The Conditions of the Lost Mind
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The religious setting Jesus was in when speaking to the Pharisees and scribes is similar to the atmosphere we face now
It was a culture saturated in religion/scripture
Evident in the culture
Taylor Swift: "What if I roll the stone away?/ They're gonna crucify me anyway/ What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy."
Sam Smith: “Mummy don't know daddy's getting hot At the body shop, doing something unholy”
The Chosen
Country Music often mentions faith:
Brantly Gilbert: "Cause he put largemouths in the water
He put whitetails in the field
Gave us red dirt for the roads
And greener grass up on the hill
Yeah, I know Heaven's up there
But I got a piece down here
So, take a look around and try to tell me
God isn't country”
85% of American homes have 4.4 Bibles on average
Meaning 500 million+ Bibles are in the United States
The Bible app has been downloaded 725 million times worldwide
It was a culture that traced its origins back to religious purposes
We live in a nation that traces its origins back to religious beginnings
Because of all this they were a people who thought they were ok spiritually, they did not need Jesus they had it all figured out
And if Jesus was who he really said he was they needed a clear cut sign
This is the world we go into to share the Gospel, a hostile one, one not very receptive to the truth
That is why I want to look at some of the words Jesus says addressing the issue of dealing with those not receptive to the Word in Matthew 12:38-45
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three 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, for 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.
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and 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. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
The Word is Not Sufficient
The Word is Not Sufficient
They had seen Jesus do miracles but still wanted a sign to prove He was God
In their mind they were able to reason out how Jesus could do miracles without being God
One example already happened earlier in this conversation, Matthew 12:24
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
Jesus could have performed any sign and still they would not believe, they were just on a quest to fuel their own self righteous pride
They would experience him being resurrected and would they believe?
While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
This is why Jesus answered with v. 39
What is the sign of Jonah the Ninevites bore witness to?
Nothing, they did not experience him being swallowed and vomited by a fish.
The sign was the words of God that came from Jonah’s mouth, and it was a message of repentance
They were saying the Word alone was not sufficient, but Jesus was saying the Word alone is sufficient for salvation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Why to them though why was the Word not sufficient?
Because in their hearts they had no desire to believe, their faith was in their own ways and they refused to humble themselves
We face the same issue in our culture now
People want more than just the Word to prove God is the true God
People demand elaborate arguments for the existence of God
People want you to prove why your religion is more true than your neighbors religion
It is easy to get caught up in these religious gymnastics to try lead people to the Lord
In it all we risk loosing sight of what truly matters and what truly transforms life…the Word of God
We can talk about the trustworthiness of Scripture by showing people that:
Their has been found 5,000 Greek manuscripts and 8,000 Latin manuscripts have been found of the New Testament with many dating within a 100 years of the original
Compared to other ancient documents at the most have had 20 manuscripts found and often the closest dating back to the original is 1,000 years
We can talk about how these manuscripts show what we have today is 99.5% accurately translated. That .5% is usually placement of punctuation
We can point out contradictions in the Quran (which the explain away with abrogation)
But do people need that info to be saved? No. What do we need to believe the trustworthiness of Scripture? All I need, all you need is Titus 1:2
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
Scripture testifies to the Word being God and the Word testifies to God not being able to lie thus I can trust in the Word of God
We can go on and on about the arguments/conversations we could have
Never loose sight of the fact the Word is sufficient, facts are insufficient, I am insufficient, but the Word is not and the Word does not fail
Seeking for Wisdom
Seeking for Wisdom
Jesus goes on in this conversation to mention the Queen of the South (the Queen of Sheba) who traveled 1,500 miles to seek truth from Solomon (1 Kings 10)
And points out a source of knowledge greater the Solomon was standing right in front of them
Divine knowledge was in front of them, they did not have to travel great distances, all they had to do was open their hearts and minds, but they did not want to
Let us be honest we live in a world where the answer is evident where Wisdom is in hands reach, but rather than opening their minds and hearts they will go to extreme lengths in the wrong directions to seek out answers and create elaborate systems
Woke agenda
Big Bang has lead to the Bounce theory and Multiverse theory
People just go deeper and deeper down rabbit holes trying to bring themselves peace
The only hope we got to waking people from their delusions is the Word of God, Scripture tells us:
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The only way we break through such spiritual depravity is by the Word of God
The Demonic
The Demonic
When it all comes down to it all the depravity is demonic, the debased mind is demonic, it is in opposition to God, thus we must fight spiritually
This last part of the conversation Jesus tells them look you can order your life, you can make them organized, but they are still empty and in control of the demonic
This statement also reveals to us that it is a a path of demonic unraveling living separated from God
If one continues on this path their eternal state will by fare worse than anything ever experienced in this world
If you are walking separately from Jesus believe it all you want to that you are free, but you are not, the demonic can wreck you in any way it pleases. the demonic can use you in any way it pleases and you are powerless to stop it from happening
Outroduction
Outroduction
Charles Spurgeon: “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself”
This week do not get lost in endless debate and chaos, but stay focused on the Word of God