and speaking of food, can we talk about sourdough for a minute? Is anybody here making sourdough bread? Anybody have a little sourdough starter on their counter? Nobody, oh my gosh. You guys come on.

I thought for sure half of you would be doing some sourdough, but it was, like you know, the thing to do. It's a lot of work, though I did. I got really into sourdough like 15 years ago and I made like all everything out of sourdough. I was making bread and pancakes, and I didn't stop there. I made tortillas for tacos, I made cinnamon rolls, crackers, chocolate cake, everything. Nothing was safe from my sourdough Nothing. And my daughter recently the same one who now lives in Lithuania told me just recently that I ruined her and she really wants to like, try sourdough, like all of her friends, but she just can't do it because I overdid it when she was a kid. But I think she should just do it anyway.

But sourdough starter is kind of weird if you've ever even looked at what it is. You just kind of take some flour and some water, mix it together and every day you throw some of it away and add a little more. You feed it a little more flour, a little more water, and you keep doing that and then just let it sit there and all of a sudden, like as if magic happens, these yeasts from the air, those wild yeasts, come and they accumulate in the slurry and suddenly you can make bread and all kinds of wonderful things with that glob, with that starter. I think they should call it sourdough glob, but that yeast is just apparently floating around us all the time and we're completely unaware of it. But it permeates that starter and it happens slowly, right, it takes a while. Sometimes it can take 10 days or sometimes longer. If it's really cold in your house and if it takes longer than 10 days, I suggest turning up your heat a little bit, but you're probably freezing wearing gloves in the house. But it just, it takes over, right, it permeates in there and everything you make with that sourdough starter has that very distinct sourdough flavor. You can, that's good for making all kinds of things, but I guess I would just suggest taking my word for it that chocolate cake should not be messed with like that. If you want to eat chocolate cake, just eat chocolate cake, you know, just do it. Chocolate cake is not healthier if you make it with sourdough. Not really Not enough to make it worth it.

So by now, if you've been learning about Jesus for a year or two, or 20 or 30, you know that I'm where I'm probably going with this, right? You know that Jesus talked about the yeast of the Pharisees, something about that, right? So let's take a look at Luke, chapter 12 and see what we can learn from him. Luke, chapter 12, in verse 1, it says 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 guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. So now this is like the peak of Jesus's teaching career here on earth, right? Sometimes we'll just picture like the 12 guys and they kind of put together a small crowd, maybe about this size, maybe double, who knows, to listen to whatever it is Jesus is talking about that day. But in this instance we see it says many thousands, so many that they're just trampling on each other, and I kind of picture this like the front section of a general admissions concert.

If you've ever been right, everybody's like pushing and shoving and maybe there's a little elbow now and then You're willing to step on people just to get a better view. It's not exactly the safest place to be, but all these people are doing this right, they're pushing, they're shoving, they're stepping on one another, trying to hear Jesus ironically talk about loving God and loving people. So this concert-like experience is happening and you know, if you've been on the flip side of that, if you've been on the stage and watched all these people clamoring, trying to get closer to you, right, they're trying to get the view of you. It can kind of puff you up a little bit, right, trying to get the view of you. It can kind of puff you up a little bit, right, even if you haven't been in that position, you can imagine this is a little bit of an ego boost, right?

So Jesus is in this concert-like experience with the disciples and he turns to them and he says, hey, be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees. This can permeate our community, this hypocrisy, just like trying our hand at sourdough, just because it's something everybody's doing. The disciples that are right near Jesus, they have this temptation facing them as well, with all those crowds. The temptation to maintain that popularity, to grow that popularity and for hypocrisy to be more like the Pharisees was huge and it was lingering all around them in the air, like the wild yeasts around us, and perhaps they don't even notice that it's starting to permeate and change their attitudes and their actions. So Jesus has to tell them.

And then, verse 2 through 5, it says there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden, that will not be made known. What 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. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you shall fear. Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. So this is a great little section Stephen gave me. Thanks, stephen.

But Jesus is reminding them that pleasing the crowds is the wrong focus. Right, and as we're reading this today, he's reminding us also that pleasing crowds, pleasing those around us, is the wrong focus. And we were created for connection, we were created for community, we need to connect. But that makes it natural for us to want to try to control that, right. It makes it natural to want to please those that are around us. Sometimes we feel like if our community is bigger, if we have more social media followers, if we have more influence, there's more people at our table, or if we're sitting at a table of somebody more important than us, that suddenly we are more successful, that we are more loved, that we are better people and that we hold more successful, that we are more loved, that we are better people and that we hold more value.

And we can find ourselves curating this image of ourselves that isn't even who we are. We can find ourselves acting one way with our family, and another with our friends, and even another when we're around people with power and influence. That's hypocrisy. We want to draw the crowds around us, we want approval, we want people to like us, we want to be valued, we want to be accepted, and this hypocrisy can be intentional. It can be something we specifically think about. It can be the angle that I take, that picture of my newly baked bread with my KitchenAid in the background and the dirty dishes pile way off to the side so nobody gets to see it. Everyone knows it's there, but we're going to pretend it's not and I might sprinkle a little dust of flour in just the right spots. Right, that is curating, and I'm almost being hypocritical because I'm not being honest here. I created that. I created that scene, and hypocrisy can also be unintentional. Right, we don't necessarily outright lie.

When a person asks us how did you get through that difficult season? Well, we might say something super churchy, right, has anybody heard something super churchy from somebody when they wanted an actual answer? Maybe we say something like God gives me the grace to get through each day. And then we smile and that's true, right, god does. He absolutely gives us the grace to get through each day. But I mean, is this something that's just like gifted to you? Does God just say, hey, here's your portion, here's your portion of grace, go on with your day. It'll be lovely If that's true for you. I really want to talk later, while we're at lunch with the kids, because that sounds a lot easier than any experience I've ever had.

But I wonder what would happen if we were a lot more honest. When somebody asks us how did you get through what was really difficult? What if we were really honest? What if we said honest things like I cried in the shower. Or I drove around town screaming at God, I want to. I yelled at him and told him this was unfair, I don't want to do this anymore. God, what if I told people that I sobbed with my bestie on the phone well, she prayed for me because I didn't want to pray anymore the phone, while she prayed for me because I didn't want to pray anymore. What if we were honest and said I ate my way through that entire sourdough chocolate cake, even though it kind of sucked, while repeating Bible verses that I desperately wanted to believe in my heart? Maybe you're healthier than me and you can say something like I trained for a marathon and cried out to God the whole time. Good for you. Maybe you can say I journaled until I wrote a book on accident. I took up CrossFit and powerlifting. We'll talk to God about my frustrations. I'm happy for you if that works for you.

But what if we're honest like that? And what if we didn't stop there? What if, when that person asking, we told them that God showed up in those moments, that he showed up to let me know that he was with me, that I was not alone, I am not forgotten, that he has me in the very palm of his hand. What if we shared about those times that while I was driving and yelling at God and dropping F-bombs because I do, and then I stopped for coffee and the person in front of me paid for my drink and I knew that God saw me? Or while I was eating that cake like a crazy person, that someone I knew that I had not shared my struggle with sent me a text with a perfect song or the perfect podcast that I needed. In that moment. I know that's a hug from God.

We're not always brutally honest like that, because it can make us sound really weird right, that sounds weird. It can make us sound like we're an unstable mess. It can make us sound really weird right, that sounds weird. It can make us sound like we're an unstable mess. It can make us feel like people might not trust us, like they might not like us anymore. They might lose respect for us. It feels safer to be hypocritical, to set up what people will see, to maintain our image and our reputation with the others around us. It's safer and it's less risky. The disciples were no different. They wanted people to like them too. They wanted people to respect them and they wanted to be loved and valued. And here is Jesus just reminding them that pleasing the crowd is the wrong focus. I mean sure the crowd can turn on them, and I mean we know that they eventually do. Jesus and most of his disciples were brutally murdered later on. But even being murdered isn't the scariest thing that can happen here. Do you really grasp that concept, can you? You understand it? Do you believe it? Like being murdered isn't the worst thing that can happen here? Being separated from God, that's what's really at stake here.

I've had the unpleasant opportunity to be on the receiving end of a pretty violent crime, and it left me with PTSD, with fear that at one time just consumed me. I was constantly afraid, and in fear I suddenly became aware that I could be murdered at any given time. Safety was an illusion that I no longer had the luxury of, and I expected the possibility of death in every shadow. Over time, I found comfort in both the verses that we're going over here today and in Psalm 23, 4. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, and I eventually came to an understanding of this truth.

I came to understand that I belong to God that eternity, heaven is my home. So even if somebody tries to take me, they can't. They can't have all of me because he keeps my soul. You can destroy this outer shell of me, but my soul he keeps. There is power and there is comfort in that truth. I cannot be destroyed, my soul he keeps. Maybe it's just the old punk in me that really feels pumped up about that kind of thing, but you cannot destroy me. I cannot be destroyed. My soul he keeps.

And this is truth for all of us. If we're Jesus followers. This is the truth for all of us that live to please God. This is the truth about living for what really matters. If we choose to fear the people around us, we are fearing the wrong ones. If we live to please the crowds, we are living for the wrong thing. If you want to live for what really matters, live to please God, for what really matters, live to please God.

We may face rejection. We may face some scary situations. We may be asked to give more than we feel we can. We can be asked to give more emotionally, physically, financially than we feel is safe. We may face people discrediting us, making fun of us or even worse. But when we do, we can know that God is with us. He helps us to endure. Releasing the fear of people and embracing the fear of God can bring an incredible comfort. But that also sounds a little insane, doesn't it? That's not what people do.

But Jesus goes on in verse six through nine. He says are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. So, reading this today, we might lose a little bit in the translation the significance of the sparrow. But sparrows were then sold, two for a penny, or five for two pennies, or the equivalent of a penny, a little copper coin depends on which translation you're looking at. But anyway it means that that fifth sparrow was free because one sparrow had zero value, worthless, they're so small and insignificant. They don't even make the list of compatible sacrifices, replacement sacrifices for people who are poor like a pigeon. It's worthless in the eyes of people, yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

And Jesus says you, you are more valuable than many, many sparrows. God knows the number of hairs on your head, and that speaks of the intimate minute details that he cares about. That God cares to know about you. And now I adore my husband, I love him and I like him and I care about what his needs are. But I have no idea how many hairs are on his head. All I really know is it's less than when we were in high school, but I can't imagine that I would ever care enough to count the hairs on his head.

But here is God. God loves us so much that he cares about even that. He sees great value in you. He cares about your needs. He cares about your fears, cares about your needs. He cares about your fears. He tells us we don't have to be afraid. So he knows we will be. We don't have to be. We don't have to be afraid of sharing our faith. You don't have to be afraid of what the crowd is going to say or do. We don't have to be afraid of living for what really matters, because we are valuable to him. If you acknowledge him, he will acknowledge you If you reject him and deny him. That's something you should probably be afraid of, because he will reject and deny you. That's what it says. I didn't make it up.

As Jesus followers, we all have moments of truth, those times where we have to put our soul where our mouth is, and as Jesus followers, we will often face people who don't understand us, who reject the biblical principles that we attempt to live by, and maybe we find ourselves facing those who are hostile to our beliefs. Sometimes, the opportunity to share Jesus brings the opportunity for rejection and living for what really matters. It begs some serious questions. Will you fear God or will you fear those around you? Does your value and worth come from God or your neighbors? What will you do when sharing your faith might lead to rejection from a friend? What if it's a family member? Or that crazy keyboard warrior that always comments on every post? What if? Are you willing to refrain from hypocrisy and risk being the weird one? And what does it even look like to not run away from the world but to rush to it? What does it look like to engage with people who believe differently than you do and to be bold enough to just lovingly share your faith experiences?

Are you willing to live for what really matters? It's a really big deal. Are you willing to live for what really matters? We are accountable to God and God alone for how we respond in situations and pressures that come as a result of our walk with him, but thankfully we can trust that he cares for us and that he values us, that he has a purpose and a plan for us. To fear him means to respect his presence, to trust in his care and to not worry about how others react to us. To fear him means to live for what really matters. That's the comfort that we can find.