Make Your Choice - But Beware!

We are in Matthew chapter 12. We just sang about the, old rugged cross and our faith is not in a cross but it's on the one who hung on that cross and there suffered the punishment for all of our sins. Our eternity hangs in the balance with what we do and what others do with Jesus Christ. There's a hymn in our hymn book. It's titled What Will You Do With Jesus?

What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you cannot be. One day your heart will be asking, What will He do with me? What He will do with you depends on what you do with Him in this life. And that day then you stand before him is drawing closer and nearer every day and maybe nearer than we think.

Those who deny him The Bible says already stand condemned before him. And are in danger a place called the Lake Of Fire. For all those who refuse him will be cast one day. This is a serious message and this is a serious business. Because everyone of you that sits in here and every person that's out there today represents a soul that will spend eternity in heaven or in the lake of fire.

And so what we look at today is important. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for your word. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to teach it, preach it today. Lord, I pray that we would also be willing to receive it.

Lord, that the Holy Spirit would give us understanding and direction and the preaching of it and in the receiving of it. Lord, I pray that if there's one here today that's unsure of their eternal salvation. I pray that they would be willing to take care of that today. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen.

We're going to begin reading in Matthew chapter 12 verse 14. We're going to read verses 14 through 21 of Matthew chapter 12. Again, this is parallel to the passage in Mark chapter three. Jesus had among other things just finished healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees condemned him for that activity.

They condemned him as violating the Sabbath because he actually cared enough about someone to heal them on the Sabbath day and they immediately took counsel together as to how they might destroy and get rid of him because he was exposing their hypocrisy. He was contradicting their doctrine and they were losing control of the people to Jesus Christ and to them, it was all about power and control. It was all about people. It was not about God or their relationship with him. That is sadly who these religious leaders were and there are many like them today.

If you look in verse 14, it said, then the Pharisees went out and held a council against him that is Christ. How they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence and great multitudes followed him and he healed them all and charged them that they should not make him known. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah or Isaiah, the prophet saying, behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, and whom my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him and he shall show judgement to the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor cry neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed shall he not break and a smoking flax shall he not quench till he send forth judgement unto victory and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. After Christ performed this miracle on the Sabbath day, the the Pharisees got together and they said, we gotta do something about this guy. We gotta do something about this guy. What are we going to do? We gotta get rid of him and Jesus knowing exactly what was going on and what they were trying to do had two choices.

He could avoid the conflict or he could escalate the conflict. Now, the time will come to escalate it in a manner of speaking but that time was not now and not in the way that many of the Jews thought that it should happen. So, Jesus seeking to minimize his confrontation with the Pharisees withdrew himself from their presence but many people came to him and he healed them all. He withdrew from the presence of the Pharisees. He didn't hide so to speak but he didn't go out of his way to get in their circles and to confront them at this time because they were gearing up for something that it wasn't quite time for yet.

So, but as he withdrew himself, other people particularly in Galilee and some in Judea followed him, thronged him at times. There were thousands who would follow him out of the cities into the countryside to be healed and it says here that he healed how many of them? He healed all of them. All of them. The prophets of the Old Testament had been able to bring healing to a few but none of them had been able to heal anyone who came to him as Christ could.

They healed this person and that person but they didn't heal thousands and thousands and thousands of of anything and everything that was brought to them but Jesus did because Jesus was not just a prophet. He was greater than a prophet. He is indeed the son of God and the very Messiah that God had promised to the nation of Israel and his ability to heal all of these people of anything they came to him with identified who he was. The very Messiah, the son of David, the king of kings and Lord of lords. The son of God.

The point of Christ's admonition for them to keep silent is indicated by the following verses he quoted from Isaiah forty two one through four. Christ did not come to so to speak stir up a mob or trouble. He didn't come to garner an army of followers to exact retribution on Rome or to lead a coup against the ruling body in Jerusalem. It's not why he came. He came to minister to those who were broken by sin.

He came to lift up the fallen. He came to bring salvation to the lost including the Gentiles who it mentions here twice in our passage. In Mark chapter 10 and verse 45, it says, for even the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Christ didn't come this time here in order to be served but he came to serve others to the point of actually serving them by giving up his life on Calvary and atoning sacrifice. For the sins of the world.

That's that's what Jesus had come to do. He hadn't come to dethrone Caesar. He hadn't come to dethrone the the high priest and the leaders in Jerusalem. He came at this time to die on the cross for our sins. His battle was not with flesh and blood but with spiritual adversaries which he defeated by his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead assuring victory to all who trust in him.

He didn't come opposing the person of Caesar. He didn't come opposing the person of the high priest. He came opposing the person of Satan and his plans to hold captive humanity in sin. And away from God's family and his kingdom forever. Then, Christ defeated Satan soundly on the cross of Calvary when he died there and he paid the price for your sin and mine and conquered death through his resurrection from the grave.

Colossians two thirteen through 15, we could look at many passages. This just being one this morning and you being dead in your sins and uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him having forgiven all trust you all trespasses or sins blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us or which condemned us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross. The the the sins that are recorded in the books of heaven that will be opened in Revelation 20 at the Great White Throne judgment by which the lost will be judged by their sins. When Jesus Christ died on the cross and you receive Christ as savior, all of your sins in that book were what? Washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ.

As he nailed them to his cross and as he suffered there, for the sins of the world. If we will receive his offer we can be saved, we can be forgiven, our sins can be pardoned, and we can receive the gift of everlasting life as he defeated Satan on that cross. And having spoiled principalities, having defeated them soundly, and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. As he rose again from the dead and declared victory. The victory that is ours if we will humbly and repentantly come to Jesus Christ in faith.

To receive him as our Lord and savior. That's why Jesus came. At this point in his ministry, that time had not yet come and Jesus withdrew himself from the conflict with the religious leaders. At this time and ask the people not to stir up, stir the pot so to speak. In verse 22, it says then was brought unto him one possessed with the devil.

Blind and dumb. And he healed him. In so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw and all the people were amazed and said, is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devil. So, we'll stop there for a moment.

So, again, people came from everywhere and Jesus healed them. One of them came to him was possessed of a demon. Now, not every person who is dumb and can't speak or is deaf or has an illness of some kind is possessed by a demon but in this case, this man was and that demon was connected with the loss of his ability to speak and to hear. We may not be able to recognize that in all cases but clearly, Jesus being God could and he knew exactly what this man needed and so he cast out the demon and when he did, The man began to what? Speak and see.

He healed him. He healed him. What was the response of the crowd? Look again in verse 22 and all the people were amazed and said, is not this the son of David? Now, wait a second.

Didn't David live let's see, around I don't know, August, something like that. Oh, closer to a thousand, I think. So, David lived a thousand years before this date. So, obviously, Jesus is not his what? Son, who was his son.

Well, he had several sons actually. The most notable of which is Solomon. So, what are these people talking about? Is not this the son of David? Well, you see there was a prophecy back.

I think it's in second Samuel second Samuel second Samuel seven. It's also recorded in Psalms. David said, that the son or the seed, the descendant of David would one day rule on his throne for how long? Forever. It's also repeated in Isaiah nine verses six and seven as well unto us.

A child is born unto us. A son is given and he will rule and reign forever from the throne of his father, David. So, when they say here is not this the son of David, they are simply saying this, is not this man the long awaited Messiah of Israel. Is not this the one that was foretold who would come and who would do many things including healing people of diseases, bringing salvation to the lost, freedom, and liberty to the enslaved and would one day set up his kingdom and rule instead of his father, ancestor David forever. Is this not the Messiah?

There are many verses in the book of Isaiah and in some other Old Testament books that foretold of the signs and wonders that would accompany the coming of the Messiah and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would perform all of these miracles. Isaiah thirty five five and six, speaking of the Messiah, it says then, at the coming of the Messiah, the eyes of the blind shall be open. Now, that happened right here. This man's eyes were open and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an heart and the tongue of the dumb shall what?

Saying, these miracles accompany the coming of the anointed one. The appointed one, the Messiah. And when the people saw Jesus heal this man and he opened his eyes and he saw and he opened his mouth and he began to speak. They said, This must be who? This must be the son of David.

This must be the long awaited Messiah. He has come. They were excited and they turned to their leaders and their leaders said, yes, just like the scripture said. That's what the leader should have said but that's not what they said, is it? What did they say?

Verse 24. That when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of devils. You see, the people saw these miracles and thought, God has come to man. The power of God in human form. The Messiah, the son of David has come.

Look what he can do. The Pharisees, they said, well, no. I'm afraid you're wrong. This is not the Messiah. This is not the anointed one.

This man does not cast out demons by the power of God and the testimony of the holy spirit. This man cast out demons by the power of Satan himself. So, rather than agreeing with the obvious, based on scripture, they countered. What scripture clearly taught? They countered what they had just seen and the people had seen.

They countered the truth with a what? With a lie, a lie of Satan that said that Jesus was healing people and casting out demons by the power of Satan and not by the power of God. What a terribly, horribly, dreadful thing. For these men to say. The people were excited.

The people were beginning to believe. And their leaders threw up a wall. The leaders thought to blind them. The leaders ought to lead them away from Christ. Rather than to him and flatly denied that which they, I believe, really knew to be true.

Did not want to accept to the loss of their power and prestige in their religion. Look if you would in verses 25 to 29 at the response of Christ. And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Every city or house divided against itself shall not stand and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How shall then his kingdom stand?

And if I buy Beelzebub cast out devils by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. Jesus said, first of all, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for Satan to cast out Satan. For Satan to cast out his own servants. Who sent these servants, these demons to possess this man?

Whose bidding were they doing? Satan's. In possessing this man, they were doing Satan's bidding. What what sense would it make for Satan to cast out the servants that he had sent to possess the man? That makes no sense whatsoever.

He would be divided against in all his own self and his own purpose. Christ said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Now, Satan is the arch enemy of God and Satan is a terrible, lost sinner beyond hope. But Satan is no dummy. Satan's been around a lot longer than you and I have.

Satan wouldn't do this Jesus knew better and they should too This made no sense what they were claiming They were grasping at what Grasping at straws. To try to somehow accuse Jesus of the opposite of that which everybody there saw to be true. Anything to try to convince these people that Jesus was not the Messiah. They would be willing to say. It didn't matter if it had support.

It didn't matter if it made sense. Sometimes, it seems in the world in which we live, it doesn't matter if something is true. It doesn't matter if it makes sense. It doesn't matter if there's support for it. If people say it louder and louder and longer and longer the masses will what?

The masses will believe them regardless. That is the sad state of humanity. Sad state of humanity. I think when I think of that, I I I wish think of a guy named Charles Darwin and people that followed him who proposed a certain scientific theory which is neither scientific nor really a true theory that we evolve from lower species like apes and lizards and amoebas. Even though they're very science proves that life cannot come from non life which evolution if it were to happen would had to have done.

Even though the science speaks against their very own theory, they have rejected who? They've rejected the Lord. They've rejected God. They've rejected his authority. Now, if they've rejected God, they rejected the Lord, and they rejected his authority.

What what other options do they have? You tell me. Creation, evolution. What what other options are out there? Well, there aren't any really.

It's either creation or it's what? It's evolution. If you don't believe in God, can you believe in creation? The answer is, no, not really. And you have to choose some form no matter how ridiculous, no matter how absurd, no matter how unsupported, you have to adopt the other option and that would be evolution.

Though it doesn't make sense and though it's not really truly scientific. They scream and holler, they teach, and they preach in their in their universities and the masses have what? Have believed them. The masses have believed them and I believe that there are many even in those universities that teach that stuff. They know that what they teach is not supported.

But they lie and they deceive anyway because they must keep people from believing the truth. They must stop them from believing the truth because they'll lose their power. If they do. They must keep people away from God and that is tantamount to what is happening here. As the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of the devil.

Jesus goes on to say, in verse 28, but if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, on the other hand, he says, but if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. See, here's the problem. You don't want to admit that. I know that. You know that.

I know what's in your head. I know what you're doing. You can't admit it but if indeed it is true by the way which it is. If indeed, I cast out devils by the spirit of God, by the power of the holy spirit, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Then, the Messiah, the king of the kingdom is where?

Right here in front of you. He's right here or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods except he first bind the strong man and then he will spoil his house. Jesus said, in order for me to cast out demons that are under the direction of Satan, I must be stronger than the one who sent them and there is only one who is stronger than the one who sent them, that's who? That's God. God.

God is more powerful than Satan. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Praise the Lord. God is greater. God is stronger than Satan.

Else, we would be without hope. We have much hope. Much much hope for eternity. We have much hope for tomorrow. Defeating sin in our life for greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

Jesus said, if I cast demons out, I must be casting them out by the power of someone who is greater than the one who sent them. And that one is the is God, is the spirit of God. Then you look if you would in verse 30. Jesus said, he that is not with me is against me and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. This begins Jesus condemnation of the Pharisees.

His condemnation of them and what they have said in response to the question of the people. First of all, he bluntly declares, if you are not with me, then you are what? Against me. If you are not with me, then you must be against me. You see, there there's no riding the fence here.

There's no third option. Either you're with me or you are against me. Either you're with God and with his son and with the Messiah or you are against God, against his son who is the Messiah. You can't have it both ways. You can't be for God and against Christ.

If you're for God, you must receive who? You must receive Christ. Now, I have a great deal of respect for many Jews and though I do believe that God isn't done with Israel yet. The Bible makes it very clear Jews who claim to worship God Jehovah but yet reject his son, Jesus Christ they are not part of his kingdom and they are not on their way to heaven and that is the sad reality. You can say you trust and you believe in God but if you reject Jesus, you have turned away from the only way to the father.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. There's only one gospel. Only one gospel by which we are saved. That we're sinners that need a savior and Jesus Christ came.

He died on the cross for our sins. He rubs again from the dead and he offers salvation to all who receive him by faith. That is the one gospel. There is no other. Any other gospel that's out there though they may claim to be a church, though they may claim to be teaching the truth.

No, they they may pick up a Bible and say they're teaching it to you and giving the gospel. If that is not the gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ. First Corinthians chapter 15. If it is not that Jesus is the only way. Then, it is not the one.

It's not the gospel and those who teach it, are they with Christ or they against Christ? They're against him. Now, they may themselves not know it. Some of them, I believe, do indeed know it and these Pharisees that spoke here, God was seemed to indicate, they knew better. But they did not want to receive it.

They would not accept it and they didn't want to lose their status, their power over others. So, denied it and Jesus said, if you do not draw men to the God by believing in me and being with me, then, you're scattering them away from who? Away from God, you're doing the work of the what? You're doing the work of the devil. You can call yourself whatever you want.

You can call your church whatever you want. You can say that you've got your message from God himself. But if you're not with Christ, then you're sending people out into an eternity without him. You are God's clear and undeniable enemy. That's who these religious leaders were.

Look if you would in verse 31. Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto man. And whosoever speaketh a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. Him neither in this, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. So, Jesus continues with his condemnation.

He says, you're either with me or you're against me. You can't have it both ways. He goes on to say, this concerning the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Jesus further renounced and condemned those who made such an accusation as beyond hope of repentance and salvation for having seen first hand the power of God, the testimony of the holy spirit, and relegated it to Satan himself. These men had seen again and again and again and again and again the testimony of the Holy Spirit and the power of God through the works of Jesus Christ his Son in keeping with the Old Testament scriptures.

They had seen it. They had seen it. They had seen it. And they decided that they were going to say that it came from who? That it came from Satan himself rather than God and Jesus said to them, you, my friend, and actually didn't say my friend, did he?

He said, you. You are without hope because you have blasphemed the testimony of the Holy Spirit as to the identity of the son of God. Through the miracles that he did. These men who knew who Christ was, they knew the scriptures which were told of his coming and the miracles and sign which would accompany him and the power of the Holy Spirit. Rejected him.

Knowing all of these things. Isaiah sixty one one, they would have known this passage very well. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings under the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to them that are bound. And again, of speaking of bound and captives, here he's speaking, first of all, of being bound in sin.

Jesus Christ came to die on the cross that he might free us from the slavery and the bondage of sin. He said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Matter of fact, Jesus took this very same passage in the synagogue in Capernaum and he opened the scroll of Isaiah and he read this and he said there to those sitting in that in that synagogue, he said, this day in your presence is this scripture fulfilled and he's talking about who? He's talking about himself. What did they do?

Just like the Pharisees. They refused to believe him. They took up stones to stone him because they knew exactly what he was saying. Actually, they took him up on a hill and we're going to cast him off the hill. I've been to the I've been to the synagogue and I've been to possibly the hill in Israel.

Sad, very sad. The Jews knew this passage. They knew what it meant. And Jesus gave every indication that he was that person. But the Pharisees rejected it.

As did many others. Isaiah eleven one and two. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse. Jesse was David's father, okay? And a branch shall grow out of his roots.

A new shoot will come up from the ancestry of Jesse and David and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. Matter of fact, John the Baptist, when he baptized Jesus, it says, the spirit of God descended on him in the form or as a what? As a dove. And John the Baptist bear witness that he heard the father say, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And John the Baptist said that God told him that the one upon whom the spirit would rest is the Messiah.

Where did John the Baptist get that from? Right here. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord and backed Isaiah thirty five five and six, then he shall then by his power, the eyes, the blind shall be open, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then shall the lame leap as a heart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. These men should have known.

I believe these men did know, really. But they simply rejected what they knew to be true and Jesus said, you've rejected the Holy Spirit's testimony. You're in trouble. They completely rejected him as their messiah, the messiah despite the testimony of the spirit and the signs and wonders performed before them and the conviction of the spirit in their hearts. God gave them every chance.

God gave them every sign The Holy Spirit was there showing them, convicting them, and they just flat refused him You know, It's sad to say that I think in The United States Of America that we're not too far off from these men. Any time of the day, you can turn on the TV set and ostensibly hear the gospel. Yeah, there's a bunch of other junk on there too, I know. Some of it claiming to be religious. But the gospel is is over the television.

It it's it's over the radio waves in almost every area of the country. You can turn on the radio and find a gospel preaching station and hear the gospel. It's all over the internet. Of course, there's a lot of false stuff. Yes, I know but the gospel's there too.

Drive down the interstate and see it on billboards between here in Virginia and here in Ohio, there must be 100 of em that we read going down the interstate that people have put up. Many of them speak the truth. They give the gospel though in short but they give it. And yet we live in a nation that would much rather believe a lie than to believe the what? Believe the truth.

In a society that much rather believe that I evolved from an ape. That evolved essentially from an amoeba. That evolved from some something that just happened that according to science can happen. But they rather believe that than to believe the truth. Our country is in deep trouble.

Our society is in deep trouble. Have we blasphemed the Holy Spirit? Are those out there that is blasphemed? Have they rejected the testimony of the word? They rejected the testimony of the preaching.

They rejected the testimony and the calling and the conviction of the holy spirit. Maybe so. Only God knows that but we see in this a great what? A great warning. To those particularly who know the truth.

Maybe they've been sitting in church for all their life. Maybe they've been sitting there for weeks. Maybe they've been sitting there for months. They've been hearing the gospel. In their heart, they know that it's true but they just can't bring themselves to receive it.

They keep pushing it away, pushing it away, pushing it away. There's one day you're going to push it away and God's going to say that's why. That's it. I'm not coming knocking at their heart's door. Anymore.

Thus, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit can be defined as a strident rejection of the testimony and the power of the spirit as to the person and work of Jesus Christ, the son, attributed, attributing it instead to the deception of Satan or the tricks. Of men. In Isaiah six four through six, it says this, it says, for it's impossible for those who are once enlightened, have tasted of the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, have tasted of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again on repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves, the son of God afresh and put him to open shame. Now, there are those who read this passage and understandably, they believe this to mean that you can get saved and that you can get what? Lost and lose that.

You lose your salvation and taken out of context, I can understand how they come to that conclusion on this passage. It sounds like it's describing someone who's been born again. But I don't believe it is. I believe it's describing someone who is almost. I believe it's describing the same kind of thing Christ is describing in Matthew chapter 12.

And that these two passage are teaching the very same truth. You see, the Bible says in John ten twenty seven and twenty eight, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me and I give unto them what? Eternal life. How long is eternal life?

Eternal forever and they shall never what? They shall never perish. How long is never? Always. Always.

Never. Okay? Never perish. What's perish means? It means die and go to lake of fire or hell.

That's what perish means in scripture. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Romans eight one says, there's therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, okay? The Bible says in Philippians one six that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in first Peter chapter one that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We're kept by the power of who? By the power of God. Now, if I was being kept by my own power, I would be in big trouble but I'm not. I'm being kept by the power of God. It says, we've passed in John.

Another passage in John says, we've been passed from death unto life and we will not come under condemnation. We could look at many other pastors. We've been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, okay? So, I don't believe this passage we read in Hebrews here teaches that you can lose your salvation. What I do believe is it teaches this, it's a warning.

For those who have sat time and time and time and time and time and time again and heard the gospel and know in their heart that it's true but they cannot bring themselves to receive it and to accept it and they have to come up with some other explanation. They are in danger. Of being lost forever. When I think of this, I think of Judas. Here was Judas, one of the 12.

Jesus knew he was a devil so to speak. Jesus knew he he wasn't who he pretended to be but Judas had everybody else fooled. Everybody but who? Everybody but Jesus. He had the same light.

He saw the same miracles for three years. He listened to the voice of Jesus and yet in the end, who he really was came to light. And he was found to be a betrayer an unbeliever betrayed the savior of the world. You look in chapter 12 verse 33. It says, either make the tree good and his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt.

For the tree is known by his fruit. Oh generation of vipers, how can you be an evil? Speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. A good man of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things but I say unto you that every idle word that man shall speak, they shall give an account therefore in the day of judgement. For by thy words, thou shalt be justified and by thy words, thou shalt be what?

Condemned. What words is he's talking about here? He's talking about the words of the Pharisees who had just told all of these people that what Jesus did, he did by the power of the devil, blaspheming the power of the Holy Spirit. Who testified by these works of who Jesus was. Jesus said, he who claims me before men, will I claim before my father which is in heaven?

But he who denies me before men, him will I deny before my father, which in heaven. They had just denied him. They had even said it aloud. They had made it known and Jesus said, they are condemned by their own words. They have condemned themselves as they have rejected the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

John three eighteen, I'll skip these. John three eighteen says, he that believeth on Jesus is not condemned but he that believeth not is what? Condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. We have a stark warning here from God himself from Jesus Christ receive him Receive his testimony and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit before it is too late because one day, it will be too late. But it may not be too late yet.

God is a merciful God, a loving God, a god of grace. He is not willing or desirous that any should perish. Second Peter three nine says this, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but his long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Why did Jesus came? He came to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

You know, that included those Pharisees. He came to die for their sins too but they would have none of it and Jesus said, okay. If that's what you want, that's what you have. God isn't willing or desires that anybody should spend eternity in hell. He died for the sins of the world.

He is willing, desires that all should come to repentance and be saved. But he has left this choice up to you. He has left this choice up to us. It's not love if you don't choose to love. It's not faith if you don't choose to believe.

And a sovereign God can indeed choose to give us a choice and he did all the way back there in the what? The Garden Of Eden and he's given us a choice today. Whosoever shall call in the name of the Lord shall be saved. The choice is yours. That one day it will be too late You will die and you'll stand before the judgement.

Without Christ, you'll be without hope. One day, it will be too late. The rapture will occur and you will be left behind and God will send a strong delusion in those who have made their clear choice. God says, don't think that oh I'll see it then. No, it'll be too late.

He'll send a strong delusion and you'll believe a lie. Second Thessalonians two. Don't put it off. It could be too late. The Lord may stop knocking upon your heart's door and the only way anybody comes to God is through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

Unless God draws him. So, what will it be today? You've heard the gospel, you've heard it before, you've heard it again. If you're here today and you've never trusted Christ as savior, behold, today is the day of salvation. If you put it off one more day, could be too late.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for your word Thank you Lord for the warning here from scripture Lord, I pray if there's one here today that they know the truth but they haven't been willing to receive it. They've made all kinds of excuses Lord, you've showed them. Lord, you've convicted them. Lord, all that's left is for them to receive.

Lord, I pray they would today. Before they leave this place before it could be too late for them. In Jesus name.