King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Chapters: Matthew 11, Luke 11
Message: Turning Messes Into Purposes
Hello My Friend,
The past few days I have been terrible about getting the devotionals posted, I get them done in what I say is the time appointed, but posting them has been an ordeal because I have been working overtime, which I had mentioned Sunday. As I was praying this morning I was actually in tears thinking about how God takes our messes and turns them into something good. God reminded me of something, since everything is in His time, the things that we go through are actually what He uses to prepare us for that time. As I mentioned not too long again, when something is in God’s will for us, nothing we do can stop it, likewise, if it not, nothing we do can change that either. God knew where we were going, He knew that we would get ourselves into things that we thought we could never get into, but He used it all for His glory. That is, of course, after He made us squirm a little bit, [Revelation 3:19-20 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.]
I keep thinking of what it would have been like to be there with Jesus preaching, and teaching, and scolding the Pharisee’s, that would have been a sight to see for sure. That also brings a point that we often wonder if we would have had the same faith as we do now if we had been there with Jesus. Well, think about it this way, God has to prepare our heart, and to be honest, the reason we came to know Jesus as our Saviour when we did it had to do with how He prepared our heart before we even knew Him to be our Saviour. Yesterday, we touched on Jesus speaking to the crowd as some of John the Baptist’s disciples came to Him. As we continue reading through the Gospels, Matthew goes into more detail regarding how Jesus responds.
[Matthew 11:1-4,7-12 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.]
[he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.] Do you understand what Jesus is saying here? You, the most vilest, unworthiest, wretched sinner, who has messed up time and time again, is greater than the most faithful, sin less (not sinless) Christian to ever walk the earth. You see, it is not how much we do for God that makes us great, it is our faith in Christ, which is why Jesus also says that there is rejoicing in heaven over even one sinner who repents, [Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.]
Now, does Jesus know our faith even before we do? Of course, He does. And I truly do believe that if we believers were here before Christ’s passion that we would have believed because He already knew that we would accept Him. As Jesus puts it, those who have ears to hear Him let them hear Him through them.
[Matthew 11:15-19 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.]
[We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced;] [Piped; to play on the flute, to pipe] I literally spent an hour trying to figure out how to explain what Jesus was saying here, then God just woke me up. These Jews were so angry at Jesus converting so many people that they wanted to kill Him. Why? They were literally enforcing these ridiculous rules that were not the Law, and fighting with anyone who opposed them. A perfect example of this is the vaccine mandates, forcing people to get a vaccine, or they will not be allowed to be among society. Now, I am not against the vaccine, but this is what Jesus is referring to. Let me tell you, you cannot force people into submission, especially if they are healthy and know there is no proof that getting vaccinated will not stop the spread of the disease. And enforcing laws that are ridiculous, and fighting those who will not comply is not going to help the situation. We need to avoid these things like the virus, [Titus 3:8-9 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. 9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.]
Jesus was referring to the conceited, self righteous, religious people who hide behind whatever knowledge they received and their religion. They saw Jesus right in front of their faces, witnessed Him performing miracles, yet never would believe that He is the Son of God, even though it was all written in the Scriptures. Jesus actually begins upbraiding them right there, [Matthew 11:20-24 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.]
[It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment,] Those who think that their religion is going to get them to heaven, rejecting Jesus as the Son of God, or calling Him the son of the devil, are in for a huge shock when they stand before Him for their judgment. Yes, they even accused Him of being the son of the devil. These towns prided themselves on their religion, yet none of them believed that Jesus is the Messiah the hoped for, even though He is right there in front of their faces. Jesus continues to upbraids them, in fact, points out that they are actually of the devil, [Luke 11:17-20 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.]
[therefore shall they be your judges.] Religion, through the devil says, “I did this, I am going to heaven.” People may be protected under religion here on earth, but that is not what will save them when they face Jesus. They cannot even get along with each other, and let me tell you, religion might stir people up for a while, but sooner or later they will be overtaken by evil, turn on God, and become even more corrupt, which Jesus explains also, [Luke 11:21-26 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.]
[and the last state of that man is worse than the first.] The heart of everyone unsaved sinner is home to Satan, he comes and goes as he pleases. Religion is great at cleaning people on the outside, but not so much on the inside, which is why Satan comes back in, taking even more of his minions with him and literally turning them into reprobates, [2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.]
It was not uncommon for the unbelievers, skeptics, and religious crowd to try to bate Jesus to see if He would do or say something they could use to catch Him breaking the law. Jesus knowing their thoughts never hesitated to call them out for who they really were, fools. Jesus was invited to dinner at a Pharisees house, he was appalled that Jesus did not wash himself before He sat down to eat.
[Luke 11:37-39,42-44 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.]
[and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.] Can you just imagine the looks on their faces when Jesus did not wash up before He sat down at the table? And you know that He did that on purpose to see how they would react. Woe unto those who think that their works in the church are going to save them, the ones who give elaborate tithes and offerings, and the ones who appear Godly in the church. They are actually walking, talking corpses because they refuse to believe in Jesus. Now, as Jesus speaks to these self righteous Pharisees, the lawyers begin wondering if they are doing something wrong.
[Luke 11:45-48,51-52 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.]
[and them that were entering in ye hindered.] Jesus has nothing against lawyers, but they are some of the worst offenders because they often represent those who are offenders trying to get out of facing the punishment for their crime. I despise criminal lawyers because they find anyway they can to get around the law to defend their client who knows they broke the law. Religion does the same thing, enforces a bunch of laws that have nothing to do with God, many proclaiming Jesus, yet never preaching the Gospel, nor are saved themselves. All they are doing is sending millions of people to hell with them, and by the way, Jesus is actually our defense lawyer. We broke the law through our sin, and deserve to be punished for that, but He is also the one who not took the punishment for us, and pardons us also the second we believe in and receive Him as our Saviour, Jesus has won our case, [Hebrews 9:14-15 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You know the very intentions of all that I say and do. You have not removed me bodily from this world, but You have raised me up spiritually to abide in Your presence even as I carry out my daily duties, whether it is something You commanded me to do or in my every day labor. As Your presence graciously overshadows me, it is there that Your love and faithfulness sustains me and gives me the strength to endure all the pain that my messes have caused. You not only clean them up, You use them for your glory, and turn them into a great purpose. Thank You, for loving me and not giving up on me, and for sending Your Son to give me a means to eternal life through Your Son. I pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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