{"id":16432,"date":"2016-05-16T16:35:09","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T23:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/uncategorized\/jesus-and-fear\/"},"modified":"2023-10-04T11:37:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T18:37:25","slug":"jesus-and-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/sermons\/jesus-and-fear\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus and Fear","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-18bd0767 alignfull\">\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-c6970ddb\">\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-8d02ef71 gb-accordion\">\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-46e421aa gb-accordion__item\" data-transition=\"slide\">\n\n<button class=\"gb-button gb-button-d40320a9 gb-accordion__toggle\"><span class=\"gb-button-text\">Sermon Notes<\/span><span class=\"gb-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\" ariahidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" class=\"gb-accordion__icon\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\" ariahidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" class=\"gb-accordion__icon-open\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/button>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-accordion__content\"><div class=\"gb-container gb-container-f3e44ae0\">\n\n<h2>JESUS AND FEAR<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pastor Mark Driscoll<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luke 12:1\u201312<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">October 31, 2010<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We are in Luke 12:1\u201312, Jesus and fear. What book of the Bible have we been in? Luke. What book of the Bible are we in? Luke. For the next eighteen months when I ask that question, you can answer, \u201cLuke.\u201d We\u2019re taking two-and-a-half years going through Luke. Because we like the Bible and we thought, \u201cWhat the heck? \u201cTwo-and-a-half years looking at the life of Jesus? That\u2019s a good way to spend two-and-a-half years.\u201d Some of you called it your freshman year, two-and-a-half years. This is a much better way to spend two-and-a-half years. So, I\u2019ll pray, we\u2019ll study the Bible together.<\/p>\n<p>Father God, you are great and you are helpful and you are holy and you are truthful, and as we open your word, Lord God, we want to come under its authority. We want to hear from you. We want to learn from Jesus. So Holy Spirit, please come and illuminate the Scriptures which you have inspired to be written, and empower us to live a life patterned after Jesus by the grace that you give. In his good name, amen.<\/p>\n<h2>RELIGIOUS BULLIES<\/h2>\n<p>All right, let me set it up. Throughout the course of Luke\u2019s telling of Jesus\u2019 life, one thing that is frequent are these series of conflicts between religious people and Jesus. It just keeps happening and it\u2019s going to happen again this week. And so this week I want us to learn from Jesus\u2019 conflict with religious people how to deal with bullies. And these are religious bullies that he is dealing with. They are called the Pharisees.<\/p>\n<p>We read of them in Luke 12:1. \u201cIn the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, \u2018Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n<p>Now what we see here is that there is Jesus and a multitude of people who are trying to get to him to learn from him. The Bible says thousands of people. By definition, two thousand or more people is what constitutes a megachurch. Jesus is here a megachurch pastor. Thousands of people are coming and it\u2019s like they opened the gates to the Radiohead world tour first night. Everybody is running in and stepping and climbing over one another to get to Jesus. He\u2019s exceedingly popular and this is in a day when the average town is forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred people. So to get thousands of people, that\u2019s a big deal. People are walking miles. Towns are emptying. People are venturing over rough terrain on foot for hours. This is a big deal.<\/p>\n<p>And between Jesus and the multitudes are literally religious people, and they\u2019re getting in the way, prohibiting, inhibiting people getting to Jesus. It\u2019s always been that way. It remains that way. Until Jesus returns, it will be that way. Thousands of people need to get to Jesus and religious people make it tough.<\/p>\n<p>And so Jesus is going to have a public conflict with the religious people. He\u2019s not going to pick the fight. He\u2019s also not going to lose it. They are going to pick a fight with him. And what we see is, number one, they are bullies. They\u2019re bullies. There\u2019s all kinds of bullies. You can have a bully who\u2019s a boss. You can have a bully who\u2019s a pastor. You can have a bully who\u2019s a coach. You can have a bully who\u2019s supposed to be a friend. You can have a bully who\u2019s a parent. I\u2019ve even seen kids who are bullies, sometimes bullying one another, sometimes bullying their own parents.<\/p>\n<p>I saw this recently at a restaurant, where the family was having dinner and the young child decided they didn\u2019t want to eat dinner, just dessert. And they looked around and they knew, \u201cIf I throw a fit, freak out, my parents will give me whatever I want.\u201d So that\u2019s exactly what they did. Blood-curdling scream, freaking out, total tantrum. The parents looked at the child in an effort to stave off their horrific embarrassment and said, \u201cJust knock it off. I\u2019ll give you whatever you want.\u201d That\u2019s a little terrorist. That\u2019s what that is. That\u2019s a dessert-loving terrorist. This has turned into a hostage negotiation.<\/p>\n<p>Bullies come in all sizes, shapes, and forms. Some bullies are mean and cruel and rude. Some are really sweet and nice. They smile and flirt with you and say nice things to you and encourage you while they push you around. Jesus here is dealing with a particular kind of bully. There are lots of kinds of bullies. He\u2019s dealing with religious bullies. They\u2019ve been pushing people around and now they want to show up and they want to push Jesus around. They want to tell him what to do. They realize, \u201cThousands are following him, they\u2019re not following us. If we get him to follow us, then they will be following us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Number two, Jesus says that these religious bullies are hypocrites, hypocrites. What\u2019s a hypocrite? Well, a hypocrite is someone who, according to the definition of the word in the original Greek text, they\u2019re wearing a mask, or they\u2019re like an actor playing a role. So if you look at religious people, say, \u201cWell, they must love God. Look, they dress a certain way. They act a certain way. They speak a certain way. They\u2019re against all the sinful things and they seem very sincere and very committed and very devout.\u201d And Jesus says, \u201cI know their heart and I can tell you they don\u2019t love me. They love control. They love piety. They love morality. They love religion, but they don\u2019t love me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, Christians are often accused of being hypocrites and let me say a few things on this. Number one, some people who say they\u2019re Christians aren\u2019t. Some aren\u2019t, like if you asked these guys, \u201cDo you believe in God, love God, worship God?\u201d They\u2019d say, \u201cYeah.\u201d But Jesus says they don\u2019t really know him or love him. Jesus says, \u201cNot everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven. Some will hear, \u2018Depart from me, I don\u2019t even know you. We don\u2019t have a relationship.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Number two, some Christians are hypocrites and a hypocrite is one who pretends they\u2019re something they\u2019re not. But that\u2019s not only Christians. Politicians do it, leaders do it, non-Christians do it. We give the presentation that we\u2019re holy and devout and pious and moral and good, and if you followed us around and looked at what we were doing, you would see some inconsistency.<\/p>\n<p>Number three, most Christians aren\u2019t hypocrites because to be a Christian you have to confess and profess that you\u2019re a what? A sinner. So sometimes non-Christians will look at Christians and say, \u201cWell, you\u2019re a hypocrite.\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d \u201cBecause you\u2019re sinning.\u201d \u201cTo become a Christian, I had to raise my hand as being a sinner. If being a Christian means you say you\u2019re a sinner, and I sin, that\u2019s not hypocrisy. I\u2019m just being consistent. I said I was a sinner. I sin. That\u2019s not a hypocrite.\u201d By definition, a Christian is one who says, \u201cI\u2019m a sinner. Jesus died for me, that\u2019s how bad I am. I really need help. God, help me.\u201d That\u2019s a Christian.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the hypocrite is the one who says, \u201cYou have a lot of sin, I don\u2019t have it. You struggle with it, I don\u2019t. I\u2019ll judge you, you can\u2019t judge me.\u201d And then you follow them around and you realize, \u201cHey, they\u2019re ripping people off and committing sexual sin and all the stuff they\u2019re telling everybody else not to do, and all of the stuff that they deny doing, that\u2019s the very thing they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These guys are bullies, pushing people around, and hypocrites, judging people for things that they\u2019re guilty of. Now here\u2019s how it works. Bullies use tactics, and these are religious bullies, but there\u2019s all kinds of bullies and the principles are consistent. And because we\u2019ve been spending so much time with the Pharisees, and they will continue to show up throughout the remainder of the book until they murder Jesus, it\u2019s important for us to understand how they work. And I\u2019m going to give you some of their tactics and tricks and how they\u2019re going to use all of these in this event with Jesus. And this is how bullies work in our life as well. And if you\u2019re a bully, you\u2019re probably familiar with some of these also.<\/p>\n<p>Threatening with punishment, \u201cIf you do that, you will pay. If you don\u2019t do what I tell you to do, you will suffer. You\u2019re going to pay, you\u2019re going to hurt, it\u2019s going to cost you.\u201d Threat of punishment or withholding of reward.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes they seek to embarrass or humiliate. That\u2019s exactly what they\u2019re doing to Jesus. They\u2019re not pulling him aside, one on one, \u201cOkay, Jesus, we disagree. Can we talk about this?\u201d No, they\u2019re going to publicly shame him, humiliate him. They\u2019re going to pick a fight in front of this large crowd of thousands.<\/p>\n<p>Also, they work through intimidation. Sometimes this is sheer force of personality, a little overwhelming. It can also be commanding and demanding, \u201cI order you. I\u2019m telling you. You need to.\u201d Bossing, bullying, shoving you around. Some people are just pushy and they\u2019re rude and they won\u2019t take no for an answer. They just keep pushing, they just keep demanding, they just keep inserting, and they wear you down. That\u2019s a bully.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes they\u2019re just inconsiderate. All they care about is themselves. They don\u2019t think of you, other people, it\u2019s all about them. They\u2019re the center and everybody needs to work around them. Sometimes bullies are just rude. The things they ask for, demand, how they always want to be a priority and get cuts in the line of your life, it\u2019s fascinating.<\/p>\n<p>Also, some bullies are the self-appointed rule maker. In your life or in your family or in your community, they just choose to be the rule maker. So they\u2019re going to make the rules, tell everybody the rules, enforce the rules, and if you break the rules, they\u2019re going to tell everybody else that you broke the rules to shame you to get you back in line.<\/p>\n<p>Now, all of these things they\u2019re going to do with Jesus, and when it comes to the rule-making and shame-causing religious type of control freaks and bullies, sometimes it starts when you\u2019re little. You ever seen kids play together? I\u2019ve got five kids, love them, sometimes I\u2019ll pretend like I\u2019m leaving the room but I\u2019ll eavesdrop just to see what\u2019s going on. And usually there\u2019s one kid who decides, \u201cThere\u2019s no adults, I\u2019m in charge.\u201d And they make rules about the Legos and the Barbies and everything else, and they announce the rules to all of the other children. And if the other children break the rules, \u201cYou can\u2019t do that. You broke a rule. Do you kids see that? They broke a rule.\u201d That\u2019s just a little Pharisee. Just a little Lego Pharisee. That\u2019s all it is. And I\u2019ve heard parents say, \u201cOh, my child is a leader.\u201d No they\u2019re not. They\u2019re not, they murdered Jesus. Your child murdered Jesus. Well, that\u2019s where they\u2019re going if you don\u2019t correct this. They\u2019re on the wrong team.<\/p>\n<p>But it happens even when you\u2019re an adult, doesn\u2019t it? Certain people you know, they make rules that aren\u2019t in the Bible and they tell you to obey them and if you don\u2019t then their wrath comes down and they\u2019ll shame you and tell everyone else and no one else wants to endure their wrath, so they agree with them and all of a sudden you\u2019re backing up and you\u2019re feeling pushed around. The bullies are going to use all of these tactics and tricks with Jesus.<\/p>\n<h2>FEAR OF MAN<\/h2>\n<p>And what bullies really use, and what the Pharisees have used to bully the multitudes, the Pharisees have bullied the multitudes. Now they want to bully Jesus. It\u2019s something called fear of man. They want you to be scared of them. Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man is a trap or a snare. They want you to be afraid of them. There\u2019s a guy named Ed Welch who\u2019s written a lot on this. He\u2019s a good biblical counselor. He\u2019s got a book,&nbsp;<em>When People Are Big and God Is Small<\/em>. He gives us this functional working definition of fear of man. \u201cFear in the biblical sense,\u201d and here, Jesus is going to\u2014let me say this.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus is going to use the word \u201cfear\u201d five times. Some of you say, \u201cWhere is he going with this?\u201d Jesus is going to use the word \u201cfear\u201d five times in this section, so one of the big megathemes is fear. He\u2019s going to use the word \u201canxious\u201d once, so anxiety is often caused by fear. You\u2019re scared of someone, you\u2019re scared of consequences, you\u2019re scared of what\u2019s going to happen, you\u2019re scared of what they\u2019re going to do, you\u2019re fearful of them. You have fear of man issues. The result is anxiety. You\u2019re stressed, you can\u2019t sleep, you got a nervous eye twitch, you know. You don\u2019t want to see them, you try to avoid them, you can\u2019t sleep at night, your blood pressure is up, you\u2019re stressed out, you\u2019re freaked out, you\u2019re anxious. And you go to your doctor and maybe your doctor, in an effort to try and help, is going to try and deal with all of your physical symptoms and complications. And that can be helpful and good, but if you don\u2019t deal with the fear-causing source, you\u2019re going to still have the anxiety-causing consequence. You\u2019re scared. So Jesus is going to talk about fear and how it leads to anxiety and how to overcome the problem of anxiety through dealing with the source of the fear.<\/p>\n<p>Ed Welch says it this way. \u201cFear in the biblical sense . . . includes being afraid of someone, but it extends to holding someone in awe, being controlled or mastered by people, worshipping other people.\u201d I\u2019ll explain that. \u201cPutting your trust in people,\u201d as opposed to God, \u201cor needing people.\u201d Because if you\u2019re needing someone, you\u2019re using them, which means you\u2019re not loving them. \u201cThe fear of man can be summarized this way: We replace God with people. Instead of a biblically guided fear of the Lord, we fear others. . . . When we are in our teens, it is called \u2018peer pressure.\u2019 \u201cWhen we are older, it is called \u2018people-pleasing.\u2019 Recently, it has been called \u2018codependency.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n<p>See, the Bible is timeless and so it\u2019s good for all times. And ours is a day when people are filled with anxiety and fear of man issues and Jesus is going to talk about it because he loves us. And what he tells us is to beware, to be aware. To beware is to be aware.<\/p>\n<p>Let me ask you a few questions pastorally to help you ascertain if you have fear of man issues, and if so, to what degree. Again, this is adapted from Welch\u2019s work. Number one, have you struggled with peer pressure? What people think, what they say, being accepted by that person, being approved by that group of people?<\/p>\n<p>Number two, are you overcommitted, a people pleaser? Your answer to everything is, \u201cYes, I\u2019ll do that. Yes, I\u2019ll do that. Yes, I\u2019ll do that.\u201d You say, \u201cI\u2019m being holy like Jesus.\u201d Maybe not, because sometimes serving becomes sinning, and you can\u2019t say no because you want to please everybody and in so doing you can\u2019t really please God because God would tell you, \u201cSometimes you got to say, \u2018No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Number three, is self-esteem a critical concern for you? Is it a big deal?<\/p>\n<p>Number four, are embarrassment or shyness common for you? Embarrassment is, \u201cI just don\u2019t want anybody to make fun of me. I don\u2019t want to be the center of attention. I don\u2019t want to get into any trouble, so what I\u2019m going to do, I\u2019m going to withdraw, retreat. I\u2019m just going to be shy and hide and try not to get in any visible conflict or trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Number five, do you second-guess decisions because of what people might think? \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll do that. Oh, but they\u2019re not going to like that. Yeah, I\u2019d love\u2014oh, but what are they going to say? What are they going to think? Oh, boy.\u201d And you\u2019re always second-guessing your decisions. \u201cYeah, God would like me to do that. But they wouldn\u2019t. Uh oh, what am I going to do?\u201d I had this conversation with a woman a little bit earlier today. \u201cI want to be a Christian and walk with Jesus.\u201d \u201cOkay, why don\u2019t you?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t think my husband would like that.\u201d Okay, so you\u2019ve got two lords here and you\u2019ve got to figure out which one you\u2019re going to go with.<\/p>\n<p>Number six, do other people often make you angry, depressed, or drive you crazy? If so, they may be inordinately centered in your life. They\u2019re too big of a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Number seven, do you avoid people? Okay, I\u2019ll just come clean, that\u2019s my tactic. Certain people, it\u2019s like, \u201cYou are very emotionally expensive. I\u2019m going to avoid you.\u201d Okay, I have tricks and I\u2019ll tell them to you. I avoid eye contact and I avoid certain situations and people. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s holy and it\u2019s not loving and it\u2019s not helpful to people, but it\u2019s what I\u2019ve done. Grace will be like, \u201cDo you want to go talk to them?\u201d \u201cNo. I don\u2019t.\u201d \u201cWell, they look like they want to talk to you.\u201d \u201cI know, I know, I know.\u201d She\u2019s very sweet. \u201cBut you should help them, you\u2019re their pastor.\u201d \u201cYeah, I know, I know, I know, I know.\u201d \u201cSo why don\u2019t\u2014\u201d \u201cYeah, it\u2019s not going to happen, okay?\u201d So that\u2019s how I deal with it. It\u2019s not holy, it\u2019s not helpful.<\/p>\n<p>Number eight, do you take too much responsibility for other people? If so, maybe you want to be their lord. \u201cI\u2019ll save you, I\u2019ll fix you, I\u2019ll heal you.\u201d What, is your name Jesus? Oh, it\u2019s not? Okay, then maybe you\u2019ve given yourself the wrong job description.<\/p>\n<p>Number nine, are you too committed to being nice, keeping peace, and avoiding conflict? Some of you were taught, \u201cChristians are nice. They make peace and they avoid conflict.\u201d You\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019m being a good Christian.\u201d You may be a bad Christian because Jesus isn\u2019t always nice, Jesus doesn\u2019t always make peace, and Jesus doesn\u2019t avoid conflict.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re going to see it today. When it\u2019s time to rebuke, when it\u2019s time to correct, when it\u2019s time to exhort, that\u2019s what he does. Now, Jesus isn\u2019t rude, he doesn\u2019t pick a fight, but when somebody picks a fight with him, he doesn\u2019t just accommodate and acquiesce and submit to them.<\/p>\n<h2>WHO IS ON THE THRONE?<\/h2>\n<p>Because here\u2019s really what\u2019s going on. Fear of man is that somebody wants to be, or you want somebody to be, the lord. So, think of if it in this way with me. Jesus is the only Lord, Jesus is the real Lord, but we\u2019re talking about here functional, false lords. So think, if you will, over your life is a throne. And on it is written the word \u201cLord.\u201d Someone sits on it. Somebody sits on it. In your heart, in your mind, somebody sits on it. Who is it? Who is it? Fear of man is when somebody other than Jesus sits on that throne. And what you want to do then is you want to please them and appease them, that\u2019s what you want to do. You know what that is? Worship. So they\u2019re the most important relationship in your whole life. What they think matters at least as much as God. You want them to bless you. You want them to never leave you nor forsake you. You want them to tell you, \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant.\u201d Functionally, they\u2019re your god. Again, this could be somebody who\u2019s horrific and bossy and rude, somebody who is nice and sweet and kind.<\/p>\n<p>How many of you, this makes sense of your whole life? I talked to an atheist earlier today. He said, \u201cI\u2019m an atheist, I don\u2019t believe in God.\u201d He said, \u201cBut I struggle with anxiety. I struggle with depression. I struggle with suicidal thoughts. I\u2019ve got a lot of anxiousness.\u201d And he was crying, he was shaking. It was a cool conversation, he was a really honest guy, a really nice guy. I enjoyed my time with him. He said, \u201cI\u2019m not sure what you\u2019re saying is true, \u201cbut if what you\u2019re saying is true then my whole life makes sense.\u201d He said, \u201cSomebody other than Jesus has been on the throne and it\u2019s not working for me, but I\u2019m not sure that Jesus is Lord.\u201d I said, \u201cWell, do you have questions?\u201d He said, \u201cYeah, would somebody be willing to talk to me?\u201d \u201cI have ten thousand people who would be willing to talk to you. You know, like we\u2019d all love to talk to you because we\u2019ve all been there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This might make sense of your whole life, so as we unpack this, let me tell you this, this isn\u2019t something you\u2019re going to learn today and then be fine for the rest of your life. This is something you\u2019re going to learn today and be working on for the rest of your life because sometimes people in various ways get themselves on the throne. In other ways, we just put them there. And even with ourselves, sometimes we\u2019re on somebody else\u2019s throne. What do we do with this?<\/p>\n<h2>OVERCOME FEAR OF MAN BY LIVING FOR JUDGMENT DAY<\/h2>\n<p>Jesus is going to give us four truths that are most helpful. We\u2019re going to look at his example, we\u2019re going to examine his words, starting with these.<\/p>\n<p>Number one, we overcome fear of man by living for judgment day. Jesus says, Luke 12:2\u20133, \u201cNothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what bullies want to do. They want to be the judge, they want you to come before them, and they want to judge you, oftentimes based on rules they made, not rules that God made. And what Jesus here is saying is, \u201cDon\u2019t let them sit on the seat of judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s say, for example, hypothetically you and I had a big conflict and we disagreed about something and it was a legal matter and you thought I was guilty and I thought I was innocent and we met and we went through mediation and arbitration and we had no resolution and I kept meeting with you and I kept telling you, \u201cLook, I think you\u2019re wrong. I think you\u2019re wrong. I think you\u2019re wrong.\u201d And you said, \u201cYou know what? I don\u2019t think I am.\u201d Would you let me judge you? Would you let me decide? No, what you would say is, \u201cLet\u2019s both go before the judge. Let\u2019s have our day in court, let him or her render the verdict.\u201d And you would wait until your day in court. All right, you wouldn\u2019t come before me and let me have a robe on and a gavel and pretend like I was a judge. You\u2019d say, \u201cYou don\u2019t have authority, that\u2019s not your role. You can render whatever verdict you like and I\u2019m not going to submit to it because that\u2019s not your job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some people literally, you need to see them, they walk around with a gavel and a robe and they act like a judge. \u201cSit down, I\u2019m going to tell you some things. I\u2019m going to confront you on some things. I\u2019m going to judge you on some things.\u201d You\u2019re like, \u201cPfft, look, a gavel and a robe does not a judge make. You\u2019re a hypocrite. You\u2019re playing a role you don\u2019t possess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What we\u2019re not talking about here is not submitting to godly authority. If you have parents who love the Lord and you\u2019re a kid, honor your mother and father, you know. If you\u2019ve got pastors who love you and are giving you counsel from the Bible, respect that authority. What we\u2019re talking about here are people that have no right to be in authority over you and the only power they have is the power you give them. This could be a bossy, pushy boyfriend, a horrible husband, all right. Somebody who\u2019s just not rightly exercising authority in your life or they have no right to authority at all in your life.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus says, \u201cDon\u2019t let them be the judge.\u201d First of all, it\u2019s not good for you. Second of all, it\u2019s not good for them. Jesus alone is the judge. It says in John 5, Jesus says, \u201cThe Father has entrusted all judgment to me.\u201d Ultimately, no one knows our heart but God. Ultimately, no one determines our destiny but God. We don\u2019t decide who goes to heaven and hell, Jesus does. We don\u2019t ultimately 100 percent know everybody who\u2019s a Christian or not. God knows the heart. And so these kinds of judgments, Jesus says, \u201cLeave them to me.\u201d And what he says is, \u201cI am the perfect judge. I know things that have been said when nobody else was a witness because I\u2019m God and I hear and know all.\u201d And so Jesus knows all, Jesus sees all, Jesus hears all, Jesus will judge all, Jesus is the only judge, and there is a judgment day coming, and if you let bullies make judgment day today and you let them wear a robe and hold a gavel, you\u2019re enabling their sin. You\u2019re guilty of giving them power. So ignore them, refute them, argue with them, have a conversation like this, walk away.<\/p>\n<h2>OVERCOME FEAR OF MAN BY BEING WILLING TO SUFFER<\/h2>\n<p>Number two, Jesus says to overcome fear of man by being willing to suffer. Luke 12:4\u20135, \u201cI tell you, my friends,\u201d Jesus loves you, right. These are words to help. \u201cDo not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what Jesus says. If you refuse to worship people like gods and live out of fear of man, if you refuse to allow them to sit on the throne of your life, some of them will cause you to suffer. You\u2019re going to suffer. This could be emotionally, they\u2019re just going to make it hard for you. This could be financially, they\u2019re going to sue you, divorce you, rob you. This could be spiritually, they could take verses out of context and hammer you and get a whole bunch of Christians involved and poison your community. This could be mentally, they could play games with you and make it very difficult for you.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m mindful of one friend of mine right now, she\u2019s in the midst of a divorce from a controlling, overbearing, religious bully. This guy makes rules about the rules about the rules. His wife is not flourishing, she\u2019s dying, his kids are not blessed, they\u2019re burdened. Everybody\u2019s miserable. When confronted on it, he says, \u201cI don\u2019t see what the problem is.\u201d Well, you don\u2019t see what the problem is because in this little house you\u2019re god, lord, king, and Christ, and you get to make rules and render verdicts and judge people and oppress and condemn them, so it works for you. It isn\u2019t working for them. She\u2019s miserable, the kids are miserable. It\u2019s horrible, horrible what this guy does to his family.<\/p>\n<p>And Jesus says sometimes it can even be physical violence, all the way to the point of death. Okay, now in telling you that, I\u2019m warning you that if you\u2019re going to follow Jesus, you\u2019re going to have to suffer. Jesus suffered. The bullies, they harmed him physically, they harmed him emotionally. All right, they beat him. They arrested him. They lied about him. They harmed his reputation. They ripped the flesh off his body. They crucified him. That\u2019s what the bullies did. They made him suffer.<\/p>\n<p>So if we\u2019re going to follow Jesus\u2014and we don\u2019t need to be self-righteous and haughty and proud about this, we need to be humble and heartfelt about it. It\u2019s like, \u201cWell, If I\u2019m going to follow Jesus, who suffered, I\u2019m going to suffer.\u201d And I don\u2019t tell you that so that you become fatalistic, but I tell you that so that you prepare yourself. People are going to say and do things. And Jesus says, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of even losing your life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s what he\u2019s saying. If you\u2019re going to be a Christian, you\u2019ve got to be willing to die for Jesus if that\u2019s what it comes to, or live for Jesus if that\u2019s what it comes to. And sometimes the living for Jesus can be harder than the dying for Jesus. And I don\u2019t want to denigrate martyrs who have died for their faith, but if somebody walks up and says, \u201cIf you\u2019re a Christian, I\u2019ll kill you,\u201d it\u2019s over pretty quick. If you convert to Christianity and your mother hates that, it\u2019s going to be weird for forty years. Christmas is going to be awkward. Uncle Tom\u2019s going to give you the stink eye. Thanksgiving\u2019s going to be brutal. As soon as you get engaged to a believer and want to get married in a church, they\u2019re just going to fire up the carnival music and the whole fiasco\u2019s going to start again. Forty years of getting opposed and neglected and threatened by your family or friends or coworkers\u2014sometimes living for Jesus is as hard as dying for Jesus, and you\u2019ve got to be willing to do both.<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s what Jesus says. \u201cThe worst they could do is kill you. That\u2019s all.\u201d All right, and we kind of chuckle, and you\u2019re like, \u201cWell, that\u2019s sort of a big deal. On my to-do list is breathing. Like, it\u2019s a thing for me. I\u2019d like to continue to check that box.\u201d Here\u2019s what he\u2019s saying. \u201cAll they can do is kill you.\u201d \u201cReally, is there something worse, Jesus, than death?\u201d He says, \u201cYeah, there\u2019s something worse than death.\u201d \u201cWhat is it?\u201d \u201cHell,\u201d Jesus says hell is worse than death. Jesus talks about hell more than anyone in the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>So Jesus is saying for the non-Christian who remains separated from Jesus, this life is their heaven. This is as good as it gets. They sit on their little throne and they have their little kingdom and they render their little verdicts, and then they die and they meet the real king. They stand before the real throne, they get judged by the real judge, and they go to the real hell where they suffer conscious, eternal torment. For how long? Forever. Jesus says, \u201cThat\u2019s way worse than dying.\u201d If you belong to Jesus, this life is as bad as it gets. This is your hell. Their heaven is your hell. It only gets better from here. Paul says to die is? Gain. So even if you get killed, you\u2019re going to die and then you\u2019re going to be with Jesus and you\u2019re going to go, \u201cThis is better. This is totally better than what I had.\u201d It\u2019s better.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not like we want to die, but if we do, it\u2019s all right. I talked to a guy today, his heart\u2019s failed him, he\u2019s dying a bit at a time. He\u2019s an older man, member of the church. I said, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019m in no hurry, but I\u2019m looking forward to going.\u201d That\u2019s a good answer. I said, \u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d He said, \u201cI\u2019m going to hang out with Jesus.\u201d Yeah, it\u2019s better.<\/p>\n<p>So all they can do is\u2014so even if they\u2019re like, \u201cWe\u2019re going to kill you!\u201d \u201cWell, I\u2019ll tell Jesus you said hi and you can figure it out with him later.\u201d It\u2019s not so bad. Because truthfully, this life, in light of the life we will have forever with God, it\u2019s really not that long. And I know right now it doesn\u2019t feel way. Right now in your suffering it feels like a really big deal today because the bullies make it hurt. But when you\u2019ve been with Jesus for, I don\u2019t know, a billion years, in eternity future and the kingdom of God, if you\u2019re a Christian, it\u2019s not going to be that big of a deal.<\/p>\n<p>Let me ask you this. Do you remember the first day of third grade? I just occasionally ask random questions to see if you\u2019re still with me. You\u2019re going, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Now, the first day of third grade, at the moment, it felt like a really big deal. You were anxious, you were stressed out, you were worried, you were uncomfortable, you\u2019re freaking out a little bit. But now in hindsight, you\u2019re like, \u201cI don\u2019t know. It seemed like a big deal, there have been a few days between now and then. It\u2019s really not that big of a deal.\u201d Your whole life is the first day of third grade. That\u2019s it. Your whole life is the first day of third grade. You\u2019re going to die. If you belong to Jesus, you\u2019re going to be with Jesus. In a billion years, people will ask, \u201cWell, tell me about your life on earth.\u201d You\u2019re like, \u201cI don\u2019t know, I think I wore a hat. I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know. It seemed like a big deal at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>OVERCOME FEAR OF MAN WITH THE LOVE OF GOD<\/h2>\n<p>Jesus continues that we overcome fear of man with the love of God. He says, \u201cAre not five sparrows,\u201d just little almost worthless birds, \u201csold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs on your head are numbered.\u201d And some of you the number is decreasing. \u201cFear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>See, when you\u2019re suffering, you can wonder, and if the bullies, it looks like they\u2019re winning, you may wonder, \u201cGod, do you really love me? \u201cAre you really paying any attention? Do you even care?\u201d Jesus says four things. Number one, God knows you perfectly. He sees and knows all. Number two, God remembers you continually. He hasn\u2019t forgotten about you. Number three, God watches you carefully. He\u2019s paying attention. And number four, God values you deeply. He does love you.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ll tell you what, if we assume that God loves us and by faith know that he\u2019s paying attention and keeping account, and he remains lovingly committed to us, it changes how we suffer and it frees us from the fear of man. First of all, you realize as you\u2019re suffering, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019ve caused Jesus to suffer. He died for my sin, so as I\u2019m suffering it makes me even more thankful for Jesus, that he would love me so much that God would become a man and that he would suffer for me. Now that I\u2019m suffering, I really appreciate what Jesus has done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Number two, it causes you to be humble and repentant and to ask, \u201cNot only am I suffering, but I\u2019ve probably caused other people to suffer. Who have I been a bully to? Who have I sat on the throne for? Who have I harmed? Who do I need to apologize to, ask forgiveness of?\u201d See, if we believe that God loves us, then we believe that even if what\u2019s happening to us isn\u2019t good and holy and just, it\u2019ll be used by a good, holy, and just God to teach us more about Jesus and to make us more like him. So we overcome fear of man with the love of God. God loves me. One way or another, he\u2019s going to get me through.<\/p>\n<h2>OVERCOME FEAR OF MAN WITH THE FEAR OF GOD<\/h2>\n<p>And then Jesus closes with sort of the culminating big idea, that you overcome fear of man with the fear of God. Luke 12:8\u201312, \u201cAnd I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man,\u201d that\u2019s a title of himself from Daniel. He uses it about eighty times. It means God become a man. \u201cAlso will acknowledge before the angels of God,\u201d who will serve as the witnesses, \u201cbut the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities,\u201d the bullies are going to get you, you\u2019re going to suffer at some point. \u201cDo not be anxious,\u201d fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. \u201cDo not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the big idea: fear of man or fear of God. Those are your options. There is no alternative. Someone is the most important person. Someone is the biggest dominant personality in your life. Okay, if it\u2019s someone other than Jesus, you have fear of man. You\u2019re worshiping them. They\u2019re your functional lord even if Jesus is your theological Lord.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 29:25 again, \u201cThe fear of man is a trap or a snare.\u201d It won\u2019t work for them, it doesn\u2019t work for you, it doesn\u2019t work at all. The alternative is the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:7, \u201cThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.\u201d Before you can get anything straight in your life, you have to get straight who the Lord is. Jesus is Lord. The shortest confession of Christian belief is, has always been, Jesus is Lord. And so you and I have this very important choice to make. In our lives functionally, practically, emotionally, relationally, who\u2019s the Lord? Who sits on the throne? If it\u2019s not Jesus it\u2019ll be someone else. It\u2019s not good for you, it\u2019s not good for them.<\/p>\n<p>And if Jesus is on the throne and Jesus is Lord and Jesus is God and Jesus is savior and you belong to Jesus and his death was for your sin and his life is for your reconciliation, Jesus says, \u201cI can forgive anyone of anything.\u201d What an enormous claim. Friends, Jesus can forgive anyone of anything, except for one thing. That\u2019s what he says. There is one thing Jesus can\u2019t forgive. There\u2019s one thing that Jesus won\u2019t forgive. Of all the sins you can commit, there\u2019s one sin you can commit there is no forgiveness for, you just go to hell. You just go to hell to suffer conscious, eternal torment which is just. The punishment will fit the crime forever. It\u2019s really important we know what that sin is, isn\u2019t it? This would be like there\u2019s a land mine somewhere in your house. You can walk anywhere you want, you step on that one, it\u2019s over. You say, \u201cIt\u2019s very important for me to know where that\u2019s at.\u201d All right, Jesus is saying here, \u201cAny sin you commit, I can forgive, but there\u2019s one I won\u2019t.\u201d Okay, what one is that? I would like to know where is that land mine in my life. Jesus says, \u201cIt\u2019s blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How many of you have freaked out about this? Okay, you can be honest. Let me tell you this, if you\u2019re freaking out about it, you probably haven\u2019t done it. \u201cOh, thank you, Pastor Mark.\u201d You\u2019re welcome. Okay, if you have a tender conscience and you\u2019re freaking out about it, you\u2019ve probably not committed it.<\/p>\n<p>Let me tell you what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit isn\u2019t. It\u2019s not cursing God. That\u2019s wrong, but that\u2019s not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. It\u2019s not denying God. Peter is going to do that and he\u2019s going to get reconciled with Jesus. It\u2019s not doubting. Thomas doubted and he was reconciled back to God. It\u2019s not suicide. Some have said that it is. They\u2019re wrong. It\u2019s not murder. It\u2019s not a sexual sin. It\u2019s not an ongoing sin that you struggle to overcome. It\u2019s none of those things.<\/p>\n<p>What is it? Well, in Luke 11:15, which is the section that kicks off this entire narrative, the religious bullies, the Pharisees, they confront Jesus and they have a face-to-face conflict. And they basically declare, \u201cJesus, you have a lot of power and authority. You do miracles and cast out demons, but you do it by the power of Satan.\u201d Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is resisting all of the work of the Holy Spirit and ultimately rejecting the person of Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>See, the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He is God, he exists to, the Bible says, convict us of sin, show us where we\u2019re unholy and unrighteous. The Holy Spirit empowered the life of Jesus. The Holy Spirit reveals to us Jesus. The Holy Spirit inspires the writing of the Bible so we can know that we are sinners and that Jesus is our Savior Lord and we can turn from sin and trust in him. And if we do, Jesus forgives anyone of anything, and anyone of everything. But if you grieve, quench, resist, blaspheme the Holy Spirit\u2014this is not something that happens once and then you meet Jesus and have a change of mind. This is something that is a life commitment and you die remaining committed to this position, the position that you and Jesus are essentially face to face, and you come to this conclusion: \u201cJesus, you are evil and I am good. Jesus, you are wrong and I am right. Jesus, you are not Lord, but I am. I reject you, Jesus. You are not God, you are not Savior, you are not Lord.\u201d That was the commitment of the Pharisees all the way to the point of murdering him. And he came back three days later to prove them wrong. And it serves as evidence historically that he is God, Lord, Savior, Judge, and Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Do you know Jesus? Do you love Jesus? Do you trust Jesus? Is Jesus your God? Is Jesus your Lord? If not, you\u2019re already presently guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. You\u2019re grieving, quenching, resisting, blaspheming all of his work in your life. Some of you say, \u201cSo am I going to hell?\u201d If you die now, you will. But as long as you\u2019re breathing, there\u2019s hope for you.<\/p>\n<p>I dealt with another young man earlier today, he came up to me, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t believe in Jesus, I\u2019m not a Christian, I\u2019m getting off drugs and alcohol, I\u2019m at the third step in the twelve steps, and I got to figure out who the higher power is.\u201d I said, \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know about the twelve steps and the higher power. Jesus, let\u2019s talk about him.\u201d He said, \u201cSo if I die, am I committing the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and will I go to hell?\u201d I said, \u201cWhat do you know about Jesus?\u201d He told me. I said, \u201cWhat do you think about Jesus?\u201d He said, \u201cI don\u2019t believe in him, I don\u2019t know him, I don\u2019t trust him, I don\u2019t love him.\u201d I said, \u201cYou are committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. You\u2019re resisting and quenching and rebelling against all of the truth of Jesus.\u201d And he said, \u201cYou know what? I want to know the truth about Jesus.\u201d And he said, \u201cIf Jesus is God, I\u2019ll worship him.\u201d Great, just follow the truth wherever it leads. It always leads to Jesus. I told him, \u201cAs long as you\u2019re alive, there\u2019s hope. God\u2019s kept you alive because he still loves you! He\u2019s still pursuing you! He\u2019s still welcoming you!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here, Jesus is welcoming the multitudes and the Pharisees to both receive him as Lord. Jesus loves the sinners and he loves the religious guys. Jesus loves the multitudes. Jesus loves the bullies. Jesus is welcoming them all. It\u2019s not too late, friend. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is someone who dies fighting Jesus, thinking they\u2019re good, he\u2019s bad, they\u2019re right, he\u2019s wrong, they\u2019re Lord, he\u2019s not. Is that you? Is that you? If so, you\u2019ve declared yourself to be an enemy of God and there\u2019s nothing left for you when you die than to stand before the judge and to be sentenced to hell, to suffer forever. It\u2019s far worse than death.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m amazed at how many people buckle up and eat their vitamins and drink bottled water and watch their cholesterol and don\u2019t even think about their eternity. They\u2019re so consumed with their life they don\u2019t remember that they will live forever somewhere. Jesus says, \u201cDon\u2019t just be afraid of losing your life, be afraid of losing your life and going to hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>THREE QUESTIONS<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m going to ask you three questions in closing and you\u2019ve got a big decision to make. Are you going to leave here with Jesus as Lord or someone else? So, number one, whose throne are you on? Who right now worships you like a little god? And you like it, there\u2019s a lot of benefits for you. Whose throne are you on? My encouragement to you, get off the throne. Get off the throne.<\/p>\n<p>Number two, who\u2019s on your throne? Who\u2019s on your throne? Is it someone other than Jesus? Repent of that, get them off the throne, receive Jesus, acknowledge that he is the one who sits on the throne.<\/p>\n<p>Number three, my final question, what difficult conversations do you need to have by the power of the Holy Spirit? Jesus says when you\u2019ve lived under fear of man and you\u2019re going to do like he is doing and have that difficult, tense, conflicted conversation, \u201cI\u2019m not going to do that anymore. I can\u2019t accept that. I need to rebuke you. We can\u2019t be friends. We\u2019re breaking up. We need counseling. You need to stop. I can\u2019t tolerate this. Unless things change, we\u2019re not going to be close anymore.\u201d You\u2019ve got to have that hard conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus says when you\u2019ve lived under fear of man and it comes time to have that painful conversation, you\u2019re going to become anxious. You\u2019re going to be stressed out. You\u2019re going to have a panic attack. You\u2019re going to have a sleepless night. You\u2019re going to have high blood pressure. You\u2019re going to give yourself an ulcer. You\u2019re going to be freaking out. And he says, \u201cSo don\u2019t be anxious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is where theology conquers biology. This is where understanding Jesus is Lord changes how your body physically responds to conflict. And he says, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about what you\u2019re going to say. The Holy Spirit will give you the words. So don\u2019t be anxious, be honest, and the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say.\u201d He\u2019ll tell you what to say, and you know what? He did that right here for the Lord Jesus Christ, who had the hard conversation by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he sends the Holy Spirit to all the Christians to have those same hard conversations. And he sends the Holy Spirit so that those who are not Christians have a conversation with Jesus that maybe for them is a hard conversation. \u201cJesus, I\u2019m a sinner and I need you. I acknowledge that you are Lord and I come to you for life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Father God, I pray for the people here whom Jesus calls friends. God, I thank you that the Bible is not just truthful. It is, it\u2019s also helpful. This is really helpful. For a day when the leading prescription medication is antidepressants, when most people\u2019s troubles are anxiety and stress related, this is really helpful. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for loving those of us who are on the throne and loving those of us who worship someone else on the throne and loving us enough to have a Spirit-filled hard conversation and loving us enough to suffer and loving us enough to die and to rise and to love and to forgive. I pray that none of my friends here would commit their lives to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I pray they would not remain stiff necked, hard hearted, that instead, Lord God, they would turn from sin and trust in you and realize that they are bad and you are good, and they are liars and you\u2019re a truth teller, and they\u2019re lost and you\u2019re the Lord. I pray this for my friends because it\u2019s liberating. Life makes sense. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pharisees use fear of man to bully the multitudes and keep them from Jesus, and they try to bully Jesus too. Is Jesus or someone else sitting on the throne over your life? Fear of man is when someone other than Jesus sits on that throne. You want to please them, which ultimately is worship and results in anxiety. Jesus teaches that we can overcome fear of man by living for the final judgment day, by being willing to suffer, by remembering the love of God for us, and by replacing fear of man with fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":6,"featured_media":16433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"17427,13885,13937,17657,17690,17733","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[386],"tags":[],"ministries":[],"topics":[198],"series":[452],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16432"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16432"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41358,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16432\/revisions\/41358"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16432"},{"taxonomy":"ministries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ministries?post=16432"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=16432"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realfaith.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=16432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}