 beginning here in Matthew 11 verse 16 Jesus said but to what shall I liken this generation it is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions and saying we played the flute for you and you did not dance we mourned to you and you did not lament for John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon the son of man came eating and drinking and they say look a gluttonous man in a wine-biver a friend of tax collectors and sinners but wisdom is justified by her children let's do a little bit of a context develop this for you so you can see where Jesus is going here in Matthew chapter 11 we need to remember that in chapter 11 that John the Baptist is in prison John has been imprisoned the Baptist Jesus's cousin has been imprisoned because he's been preaching and he preached a message of repentance and as he has been preaching this message of repentance Herod had been preached to and Herod had gotten upset because John had told him it wasn't lawful for Herod to have his brother Philip's wife and so he is now in prison and while he's in prison he's been receiving reports concerning Jesus and the things that Jesus is doing the works of Jesus and it caused him to begin to question he's wondering whether or not the Lord Jesus is the true Messiah the one that he had pointed out as being Messiah and so because he could receive visitors he took two of his disciples and he said I want you to go look up Jesus and here's the question I want you to ask of him ask him are you the coming one or should we look for another now as I mentioned to you when he said are you the coming one the words coming one is what is called a messianic title and so what he was actually saying through his messengers is are you the Messiah or have I made a mistake now when you begin to look at the ministry of John you need to remember that this was a man who was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah the Gospel of John in chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 speaking of him says it like this there was a man sent from God whose name was John this man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all that all through him might believe and so that was his mission he was to go out as the one preparing the way for Messiah he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness and so John had that ministry had that that way that he was supposed to travel to prepare people to come to faith in Christ in the same chapter of John in chapter 1 in verses 32 and 334 John gave this testimony he said I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him I would not have known him except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit I have seen and I testified that this is the Son of God and so he was there giving this this testimony concerning Jesus Christ the Spirit had remained on him and you remember the story you know how that when when Jesus was baptized remember how John resisted him at first and said it is me who should be baptized by you and that's when Jesus said suffer it to be allowed at this moment allow this to take place at this moment and all this fulfills all the righteousness that God requires and so we have already looked at that but remember with me that John knew who Jesus was and even testified concerning that we know that according to Luke's gospel John from his mother's womb was filled with the Holy Spirit we know that he was not only a prophet but he was also the object of prophecy and that he had grown strong as a young child into his age of 30 in the wilderness and he was waiting there for that time to be manifested to the nation of Israel and this is a man who especially prepared for this ministry and so when the question came concerning whether Jesus is the Messiah or not and Jesus responds Jesus speaks to the people who are there and he says there's no man who's been born of woman who's greater than John the Baptist and so Jesus reinforces who this man is and all by giving that kind of testimony concerning him and then he went on as we saw in verse 15 to say he who has ears to hear let him hear if you have a spiritual ability to hear what the Spirit is saying then listen carefully to what God is saying you need to hear what he has to say remember that when he was imprisoned and he had his questions remember that Jesus in order to alleviate his doubts actually sent to him a message where they were actually quoting to John from the prophet Isaiah because Jesus wanted his doubts to be alleviated not by just some some positive affirmations of some sort but no this is how you're going to have your doubts removed this is he of whom Isaiah spoke and so he wanted God's word to bring comfort and that's how we in our times of doubt can be comforted is by grabbing hold of the word of God it's like what it says in Psalm 119 verses 92 and 93 where the psalmist said unless your law had been my delight I would have perished in my affliction I will never forget your precepts for by them you have given me life so I would have perished in my affliction but your word strengthens me the word of God is that important to us as believers the word of God is that powerful somebody writes the Bible contains the mind of God the state of man the way of salvation the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers its doctrines are holy its precepts are binding its histories are true and its decisions are immutable read it to be wise believe it to be safe practice it to be holy it contains light to direct you food to support you and comfort to cheer you it is the travelers map the pilgrim staff the pilots compass the soldiers sword and the Christians character here paradise is restored heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed Christ is its grand object our good is its design and the glory of God its end it should fill the memory rule the heart and guide the feet read it slowly frequently and prayerfully it has given you in life will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever it involves the highest responsibility will reward the greatest labor and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents when the Lord wanted to bring comfort to his beloved disciple John he gave him scripture and he affirmed him and he called people to hear he who has ears to hear let him hear now can you imagine for just a moment what it would have been like to actually heard to be actually hearing the word of God proceed from the mouth of God himself can you imagine what it would have been like to be there when Jesus would speak Jesus Christ himself there was no human being who ever lived who could speak and who could teach like Jesus Christ in the book of Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4 it reads the Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary he awakens me morning by morning he awakens my ear to hear as the learned and when Jesus would speak now there was an eloquence and a power in an authority that would come with what he said when he would speak people would listen they would respond with amazement like what it says in Mark 6 verse 2 when the Sabbath had come he began to teach in the synagogue and many hearing him were astonished saying where did this man get these things and what wisdom is this which is given to him that such mighty works are performed by his hands where did you get this wisdom from where did he get this power from it would be amazed at him on one occasion when the Pharisees had sent some officers to go and take Jesus and bring him back the officers came back without Jesus and the Pharisees began to question where is he that we sent you to get and all they could say it's found in John 746 all the officers could say was no man ever spoke like this man and so can you imagine for a minute when Jesus says to people we have ears to hear then you need to listen Jesus would speak of heaven because he was from heaven and he could give eyewitness testimony concerning heaven in John 3 31 and 32 it says he who comes from above is above all he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth he who comes from heaven is above all and what he has seen and heard that he testifies and no one receives his testimony what he has seen and what he has heard he is saying and yet you he's saying do not want to hear you don't want to receive you have no ears to hear you would think that people would be anxious to hear what he had to say but Jesus made it very clear they're not interested they don't want to hear and that's why he would say if you have ears to hear then listen now he's speaking concerning John the Baptist that's the context and so as he's continuing here in Matthew chapter 11 he begins to speak concerning the responses to John's ministry as well as the response to his own and what you find in verses 16 through 19 is one response and what you find in verses 20 through 24 is a second response the first response that you see in the first few verses 16 through 19 would be a response of of the individual simply criticizing and you'll see that in just a moment they're being critical concerning him and the response you see in verses 20 through 24 would be indifference they're indifferent to the things that he has to say and so those are general responses that you find very often when you proclaim the message there are those who want to criticize there are those who will say all you Christians say this and you say you believe that and how can you believe these fantastic stories found in Scripture of talking snakes and and men who are dead who come to life how can you really believe that there's a criticism and then you have others who are simply indifferent they'll say you know you can believe what you want just leave me alone I don't need to hear that okay you're a sinner and you need God that's fine for you but it's not fine for me they're indifferent and that's what Jesus is dealing with here guys in these verses in verses 16 through 19 he deals with the criticism and let's look at that together as he does so so he says in verse 16 let's begin by reading that to what shall I like in this generation it is like children he says sitting in the marketplaces and calling to the companions and saying we played the flute for you and you didn't dance we mourned to you and you didn't lament and so basically let me begin by saying that Jesus is using what would be a common teaching methodology here in introducing his subject when a rabbi would speak very often what he would do if he's going to use an illustration or a parable as he would make the statement what shall I like in this unto and you see that in the ministry of Jesus mark chapter 4 verse 30 he said to what shall we like in the children of the kingdom of God or with what parable shall we picture it and so he would use that kind of terminology Luke chapter 13 verse 20 again he said to what shall I like in the kingdom of God it's like 11 and so he would use this as an introduction to an illustration or a parable and so what he's saying here is how can I illustrate the responses of this generation of God's work and his word what can I say to illustrate how people are responding to what do they compare and so he says well they're like kids they're like children children who object to everything their friends want to do any parent in this room understands what Jesus is saying you get some kids in the room and one kid wants to do this and the other kid wants to do that they begin to argue amongst themselves and in this particular case it was common it was common games that the children would play in market places they played wedding and they would play funeral and that's what Jesus is doing he's comparing that and he's speaking of these children being in this marketplace they're objecting to everything their friends want to do so while the parents were doing their business the kids would play with the other children and so he says they're playing these games wedding and funeral it's interesting that the games mentioned can represent more than simply the term wedding and funeral when you look at the games mentioned they can also represent something deeper than that weddings normally represent love and funerals remind us of death in a way a wedding and a funeral can picture new beginnings as well as endings weddings can represent happy days and funerals can represent the sad now this illustration has nothing to do with the message so relax for a second here's something for you how many brides do I have how many married women raise your hand very true did you when you got married did you have a bouquet wedding bouquet how many of you had wedding bouquets I mean that's right that's right well you know not we all I should say it you all y'all had wedding bouquets do you know the tradition of the bouquet how many of you know the tradition of the wedding bouquet okay one and it's a man I will talk later on all right in the 15th century in the 15th century people would take baths once a year they usually took their bath in May so women got married traditionally in June because they didn't smell that bad but to mask their body odor they would carry a bouquet think about that single women when you get married with that bouquet just wanted you to know that because I thought that was curious and very funny but anyway getting back to it wedding days wedding days are happy days funerals represent sadness and so one we see happy and sad these are pictures of the ministries one happy would be Jesus who's bringing in the kingdom sad would be the picture of John who is preaching repentance another thing I want to point out as I'm going to develop this with you is the fact that Jesus uses an illustration of a marketplace he speaks concerning children play playing in marketplaces though the word in the Greek language to this day is the same word is Agora the Agora the Agora in the time of Christ and even to this day represented many things but it was normally a place of assembly it was where people would congregate the Agora could be a place of public debate where trials took place or elections it was a place of buying and selling or used for business in the Greek culture the Agora was a place where slaves were brought were bought and sold when a slave was purchased that's where the word redemption in Greek came from because there are two different words and I didn't really prepare all of this for you just I'll say it briefly there are two different Greek words that are used concerning redemption and one of them is a word that adds to the word Agora it adds the two letters X Agora and and it goes into speaking concerning a redemption or a purchasing or buying out of because the word EX speaks of taking something out of so X Agora and and its suffix would would speak concerning the purchasing or taking something out of a marketplace and then there's another word and the word speaks concerning purchasing with the intent to release so if somebody went into a marketplace and would buy a slave they had they had the ability because they became an owner they had the ability to not only purchase but to release and that slave was not to be brought into captivity and so when you start looking into issues related to marketplaces especially in the writings of the apostle Paul Paul speaks of redemption in that way he says that we were in the marketplace in the slave market and we were redeemed but we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ with the intent to be set free never to be taken captive again Jesus is speaking concerning children in a marketplace and these children in the marketplace are arguing amongst themselves as to whether or not they want to play certain games the games that the plane relate to the joys of life weddings and the sorrows of life funerals and in that you see that he's speaking about the whole of life and how ministries can impact that so wedding in funeral on one level can reveal in the most basic way that there's always someone who thinks there's something wrong with what's going on they they're always dissatisfied these are those whom you would refer to a simply being hard to please there are those who are never satisfied because nothing can be done that will ever make them happy but on another level the games can refer to two of the most important days that a person ever has I'm speaking to a young congregation so some of you perhaps won't even be familiar with this movie maybe you've seen it on one of these movie channels that show the old movies but when I was a little boy my mom and dad we would go to the to the drive-in that's where we went on occasion and when we went to the drive-in I was the kid who stayed awake the whole time while the other kids went to sleep we had a station wagon my dad would would put the seats down and put some blankets and pillows in there and my brother and sisters would fall asleep but I was the one who would sit up in the front with my mom and my dad sometimes my mom was sitting in the back but I'd sit in between them and I'd watch the movie and we went to go see a movie called imitation of life an imitation of life is a very touching movie relates to an African-American woman who's on her deathbed at the conclusion of the movie she's on her deathbed and as she's there on her deathbed there's this line that I remembered even as I was preparing this because it pertains to weddings and funerals and this woman her name was Annie Johnson she said this she said our wedding day and the day we die are the great events of life and it reminded me of what Jesus is speaking about here when he's saying some are playing wedding and some are playing funeral these two days can represent joy life and the final end these days represent the joys and the sorrows it's taking place this illustration in a marketplace the marketplace is a place where the slaves are bought and sold so John's ministry is intended to awaken people to the need of redemption and as we see his message it's one of repentance the kingdom of heaven is at hand Jesus's ministry is the way to be redeemed he came to purchase people out of the marketplace he redeems them from its slavery that's what it says in Ephesians 1 verse 7 in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace so John pointed people to Jesus and Jesus pointed the people to his father but many people were not satisfied with either of their ministries they didn't care about John and they disregarded Jesus and they were satisfied to remain in the condition they were in and so Jesus says that in verse 16 to what shall I like in this generation it is like children sitting in the marketplace is calling to the companions saying we played the flute for you and you didn't dance we mourned to you and you did not lament so Jesus applies the first portion of his illustration to the people's reaction to John we played the flute for you and you didn't dance you see John came neither eating nor drinking and that points to the fact that he lived a disciplined what we would call an austere simple life he didn't live a lavish lifestyle John was known for his spiritual discipline when he's described in Matthew chapter 3 verse 4 it simply says John's clothes were made of camels hair he had a leather belt around his waist his food was locus and wild honey well that caused people problems so their response concerning him in his austere ways is very simple it says in verse 18 John came neither eating nor drinking they say he has a demon now that doesn't necessarily simply meaning that he was demonized or possessed by a demon it's another way that sometimes they would say he's crazy John's godly discipline and his commitment caused them to question his sanity listen being committed and disciplined in your spiritual life can cause problems for people they'll ask you some of you have had this asked of you they'll ask you where were you on Sunday I went to went to church where were you Sunday night I went to church where were you on Wednesday went to church what did you do on Tuesday I was in a small group what did you do on Saturday I went to a breakfast they'll question your sanity they'll say what's wrong with you man you don't have a real life you don't enjoy life some of us in this room we've had people who have said that you know I had more fun with you when you were a doper I had more fun with you when you were drunk when you weren't like you're a you're a freak man I mean what is wrong with you I mean come on and some of you have experienced that I've had that happen so many times in the church where people have shared with me over the years how how that they got they just got settled in Christ they said I just want to serve the Lord you know I've had enough of the old water I've I've had enough of that dirty that gutter water of the world and and now I'm drinking the pure water of the spirit in and I know the difference between gutter water and pure water I know it on a personal level because when I was a little boy about six or seven I used to gross the little girls out by drinking gutter water I know the taste of gutter water I'm a connoisseur I know it I actually do that I would kneel down and drink the gutter water and the girls who you know and I thought that was rather cool as a matter of fact I did it just yesterday to blow Marie's mind and I know the difference between that and pariet and so a lot of people drink gutter water because they think it's a refreshing and and so you know better you've gotten saved the Holy Spirit works in your life and you've had a relationship with God and God has moved and and but they'll say man what's wrong with you you know you don't run with us like you used to do man you don't party with us like you used to anymore well the apostle Peter said in first Peter chapter 4 verses 3 and 4 the apostle said you have had enough in the past of the evil things that Godless people enjoy their immorality and lust their feasting and drunkenness while parties their terrible worship of idols of course your former friends are very surprised when you no longer join them in the wicked things they do they say evil things about you you see the witness of John his devotion actually convicted the onlookers and he was preaching he was saying you can't remain spectators you need to make a decision and therefore he called them he called them to repentance change your mind the word repent in the Greek word is a word metatnoia it speaks of a change of mind and it ultimately is going to obviously have a change of behavior so it's a repent for the kingdom of God is at hand they they heard his message they saw that he was austere that he he lived in a certain way very simply and all they thought he was crazy they also thought his message was too sober it's like when people go to funerals so because John would not dance to their tune he must be crazy now they said that kind of thing remember with me they said that kind of thing about Jesus himself in Mark's Gospel chapter 3 verses 20 and 21 Jesus entered a house and again a crowd gathered so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat when his family heard about this they went to take charge of him for they said he's out of his mind so even his family Jesus's family thought that he was out of his mind these people were speaking of John and they said he's got a demon again this happens even to this day I expect the world to say that I'm a fanatic and it's not an insult even though I know the context of how that word is used today I understand but I'm not surprised when somebody says you know you take that Christianity too seriously I'm not surprised by that what grieves my heart is when I encounter Christians who think that you're too devoted to Jesus to Jesus Christ that's that's a grievous to me if you have a balanced walk with Christ and you're not doing the crazy things that sometimes people in the name of Christ do you still can have people saying there's something wrong with you in 2nd Corinthians 513 Paul said it like this if it seems that we are crazy it is to bring glory to God and if we are in our right minds it is for your benefit well he goes on in verse 19 to say the Son of man came eating and drinking and they say look a gluttonous man in a wine bibber when's the last time you used the word wine bibber you're sitting you're talking about your uncle you know he's a wine bibber now the word wine bibber you might find this interesting as I was looking it up I saying you know it's an interesting term how do we use it as that word used then and that's not a common word today and so I was looking it up and and what one of my commentators a Greek commentator simply said this he said the word wine bibber simply means whinoe we know whinoes are right we know what a whinoe is that's what it means they called Jesus a whinoe think about that for a moment and they called him a glutton that he over eight now now is that a fact is that what he did that's the charge they're saying that about him that he's a person who just satisfies his own fleshly appetites now when you compare how he lived John lived an austere life people found fault with it but Jesus in contrast lived in the manner of the average Jewish man in his of his day he ate he drank like other people in other words he participated in in normal social activities he enjoyed spending time with people and he had joy John on the other hand lived in what we would call the funeral mode but Jesus lived in the wedding mode they've already been wondering about Jesus he questioned him and said how come you don't fast like we do in the Pharisees do they'd already questioned him because because he didn't live in that austere discipline life as they saw he was intended to live and so they had already questioned him concerning it they are already wondering about him I mean it was one of the charges they brought against him when they said your you eat with with the publicans and sinners he already had addressed that and that's what they're saying he is he has already said to them you know only the the sick will go to a physician the weld haven't have no need I didn't call the the righteous but the sinner to repent it's already made it clear that he was somebody who actually be seated with somebody who was rejected by society he has already made it clear that he would actually have a meal with them and and talk to them you know it is possible for you to be with somebody who is notoriously sinful and not to be doing the things that they do and still love him enough to tell him the truth and and be there to minister to them all of us have family members and friends who don't know Jesus and and they'll say you want to get a cup of coffee or gonna have family meal you know and you're there with them and it's not that you're you know getting drunk and stuffing your face is that you're there with them because you love them and you're ministering to them and caring about them because you're your family and Jesus would do that and so they saw that they said on the one hand on the one hand John lives this disciplined life but on the other hand Jesus seems to be a partier and that was the contrast that they were drawing they said you're frivolous you're not devoted enough those obviously were false charges by the way there are people today who say we'll see Jesus was a whinoe I can be too but obviously they're false charges because gluttony and being a whinoe is regarded in Scripture as sins and he knew no sin in Proverbs 23 19 through 21 the writer said listen my son and be wise keep your heart on the right path do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat for drunkards and glutton's become poor drowsiness close them in rags the point he's making is if you want to find fault you can find fault even with God himself you can find fault with Jesus himself somebody wrote the plain fact is that when people do not want to listen to the truth they will easily enough find an excuse for not listening if people are determined to make no response they will remain stubbornly and sullenly unresponsive no matter what invitation is made to them and any of you who have ever shared your faith with a friend or family member or even a stranger on the street you will say that that's absolutely true because there are times when you're sharing with them and sometimes even with tears and they won't listen they sullenly reject everything you have to say and so on the one hand Jesus came bringing the joy that was associated with a wedding day John came bringing that soberness of mind that is associated with the funeral and both were being rejected and so Jesus says in verse 19 but wisdom is justified by her children corrupt human wisdom produces corrupt human behavior but in contrast John's ministry and Jesus's ministry produced righteous lives wisdom was justified by the fruit and so as this is taking place he's been speaking about the criticism he now moves into the indifference verse 20 then he began to upgrade to rebuke or reproach the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done because they didn't repent woe to you Karatsin woe to you betsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in tire inside and they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes but I say to you it will be more tolerable for tire inside and in the day of judgment then for you and you Capernaum who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment then for you notice with me he began to reproach rebuked upgrade the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done as mentioned some were responding with criticism but others were responding with indifference and indifference for me is more concerning when somebody responds and sometimes they're critical and upset I will take that over them saying now whatever it's been said if you pick up a rock and throw it into a pack of dogs the one that barks is the one who got hit and so sometimes when you're sharing somebody may get upset and respond and that's a good thing but the other ones are going out whatever you know whatever there you can't you can't reach them they're difficult there they're they're just not interested but the one who wants to argue that's the person you want to speak to so criticism is one thing and we can expect that that's what happens but indifference that's something else so what he's doing here he's speaking to some of the cities that most of his works have been done in you it mentions Korat seen in Bethsaida when you look at the map of Israel and you see the Sea of Galilee to the north north of the Sea of Galilee are a couple of cities one is Korat seen it was about two or three miles to the north of Capernaum you also have the city of Bethsaida Bethsaida was a home of Philip Andrew and the Apostle Peter was located north of Korat seen and so he's mentioning these particular cities and so he says in verse 21 Wodew Korat seen Wodew Bethsaida and then he says if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon Tyre and Sidon were Lebanese cities to the north on the western coast there and he's speaking of these cities that had a reputation for immorality and all and so he says if these mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago in Sackcloth and Ashes but I say to you it would be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day judgment then for you and then he goes into verse 23 and speaks of Capernaum Capernaum is Jesus's headquarters and in his headquarters it was the place where he performed many of his works you can go through your New Testament you'll see that he healed Peter's mother-in-law there in the city of Capernaum it was in Capernaum that he raised Jeres's daughter he healed a nobleman son he delivered a demon possessed man he healed a woman with an issue of blood healed two blind men he healed the centurion servant the mute demoniac he healed the paralyzed man man who was lured by his friends in front of Jesus many works were done there but they are indifferent indifference is an insulting manifestation of unbelief they had been witnesses to many miracles and yet they remained unaffected I was talking to a friend of mine I had known him since I was 14 I was now about 23 I had been in the military I had gotten out I started visiting some friends I had given my heart to Christ when I was 20 I hadn't seen him for some time I was at his house I was visiting with him and I said to him this is what Jesus has done in my life and I said I said Eddie you remember that I was a drunk and you remember that I enjoyed my drugs and you remember that I was a thief I mean I was I was arrested for burglarizing a jewelry store in in in in the city of Whittier I stole $2,000 with the rings which at that time back in 1968 was an awful lot more than it would you know 2,000 would buy today it was a felony I could have gone into into jail and spent some time for burglarizing this store he knew that he is my friend for years I see you remember what I was like what a drunk I was what a doper Eddie and I used to do drugs together and drink together I said but I don't do those things anymore man my life has been been transformed Christ has changed me man it's the it's the gospel it's the power of the Spirit of God to transform lives Eddie and he looks at me and he says nah you just outgrew it outgrew it and no no no no no no you you do not outgrow sin you refine it you don't outgrow it you refine it you say oh no yes you do have you ever lied all of you have I never have seen that's a lie all of us have the first lie that you ever told you may not remember I remember my lie I do did you get away with it now why weren't very good weren't very good liar but listen if you practice lying long enough you could run for president you'll get real good that's a fact but if you practice you get good you learn how to look somebody right in the eye I've done that to judges to judges standing before them lying straight to their eyes and gotten away with it before I got saved because you can learn to craft a lie you become what the Scripture calls polished deceivers you can first thing you ever stole first thing you ever stole did you get away with it maybe you did I didn't I got caught but after a while I learned how to get away with it and I became polished at stealing first time you got drunk or whatever there were repercussions after a while you began to learn how to kind of control some of the things at least you knew what to expect that's what sin does and so when Eddie and I were talking he says well I figured you outgrew it man I said outgrew it you don't outgrow sin Eddie you turn from it you repent from it and you can't succeed in being free of it without God's help and that's why I came to faith in Christ because I needed help I admitted it now there are people who on one hand they'll say all those Christians are crazy you know we don't you know we don't need them I've received I received a letter from somebody telling me once you know how I'll be glad when you Christians are no longer on the face of the earth they didn't realize that that day is not too far from now in the rapture but we don't like you Christians you know you cause us problems and there are some who are antagonistic in that way and very critical and the other ones are the indifferent ones who I don't care believe what you want just leave me alone man just don't be pushing that on me I don't want to hear it Jesus says you cities have seen some amazing things done and you've rejected and the fact is because you reject it you will enter into judgment in your self-righteous pride you remain indifferent to the one sent to you through your own works you think you will enter into heaven but because of a rejection you will go to hell it's interesting how he says notice how he says in verse 24 first by mentioning these works being done in Sodom if they had been done in Sodom it would have remained then in verse 24 but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you Sodom let me give you a couple of things that might help you to formulate some understanding related to this Sodom in the Bible is a city known for godlessness and he's saying this city known for its godlessness if it would have repented would have remained now when you read about the sins of Sodom in Ezekiel 16 if you take note you might want to note this verses 49 and 50 it reads Sodom's sins were pride laziness and gluttony while the poor and needy suffered outside her door she was proud and did loath some things so I wiped her out as you have seen they're called the sins of Sodom now interestingly enough when it says she did loath some things when you look the word loath some up in a Bible dictionary that's a Hebrew it speaks of sexual perversion so the sins of Sodom are listed here as pride laziness gluttony a lack of concern for the poor and sexual perversion that's what the sins of Sodom now why am I telling you that you all know this it's because there are those who are saying today and have been saying for many years that the sin of Sodom that God Sodom judged as well as Gomorrah and the other cities was the fact that they were not hospitable to the angels who came to visit and thus God judged them for the sin of not being hospitable but that's not what the Bible says the sin of Sodom is referenced here by Jesus himself there's an inference to all who knew their Bibles and that's why Jesus makes the statement if if these mighty works were done in you that were done in you had been done in Sodom it would have remained but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom what he's doing is he's inferring he's giving you the opportunity to infer to understand if you're biblically literate you know the sin of Sodom in Jude verse 7 it reads in a similar way Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion they serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire so people will say you know what you shouldn't be as a minister ever mentioning sins such as as homosexuality because Jesus himself never did and that's not true Jesus did he refers to it here and he speaks concerning the sin of Sodom and everybody knew what the sin was and all you need to do is look at the Old Testament references pertaining to it in Genesis and Ezekiel and you get an understanding that what he's speaking about was that the city was given wholly over to completely over to sinfulness and so he does make reference in that way you might want to mark that and remember that and what he's saying in verse 24 is it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment the dead judgment speaks of what we would call the great white throne judgment it's the place of final judgment that is mentioned in Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15 but he also speaks concerning the fact that it'll be more tolerable which gives us some insight into the fact that there are degrees of punishment and Luke 12 47 and 48 Jesus said that servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom men have committed much of him they shall ask the more the more you know the more you owe the more you're aware of the more light that you've been given the more responsibility you have because you have had that light somebody says well what about the heathen in the bush country of Australia what about the heathen in Chino the more you know the more you owe and God brings his judgment based on at least in part the things that you know that's why it's important for us when we hear that we do not harden our hearts as in the day of provocation because they the writer of Hebrew says heard the word but they didn't mix it with faith and as a result they received judgment and the bodies were left lying in the wilderness the more that you know the more that you owe hardness to what God says has repercussions ultimately I remember somebody was saying yeah I'm gonna go to hell but so are my friends and when we go to hell we'll party I said I don't think so everything I've ever read about hell causes me to believe that it is not a place I would like to go I don't know what it's like I only see the scriptures these scriptures here in scripture I only see Jesus speaking about worms and flames and those are pictures I'm sure of of the suffering that takes places the pain that takes place it's an absence of God it's an absence of all the good things that there is it's a complete absence of all of that and that's not a place that that God designed for you and that's not a good place that God designed for us it was created for the devil and his angels that's why God sent his son Jesus Christ to dine across to set you free to give you the ability to serve him and to have the joy of heaven and that's why John the Baptist came preaching as one who was a mourner calling people to repentance and Jesus came after him saying and here's the joy you can have you can have the funeral because it causes you to have sobriety you know the writer of ecclesiasties makes it clear that it's better to go to a funeral than a party because when you're at a funeral then you begin to think of what the future holds for you too so you go and you think and you say that one in that casket well one day I will be that one in that casket where's my life taking me and I want it to end up with the Lord and it doesn't happen just automatically it it happens because I heard the preaching and I repented and I gave my heart to Christ and said God be merciful to me I'm a sinner forgive me Lord and he said I do I have come in order to set the captive free you were in that marketplace of sin I have redeemed you with my blood and I have made you mine and I've set you free to serve me I have redeemed you and that's what redemption is all about and so rather than being like children arguing in a game we ought to be listening to Jesus and saying yes Lord I will be free in you that comes through faith in Christ amen amen