 Well today we're in Matthew chapter 12. We took a couple of weeks break from our study obviously looking at Palm Sunday and then Easter Sunday. So we're returning to our study in Matthew by looking at chapter 12 and we're going to look at verses 43 through 50 this morning and we're looking at the question Reformation or Regeneration and you see that here in this passage and what I'll do in a moment is I'll read to you verses 43 through 45 And I'm going to give you a context by which to view the the comments that Jesus is making And I'll do so by taking you through some of the things that we've already seen in chapter 12 That will lead up for us to understand what he's saying in verses 43 through 45 And then what we'll do is we'll conclude by looking at 46 through 50 and again It's called Reformation or Regeneration. Let's begin reading at verse 43. I'll read to verse 45 Matthew chapter 12 Give you a prolonged introduction and then move into our study Jesus in chapter 12 here verse 43 Matthew says When an unclean spirit goes out of a man he he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none Then he says I will return to my house from which I came and when he comes he finds it empty Swept and put in order Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself And they enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first So shall it also be with this wicked generation Now as you know at this point The religious leaders of Israel the group that is called the Pharisees are Plotting to put the Lord Jesus Christ to death and the reason they've begun to plot to put Jesus to death is because they claim that he Disregards the law of Moses They see him as what is called a Sabbath breaker and they also see him as a blasphemer in Matthew chapter 12 alone twice Jesus gave them Opportunity to come to that conclusion when we looked at Matthew 12 verses 1 through 8 There we saw that Jesus had allowed his men to pluck grains of wheat and and to eat them on the Sabbath and That was believed to be work because the Pharisees said that the plucking of the heads of grain would be reaping and the rubbing it in their hands was regarded as threshing and Both reaping and threshing was prohibited on the Sabbath And so they were upset at Christ because they said that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath Then he moved into verses 9 through 13 and in verses 9 through 13 of chapter 12 Jesus healed a crippled man in a synagogue and once again he did that on the Sabbath Now Mark also recorded this particular event I want to show you some things because it gives us a little more insight into what was occurring Because in Mark's gospel in chapter 3 verses 1 and 2 Mark records he entered the synagogue again and a man was there who had a withered hand So they watched him closely Whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so they might accuse him they watched him closely So the religious officials were watching him to see if you would heal on the Sabbath when would mark chooses to use the word Watched through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the word watched in the original language speaks of watching somebody maliciously It speaks of watching with the intent to form an accusation against him They weren't in other words simply curious as to what he was going to do They were watching him intently to see what he was going to do so they might form an accusation And so their hearts were impure towards Christ And so they were watching him to try and find something to accuse him of and then Mark goes on to say In mark 3 verse 3 so he said to the man who had the withered hand step forward Then he said to them is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do to do evil to save life or to kill but they kept silent and When he had looked around at them with anger being grieved by the hardness of their hearts He said to the man stretch out your hand and he stretched it out and his hand was restored as whole as the other Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might Destroy him so they plotted with another group of people to find a way to destroy him Which is what what Matthew had said in chapter 12 verse 14. They began to plan to execute him Now as we went through chapter 12 after that occurred we we saw his response It was to withdraw from there and it was also to instruct his followers to not make him known And even though he is now spending time attempting to develop his his followers and all opposition continued to mount and The Pharisees began to increase attacks Jesus healed a man. He was demon possessed. He was also blind in mute and Immediately the Pharisees said well, he's doing that through be alzabab prince of the demons now when he Was accused of this they became guilty of what is called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and Jesus made it clear that that sin is unpardonable and because of their rejection of him and all they would be condemned They asked him produce a miraculous sign and he said there is a clear sign that is coming It's a sign of the prophet Jonah and he speaks concerning Jonah being in the belly of that great fish And he says even as Jonah was in the belly of that great fish Even so the son man will be in the heart of the earth and so he pointed to his own Resurrection as the premier sign the sign is his resurrection. He began to speak concerning the people in Nineveh Because they had less than than the Jews were receiving from him, but they they repented he spoke of the Queen of Sheba He said the Queen of Sheba had heard Solomon and was impressed But his wisdom and his message surpassed that of Solomon and because they were rejecting his words as well As his works. He said you will be judged you see without his words in their heart. They could never Be in heaven in John 6 63. He said it is the Spirit who gives life the flesh profits nothing the words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life and so he's been developing their need to receive him and To be born again. So with that said He continues now to emphasize by making an illustration in verse 43 That's where you see his illustration When an uncleaned spirit goes out of a man he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none Then he says I will return to my house from which I came and when he comes he finds it empty swept and put in order Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself They enter and dwell there and the last date of that man is worse than the first So shall it also be with this wicked generation? Now he speaks of a demon a demon that leaves a man only to return with seven other evil spirits What is he speaking about? I? Don't know. Let's close with prayer and go home. What is he speaking about? Well one it would seem obvious that it would speak primarily to those or primarily apply to those who were Presently rejecting him it would apply to those who are rejecting him. How do we know well again? If you looked at verse 39 of the chapter, he says this is an adulterous generation And you look at verse 45 he closes it by saying this wicked generation So that would lead us to conclude that this is a warning That is being given Against rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. He's speaking to an adulterous generation and a wicked generation a Generation of people living at that time, but it by application could apply to all times of people who are rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ in his message the question really relates to and we're going to look at this reformation or regeneration Reformation or regeneration You see it speaks concerning two different elements of the same kind of truth So this can be treated as a warning against rejecting Jesus But it also can be treated as revealing spiritual truth concerning self reformation and the spiritual realities That are part of our lives. You see he's making it clear that people need to be converted not simply reformed He speaks about a house in verse 43 He says an unclean spirit goes out of a man He goes through dry places seeking rest finds and then he says I'll return to my house from which I came so he's speaking of a house the house obviously would be his residence where he's dwelling and The dwelling of that demon is a person So he's speaking of a house this person and notice the house is empty Notice the house has been swept and notice the house has been put in order So Jesus is making a statement that people need to be converted not simply reformed not simply cleaned out It's a picture of a cleaned up life that isn't filled with the Lord Jesus Christ because the house is empty and so When you look at the way Jesus spoke and about a house and let me turn you really quickly to another passage Please turn with me for a moment to chapter 7 of Matthew. I want to show you something there when Jesus spoke in this way He gave us insight concerning what this house could be He's already referring to it as a person But I want to develop this with you by taking you to chapter 7 for a moment and looking at verse 24 and following and I'll illustrate it this way This is a picture of a cleaned up life that doesn't necessarily have Jesus filling it chapter 7 verse 24 And therefore whoever hears these saints of mine and does them I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock The rain descended the floods came the winds blew beat on that house It did not fall but was founded on the rock everyone who hears these saints of mine does not do them We'll be like a foolish man who built his house on a sand on the sand the rain descended the floods came The winds blew beat on that house. It fell great was its fall so the house would be would be speaking more of being the residents and What Jesus is speaking about earlier when he was referring to a house is hearing and doing It's not enough in other words for a person To go to a church service or to hear a Bible study wherever it may be turn on the radio or Go to somebody's house and hear a Bible study Jesus would say this in the Bible the whole Bible would state this that it's not enough for me to simply hear I need to hear and I need to do and so if I'm a person who hears the word But I build my life on something that's shaky That's simply because I heard the word doesn't mean anything. I I could even start putting into practice some of the things that I'm hearing I mean Herod would hear John the Baptist John the Baptist would say a lot of things to Herod Herod was busy Shacking up with with his brother Philip's wife and the Bible tells us that he delighted to hear the things that John would say He would listen to him gladly But the things that he said as it pertain to his life his morals and the things he needed to do repent Were things that he wasn't willing to do and like I've shared with you before there are numbers of people who like good Bible studies You see they like moral lessons and and and all but when it comes to them putting them into practice That's not necessarily what they're doing There are some people who clean their lives up They will go to various meetings whatever it may be narcotics anonymous alcohol anonymous Sexual addicts anonymous They'll go to meetings and and they begin to clean up their life They're they're reformed and they'll speak concerning of their their years of sobriety or their years that they haven't used drugs at all They speak about that they'll get little pins for that and all of that But but what they're doing is cleaning up their life, but they're not being regenerated and the Lord is speaking very clearly about that And he's making it clear that our lives need to be more than simply cleaned up through self effort They need to be filled up with this Holy Spirit You see the the Pharisees if you want to turn back to to chapter 12 for those who turn to chapter 7 the Pharisees Were experts at outside appearances of righteousness. They were capable of doing the right kinds of things for the wrong reasons Jesus earlier had rebuked them He said you like to give you like to pray you like to fast, but you do all of this to be seen by men You're very good at outer kinds of things that people will look at and say indeed. This is a religious person You walk around and and you're fasting and he said you disfigure your face You know sometimes they would put some ashes and all on their faces and and you walk around and and you have the appearance of Religiosity, but your heart is far from God You have the appearance, you know as a little boy and This could to some perhaps be offensive, but it's my testimony and it's what happened to me So I'll share it from that angle to try and illustrate how Sometimes outer appearance of religion is very attractive to a carnal heart like mine But when I was a little boy, I You know I was raised as a Catholic little boy I was baptized we received my first communion my confirmation I was raised in the Catholic faith and all and and when ash Wednesday came I Like putting those ashes on I liked walking around with the ashes on my forehead I liked it as a matter of fact we would go to a mass I would have the ashes put on me and I'd have my mother take me to the store So I could walk around and look at people with my ashes. That's a fact that that's the truth That's what I did and because I wanted to be seen as a religious little boy Well, my mom was worse than me. I still remember Mama, I Remember mama forgot to go to mass to get the ashes on one Wednesday, and she got cigarette ashes from this That was my mom. She she wanted she wanted to be seen as a religious person And some of you understand what I'm trying to say Sometimes we wear our religion on our sleeves We want people to see us and the Pharisees were good at that They would go around with their faces all sad because they were fasting or they would give with great Ostentatiousness, you know so that people would see them, you know They would stand on three corners, and they would pray at certain hours and all and they did it like Jesus said to be seen by men so he's already spoken to them concerning the outward show of Religiosity to get the attention and applause of humanity and that's really isn't it at its heart What outward shows of religion are it's the desire for the applause of man Rather than the recognition of heaven, that's exactly what it is Instead of wanting the applause of men Jesus taught us we should want the applause of God the applause of heaven Someone once said and that's the truth What did Jesus say about those outward acts? He said from men they receive their reward You've the attention that man gives to you is your reward. It doesn't have any heavenly aspect to it at all You're not aware of eternal rewards We need to remember that Christians are promised rewards that continue throughout eternity and The rewards that God has promised to those who believe in him and serve him are Based on faithful service to the Lord and it's the Lord Jesus who gives the reward in Revelation 22 12 Jesus said it like this. He said Behold I am coming soon My reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done My reward is with me and I will give to everyone According to what he has done You see believers understand that we are saved by grace and we enter into heaven by faith in Jesus We see that in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 Where it says it is by grace you have been saved through faith This is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast so we know That we are saved through faith in Christ by the grace of God We know that it isn't the works that we have done But it's the faith that we have in Christ in the work that he is and we know that But we need to also see verse 10 in the same passage Because Ephesians 2 10 says we are God's workmanship Created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do So not only are we saved but we are saved to serve We're saved to perform good works. That's why Jesus and Matthew 5 16 said let your light So shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven And so you've been saved I have been saved that I might serve him and God has already prepared beforehand works that I'm supposed to do I am supposed to live a life that demonstrates the knowledge of God and some Some fail to understand that though salvation is free Rewards for service are going to be given to you Some mistake God's forgiveness for God's forgetfulness Every believer's work will be made visible Made clear for review and evaluation the believer enters into heaven But we will have our work evaluated. How do I know that first Corinthians 3 11 through 14 Paul said it like this No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold silver precious stones Wood hay straw each one's work will become clear for the day We'll declare it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is If anyone's work, which he has built on it endures, he will receive Reward now there are a lot of a lot of Christians who say it doesn't really matter to me about receiving reward I just want to get to heaven. I used to work in this place that made drill bits for These guys who had drill for oil and various things like that and We had a We had a huge blast furnace that was used for various things and There was a guy that used to Work the blast furnace and and you would actually lock the The door on it you had to lock it because it was it was just filled with a lot of pressure and he would Light a burner. He'd turned on the the gas and he had a long rod that had a Match at the end and he would slide it down the tube and it would ignite the burner and We were standing talking to this guy one time and he got caught up in the conversation and he had turned on the gas and The gas started building up inside of this oven and we were there for maybe a minute or two as he's standing talking He lights the match Puts it down the tube when he put it down the tube The gas had built up and it exploded when it explode exploded this huge door that had been there to seal it Came off of the hinges blew the door right off the hinges I'll never forget. It was like a starter pistol in a track meat To me that was like go and I was I was out the door. I came in first place I was out the door and I still remember because it exploded It was loud and explode and I saw the flame and this is truth I looked around the door to look in to see where he was and he was still standing next to the blast furnace like this smoking there was his hair had caught fire and he's just Here's like a wily coyote. I don't know if you guys ever watched the Roadrunner, but Smoking and that's how some people aren't gonna enter into heaven But but is that the way we're supposed to is that what we're wanting? No, of course not our desire ought to be to do something for the Lord because you see God is going to try our Works he's going to examine them to see if they meet his standards and and he's going to examine the quality not simply the quantity You see ultimately he gives he gives the work its proper reward and and the proper reward And and that's what got me thinking about this is because Jesus said that that Those who do things for the attention of man receive the reward well for the believer our proper Reward will be things like his approval. It'll it'll be his honor To us when he says well done. It'll be a personal fellowship with God Matthew for example records in chapter 25 verse 23 His Lord said to him well done Good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. I Will make you ruler over many things Enter into the joy of your Lord That is to be your motivation not just to make it in smoking as you get in But to hear the well done from God that the Lord calls you a good and a faithful servant You see that's intended to produce in us a desire to receive that kind of reward Paul spoke of that Intending to encourage believers to be disciplined in 1st Corinthians 9 verses 24 and 25 There he said remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize You also must run in such a way that you will win all athletes practice strict self-control They do it to win a prize that will fade away But we do it for an eternal prize if anyone's work is burned He will suffer a loss, but he himself will be saved yet. So asked through fire We desire to win now. Here's something for us, and I'll just touch this for just a moment See see I grew up in a different era. I realized that In the era that I grew up in you actually you actually had to To compete to win the prize. You didn't just get a participation medal I mean you come home, and you say mom I won you know, what did you get I came in 14th, you know I Remember coming home from a track meet because I ran track and I remember coming home from a track meet And I brought a bronze medal with me because we're in a meet And I brought a bronze medal and I showed it to my mom and bronze medal represented third place And so she said oh you you you got third place I was I was on a relay team, and I said yeah, we got third place and We got a bronze medal mama. She says great. I said well, this is what happened. There were four teams and The first place team was disqualified. So we got third place. I still have that medal somewhere. I Mean but is that real? I mean does that really matter? I mean let's face it I mean we were the last place team they just disqualified the first place team But a lot of people are like that. I'm telling you there are a lot of people like that today Well, I got a participation trophy, and they have a room full of participation trophies Look at all of this. I was quite an athlete. Look at this was this was my best. This is 13th place, you know That's not how we're supposed to run that's not how we're supposed to fight that's not how we're supposed to compete What we want is we want to do our very best what we want is to Do it lawfully to run according to the rules and and and to win that prize and during the time of the Riding of first Corinthians when Paul was speaking concerning that There was the Olympic game, but there was also what was called the Ispian games and the Ispian games were very similar to the Olympic games and and he's speaking about the fact that that you would compete and you would end up with a wreath And the wreath was normally You know a lit it was at one time a living plant that they would just make into a wreath the victor's wreath and Problem with that is it it's it's gonna wither because it's not in a vine of any sort anymore It withers and it perishes and he says you do that to win a perishable crown You you do that so that you can show this little wreath that you want But you need to remember that that that leaf is going to dry up eventually. It's going to just crack It's good. It's going to be gone. It has no value But we he said on the other hand we compete for a crown that is not perishable That never fades away that goes on and on and on through eternity and and sometimes you think well What does that mean eternity in it? It's like if you had a bird that was able to fly and pick up one grain of sand off of every beach in the world one grain of sand The time it takes for that bird to get all of the grains of sand off of all of the beaches of the world and Then to start over again And then to start over again Eternity is beyond anything that we can conceive of that's why the word is so large eternity is a huge word It isn't just something that's five years ten years or 15 years down the line. It is without end And I want to have a crown That is without end Nothing that's perishable million years ten million years trillion years Eternity is beyond anything you can comprehend and he says that's what you're competing for that's your reward That's your reward and see the Pharisees were very good at doing things to be seen by men And Jesus says no That's not how we do things at all and second John verse 8 John said it like this. He said look to yourselves That we do not lose those things we work for But that we may receive a full reward The Pharisees were self-sufficient. They sense no need for getting right with God Being self-righteous they saw no need for conversion. They had no need of a doctor. They weren't sick But somebody said in all true conversions there are points of essential agreement There must be a repentant confession of sin a looking to Jesus for forgiveness There must also be a real change of heart that affects the entire life and When these essential points are not to be found that there is no genuine conversion You see outward change without inward repentance is what Jesus is referring to and He's saying people can be outwardly reformed at least to a certain degree Again somebody said no matter how much a man tries to reform himself He can never achieve the newness of life that God wants him to have in Christ Although a man can make changes in his life even positive changes He still remains the same person and often goes from one kind of problem to another Sports broadcaster Harry Callis once introduced a Philadelphia Phillies baseball player some of you remember Gary Maddox Well, Harry Callis introduced Gary Maddox with the following words He has turned his life around He used to be depressed and miserable Now he's miserable and depressed You can do your best to reform yourself But without God you're still empty Now there's a spiritual application goes beyond that Notice again in verse 43 when an unclean spirit goes out of a man. He goes through dry places seeking rest Finds none. He says I will return to my house from which I came and when he comes He finds it empty swept and put in order Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself They enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first So shall it also be with this wicked generation? So he speaks of an unclean spirit the word unclean in the original language, which is Greek Speaks of a morally impure spirit So the purpose of this teaching would also be to warn people against cleaning up their lives without repentance and some spiritual realities That we need to observe Notice how the unclean spirit is spoken of as going out of a man the unclean spirit goes out of the man It doesn't say how it occurred perhaps. This is one that has been cast out by Jesus It may be that he simply voluntarily leaves the body that it's inhabiting temporarily now if the person that had a demon if That person remains unregenerated He can once again be possessed It's like that old joke if a guy doesn't pay the exorcist. He can be repossessed I'll let you think about that for a second. Okay Listen, if a person is not born again If the demon is cast out, but that person does not receive Christ's spirit Then he's still open to be possessed once again Now I've had people ask can can born again Christians be demon possessed second Corinthians chapter 6 verses 14 through 16 answers that question and Second Corinthians 6 verses 14 through 16 Paul said it like this do not be yoked together with unbelievers For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial belies another name for Satan? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? We are the temple of the living God as God has said I will live with them and walk among them I will be their God. They will be my people When you are born again, the Holy Spirit in dwells you listen. That's a very important point I don't want to gloss over I want to say a couple things about it when you are born again You become the temple of the spirit of God Religious practices are normally outward show there are things that you do and there are a lot of religious people Who are actually living lives that that you would you appreciate? I mean, they're not stealing they're not killing there Then they're not doing a lot of bad and all they're religious people But that doesn't mean they're regenerated people it simply means that they have a religiosity about them They're there are people who are trying to live good lives and of course we always appreciate that but the fact is That this they're not good in the sense that is required in order to go to heaven God-standard is not that you tried harder that you're a good person There's none good. No, not one the scripture says None have for all of sin it falls short of the glory of God How many sins does it take for me not to enter into the kingdom of God? It takes a single sin Because God-standard is perfection Which is why Christ came because he's the only one who could point to himself and ask questions like this Which of you can convict me of sin? And he could say that to his mother and his brothers and sister he could say that And none of them could say I remember when you But of course we we are unable to do that no matter how long you've been following the Lord I still I still sin of course word thought or deed I still sin because I still am shackled to a body of death There are still things that I can do that are displeasing to God of course. I'm not perfect and So when somebody thinks that they can attend that they can become perfect just in their own strength and their own life And in their own efforts and even in this lifetime They're missing the point fact is I need a savior I need God to save me and to do a work within me and so If I do my best and still never fill up that life with the Spirit of God if I'm not if I'm not the temple of the Spirit of God I may be doing well, but I'm still open and vulnerable To the enemy working in me in this particular case you you have somebody that is following the rules and regulations Jesus in context has been speaking concerning the self-righteousness of Pharisees and he's pointed to that throughout the whole Gospel of Matthew since first introduced to them and the bottom line is is that they're not going to make it without him and that's a point he's making and Even if a person's life is swept out and cleaned up it's still empty without the Spirit So we become the temple of the Spirit of God who dwells within us and when the Spirit of God dwells within us Then the Spirit of darkness cannot What accord does the temple of God have with idols? What what accord does the light have with darkness? What in common do they have and the answer is there is nothing in common because wherever there's darkness All you need to do is turn on a light and when you turn on the light there is no darkness Darkness cannot coexist with the light when you're saved The enemy is driven out But if you're not saved you might clean up your life, but you're still vulnerable to his invasion And so that's why we need the power of the Holy Spirit You see it says in verse 43 that this demon goes through dry places the word dry means barren or uncomfortable places It's seeking a rest it finds none It desires a habitation in other words, but it doesn't find one so in verse 44 the demon makes a decision I'll go back to my house and when he returns he finds the house empty that word empty speaks of uninhabited It's swept and it's put in order Reformation has occurred the person's life is put in order But what does he do verse 45 says he he goes and he takes with them seven other spirits more wicked than himself This isn't even the worst demon There are actually others that are more evil than him and what did they do? They enter and they dwell the word dwell means to settle down to make themselves at home They enter and dwell there and what did Jesus say the last date of that man's even worse than the first Reformation without regeneration is destructive a self-restored person is in danger Because he becomes satisfied with his condition and because he doesn't think he's in bondage to a sin any longer He thinks himself to be safe as well as morally good And here's a fact self-reformed people are very often the hardest to reach with a gospel message It's often easier to reach someone who is overwhelmed with a true sense of guilt But when you speak to somebody who says ten years sober 15 years sober I did it myself with sheer mentality and determination They are very very and some of you know this from from experience yourself They are very difficult to speak to because they have cleaned up their act and they're not what they used to be and Then they'll speak to you and say you know, why are you judging me? I've done my best. I'm working so hard and Jesus said you're in danger Because only the the ill will go to a physician those who think they're well will not go So I've had more experience of seeing people come to faith in Christ who are willing to say God be be merciful to me I'm a sinner then any person who thinks that they're doing well without God Jesus spoke about this in Luke chapter 8 verses 18 verses 9 through 14 He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others Two men went up to the temple to pray when a Pharisee the other attacks collector the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God, I thank you that I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or Even as this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess The tax collector standing a far off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven But beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner. I Tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted So the righteous man is telling God all the good that he's done versus the man who wouldn't even look up to heaven because he knew Himself to be a sinner the one who regarded himself for what he really was is the one God forgives In verse 45 so shall it be with this wicked generation They were living by man-made standards and they ended up in a worse condition Than before they had a false security a false security in 2004 some of you may remember this in 2004 there was a tsunami that hit off the coast of Thailand in various other regions in that area But he hit off the coast of Thailand it's a huge tsunami and We went we actually went to to Thailand and ministered in a place called Phuket where this this The tsunami had hit and as this is all taken place there were Different videos that were taken of the tsunami and I still remember one very well as a matter of fact I showed it here at the church and It was a video that was taken by some people who were standing on a roof a bit of a distance away from the shoreline and They were taking the video of the wave some of you know this when a tsunami when a tsunami Hits land what happens is The water on the shoreline will recede We know this when we go to the beach and you'll watch the water recede when waves are beginning to build up Well when a tsunami hits the water recedes a great distance and the beach that is usually covered with water Suddenly has no water But when that happened there was a fisherman who was with a basket and the water receded and he had his basket and He was going out to where the water originally originally was and With his basket he was placing the basket down and picking up the fish that had been left behind And he was putting it in his basket collecting these fish Because for him this was a great bonanza. I'm going to be able to take this sell these fish feed my family That's how we was thinking But these people who are on this rooftop an apartment rooftop were taking a film and They began to scream and you can hear them screaming Because the video was recording their voices and they were screaming to the man run the wave is coming run And the man didn't hear him and you can hear them screaming louder and louder as he's going closer and closer to the wave And we're watching as the wave is building up And it's a distance away and you see the wave because those waves will go 30 40 50 Feet or higher when we were in Phuket we saw whole whole buildings You know two and three story that the water line in land the water line was at the roof and When that when that water hits it's not just a wave like when you're at the beach and your body surfing or surfing It's it's filled with debris So there are trees that have been chewed up by the power There are there are things that are in the water that have been chewed up by the power of the wave And it's it's it's like a blender and So you may be thinking well, I'll just dive underneath. Mm-hmm So what happens is you hear these people screaming run, but it's coming at such a rate He couldn't run and outrun that anyway and then you hear them screaming and the screaming stops Because the wave engulfs the man and instantly that man was just chopped up Lost immediately for some fish on the shoreline And I remember sharing with the church. It's like the church. That's what we do We're in a perspective that we see What's coming and we're screaming to people run save get saved run Judgment's coming run And they're just busy picking up fish Putting in their basket going through life like that the Pharisees Disregarded what Jesus was saying No, we're not sinners we fast we pray We give We're righteous people and Jesus earlier had said only the sick will go to a physician The well don't need one. I've come to call sinners to repentance People who will recognize that without God they're empty and no matter if they've been sober five years 15 years 25 years if they don't have Christ, they're still in danger Because they have reformed themselves without regeneration. They're not born again They have a false security To emphasize this and you're saying to yourself, are you going to teach verse 46 through 50? That's what you said Yeah, let's get in that To continue this while he was still talking to the multitudes behold his mother and brothers stood outside Seeking to speak with him Then he said then one said to him look your mother and your brothers are standing outside Seeking to speak with you, but he answered and said to the one who told him Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? He stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said here is my mother and my brothers For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother Now Jesus's family arrives this gives him an opportunity to further illustrate his message I want you to notice a couple things and then we'll look at this practically and apply it and close Notice with me that Matthew speaks of his brothers and later He will refer to his sisters in Matthew 13 verses 55 and 56 the question is asked Is this not the carpenter's son is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas and his sisters are they not all with us Jesus had brothers they're named for us later. He also had unnamed sisters Now what's interesting is though raised with the Lord. They didn't believe that he was Messiah John tells us that in John 7 verse 5 it says even his brothers didn't believe in him and so they arrive and They stood outside according to verse 46 seeking to speak with them. Why did they come well? Perhaps they came to take him home for his own good. This had happened earlier Mark tells us in chapter 3 verses 20 and 21 that Jesus entered a house 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 when you have this idea that perhaps the Lord's family was just amazed with them No, John tells us that they didn't believe in him and they even went so far as to think he was crazy for the things that he was Doing so it's possible that they've come to once again want to bring him home But when this is brought to him When they say your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you verse 48 He answered and said to the one who told them who is my mother? Who are my brothers? He stretched at his hand toward his disciples and said here are my mother and my brothers Or whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother notice. He doesn't say and my father What is he speaking about if you do the will of the father? You're his family You are not automatically a child of God In our day in my day, we would speak to one another and call each other brother Or that sister we would use that because the hippies believed and I was a hippie the hippies believed That we're just a family of God. We all belong together, but there was no holiness. There was no love There was no self-sacrifice. We didn't have that mentality at all We basically would use one another for whatever we could get from them and we'd call them family. That's the way it was So it wasn't real at all. It was artificial, but it did reveal a longing for us to belong to something greater than just ourselves And so you're not a child of God simply because you were born For as many as receive him to them gave he the power to become sons of God Even unto those who believe in his name is what John says in chapter 1 It's a reception of the gospel and believing in Christ that brings us into his forever family And so he calls us to have a relationship with him But he says you need to seek the kingdom of God first and you can't have your mom You can't have your family before me You need to have a relationship where you love me first and then everything else will be worked out when he spoke to James and John You saw this in chapter 4 verse 22 and he called them to himself to become apostles that says they left everything including their father's Zebedee and they followed him so there's a priority of family He's saying you need to have relationship with me and if you follow me you're part of my family My mother and my brothers are those who do the will of my father in heaven That reminds me of an incident recorded in the gospel of Luke in chapter 11 verses 27 and 28 It says there it happened as he spoke these things that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him Blessed is the womb that bore you the breast which nursed you but he said more than that Plus are those who hear the word of God and keep it In order for me to be regenerated. I hear the word of God and I keep it I'm not that person who hears and does not do James went on to say to us do not be somebody who hears and does not do Do the word of God and so To be part of the family of God isn't to simply agree It isn't to try hard is to hear his word Receive the promises to be born again and brought into his family So he is inviting people to be part of his family. He wasn't rejecting his mother and brothers He was saying that the will of his father was for people to hear him and to receive him and by doing the will of his father They would be included in his family So in John 6 verse 40, this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him May have everlasting life and I will raise him up the last day Whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother And what is the will of his father that I receive Jesus the Son of God as my Lord and my savior That I cease attempting to renovate my life that I might In instead be regenerated by him That that emptiness of my soul will be filled by the presence of his spirit and The more I try to make myself good the further away I get from him But when I say God be merciful to me a sinner Forgive me is when I draw night to him and he draws night to me in order to be born again I need to require it's required of me for me to repent To confess the turn for my sin and say God be merciful to me fill me with your spirit and this empty Empty person can now be filled with God himself I'm born again, and the enemy cannot enter in and destroy this life because it belongs to God