{"id":11759,"date":"2020-09-28T08:52:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T15:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=11759"},"modified":"2020-09-28T08:56:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T15:56:35","slug":"integrity-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/integrity-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrity Revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 12:1-12 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Luke 12:1-12.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 12:1 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0\u00a0Why did Jesus make a point to privately warn his disciples about hypocrisy while a crowd of many thousands had gathered to see Jesus?\u00a0\u00a0I think it\u2019s because\u00a0when your influence grows and when more and more people are looking at you, your potential to encourage people with your good example or confuse people with your bad example grows as well<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Like \u201cyeast\u201d, a hypocritical example can spread from one influential person to those around that person, as what had happened with the Pharisees.\u00a0\u00a0We need to remember that, whether we asked for it or not, there are people who look to us as an example, and thus we have a responsibility to set the best example we can.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:2-3 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-3:\u00a0\u00a0Part of living with integrity is doing the right thing and saying the right thing even when no one is watching.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0God will hold us accountable for what we do and say in private, not just what we do and say in public.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:4-5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-5:\u00a0\u00a0From these two verses I learn two lessons.\u00a0\u00a0First, we should fear God a lot more than we should fear people.\u00a0\u00a0For followers of Jesus, to \u201cfear God\u201d doesn\u2019t mean that we should be terrified of God (later on in verse 7 Jesus says to his disciples, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0Rather,\u00a0for<\/strong>\u00a0the Christ follower, to fear God means to respect God\u2019s authority, to revere God\u2019s majesty, and to seek to honour God with our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, Jesus acknowledges here (as he does repeatedly elsewhere in the gospels) that hell is a real place and that God has power to send a person there.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:6-7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-7:\u00a0\u00a0Whereas verses 4-5 speak of God\u2019s power, verses 6-7 speak of God\u2019s love for all living things, and in particular for people.\u00a0\u00a0Verse 7 tells me that God loves you with a detailed and protective love (\u201cthe very hairs of your head are all numbered\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0When Jesus says \u201cyou are worth more than many sparrows\u201d (v7) it\u2019s Jesus saying, in a lovingly understated way, that you mean a great deal to God.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s like when people tell me how cute my infant son Caleb is, and I\u2019ll reply, \u201cYeah, we like him too.\u00a0\u00a0I think we\u2019ll keep him\u00a0\"😉\"\u201d.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:8-9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-9:\u00a0\u00a0Acknowledge Jesus publicly before people on earth and Jesus will acknowledge you before the angels in heaven.\u00a0\u00a0There are various important ways that we want to acknowledge Jesus before people, such as being active in sharing our faith with others.\u00a0\u00a0But\u00a0one of the simplest and most beautiful ways you can acknowledge Jesus before people is to get baptized<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Baptism is simply you publicly acknowledging that you need a Saviour and His name is Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0If you claim to believe in Jesus but refuse to obey Jesus\u2019 command to get baptized, you need to question whether you really believe in Jesus as you are running the risk Jesus describes in verse 9.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:10 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 10:\u00a0\u00a0What does it mean to \u201cblaspheme against the Holy Spirit\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0I believe the best interpretation for \u201cblaspheming against the Holy Spirit\u201d is where a person repeatedly rejects the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and their heart becomes so hard and calloused that they consciously deny their need for Jesus and never turn back to Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0A person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit in this way should not expect to be forgiven or saved in the end. So if you are concerned that you need to turn back to God, chances I think are good that you haven\u2019t committed the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit because your heart is still soft enough to consider turning back to Him.<\/p>\n

Luke 12:11-12 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-12:\u00a0\u00a0Jesus is preparing his disciples for a time when they will face persecution and be brought before various public councils to defend themselves.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus reassures them that the Holy Spirit will be with them to teach them what to say.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0In high pressure times when your faith is being questioned, don\u2019t just rely on your own strength and wisdom to get through, but rely on the Holy Spirit, who is present to help you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, please help me to live my life always with integrity, to fear You and to rely on Your Holy Spirit for wisdom.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Luke 12:1-12. Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 12:1 (NIV)
\n1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. <\/p>\n

On verse 1: Why did Jesus make a point to privately warn his disciples about hypocrisy while a crowd of many thousands had gathered to see Jesus? I think it\u2019s because when your influence grows and when more and more people are looking at you, your potential to encourage people with your good example or confuse people with your bad example grows as well. Like \u201cyeast\u201d, a hypocritical example can spread from one influential person to those around that person, as what had happened with the Pharisees. We need to remember that, whether we asked for it or not, there are people who look to us as an example, and thus we have a responsibility to set the best example we can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11759"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11762,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11759\/revisions\/11762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}