom, Valley of Hinnon where the children were thrown on to the red-hot arms of Molech. Josiah (2 Kg. 23:10) abolished these abominations and then it was a place for all kinds of refuse which burned ceaselessly and became a symbol of punishment in the other world.”

      The devil might cause suffering of body but cannot condemn a disciple of Jesus into the fires of the second death. A believer might hurt but will never go to hell.

      Robert E. Coleman related, “Henry Nouwen tells of a Lutheran bishop who was imprisoned in a German concentration camp during World War II. An SS officer tried, through beating, to force a confession from him. Though the intensity of the torture increased, it could not break the bishop's silence. Finally, the infuriated officer, pounding his victim with even harder blows, shrieked, ‘But don't you know that I can kill you?’ The bishop looked in the eyes of his torturer and said, ‘Yes, I know– do what you want– but I have already died.’”

      David Garrison told the story of Mejanur, the first-known martyr for Jesus Christ in Bangladesh: “The 23-year-old Muslim-background believer had not only led his father and mother to faith but more than other 100 Muslims in a span of two years. On Feb. 7, 1997, Mejanur baptized five new believers in one town. That night, a crowd of men from a nearby Islamic school took Mejanur from the home where he was staying and tortured him, demanding he renounce Jesus Christ.

When Mejanur refused, the men began to cut off his fingers, one by one. As he cried out to the Lord in agony, the men continued to mutilate his body. Once they had run out of fingers, they chopped off Mejanur’s hand at the wrist. His unconscious body was left in the courtyard. There, in the quiet of the night, he bled to death. IMB workers in Bangladesh reported more than 35 Muslims in that town coming to faith over the next seven months. Then, one night, an unexpected knock came at the door of Mejanur’s parents. Two of the men who had tortured and murdered their son fell at the feet of Mejanur’s father and asked his forgiveness. ‘We want to spend the rest of our lives working for you as your servants because we too have become followers of Jesus,’ they told him.” (Don Graham, IMB regional leader urges convention to turn away from the ways of the world, 14 June 2007, Baptist Press)

      C. Protection (6-7)

      Christ sees His soul-winners (Dan. 12:3). Christ will welcome His fearless witnesses home. God’s servant is immortal until God’s will for that life is complete (Augustine).

          1. Watchcare

Heb. 6:10 [GNB]. God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians.

          2. Worth

Mt. 6:26 [LB]. Look at the birds! They don't worry about what to eat-they don't need to sow or reap or store up food-for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are.

      Missionary John G. Paton recounted, “One morning at daybreak I found my house surrounded by armed men, and a Chief intimated that they had assembled to take my life. Seeing that I was entirely in their hands, I knelt down and gave myself away body and soul to the Lord Jesus, for what seemed the last time on earth.”

“Within a few days of the above events, when Natives in large numbers were assembled at my house, a man furiously rushed on me with his ax; but a Kaserumini Chief snatched a spade with which I had been working, and dexterously defended me from instant death. Life in such circumstances led me to cling very near to the Lord Jesus; I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul. Next day, a wild Chief followed me about for four hours with his loaded musket, and, though often directed towards me, God restrained his hand. I spoke kindly to him, and attended to my work as if he had not been there, fully persuaded that my God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done. ” (Thirty Years among South Sea Cannibals, New York: A. L. Burt Company, Publishers, 1892)

      D. Profession (8-9)

      Profession of Christ meant life or death to the disciples. In the book of Hebrews the Scripture warned early Christians against turning back (Heb. 10:23).

          1. Declare

Jn. 12:42 [GW]. Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn't admit it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue.

          2. Deny

1 Jn. 2:23 [ESV]. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

      At the funeral of 17-year-old Columbine High student Cassie Bernall, Pastor George Kirsten told 2,000 mourners gathered at the West Bowles Community Church that Cassie died a martyr. ‘’She went to the martyr’s hall of fame,’‘ he said. Other students had said after the rampage that when one of the gunmen asked, “Do you believe in God?” Yes, she replied; “and you need to follow along God’s path.” The gunman then killed her.

      E. Profanation (10)

          1. Unforgiven

1 Jn. 5:16 [MKJV]. If anyone sees his brother sin a sin not to death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for those that do not sin to death. There is a sin to death, I do not say that he shall pray for it.

          2. Unending

Mk. 3:29 [ESV]. but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin

      Those who will not come to Christ commit the unpardonable sin. If you will not come to Christ, you cannot come (Jn. 5:40; Heb. 12:17). But if you will come, it is not too late ( Mk. 10:51-52). Elizabeth Reed wrote,

O do not let the Word depart,

And close thine eyes against the light;

Poor sinner, harden not your heart,

Be saved, O tonight.

Tomorrow’s sun may never rise

To bless thy long deluded sight;

This is the time, O then be wise;

Be saved, O tonight.

      In June of 1917 in Fort Worth, Texas, George W. Truett preached a sermon entitled “The Passing of Religious Opportunity.” In that message he stated the following.

1. Jesus visits us by His Divine Spirit.

2. These visits may be resisted.

3. There is an end to God’s visits.

      Truett quoted,

There is a time, I know not when,

A place, I know not where,

Which marks the destiny of men

To heaven or despair.

There is a line by us not seen,

Which crosses every path;

The hidden boundary between

God’s patience and His wrath.

III. Do not fret (12:11-12)

      Robertson said, “This is no excuse for neglect in pulpit preparation. It is simply a word for courage in a crisis to play the man for Christ and to trust the issue with God without fear.”

      A. Apologetics

1 Pet. 3:15 [Cambridge]. But give honour to Christ in your hearts as your Lord; and be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you, to give an answer in the fear of the Lord and without pride;

      B. Anointing

Mk. 13:11 [CEV]. When you are arrested, don't worry about what you will say. You will be given the right words when the time comes. But you will not really be the ones speaking. Your words will come from the Holy Spirit.

1 Jn. 2:27 [HCSB]. The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don't need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

      Fear of not knowing what to say cannot excuse Christian witnessing. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit’s power for witnessing (Acts 1:8).

      Billy Graham recounted, “During one of our London Crusades, a Russian nobleman came one evening. He spoke no English. Yet when the invitation was given to receive Christ he responded. The trained Russian-speaking counselor asked him how, knowing no English, he had understood enough of the message to respond so intelligently. ‘When I entered this place,’ the nobleman replied, ‘I was overwhelmed with a longing for God. Tell, me, how can I find Him?”’