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About-Him Devotional 08-23-03
The life of Christ, from His baptism to His ascension, following the Harmony of the Gospels.
94: Discourse on Sign Seekers - Mt. 12:38-45; Lu. 11:16,24-32
Luke 11:16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Matthew 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. When Jesus healed the dumb demoniac, many of the crowd, stood in awe and wondered openly if He were the Messiah. Other unbelieving Pharisees asked to see a sign from heaven. Jesus responded that an evil and adulterous generation looked for signs. The only sign that would be given would that of the prophet Jonah who had spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, Jesus would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh, who had repented at the preaching of Jonah , would condemn this generation who balked at the preaching of One far greater than Jonah. The Queen of Sheba who traveled a great distance to learn from Solomon would also join in their condemnation, because they were listening to One far greater than Solomon. Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places,
seeking rest, and findeth none. 44. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. With the delivered deaf and dumb demoniac still nearby, Jesus stated that once a house was swept and cleaned, it had to have a keeper. When a devil returns to a man from which he has been expelled and doesn't find a keeper, he goes and gets seven others more wicked than himself and they return to the man and take up residence, making him much worse than before. This applied to the delivered man and also to the nation of Israel. They had expelled the devils of idolatry only to replace them with a religious system that relied on self righteousness. They had replaced the laws of God with the commandments of men. Their hearts could not be penetrated, even by the One whom they professed to revere. Their hearts were hard and their ears were closed. Conclusion and Application: How does our present day Christian generation compare to the sign seeking religious establishment to whom Jesus was talking? I believe we have many similarities. Many are forsaking or simply ignoring the basic gospel of Jesus' death burial and resurrection for a self centered gospel, centered on feeling, emotion and earthly gain. The Jews of Jesus' day had built an elaborate religious system and couldn't recognize God in their midst. I trust that we don't do the same. Next Week: Discourse on Spiritual Relationships
Pray for Judge Moore
Please pray for Judge Roy Moore, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. As you probably know, he has been suspended while an ethics complaint filed against him is resolved. All of this stemmed from his refusal to remove The Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery.
In About-Him
Maybe we are showing our age, but we are quite partial to the hymns of Fanny Crosby. They contain a whole lot of gospel and speak to my soul. Anyhow, here is our latest recording, with my visiting niece, Claudia Kuncaitus, singing the lead.
HE HIDETH MY SOUL
RealAudio http://about-him.com/music/hideth.ram
MP3 http://about-him.com/music/hideth.mp3
About His Word A daily topical posting of God's Word - http://about-him.com/aboutword.htm l
The above compiled into 30 different subjects - http://about-him.com/wordarc.htm l
You can catch up, or read ahead on The Life of Christ at http://about-him.com/life/life_01.html , where we have all the segments that we have written to date, compiled together.
Our Music - http://about-him.com/audio.html
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Our devotionals - http://about-him.com/devotionlink.html
Humor
"Oh, I sure am happy to see you," the little boy said to his grandmother on his mother's side. "Now maybe Daddy will do the trick he has been promising us."
The grandmother was curious. "What trick is that?" she asked.
"I heard him tell Mommy," the little boy answered, "that he would climb the walls if you came to visit.
Quote
Prayer: don't bother to give God instructions, just report for duty. - David Tait -Walking With Jesus Ministries Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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