Thursday, May 26, 2022

Luke 11:24

Luke 11:24 says, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.  Jesus did not say when an unclean spirit had been cast out, but when it left on its own.  We may have demons that we believe that we have defeated without God's help, and if we do, we may return to our normal life believing we have no more to worry about.  Verse twenty-five adds, And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.  Upon returning to his house, everything looks neat and tidy to the man.  We may think things look neat and tidy in our everyday life without relying on God to guide us, but if we do, we are setting ourselves up for trouble to come.  Verse twenty-six continues, Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  Jesus said that when the man who had seemed victorious over one demon returned to his old life without putting his trust in God as the source of his victory, he invited seven more wicked spirits into his life to dwell there.  We may be so proud of the fact that we have overcome some demon or sin on our own that we don't notice that we have allowed seven more even worse demons or sins into our life.  We can become hypocritical and judgmental about others because we believe we have defeated our demons by our own power without acknowledging that God has given us the victory.  Verse twenty-seven states, And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.  While Jesus was speaking, a woman shouted out that the woman who had given birth to Jesus was blessed.  The woman was praising Jesus as a man, and giving His mother credit for His being such a good man.  Mary was blessed to be the mother of Jesus, but she was not the reason He was the Man He is.  It was and is the heavenly Father that we should praise for sending Jesus, His only begotten Son, to save us.  Verse twenty-eight adds, But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.  Jesus said that instead of praising Mary as blessed, we should acknowledge that those who hear and keep the word of God, coming to Jesus by faith for the forgiveness of our sins, are the ones who are blessed.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.  When the people gathered around Him again, Jesus called them an evil generation for seeking a sign that He was indeed the Messiah.  There are still people today who are looking for a sign that Jesus really is the only Savior.  I believe that there are also many people who are so caught up in trying to look for the signs of Christ's return that they lose sight of their purpose as followers of Christ, and that is to witness to the lost.  Verse thirty adds, For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.  Jesus said the only sign they would get was the sign Jonah gave to the Ninevites, and that was his restoration after three days in the belly of the whale.  The only sign we are going to get is the empty tomb where Jesus rose from the dead.  Verse thirty-one continues, The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  Jesus said they queen of the south in Solomon's day would rise up in judgment against the people there, because she traveled a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon,  and One greater than Solomon, Jesus Himself, was there.  Verse thirty-two concludes, The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  Jesus said even the people of Nineveh would condemn the present generation of the people of Isreal, because they had repented and turned to God at the preaching of Jonah, and the people around Jesus had not repented and turned to God at the preaching of Christ, One much greater than Jonah.  I don't believe that we are to judge other Christians, but unless we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, other Christians from long ago could judge us for failing to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but it is only the judgment of Jesus Christ Himself that really matters.

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