Matthew pt. 44 - Jesus is Greater

Matthew, Chapter 12. So Jesus is.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

If we go back to verse 22, remember that Jesus cast a demon

out and then this whole monologue began that we're in

the middle of right now. Jesus, I told you last week, has

been dropping bombs on these guys.

And he is speaking with the most authority that he's spoken with

so far. He's spoken with clarity before.

He's spoken with sincerity before, but the amount of

authority and the amount of weight, and we really see Jesus,

the judge. Would Jesus judge people?

Of course he would. Jesus does the right thing at

the right time. And in this moment, he's doing

the right thing at the right time as well.

So we're zooming in and we're paying attention and we're

noticing what's needed and what's necessary in this moment.

So we're going to consider all the context.

You know how when you read something, sometimes it's easy

to to to just keep it flatline instead of considering what's

actually happening. So I'm not going to fully

dramatize the entire event, but I'm going to do my best to

communicate and emphasize verbally as I read this portion

of text to you because we're going to go all the way through

now to verse 45, but we're going to start in verse 22.

Then a demon oppressed man was who was blind and mute was.

Brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and

saw. That should have been just the

time for everybody to rejoice. That should have been the praise

God. God is good, Jesus is wonderful.

Thank you, Lord. Look at what he does.

He does all things well. That's it really just should

have been the end of the story. And everyone rejoiced and

everyone was thrilled and the people were amazed and they

said, could this be the son of David?

What's building faith? The Holy Spirit's going.

Look, this is what this is what was supposed to happen.

This is the Messiah. He's the one.

But when the Pharisees heard of it, they said it's only by

Beelzebul, the Prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.

And now Jesus gives them the full force of what they had

coming. Knowing their thoughts, He said

to them, every Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste,

and no. City or house divided against

itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan,

he's divided against himself. How then will his Kingdom stand?

And if I cast out demons by Beelzebel, by whom do your sons

cast them out? That might have even drawn

laughter from the crowd like you.

This is getting tense. This is awkward.

Maybe they were inside a house. We don't know the exact

scenario, but we know there was a crowd.

So if I'm casting out demons by the power of Satan, is that your

argument? Who do your disciples cast

demons out by? Because you guys are also

casting out demons. So how do you guys do it?

What is he doing? He's throwing their hypocrisy,

their pride, their foolishness, their rebellion in their face.

Notice how he's not being gentle going?

Let's have a winsome conversation here.

He's saying no, I know a wolf and a snake when I see it, and

I'm going to call it such. I'm not going to pretend I'm

dealing with a sheep when I know better just because sheep are

watching. And that can be tense for sheep

because innocent sheep are going.

Why is the shepherd being mean to that guy?

Because you don't know that's a wolf.

You might not know what a wolf looks like sometimes, but the

shepherd does. Shepherds have an eye for these

things. Shepherd have shepherds have a

nose for these things. But the sheep just go.

I didn't know the shepherd would smack somebody with a stick.

Yes, shepherds smack with a stick sometimes.

Well. Who do they smack?

Wolves. That's who's supposed to get

smacked with a stick, and that's what's happening here.

By whom do your sons cast them out?

Therefore they will be your judges.

But if it's by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the

Kingdom of God has come upon you.

Or how can you enter a strong man's house?

He's going back into the point. Your.

Point is so stupid is what he's saying to them.

How could you enter a strong man's house?

So in this example, the devil is supposedly the strong man here

and Jesus is going to enter the strong man's house to take the

goods. The goods are you and I.

Jesus wants to rescue you and I from the devil.

And he's just making making fools of them, saying how stupid

their point is. How can someone enter a strong

man's house? Or he's saying, how could I

enter the devil's house and plunder his goods?

Unless he first ties up the strongman, binds the strongman,

then indeed he may plunder his house.

He's saying I just tied up and bound the devil, and then I

delivered this man. By doing so.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not

gather with me scatters. Therefore, I tell you, every sin

and blasphemy will be forgiven, people, but the blasphemy

against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be

forgiven. But whoever speaks against the

Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or

in the age that is to come. Either make the tree good and

its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the

tree is known by its fruit. You brood of Vipers, how can you

speak good when you're evil? For out of the abundance of the

heart the mouth speaks the good person.

Out of his good treasure he brings forth good, and the evil

person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

I tell you, on the day of judgment, people will give an

account for every careless word they.

Speak. What's he referencing?

The careless words that the Pharisees have just spoken.

That's the context. You are doomed because of all

that you've believed and all that you've held onto and all

that you've refused to repent of.

And it's come. It's given full birth.

That sin that started his seed when it could have been repented

of. You nurtured it, you cared for

it, and now it's become fully delivered.

People will give an account for every careless words, every

careless word they speak, for by your words you will be

justified. Praise God, say all the Saints.

And by your words, you will be condemned.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying,

teacher, So what are they doing there?

They're interrupting. Now He is crashing like a wave

that just won't stop. You ever seen a tsunami?

It's not one wave, it's the ocean.

It just invades the land. It's not like we think a mega

wave that flattens the land and then washes away.

When an earthquake happens deep in the sea, it sends the ocean

inland. That the whole thing, it just

comes and it won't stop. Jesus is coming.

And it won't. Stop.

It's almost as if the scribes and Pharisees.

He's going teacher, teacher. They can't bear it.

He's speaking with such clarity, such authority.

We wish to see a sign from you. But he answered them.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.

As if they say, oh, I bet you do.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but

no sign will be given to it, except for the sign of the

prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days

and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of

Man. Will be 3.

Days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this

generation and condemn it. Why?

Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold,

something greater than Jonah is here.

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this

generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of

the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold.

Something greater than Solomon is here.

God, bring us revelation and light today that we would be

encouraged, that we will be strengthened, that we will be

equipped, that we would be made skillful to see the light of

your Kingdom, to understand the manipulations in the lives of

the enemy. Protect your Saints.

God, make your sheep wise as serpents and as innocent as

doves. In Jesus name we thank you for

your word. Amen.

We wish to see a sign. He's been doing signs.

It's it's a ridiculous, it's a ridiculous and insincere

request. Teacher, teacher, what are they

doing? They want to interrupt and they

want to question his authority in front of everybody because

they're already going. Could this be the son of David

and Jesus going? My people are starting to

respond, and the Pharisees. Go no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He's actually casting out demons by the power of demons, man.

Why is he so furious? Because folks are starting to

believe and the wolves have said no, no, no.

I mean they didn't just try and pick a neutral ground.

They said Jesus is of the devil. So they didn't just say, I don't

know if he's the Messiah yet. Give me some time and let me

think about it. That in itself he probably would

have rebuked and gone 1 + 1 = 2. I'm clearly the Messiah.

That's Matthew's purpose as he's writing.

Remember who Matthew wrote this gospel to?

This Gospel was written to who? To the Jews.

Matthew writes this to the Jews. So the Holy Spirit is

deliberately inspiring Matthew to write the way that Matthew's

writing to record the things that Matthew's recording and to

the Jewish heroes, the Pharisees, the rabbi's, the, the

priestly class, Matthew's saying those people who we used to hold

high, here's what Jesus did with them.

Here's what Jesus thought about him.

We wish to see a sign. He's been bringing the Kingdom

right in front of their faces, and now he's speaking his

strongest rebuke, speaking with the most authority that he's

used. And they want to challenge his

verbal authority and they want to undermine his authority.

But it's a trap, it's a manipulation, it's a trick.

It's not sincere. It's disingenuous.

Disingenuous. Which is it?

Disingenuous. I dropped out of college.

People like you get what you get around here.

Thank you, Don. You know, You get what you get

around here. So it's insincere.

We'll stick with that word. We know what that one means.

It's not. It's not real.

They already refused to believe, and they're attempting to seem

reasonable, but they're not reasonable.

OK, OK, OK. Jesus.

Hey, hey, hey, guys. I know, I know.

Everything he just said sounded really impressive.

This is the wolf and the snakes and the Pharisees talking.

Look, I know he sounds like he's really condemning us.

Jesus, show us a sign. You speak with a lot of

authority. Go ahead and, you know, do a

magic trick, won't you? Jesus, He just drove demons out

right here. Remember.

Remember moments ago this man? What kind of sign?

Are you looking for? He's already done great and

miraculous things. He's been doing it for a minimum

of months maybe. Are we years in at this point?

Do something to prove your authority, Church.

I want you to realize unreasonable people and hard

hearted people do this all the time and they'll do it to you as

well. With hearts of stone and angels

of voices. They will claim that they

represent a reasonable and a fair perspective.

They're just going to be. They're just reasonable and

fair. All they need you to do is just

present the evidence and they, being a reasonable and fair

person, are happy to engage with you and the reasonable and fair

evidence that you will present. It's a lie.

It's a hard heart with a voice of an Angel and a smile.

They run our country, their friends, their Co workers, their

family. You've seen this behavior

before, but it's easy to be deceived by it and it's easy to

receive the pressure on you to go.

Man, if I could only give them. But that's a lie.

There is someone far greater than you and there is an

evidence far greater that you and I could ever provide.

It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that has met every single

person who has ever lived. So they have rejected the

testimony of the Holy Spirit who glorifies Christ.

And then they have the audacity to say to you, Chris, if you

could just provide evidence for me, I got, I got nothing to give

to you except by the way, I have something incredible to give to

you, the gospel, the message of the gospel, because it is the

power of God unto salvation. For those who will.

Believe, but if you won't believe then there is nothing

coming. There is nothing that's going to

do it because you don't actually need a sign.

You're a liar, you're hard hearted, you might be self

deceived but either way the consequences are the same.

Unreasonable people still do this to you and I.

No, no, I'm totally reasonable. I have a fair perspective here,

but it's not true. They make it seem like if you

would only supply the appropriate evidence for the

authority of Jesus over their life, then they're going to

happily respond to it because they're so reasonable and

they're so prepared to do this thing.

But they're not. Because if they were, they would

have because the Holy Spirit is in the earth to convict people

of sin. So your responsibility is not

greater than the responsibility of the Holy Spirit.

You're not more powerful than the Holy Spirit, who has already

testified to Jesus in their heart, and you shouldn't feel

pressure to provide them anything.

Other than the Word of God and the good news of the gospel in

particular, like we said, because it is the power of God

unto salvation that is the power.

I don't always feel that way. Well then that's you're in my

lack of faith, the reason you and I don't do.

That is because we actually believe the lie as well and go,

I mean the scriptures aren't enough.

They go, I don't accept your Bible.

You go, well then you've rejected the word of God, just

like the Pharisees did like. And you say, hey, I want to, I

want to read something to you from the Scripture.

And they go, no, no, no, no, no. Prove the authority of your

Jesus to me without the thing that proves the authority of

your Jesus to me. What?

Stand on the floor, but don't use the floor or your feet.

It's nonsensical. Why?

Because it's coming from a heart of stone.

It's a person who has already decided they will not believe.

They reject that. I don't want his authority.

So I'm going to continue to create hoops for you to jump

through. And there are some things that

we could possibly jump through. There are evidences that you

could bring up, but those aren't the things that people need to

shift inside their heart. The the issue is not a knowledge

issue. The issue is a spiritual issue.

So Jesus also taught this when he told the story about the rich

man who went to hell. Remember this, The rich man dies

and he goes to hell. Jesus said when the rich man is

in hell, somehow paradise and hell had visibility of one

another. You're saying why do they have?

What is paradise? Well, heaven had not yet been

opened the way Jesus had not yet made away, right?

So an Old Testament saying, where do they go when they die?

You can't go into the presence of God.

How could you possibly enter into the presence of God without

the blood of Jesus getting you there?

So here we are in paradise. It's a place of comfort, also

known as Abraham's bosom, as in close to Abraham's chest being

cared for. So the rich man calls out to

Abraham. Abraham, send someone back to

warn my brothers about this treacherous place.

And Abraham says they have Moses and the prophets.

They have the Scriptures to save them, protect them.

Don't worry, they've got everything they need.

And he was no, no, no, no, but Abraham.

But if someone would come back from the dead and warn them,

then they would repent. And Abraham looks over to the

rich man in hell and says, no, no, that's not true.

No, if they won't believe Moses and the prophets, neither will

they believe someone who has been raised from the dead.

Is that true? Yes, and we even see it play by

play after Jesus is literally raised from the dead.

Remember the Pharisees who he tells that he's going to be

raised from the dead by giving them the sign of Jonah here.

This is the first declaration of the of the death and

resurrection even before he gets really explicit later to his

disciples and goes, guys, I'm going to Jerusalem, I'm going to

die on the cross. I'm going to be raised from the

dead three days later. Even before he gets there, he's

doing it here. So these men know this is

coming. The Roman guard is knocked to

the ground by an Angel. Jesus's resurrection, these

dudes got to witness it. They go to the Pharisees, the

rabbis and the chief priests, and they say, hey, guys, here's

what happened last night. Jesus was resurrected from the

dead. And what do the chief priests

and the Pharisees and the rabbis say?

They go, OK, OK, OK, we can fix this.

We can fix this. Tell tell everybody that the

disciples came and stole his body.

What? Hey, guys, heads up, it's

official. He's the Messiah.

Let any doubt be removed. Why?

They didn't need more visual evidence.

Your loved ones and family and friends, they don't need more

visual evidence. The gospel is powerful.

The gospel in your mouth is powerful.

The gospel itself brings faith to believe the gospel.

So the gospel is driving the car, but riding shotgun is

faith. They always go everywhere

together. So you could preach to an arena

of atheists and you can simply share your testimony and say

here's who I was and Jesus saved me.

God loves people. He has rescued us all from sin.

If you will bend the knee to Jesus and confess that he is

Lord and trust and believe on his sacrifice, you shall be

saved. In that the foolishness of

preaching, the Bible calls it in that the Lord is blessed and the

Lord is pleased to confound the wise, all the wise.

He means wise. He says that mockingly to his

enemies. God confounds the wise with the

foolishness of preaching. And it's through that humility

that we have to come like children and go.

I accept it. Why?

Because children accept what we tell them.

And Jesus says, I love that about kids.

I love that, that they'll believe what you tell them.

Now that can be dangerous for children because what if an evil

person speaks to children, right.

So that can be difficult. That's why children need loving

people in their lives. But Jesus says that trait is

good. And that's what I want to see.

I want Saints. I want people to go.

God said it. That settles it.

I believe it. Well, don't you have questions?

Oh, millions of them, lots of them.

But but I believe, and in spite of my, in spite of my unbelief,

I still. Believe.

No. They've got Moses and the

prophets. No, no, but if somebody came

back from the dead, they will believe.

Nope, no they wouldn't. And and it's happened and they

still don't. How is it possible?

Because believing in Jesus is not an evidence issue, it is a

heart issue. The Pharisees will later be told

by the Roman guards. Like we said, he was raised from

the dead and the Pharisees pay. Money, they cover it up.

So this, this argument that these men are bringing to Jesus

to try and disrupt his authority, it's an empty

argument. It's a really common pattern.

It's a demonic pattern that you'll still notice if you pay

attention in conversations, you'll notice it in

conversations that you have and that others have.

If a Christian is building steam, if a Christian is

building up and the anointing is on somebody, the the satanic

impulse in a non believer is to short circuit that thing with a

nonsensical claim and a nonsensical argument.

Why? Because conviction is building

upon them. The Lord is building conviction

in that moment. So if you've ever had felt like

you had a full head of steam and it felt like not, not with

anger, but just with the anointing coming upon you in the

spirit of the Lord speaking through you and you're going and

the Lord this and his goodness that and sin this and salvation

that and the blood of Jesus this.

And it feels like this thing's building and then they come in

at a left field with well. What about and blah blah blah.

And they give you this distorted, convoluted argument

and you're tempted to bite on it.

Don't. Don't refuse to bite on it.

And and then when you refuse to bite on it, here's the next

problem. They're going to go.

Aha, you won't, because you can't.

And the truth is, no, you won't because you shouldn't, because

it won't serve them and you actually love them and you're

actually going to stay on target because you love this person

instead of taking them up. We're leaving the Christian

framework and they're saying, hey, don't, don't, don't speak

to me. Don't preach to me upon the

foundation of the Scriptures. Come over here, stand out over

oblivion with me and now make a foundational point.

You can't. They're the ones standing over

oblivion. I don't want to.

I want to stay here. This is my foundation.

They're like, well, I don't believe that foundation.

I didn't say you did. I'm just telling you.

Still what's true, though. Well, we'll come over here under

this convoluted, twisted, demented, perverted battlefield,

and that's fine. No, I'm good.

I'm actually stay right here. On the truth, well, I don't

think that's the. Truth, I know, but you should

and I'm and I'm praying that you will and I'd love to continue to

discuss with you and encourage you and open the scriptures with

you and well, what about and how about and why not?

I will explain this. Tell me about the dinosaurs.

What, how did we go from the blood of Jesus to dinosaurs?

Give me, let's rewind a little bit here.

Let's let's focus on what's actually going on and what

actually is going to serve a person's heart.

What do they need? This is a heart issue.

This is not an evidence issue. This is not a mental issue.

Show us a sign. It's an empty claim.

Right now. There's, there's more news and

discussion around the the Shroud of Turin.

Is that how it's pronounced Torin?

I haven't even looked into it, I've just seen that there's a

bunch buzzing about it, so I've known about it for years.

For those of you who know nothing about it, the the

possibility, the claim is that this is the cloth that was

wrapped around Jesus's face when he was buried.

Pretty cool, right? Pretty cool.

Is it the actual cloth that was wrapped around his face when he

was buried? Is it not the actual cloth that

was wrapped around Jesus's face when he was buried?

If it really is the fabric that was on my Lord's face, then

that's amazing and that's special to me.

But I will never, ever refer to it when telling somebody the

gospel, and I will never lean on it as evidence for someone to

worship and follow King Jesus. It will never become a part of

the arsenal. We should give people the most

powerful thing that we can, which is the Holy Spirit

inspired word of God. After that, we should pray for

their eyes to be opened so that they would see and receive their

king. Man, I love the history stuff or

I love this. I love that.

Good brother, good sister, study it, enjoy it, be refreshed and

blessed and encouraged by it. I mean like that's why we go to

the Holy Land, right? And that why we make trips to

Jerusalem. Do we get actually closer to the

Lord because we've geographically go where he was?

No. But we can get closer to the

Lord in any place. So I, I totally want to take my

family to Israel. I mean, for years I wanted to

get there in time to baptize my boys in the Jordan River.

They've all been baptized at this point.

So too late. You know, the East River and the

Pianka tank. Yeah.

There's the two. Oh, Rappahannock.

Yeah. Not the East River, the

Rappahannock, Sturgeon Creek and and the East River.

Yeah. So we didn't, we didn't hit the

Jordan, but I'd love to go. So in enjoy history, Like I

would love to go stand on one of the hills was like, we know he

had to have been in this area. Like within this 30 acres.

Jesus's feet were like, I think that's awesome.

I think it's super cool. I mean, any, anything that they

can tell me and guarantee to me, like that's going to be special

to me. That's going to be meaningful to

me. And I'm not sorry for it, but

when I'm sharing the gospel with somebody, I never, ever, ever

refer to anything other than the Scripture itself, other than the

testimony of Scripture, because that's the most powerful thing.

Now if they're not. A hard hearted.

Person and they're curious and and truly open hearted and

they're a person of peace. By all means, everything's fair

game. Yeah, we can talk about the

shroud. We can talk about this, but a

hard hearted person, man, wouldn't it?

What can penetrate a heart of stone but the word of God?

Not a fabric, not the shroud, not the Holy Land, not anything.

Only the word of God can do that.

So let's keep going here in verse 39 after they said show us

a sign, verse 39. But he answered them.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.

More bombs. He's just dropping absolute

bombs. He does not step into their

trap. He is not under their control,

not even 1%. He quadruples down on his rebuke

and his authority by saying evil and adulterous.

Not only will I not follow your direction or answer your

insincere request, but I will continue as I was before your

interruption. You can learn and you should

learn from Jesus how to handle disingenuous arguments.

Wise as a serpent, innocent as a dove.

He goes on to say you'll be given no sign.

Except for the sign of the prophet Jonah, which is an

interesting thing to say because he's given so many signs

already. But he's saying in this moment,

no, no, you know what sign you're going to get, You'll get

the sign of the prophet Jonah. And like we said, this is his

first telling of his death and resurrection.

I mean, how many people even picked up on it?

What it what? For justice Jonah was three days

and three nights in the belly of a great fish.

So will the Son of Man be 3 days and three nights in the heart of

the earth. What there it is now you and I

it's always easy to look back on right It's always easy to look

back. You and I have 2020 visions.

Oh this meant that this meant that this is one of the reasons

why your pastor and as a church our official statement on the

end times is Jesus is coming back.

That's our official statement but within the body of Christ

there's much there's much discussion and much conviction

in in many areas on. I think it's going to happen

like this. I think it's going to happen

like that. I think it's going to happen

like this. The thing your pastor will # the

pulpit on and say Jesus is coming back.

That's that's for sure. But it's also a future event.

And I think it's easy for us to look at the future event and go,

this verse obviously means that, and this verse obviously means

that, and this has to mean that. But we've kind of seen that

happen before, haven't we? So I know on that, I know 2020

looking back, we're all going to have crystal clarity go oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh. So we got theories, we got

perspectives. Most importantly, we have the

Word of God. And the Word of God is true and

yet wise interpretation. Lots of possibilities can happen

there. But what is Jesus talking about?

You and I have the privilege and the joy of knowing He's talking

about his death and his resurrection.

And notice once again, we've said this before, The whole

Bible is about Jesus. This is one of many reasons why

the Bible is so awesome. This is one of many reasons why

the Old Testament is also awesome.

You don't need to think, oh, the Old Testament is kind of lame.

New Testament is pretty cool. No, no, the whole Bible is

awesome. If you think the Bible is lame,

you're lame. The Bible is not boring, you're

boring. God's not boring.

You're boring because the whole Bible is about Jesus.

So everything shows us that, yes, this thing really happened.

Kids, you listen, you paying attention?

Yes, this thing really happened. This guy Jonah, he really was

swallowed by a big fish. The Lord was saying, no, you

will obey me and you are going to go to the city and preach to

the people I want you to preach to.

And Jonah is like, but I hate them.

I know if I preach to them, they're going to repent and

you're going to save them all. And the Lord goes, Yep, because

I love them. I love those wicked people and I

want to save them from their sins and save them from the

wrath to come. So it really happened.

But the Bible also shows us that anyone that you can look at in

Scripture, he was, he was real or she was real, but Jesus is

the greater version. So look what this person did.

But look how Jesus did it differently.

And Jesus said so I'm going to do the same thing Jonah did.

He's going to be swallowed by a fish.

He goes, no, but I'll be swallowed by the earth.

So 3 days and three nights I will.

I'll go down and it'll look like I'm down and out, but when I

come out, I'm actually bringing resurrection to all who believe

in me and believe in my message. Jesus is the greater Jonah.

Jonah was a real man, but in the infinite wisdom and sovereignty

of God, Jonah pointed the world to Jesus and keep going in verse

41. The men of Nineveh will rise up

at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for

they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

And behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

So Jesus is doubling down, quadrupling down on His

authority. Hey, I gave you a rebuke and put

you in your place. Then you tried to undermine me a

second time in front of everybody and said show us a

sign. If you're such a hotshot and

he's going, let me tell you who's going to condemn you,

it'll be the Ninevites. He's, he's told them before you

like Moses, I'll give you Moses on the Day of judgment.

You're not going to like Moses on the day of judgment.

And he's saying, I'll give you the sign of Jonah, but I'm going

to have the Ninevites personally rise up and judge you on the day

of judgment. Why?

Because they humbled themselves truly at the worst sermon ever

preached. Jonah just marches through the

city. 40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed. 40 days and

Nineveh will be destroyed. They go, God forgive us of our

sins. They didn't say show us a sign.

Jonah probably himself looked like a sign after living in a

fish for a few days. And that's, you know, we do have

reason to believe that that was probably part of it.

There's some deeper. Things going on there, but most

importantly, they repented at the word of the Lord.

That was the point that Jesus was making here.

So more judgment he continues. The men of Nineveh will rise up

and condemn this generation. Why?

Because they repented when they had a ragged fish smelling man

who preached the worst sermon ever.

But this generation that Jesus was speaking to has the word of

God made flesh, doing miracles, bringing the Kingdom, preaching

the fullness of the Kingdom and they still don't receive him or

as Jesus put it, someone greater than Jonah is here.

Jonah, he was a great. Prophet of the Lord, yeah.

The greater Jonah is here now he continues in verse 42.

The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this

generation and condemn it. Why?

For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of

Solomon. And behold, something greater

than Solomon is here. Not only should we listen to

Jesus like Nineveh listened to Jonah.

Jonah who came to them, right? They just had to stand there and

Jonah came to them. We should be so eager to listen

to Jesus that we'll be willing to travel far to get to him,

like the queen of the South, the queen of Sheba, an African queen

who traveled up a long, great distance to see Solomon and his

Kingdom. And when she finally saw his

Kingdom, she said, I've heard great and mighty and wonderful

things about your Kingdom and the greatness of it all.

And she said, and that half of it was not even told to me,

she's saying it was so worth the trip.

It was worth all the expense. And then she blessed Solomon and

gave him another abundance of wealth and gifts to say there

there's no Kingdom like yours in all the earth.

And Jesus says you remember him. Someone greater than Solomon is

here who can speak this way. This is why, again, Jesus is not

just a good guy. He's not just a good moral

teacher. He's not equal to all the other

foolish philosophies of the earth.

Well, there's many religious leaders.

There's Buddha, and there's Confucius, and there's this and

there's that. Yes, all these other men died

and they stayed dead, and they didn't make the claims that he

made even when they were alive. They asked Confucius about death

and the afterlife, and he goes, what do I know about the

afterlife? I'm just trying to figure out

life, and Jesus said I am the way I am, the truth.

I am the life I am the resurrection before Abraham was.

I am. I'm greater than everybody and

everything. So you have to deal with that

man who speaks that way, right? If I tell you I'm a grilled

cheese sandwich, you have to make some decisions about that

man. He really is a grilled cheese

sandwich. OK, that's one option.

Or he's a liar. He knows he's not a grilled

cheese sandwich. He he, he knows.

Better or bless his heart. That's the third option, right?

He thinks he's a grilled cheese sandwich.

What other option is there? I'm a grilled cheese sandwich.

I'm a liar pretending to be a grilled cheese sandwich.

Or I'm just crazy and I think I'm a grilled cheese sandwich.

When Jesus, the King of glory, says that he's the King of

glory, you don't get to go. I think he's a decent guy.

Be clear. Is he God and King?

I wouldn't go that far. All right.

You're down to two options. Is he lying?

No, I wouldn't call him a liar. All right.

Bless his heart, right? That's all you got left.

No, I think it's something else. You're deceived.

There is nothing else. You're being illogical, foolish.

And the root of it all is actually probably a hard heart.

I ain't mad at you. I'm mad for you because I know

somebody's working against you. Which is why I'm going to pray

that your eyes will be opened. Because when you can reject the

clear, the clear logic of Jesus, something is distorted and

broken inside of you. Jesus restores logic.

Did you know the word of God is not illogical?

We don't. We don't have to dismiss logic.

God is the creator of logic. We welcome it.

Jesus walks us through it here, verse by verse.

It's the most logical thing in the world to love and follow

King Jesus. Jesus is the greater.

Jonah because he didn't just leave his land like Jonah did.

He left heaven. Jonah did it reluctantly.

Jesus did it willingly. Jonah hated his enemies and he

wanted them destroyed. Jesus loved his enemies and he

wanted them saved. This is why Jesus is the greater

Jonah. Solomon knew a lot about the

created universe. Incredibly wise.

Jesus created the universe. Solomon asked for the wisdom of

God. Jesus is the wisdom of God.

Solomon's reign had an end. And Hallelujah, Jesus's reign

will never, ever end. His throne is established

forever. Jesus could do this all day, by

the way. And eventually he does.

On the road to Emmaus after the resurrection, he appears to the

disciples and he's walking with them, and they don't recognize

him. So if there's some miracle,

he's, he's hidden himself from them.

And they're all sad. And he walks up beside him as

just another traveler. Hey, guys, what's wrong?

We're sad. We're followers of Jesus.

What? What's going on, dude?

Have you lived under a rock? Do you not know what's been

happening in Israel? We love and follow Jesus and we

thought he was the one, but now he died.

And but some of our women said he's been raised from the dead

and we're just all torn up and conflicted and it's just all

really upsetting. And he proceeds to walk them

through the scriptures, it says through Moses and the prophets,

and he shows them why the Messiah had to suffer these

things. And he showed how it all points

to him. And then finally their eyes are

open and he goes, I'm out and he vanishes.

And now they Sprint all the way back to Jerusalem and they go,

what was wrong with us? Where our hearts not burning

within us when he was opening the Scriptures for us?

Of course, now they've got the clarity right looking back.

Oh, well, of course Isaiah 53 is about Jesus.

Oh, of course this is about Jesus.

So of course, that's of course. Of course.

Well, yeah, yeah. After Jesus opens your eyes, you

can see everything clearly. And before he does, you can see

nothing clearly. So Jesus could do this all day.

Moses delivered his people from the slavery of Egypt and from

Pharaoh. Jesus delivers his people from

the slavery of sin and from Satan.

Abraham was the first patriarch of the faith, but Jesus was

before Abraham ever was. Isaac carried the wood for his

own sacrifice on his back up the hill.

But Jesus did all of that and more because he was completely

pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our

iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement

that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

So these guys should recognize Jesus, but they refused to do so

when they still had the ability. And now for them, it's too late.

He says the Queen of the South, the Queen of Sheba, she will

rise up to judge this generation.

It's going to be a shocking day for Moses and for the Ninevites

and for the Queen of Sheba, people who hopefully are in the

eternal Kingdom now secured by faith, when the time of judgment

comes. And they're going to.

We had so little we had, we had crumbs to work with, and we

received them as a feast. And you had the full table set

before you, and you rejected it and called it evil.

This is such a dangerous thing that happens.

It can happen to a person and it can happen to a society.

It's a dangerous and wicked place to be.

When you call good evil and evil good, it's a really, really

devastating place to arrive at. I believe this is the place that

we live at in our generation. I don't think it's a hard case

to make Psalm verse 43, Jesus continues.

So he says, behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

And now, still in context, he's still talking about what he's

talking about when an unclean spirit.

So he's just cast a demon out. He's just dropped these bombs on

these guys and now he's talking about demons and an unclean

spirit. When an unclean spirit has gone

out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking

rest, but finds none. So he's saying this is what this

demons doing that I just cast out the things wandering.

It wants to find a person who will host it.

Then it says. I will return from the house

from which I came, and when it comes, it finds the house empty,

swept, and put in order. Then it brings with it seven

other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell

there. And the last state of that

person is worse than the first. What's his point here?

Now He makes it so also will it be with this evil generation?

He's finished blasting these guys all this.

Like we said, it's probably been in one sitting.

He's cast the demon out of the man, and now Jesus is showing

us, and he's making a point about rebuking this generation.

What's true of an individual when it comes to demon

possession is also true of a larger group, A society, or as

he puts it, a civilization or a generation.

This generation, does that mean it's true for every single last

person? No, but he means generally this

generation is behaving this way. So thank God there's always a

remnant. There's always one who is kept

pure and kept separate. Just like with Noah, the whole

earth hates God. And then there's this righteous

man. You're like, I thought it was

everybody. Well, it was generally, it's

everybody. And yet you can still choose to

love and follow the Lord. What is the point here?

The point is, it's not enough to be emptied of evil.

It's not enough to play defense against Satan.

It's not enough to be neutral. You must be filled with the

fullness of God or you will be overcome by evil.

So a demon possessed person would drive out the demon and

they go, what relief? Yes, but the house is left empty

and we shouldn't leave the house empty.

The house needs to be full. We don't just need morality.

Isn't morality good? Absolutely.

We'll take morality over immorality every day of the

week. It is progress, it is the right

direction, and yet it is not enough.

Christendom has failed in the West because Christendom has

deferred to allowing and hoping for a morality.

If we could just get to some basic morality then we would be

satisfied. But Jesus was never satisfied

with the world being a. Little bit more moral.

Jesus wanted us to teach the whole earth to obey everything

that he has commanded because Jesus is King.

So let me point something out to you.

And you say, Pastor, you getting political?

Yes, I'm always political. Jesus is political and I'm not

sorry for it. But bear with me for a moment.

The Republican Party and the Democratic Party, take a quick

glance. The the Democratic Party is, is

just so far extreme at this point.

But the Republican Party has also slid.

So both have slid together. And now, you know, for

Republicans or for people who are just trying to slow the

onslaught that's coming against this nation, who are just hoping

to buy time, look at who we got to work with.

Look at what we've got to work with.

I saw just yesterday, just last night, I was so grieved.

JD Vance verbally and clearly articulated an answer to a

question about abortion where he he made exceptions for it.

And I'm just going like the the Republicans that were that

we're. Going I hope they win.

Why? Because we want righteousness to

be restored and we want a nation to be preserved, and we want the

church to have time to make disciples.

We're we're not. We're not going to misplace our

focus, but the the the pair that we're trying to put in office

would have been like Democrats in the 90s.

Right. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest

about that. Well.

Pastor, I'm still going. To we're all going to do what

we're going to do, and we're going to do what we believe is

right. We're going to seek the good of

the Babylon that we live in. We're going to seek

righteousness. And and of course, we have to

pick the lesser of two evils. So by all means, I encourage you

to do so. And yet let's be honest about

how foul all of it is, how corrupt and wicked all of it is.

You don't defend it. You don't need to defend

anyone's character because I think all of their character is

indefensible. So what we should do is we can

tend continue to contend for the Kingdom being fulfilled instead

of we need morality, but it won't be enough.

It wasn't enough. So I don't blame our

politicians. I blame the pulpit.

I blame the church. I blame the household.

I blame Christians because we thought that we could play this

neutral game. We thought, hey, let's, let's

just let's just have a little bit of of peace here.

Let's have a little bit of good morals over here.

Let's just sprinkle good morals on top of these things and just

go on. That's an empty house is swept

clean. And when when these demons come

back around, things are worse than they ever were before.

Isn't that an easy case to make too?

I don't know. I mean, I wonder, I wasn't here.

I don't know what I mean. I know some things about the

Native Americans, but like, is this country worse or better

than it was before it was converted, what, 400 and some

years ago? I, I, I wonder if it's not

already worse at this point. What are you getting at, pastor?

We hopeless. Of course we're not hopeless.

We're the church. We are the hope of the, of the

world. We bring the gospel, but I want

you to be real. I want you to be honest.

I want you to have a humble understanding of the generation

you live in. Don't look at these people and

go, oh, that was a crazy generation.

Saints, we were born in a crazy generation.

And it was on purpose that the Lord put you here.

He put you where you live for such a time as this.

What a glorious thing. So is it grieving?

Yes, it it righteous lot. His soul is vexed by Sodom and

by Gomorrah. And also we should still seek

righteousness, but we need to know what that looks like.

So the point you're marching orders with that understanding

or not to go. I just hope that people get more

moral because that's what the church was fighting for for the

longest time. If we could just be a little

more moral. No, no, no, no.

No, you need more than morality. You need the blood of Jesus.

America, we don't just need morality.

I don't want just flat laws that seem to be slightly better than

the other laws we had before. We want the Kingdom to come and

his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We don't want to get distracted with, well, the Constitution

this or the the Declaration of Independence that our founding

documents have strengths and they have weaknesses.

The Word of God has none, and the Word of God applies to all

people in all places at all times.

So we want to continually bring the fullness of the Kingdom as

much as we possibly can, because we love people and because we

don't want them taken over by 7 spirits that were worse than the

first. So what do we do, Pastor?

Make disciples. Love the Lord with your God,

with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Nothing's changed. The mission is simple, The

mission is clear. Obey Jesus.

But it is not enough to be emptied of evil.

It is not enough to find a neutral ground because there is

no such thing. The enemy will always circle

back around and make things worse than they used to be.

You must be filled with the fullness of God.

A person must be filled with the fullness of God.

A nation must be filled with the fullness of God.

The whole earth must be filled with the fullness of God.

Moral change alone, without the power of God, will not protect

from the darkness of Satan. And that back to the context

here is what has happened to those unforgivable Pharisees at

this point. He's going this generation.

What a wicked and dark thing it is and how what's the

culmination of theirs? They crucify the Lord of glory,

the culmination that is their the the masterpiece.

Unfortunately for them, that is the greatest evidence of their

apostasy, of their rebellion against God as they crucify the

Lord of glory. And yet that's the danger that

we run as well. We've talked about that a lot

lately, Trampling under foot the Son of God.

Trampling under foot the Son of God, a nation who the only

reason it experiences any blessing that it experiences is

because of the Christianity that's brought to it.

Christianity blesses everything it touches in the world.

Look at history, look at human suffering.

When Christianity comes into a country, when Christianity comes

into a region, everything gets better.

And yet morality is not enough. The hearts of man are what God

was always after, the hearts of mankind.

Wouldn't it be better if we had this law?

Yes, but the hearts of mankind are what's?

Most at stake? That is the fortress that can

only be penetrated by the Word of God, and that is what you are

equipped as ministers, as missionaries to do, to carry

this gospel, to bring the full truth.

And if I could show so and so the evidence you've got all the

evidence you need, the testimony of what Jesus has done for you,

the simplicity of the good news of the gospel.

It's enough. Trust in it.

Let the foolishness of that preaching be enough, and the

Lord will sort out the rest. You be faithful.

And after you've done that, you pray.

Pray that the eyes will be opened, your loved ones, your

friends, your family and your enemies.

Especially your enemies that the Lord would save and rescue and

make your enemies your brothers. God, that is exactly what you've

done with us. You took your enemies and you

made us brothers. You made us sons.

We thank you so much for salvation.

We didn't earn it, and we don't deserve it.

And it's by your grace that you penetrated our hearts.

You busted through the Stony heart and you replaced it with a

heart of flesh so that we would actually love you.

God, I pray. For anybody under the sound of

my voice who would say, maybe I've just got morality, maybe I

just wanted the Lord to clean up my life.

Maybe I just wanted the Lord to to structure my family a little

bit and and have some good Southern Christianity.

If that's you at all and you say, man, I don't, I don't have

a deep conviction over my sin. I don't have a deep affection

for the Lord, then that's something to be repented of

right now and bring to him. He is loving you.

He is drawing you, He is caring for you, He is showing you Jesus

and He is drawing you to the cross.

Jesus has been lifted up in front of you today.

So that you would. Love him and see you would be

thankful for him. So if you're old or if.

You're young and you say I want to love and follow Jesus.

I want to know Him. He is as close as the mention of

his name. Call upon the name of the Lord

and you will be saved. Give him your life and take up

his cross and God for the Saints.

Continue to fill your church with boldness.

Fill your church with your spirit.

That we would be effective in the harvest.

The harvest is ready. It's the laborers that are few.

But these laborers, God, these laborers here, they're hungry.

They want to be used by you. They're being trained and

equipped by you and by their pastor.

That we pray for those persons of peace.

And we pray that you would lead us even today.

We pray you would lead us even this week to make progress.

Help us not to be distracted by accusations and by demands for

evidence. And help us to lovingly and

joyfully give the best that we have Your word, the gospel, and

the testimony of what you've done in our lives.

All we have to do is share what we've witnessed, what you've

done in US and for us. You will do the work of

penetrating the Stony heart. As we pray, as we seek, as we

knock, we expect that the door will be opened.

God save our loved ones. Save our husbands, our wives,

our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers, our aunts,

our uncles, our cousins, our nephews, our nieces.

Save our bosses, save our employees, save our Co workers.

God, save our politicians, Democrat and Republican.

Bring them to true submission to you Jesus.

God, would you bring a revival to this country where you would

get all the glory, where there wouldn't be a man at the front

of it except the man Jesus Christ, the God, man, the

greater man, the second Adam. God rescue this nation not with

an election, but with a king. We love you Lord, we walk in

humility before you. We thank you Holy Spirit for

your strength and for your leadership in Jesus name.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face Shinedown upon you, and be gracious to

you. The Lord lift up his countenance

upon you and give you great peace in Jesus name, Amen.