A telemarketer called a home one day, and a small voice whispered, "Hello?" "Hello! What’s your name?" Still whispering, the voice said, "Jimmy." "How old are you, Jimmy?" "I’m four." "Is your mother home?" "Yes, but she’s busy." "Okay, is your father home?" "He’s busy too." "I see, who else is there?" "The police." "The police? May I speak with one of them?" "They’re busy." "Any other grown-ups there?" "The firemen." "May I speak with a fireman, please?" "They’re all busy." "Jimmy, all those people in your house, and I can’t talk with any of them? What are they doing?" "Looking for me."
Have you ever tried to hide something, but ended up getting caught? I don’t know why I’m fixing to tell you this, but I am. When I was in high school I was dating a girl in my class. Every day I would walk her home from school and then make my way to my house, which was just down the street. For whatever reason, my parents had developed a much hated rule for me. It stated that I could not spend more than 15 minutes a day talking with my girlfriend outside her house. We were not to touch and we had to stay out in front of the house where we had no privacy. Looking back now those are great rules, but when I was a teen I despised having those regulations placed upon me. Needless to say, many times I would break those rules. Rarely did I stay just 15 minutes and there was definitely some PDA that went on.
Well, one day, for whatever reason, I decided that I was going to give my lovely girlfriend a goodbye kiss before I made my trek home. And so, there in front of her house, right outside her door, I leaned over and gave her a nice big kiss. Great, huh? The only problem was, just at that moment, her mom opened that front door and caught us red-handed, red-lipped, and very quickly red-faced. We were caught. That which we thought we’d get away with did not go unseen. Thankfully, her mom was merciful and to my knowledge did not say anything to my parents. If she did, I probably would have been history.
Now, you may be laughing at me now, but I know that you are no different than me. Perhaps you didn’t get caught kissing, but I know that the vast majority of us here today have probably been caught doing something we shouldn’t have been doing, but that we thought we could keep hidden.
Today I want us to look at a verse that should be a consolation to those who are living right, but it should also be a warning to those who are not. You can find this simple verse, the words of Jesus, in Luke 12:2… There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
No doubt, in our younger days at home with mom and dad, each of us has done something in the secret; something that we didn’t want our parents to find out about. Maybe we were successful at keeping it hidden, maybe we weren’t so lucky. But we tried to get away with doing some things that we shouldn’t have been doing. As bad as that is, I believe there is something that is much worse and much more dangerous. I believe there are those today who are secretly sinning against God and hoping to be able to get away with it. I don’t know what that sin may be. It could be any number of things. But whatever it is, they have made themselves to look really good in front of their friends at church. They make it look like they’re being obedient to God. They make it sound like their heart is where it should be. But when no one else is looking they are doing some things that they are hoping will stay hidden from all their fellow church goers. I don’t know if there is anyone like that here this morning. But if there is, may I put up a warning sign for you today? There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
Pastor Keaton told the story about a man who had been breaking into their car when they pastored in the city of Dayton, Ohio. He said night after night this guy would be getting into his car and shuffling through all his things looking for change or some cash that would be left behind. Finally one night Troy decided to put an end to this petty crime. So he wrote a note to the offender and left it on the driver’s seat of his car. The note read something like this… “Dear Sir. Your every move is being recorded at this time and will be played back for you at a later date.” He said he never had another problem with that guy getting into his car again.
Now, the Keatons hadn’t installed a surveillance camera on the premises to look out for burglars. But Pastor Keaton was letting this guy know that one day, when he stood before the judgment bar of God, his crimes would be played out for him in detail in front of the millions of people who would be in attendance. This morning, I don’t know exactly how the judgment is going to go. I don’t know if our entire lives and every sin we’ve ever committed is going to be flashed up onto a big screen for all of creation to watch. But I do know that Jesus said, There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. And today, I want to talk to you about three things that we can try to cover up, but that, according to Scripture, will be revealed, maybe during this life, maybe not; but no doubt they will be revealed on the final day of judgment.
I. Every Secret Act Will Be Witnessed
Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:10… For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his reward, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Rom. 2:6 tells us that God will render to each man according to his deeds. First of all, this morning, I believe that every secret act will be witnessed.
The story is told about the drunk husband who came home late one night and snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. “You were drunk last night weren’t you!” “No, honey.” “Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?”
In the book of Joshua we find the story of the victory at a city named Jericho. We all know the story of how God told Joshua to walk his people around that city once a day for six days. We all love to hear of how on the seventh day the people walked around the walls of that city seven times, no short walk I might add. The walls of Jericho enclosed about ten acres. But we love to hear of how after that seventh trip the people shouted and the Levites blew their horns and the walls of Jericho came crashing down. It’s a story of victory. It’s a story of the power of God. But if you remember God also had given them a commandment that when the city was theirs they were to refrain from taking any spoils. In Joshua 6 we find this curse upon Israel if they took anything from the city as their own.
But in Joshua 7 we read that as the Israelites made their way to the next city, Ai, they were full of confidence knowing that God had just won them a great victory over a much stronger city. The next smaller city would be no problem. But when they attacked the city of Ai they were forced to flee and when the count was over they had lost 36 men. When Joshua heard the news he tore his clothes and fell on his face before the Lord trying to understand why God allowed this to happen, and doubting whether God was actually leading them into Canaan after all. But God looked down and He said, “Joshua, get up. Why have you fallen on your face before me like this? Israel has sinned. They have disobeyed.” For you see, a man named Achan saw the beauty of a Babylonian garment and the glitter of some silver and some gold. And thinking that no one would see, he took them as spoils of war and he hid them in a hole in the ground in his tent. But the Lord had seen his sinful act. He had observed what Achan had thought to be secret. And his sins found him out.
This morning, I would venture to say, that there are many people in the church world today who are claiming to be a follower of Jesus, but who are covering up some secret sins. Maybe there is someone like that here this morning. You look good in front of your fellow church-goers. You have the appearance of a Christian. But when you are alone you are engaging in things that you know are sinful, things that you know are wrong. But you think you can get away with them as long as nobody finds out about them. But can I give you a warning, this morning? Nothing escapes the watchful eye of our Sovereign God.
Charles Spurgeon preached, “thou hast no secret chamber where thou canst hide thyself; thou hast no dark cellar where thou canst conceal thy soul. Dig deep, ay, deep as hell, but thou canst not find earth enough upon the globe to cover thy sin; if thou shouldst heap the mountains on its grave, those mountains would tell the tale of what was buried in their bowels. If thou couldst cast thy sin into the sea, a thousand babbling waves would tell the secret out. There is no hiding it from God. Thy sin is photographed in high heaven; the deed when it was done was photographed upon the sky, and there it shall remain, and thou shalt see thyself one day revealed to the gazing eyes of all men, a hypocrite, a pretender, who didst sin in fancied secret, observed in all thine acts by the all-seeing Jehovah. O what fools men are, to think they can do anything in secret.”
God sees all that we do, whether it be in the light or in the dark. And while your sin may go unnoticed by man, you can be assured that it does not go unnoticed by the God of the universe. And, like Achan, you may seem to get away with it for a little while, but one day you will be judged accordingly. And the Bible tells us that whatever a man sows that will he also reap. Someday your sin will catch up with you. There is no doubt about it. For the verse says, we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Num 32:23 says, be sure your sins will find you out. Heb. 4:13 says all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. You can’t get away with secret sins forever.
Let me ask you, this morning… what are you like when you’re alone? Is your character consistent with your reputation? In other words, are you the good, upright Christian that everyone thinks you are? Or do you take off the mask when you think you’re alone and begin indulging in your secret sins? May I let you in on a little secret? You are never alone. The eyes of and omni-present God are watching you. And one day, all of your secret acts will be witnessed.
II. Every Whispered Word Will Be Overheard
Not only will every secret act be witnessed, but secondly, every whispered word will be heard. Look at Luke 12:3. It says… Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
You know, preachers sort of have to be careful what they say from the pulpit. If they aren’t careful it can sometimes get them in trouble. Because if you turn and look at the back corner of the church you’ll see Jim sitting up in that little area called the sound booth. And as far as I know this entire service has been recorded. Dan Stetler, the president of the college I graduated from, illustrated this point very well. In one of his sermons he began telling the congregation about his sinner neighbor next door. He told of how immodestly his daughters dressed. He told of how they were such a bunch of party animals. Basically everything wrong about that man that he could think of he said. Little did he know that the following week the tape of that service somehow found that way into the hands of his neighbor. And it wasn’t long before Bro. Stetler heard a knock on his door. When he pulled open the door there in front of him loomed a very large, muscular, mean looking man… and he was holding a cassette. “You’ve got some explaining to do,” he said. And thus began a long afternoon of trying to appease someone he had offended with his words, all because of the guy in the sound booth.
Did you know that every word you say is being recorded in the sound booth of heaven? It is. The only difference between that sound booth and ours is that the things that are recorded up there don’t have to be said into a microphone. Every word that makes its way out of your mouth is recorded in heaven. Every time you say an untrue word it’s recorded in heaven. It was found that 91 percent of Americans lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses. The Bible clearly teaches that liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. Your lies are being heard and recorded in the sound booth of heaven.
Every time you say something unkind it is recorded. You know, people can be so malicious with their words. The statement, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is about the biggest lie I have ever heard. It’s just something that people say to try to ease the pain that they received from the words.
A study was done in the ‘90’s at the University of Denver. It watched newlyweds over the first decade of marriage, they found a very subtle but telling difference at the beginning of the relationships. Among couples who would ultimately stay together, 5 out of every 100 comments made about each other were putdowns. Among couples who would later split, 10 of every 100 comments were insults. That gap magnified over the following decade, until couples heading downhill were flinging five times as many cruel and invalidating comments at each other as happy couples. "Hostile putdowns act as cancerous cells that, if unchecked, erode the relationship over time," says one of the professors who did the study. "In the end, relentless unremitting negativity takes control and the couple can’t get through a week without major blowups." You ever wonder why your marriage is suffering? Take a good look at the words you are using towards your spouse. Are they kind or are they malicious? Words do hurt, and no little chant can change that fact. And every unkind that is uttered by your lips is recorded in heaven and you will be accountable for them.
Every time you mumble a complaint under your breath it’s recorded in heaven. A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, "Do you have anything to say?" The monk replied, "Food bad." After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, "Bed hard." Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, "I quit." "It doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here." Too many times it’s easy for us to find the negative in everything. And every negative word will be recorded in heaven.
Every time you whisper words of gossip it is heard and recorded in heaven. Three pastors attended a convention one summer and they were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, “Let’s confess our secret sins one to another. I’ll start - my secret sin is I just love to gamble. When I go out of town, it’s cha-ching cha-ching, let the machines ring.” The second pastor said, “My secret sin is that I just hate working. I copy all my sermons from those given by other pastors.” The third pastor said, “My secret sin is gossiping and, oh boy, I just can’t wait to get out of this room!”
To us that is kind of funny, but long, long ago God established in the minds of His people the fact that He hates gossip. Lev. 19:16 says Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer(gossip) among thy people. God spoke through Solomon in the book of Proverbs several times about gossiping. A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Jesus said in Matt. 12 Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. The Holy Spirit spoke through James and said If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. On and on we could go. The Word of God is full of warnings against gossip and for the gossiper. God hates gossip. Gossip sows dissention. It sows strife. It ruins relationships. It ruins ministries. It destroys churches. It divides the body of Christ. It is sin.
How you use your words is very important to God. So important, in fact, that you will one day be judged according to the ones you have used and how you have used them. Where will you stand on that day of judgment? Will you be condemned by your words? Or will you be acquitted by them? The truth is, whether you believe it or not, every one of your whispered words, those that you think no one hears but those to whom you are speaking, will be echoed loudly in the judgment hall of God. They will be overheard.
III. Every Private Thought Will Be Exposed
If you look in Rom 2:16 I believe you will find the last thing that will be revealed on that day. Listen to what that verse says… God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. God will judge the secrets, or the inward thoughts, of men. I believe that on judgment day every private thought will be exposed.
Probably one of the areas of highest sacredness to us as individuals is the privacy of our thought lives. Those deep, inward feelings that come from our hearts and minds. Those things that we take much consolation in knowing that no one can infringe upon. They may be able to disrupt the privacy of our homes or our telephone lines and countless other areas of our life, and it may be inconvenient and frustrating. But we can always rest assured that our inner thoughts are off limits to any human ability to infringe upon. No one can see every thought that crosses your mind. For one thing, the average human can have upwards of 10,000 thoughts cross their mind in a single day. But the thought life, for the most part, cannot be penetrated unless you choose to share it. Now, wives think they can read the thoughts of their husbands. Sometimes I think Cora would make a great mind reader. Other times I think she thinks she could be, but she can only guess. She really doesn’t have the gift of telepathy. And sometimes that’s a good thing. For most of us it’s a relief that our thoughts can be kept private from those around us. Samuel Johnson once said, “Every man knows thoughts of himself that he would not tell to his dearest friend.” We don’t want other people to know what we’re thinking sometimes.
But did you know that your thought life is not totally hidden from all? There is One who knows every thought that enters our minds. There is One who knows exactly what we’re thinking every moment of every day. For 1 Chron. 28:9 says the Lord searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. Ps. 94:11 says the Lord knows the thoughts of man. God sees your thoughts. He knows what you’re thinking. He can see into the deepest chambers of your mind. And one day He is going to reward you accordingly.
Now, in order to clarify, let me say that you will not be held accountable for every thought that passes through your minds. For Satan does have the ability to put impure thoughts into our heads. Often times temptations and thoughts will come that we are powerless to stop. And for those thoughts we will not be held accountable.
But we will be held accountable for the reception we give those thoughts. We sometimes open up the door and welcome them in, don’t we? When we should be driving these thoughts away when they come, we usher them into our living room, and set them down, and ask them to be comfortable and stay with us. And we invite them back again and again; we allow them to dwell there in our minds. We may not be held responsible for every thought that enters our minds, but we are held responsible for what we do with those thoughts. God sees our thoughts, and one day every hidden thought will be revealed. Jesus teaches us in Matt. 5:28 that every lustful thought will be judged. He teaches us in that same chapter that every hateful thought will also be punished. You will be held accountable for everything that you take the time to ponder.
Can I urge you this morning… be careful what you allow into your mind. Be careful what you watch. Be careful what you listen to. Be careful what you read. Be careful what you look at. Why is it so important? Because as meaningless as you think those things may be, they can be used by Satan to put thoughts in your mind that should not be there. That’s why Paul tells us in Philippians to think on the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report; virtuous, and praise-worthy. If we guard what we allow to enter our minds it will not be near as hard to maintain a thought life that is pleasing to God.
But let me go even further than just saying the thoughts of our minds will be revealed. But I believe when Paul said that God will judge the secrets of man he was also referring to the motives of our heart. Many times we can do something and our true motive for doing it is kept well hidden. Many times we can do something that in itself is good, but it comes out of a heart with a wrong motive. One preacher said, “People can falsify deeds, but they can’t falsify motives.” Those actions which may appear outwardly to be so holy and noble may, on the inside, because of the purpose of the heart, actually be evil in the sight of God.
God told Samuel when he was looking at the sons of Jesse to see who would be anointed as king of Israel, that He does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Twice in Proverbs we are told that the Lord weighs the spirit or the heart.
Let me ask you… why do you do what you do? Is it to be seen by men? Is it to gain recognition for yourself? It is in order to obtain what you want? Do you have impure motives? Or do you live the life you live out of a deep love for God and a desire to please Him and bring Him glory and further His kingdom? Who cares? you may ask. At least I’m doing it. Let me tell you today, your motives matter to God. Why? Because your motives are what make up your character. Prov. 23:7 says for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he... Why do you do what you do?
Charles Spurgeon said, “Think what it will be like to have your motives all brought to light, to have it proven that you were godly for the sake of gain, that you were generous out of a love for praise, that you were careful in public to maintain a religious reputation, but that all the while everything was done for self, and for self only! What a strong light will that be which God shall turn upon our lives, when the darkest chambers of human desire and motive shall be as manifest as public acts!”
Today we are judged by others simply according to what we do. The words that come out of our mouths; the places that we go; the actions that people see us do. But there is coming a day when every private thought will be exposed. Every hidden desire, every lust, every passion, every motive, every rebellion, every attitude, every thought of the heart will be revealed. No wonder Paul tells us to set our minds on things above. Because not only does our character and our actions stem from our motives and the desires of our heart, but there is coming a day when God’s judgment will reach ultimately into the secret recesses of the heart. I want my thoughts and motives and attitudes and desires to be pure, don’t you?
This morning, I know that I have said a lot of things on the negative side of the verse. But I don’t think I can close this message without pointing out that this verse is something that the righteous person can rejoice over. For you see, the fact that every secret act will be witnessed, should encourage those who are doing things for the Lord that will not be rewarded for on earth. The fact that every whispered word will be overheard should encourage those who are speaking words of kindness and encouragement to those who are in need. And the fact that every private thought will be exposed should encourage those who are striving to maintain a pure mind with pure thoughts and a pure heart with pure motives. It’s something to rejoice over, because one day all those things are going to be revealed, and God Himself, who seeth in secret shall reward you openly.
But while it is something for the upright to rejoice over, this verse should also be a word of caution to those who have been living a life of cover-up. You’ve been trying to make people think that you’re where you need to be. You’ve been trying to put on a good front. But today you’re hiding secret sins. Can I give you a warning… There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. There is nothing, no deed, no word, no thought, that is not seen by God. He is not unaware of your silly games. He is not unaware of your sinful heart. And one day, you will be judged accordingly.
The good news is, those things can be forgotten today. Those things can be covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Calvary today. He is waiting to separate those sins as far as the east is from the west. He wants to be able to remember them against you no more. All you have to do is confess those sins to Him. The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins to Him He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And today, if you need that forgiveness, why don’t you come and seek it here at this altar. We’re not asking you to tell us what you’ve done. We’re not asking you to let us in on all your dirty little secrets. But why don’t you just come and confess those things to the One who knows all about them already anyway. And I promise you, when you come you won’t find condemnation, but you’ll find grace. You won’t find rejection, but you’ll find forgiveness and acceptance. Jesus said in John 3 I didn’t come to condemn the world. If you’re living in sin you’re condemned already. But Jesus came that He might bring salvation and forgiveness. If you need cleansed of your secret sins this morning, why don’t you come and allow God to do that work in you today?
