Miraculous Signs, Evil Spirits, Startling Statements, Part 2

Today on Insight for living from Chuck's window you want to know who is the most difficult person to reach for Christ.

The moralists, the one who is religious and looks so right. It's much easier to share Christ with an out and out scumbag center was greedy and immoral and rotten to the core because he knows is the center on to cite Chuck Swindoll admitted that sometimes when coming across a difficult Bible passage is tempted to skip over the parts that are tough to explain today's section of Scripture falls into that category were looking at Matthew chapter 12 writer recounted a lively confrontation between Jesus and a hardy group of religious leaders.

The Pharisees men who were smog and self-righteous triggered a response from Jesus that they would regret his words have serious implications for today, Chuck titled his message miraculous signs, evil spirits, startling state life is complicated in our church. We don't deny that we acknowledge it. Jesus is not a rabbits foot that we rub on people and hope that somehow magic will happen that you can study about Jesus all your life and die without hope of eternity with God because starting about Jesus does not draw you any closer to God. We know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, or we do not in the whole difference is what we have done with his offer of eternal life, which was taken care of at the cross when he paid the complete payment for our sins past, present and future. Jesus has come to set us free.

Never forget that not to make a smart not to pave the way through life that makes it easy not to answer every prayer with yes and not to relieve us of burdens, but all of it is put together in a way that makes us aware of a need to be free, free from sin, free from ourselves and freed from the expectations and demands of only Jesus can you've never met the Lord personally. This be a great great time for you to do so). Thank you father for the pleasure of your company today without it. This would be just another meeting would leave as needy as we arrived we would really be no better off. But because you are here because your word, which is alive and active sharp enough to cut, but no surgeon scalpel could reach our time together will be meaningful, but only if your spirit takes it and clarifies it and applies for a very busy and complicated week and standing on the cost of another week.

All of it. Unknown.

Surrounded in the world by a world that is lost its way.

In a culture that is drifted far from you, we find ourselves wholly dependent on you for relief for hope for peace for the promise of eternal life with you.

I pray for the many who come today who are confused, pray that you would help in ways that we could not anticipate.

Perhaps just a word will be spoken or read, or the passing of the time we have together a piece of music will have soften the soil of someone so I pray as a result that the seed will land and bear first route and then fruit. I pray that you speak most of all to me unless I stand as though I am some kind of authority when in fact I'm his greatest need is anyone in this place today. So we pray you administer to each one of us. You relieve the fears and remove the confusion reach into our hearts that can be hardened over time soften us, make us teachable able to hear and willing to respond. Thank you for the people who keep us free, who are in dangerous places today give wisdom to those who make those decisions as to where they go and where they should fight and how they should carry it out, protect us, we pray in this threatening era in which we live, the Lord, we give our gifts that they might be used. To help those who serve you in places beyond and handle the needs of ministry at this place and in this community may our gifts please you, because they come from parts that are grateful like that are generous in the name of Jesus before whom every knee will bow and every tongue will one day confess that he is Christ alone pray everyone's a study the book of Matthew with Chuck's window. Be sure to download it, searching the Scriptures by going to Insight world.or/studies.

Another message from Chuck titled miraculous signs, evil spirits, startling statement. Look at verse 38 in your Bible in Matthew 12 and then followed by 39 one day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.

Jesus replied only enable adult first generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only son I will give them of the side of the prophet Jonah seem a little unusual. Just asking for a sign know all there not first of all, look at who is talking to their the scribes and the Pharisees. They are the most self righteous individuals on the planet. They are so impressed with themselves or holier than thou attitude.

Furthermore, skeptics. In fact, he says you know your Bible better than anyone else around you the story of Jonah as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights of the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. Verse 41, the people of men about will stand up against this generation on Judgment Day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins.

After hearing the message of Jonah. You have seen me at work. You have heard my words. You know where I stand. You know what I'm about and you have attributed my work to the work of Satan. Remember that by the way, the software that he says now, someone greater than Jonah is here. But you refuse to repent.

The Ninevites repented, you won't look at the next the Queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on Judgment Day and will condemn it.

She came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Now someone. Solomon is here. But you refuse to listen so there's a crucial question that comes to the surface. If I may pause and apply this at this moment is this am I becoming a cynic, showing signs of Pharisaism.

Now I'm going probe or you any different than you were a year ago are you are you any more patient or you more thoughtful, are you more forgiving, more teachable FF Bruce writes the demand was impudent hypocritical insulting. How many signs do you need to be convinced that I Messiah for you. Never enough because when you're cynic you really want evidence. You want a reason to prove it wrong. Now look at 43 through 45. The verses Jesus continues after saying, but you refuse to listen when an evil spirit leaves a person that goes into the desert seeking respite, finding none, then it says I will return to the person I came from.

So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. In the spirit find seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all enter the person and live there so that person is worse off than before, want to suggest that in the context the person would be the Pharisee anyone of them and they're the ones who said that he has a demon and he does his work of miracles with the power of Satan when in fact they were the ones oppressed demons.

They were the ones wicked enough to be speaking for the enemy himself. He says things to them. No one is ever said in their lot in their entire lives as they've grown up in their own little circle their own little click of fellow Pharisees and he comes on the scene setting people free relieving people from them and their control all the sign of cynicism in this self-righteous nest that comes with external reformation, but no internal transformation. You know what happens to them over the passing of time. Their heart became increasingly harder.

But they still were the robes of religion. They still had that holier than thou attitude and they still were being on Judge mentalism. So much so that there's no preacher from Nazareth.

Certainly not this one who has anything to teach us. Second crucial question is your heart becoming softer and the passing of time or harder. You want to know who is the most difficult person to reach for Christ. The moralist, the one who is religious has scrubbed up on the outside and looks so right to tell you it's much easier to share Christ with an out and out scumbag center who is greedy and immoral and rotten to the core and crowded and all those things I could list because he knows is the center. She knows she's out to lunch, but you try to reach someone who faithfully is in their church regularly doing the things that are so visibly impressive and try to convince that individual is center it's it's almost impossible. May God deliver us from religion and a self-improvement reformation and make us aware how deeply down inside we are flawed, and we are in need of his truth and his son to set us free from that that as if that isn't enough, look at the narrative got it coming right out of the heels of this rather heated dialogue look at this as Jesus was speaking to the crowd. His mother and brothers stood outside stuff. Think it would go again part of a live they live in Nazareth, hers, Jesus, according to correlated passages Jesus is in Capernaum over the Sea of Galilee. That's quite a walk and they walked in those days, and they walked all the way to Capernaum, who are they, his mother and his brothers stood outside asking to speak to you. Could anyone in this group right now.

Anyone listen to me right now mean his brothers. Unless you are a Bible scholar you can't win another family that well I'll show you their names in a moment one is going to surprise and are you aware that ancestors.

We know none of their names because there never name and worse. Joseph okay, let's put a few moments on the family just got to get us oriented.

Before we get to this third crucial question. First of all, no doubt. Joseph has died in those days, life expectancy was much shorter than our day and so it seems the reasonable answer since he does not appear in Jesus public adult ministry probably is dead, so Mary is no doubt a widow, and his brothers who were the US, click a chapter 1313 verse 15 five think it yes look at 1355 then they scoffed. These are people in his hometown. According to verse 54 is in Nazareth. They scoffed saying it is just a carpenter's son stop. The carpenter had nothing to with his conception. Unless of course you live in Nazareth and believe the scuttlebutt they believe Joseph and Mary had to get married, and if it wasn't Joseph child.

It certainly was somebody in Joseph took pity on her narrator.

The point was when they married. She was well on her way to having a baby so they live in the neighborhood of Nazareth maybe right next to them or near them. So about how they got their minds made up the wrong but they say he's just the carpenter's son but I go further legal Mary. Keep reading we know is brothers is the place for their name James site Joseph Simon and look at that Judas, not the one who betrayed him for those days that was a common name Judas Iscariot came later. But James, Joseph, Simon, if you'd let you know what they grew up with further all his sisters live right here among us all, probably more than two or they would say both his sisters so at least three maybe four or maybe like the sun. Maybe there were five boys and five girls.

And what about these brothers listen to this John seven verse five.

You can check it tells us that his brothers did not believe in him you can understand that you got a brother who thinks he's Jesus I had one now just to just get time of the fan on the baby of the family of three older brother Orval older sister Lucy and then I came along and I mean we would just a very real family.

My sister, brother, Hitler. As we were growing up had to get you some idea of the love in our family and the closeness we enjoyed together. No low point here is families are real is real stuff. Okay, come on, you know what. In Mark 321 they were saying he's lost since you please is getting underway in his ministry, so there out there is brothers and his mother, sisters didn't come and brothers don't believe in him. John 75 and there there to see him and he's in the midst of a very important time of ministry, now owned by the way the Catholic Church teaches the perpetual virginity of Mary, leave that with you. I'm not going to go any further I mean about nine kids. Do the math and then end here is here. Here is Jesus asking who his mother is who is brothers are that is, nobody said who is my mother who are my brothers, when you read your Bible, let it be… Try to change it. He asked the question, or those questions with me as best I can understand he is expanding their understanding of the spiritual family.

He is enlarging it so that it isn't just the immediate mom and Joseph and four boys, brothers and sisters, it's my followers at Insight for living.

We are on a journey to understand the whole counsel of God's word. Even the difficult passages like the one were looking at today and please stay with us because Chuck Swindoll has asked to share a closing comment. With our listening family and if you'd like to learn more about this ministry.

Please visit us online@insightworld.org this man Jesus had a way of shocking the Pharisees.

They were intimidated by his rising popularity and were working overtime to discredit him, but there were those who watched with fascination as Jesus quietly went about his business. These were commoners just like you and me who came to understand that Jesus was God in flesh while you might be surprised to learn that Chuck Swindoll wrote a biography on the fascinating life of Jesus.

If you're looking to get better acquainted with the real Jesus, the one that writers like Matthew described. Then we highly recommend adding this book to your personal collection. The book is more than 300 pages in length and is called Jesus.

The greatest life of all its historically accurate, true to the biblical record and filled with personal application to purchase a copy right now. Go to Insight.org/store or call us if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 Chuck we often remind our listeners that they're not alone when receiving these daily programs in reality were joined by a multicultural audience and some who speak a different language than our own. That's true. Dave many in our listening family were surprised to learn that insightful living can be heard in eight additional languages other than the English language. Of course no one is more surprised than I am. Believe me when we started this media ministry back in 1979 I had no clue how God would expand our influence around this world gratefully, God has supplied the resources and the expertise of godly colleagues to help us translate insightful living into languages not only in English but Arabic, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.

Several years ago. This momentum inspired us to declare an audacious goal that only God could achieve. We called it vision 195 and is our dream to cultivate biblical knowledge and application to all 195 countries of our world. There hasn't been a global pandemic and economic crisis, a national election that has deterred our determination to proceed with gusto. In fact, I'm pleased to report that were moving full steam ahead with the course. God has set before us in vision 195 and so today I'm not hesitant to invite you to join me in this mission by giving generously before the financial deadline of June 30, the largest portion of your gift will be applied to providing this daily program to your station and in this country a fraction of your donation is all that's needed to provide insightful living beyond your board and in the heart language of those who listen. Here is our contact information and I look forward to hearing from you very soon. Like today that you can choose one of several ways to connect with Insight for living. The most convenient way to give is to follow the simple instructions@insight.org/donate or use our convenient mobile app you can also speak with someone on the phone by calling us directly listening in the US, 1-800-772-8888 that's 1-800-772-8888 or give online@insight.org site for living X window. The preceding message correctly assigns evil spirits startling statement was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved worldwide.

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