Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.theupperroomfellowship.church/sermons/71718/matthew-927-38/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] We are on. Everything that we're going to read about this morning is the exact opposite of what we've just read in the Psalms.

[0:11] It's like the people were put in this amazing position where they should have been running about the streets, cheering and shouting because the Messiah had turned up.

[0:25] The one that they'd been taught about for decades, for centuries, possibly for millennia, had suddenly arrived and he proved who he was.

[0:36] And instead of, wow, he's here. Fantastic. They said he's actually doing this by the power of Satan. And they disparaged him.

[0:49] And it occurred to me that at some part of our lives, most of us have been guilty of that at some point where we, I mean, I remember going back to when I was, when I got saved at the age of 27.

[1:02] So 28. So when I was 26, 27, I was very God. Don't bother me with God. That was my attitude. And then he showed me.

[1:15] And praise God that I didn't do what the people were about to read about did, though I could just as easily have done. It's by his grace that we didn't reject him.

[1:27] So we're in Matthew chapter nine. And I know we've had a. I can't remember. It's five or six Sundays break. I think it might be six. So we we're a bit behind.

[1:40] And I'm in two minds as to whether to put the notes on the screen, because I'm going to find it very hard to be constrained by the notes today. So it might be confusing.

[1:53] But would you rather it was up there or not? That's up to me. All right. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. I'll send them out. I'll send them out. So up to now.

[2:05] What we've had is. We're in Matthew's gospel, which is written by a Jew to the Jews. By the way, that little statement becomes very important later on when we talk about end time stuff in Matthew 24, because people get very confused about end time stuff because they think Matthew's gospel was written to the church and they apply things.

[2:30] That's another another Bible study. But the fact that it's written by a Jew to Jews is actually very important. And he has spent his time, first of all, establishing the birthright of Jesus through the genealogies.

[2:47] He's also established his fulfillment of Isaiah 7 by talking about the miraculous virgin birth. And there are many teachers who say, oh, you don't need to worry about things like the virgin birth.

[3:00] It doesn't really matter whether it really happened or not. It does. It very much matters. Again, that's another Bible study. And he's then spent time establishing the credibility of Jesus through his fulfillment of what God said in the Old Testament he would do and be like.

[3:25] And without covering all the ground again, I'm going to leave that as today's introduction. That what we're seeing today is very much a continuation of this confirmation of who he was.

[3:44] He was the Messiah by what he did when he healed two blind people. Now, just before this, he has, of course, healed the official's daughter.

[4:00] Hang on. Let me get my ducks in a row. He's healed the lady who's had a 12-year issue of blood.

[4:15] And he's also answered questions or begun to answer questions. You will recall from previous studies, I hope, that the Jews had an investigation process for potential messiahs when they turned up.

[4:26] The first of which was the observation phase. And they simply looked and watched what he did and scratched their heads a bit and thought, is this a real contender for Messiah or not?

[4:37] But they didn't question. They didn't interrogate. They just watched. Once their watching had led them to the conclusion that this was a real contender for the role of Messiah, they would enter what they called the interrogation phase where they would start to ask questions.

[4:55] And what we have witnessed before today is that he was that every time they asked him questions, he turned those questions around on them and he made them very uncomfortable.

[5:07] So why do your disciples do things on the Sabbath that we don't do? And his answer succinctly was, because I'm the Lord of the Sabbath.

[5:19] You know, the Sabbath was for man, not man for the Sabbath. And most of your laws that you've written about the Sabbath are not my laws anyway. And I have a right to do what I please on the Sabbath because it's my Sabbath.

[5:35] Why do they not fast? Well, because the bridegroom's here. And you don't fast at a wedding feast when the bridegroom is present.

[5:46] And he put himself firmly in the place of the bridegroom. I am the Messiah, he was saying, by announcing himself as the bridegroom. And if you recall, we had a bit of a study on how the parallel with the Jewish wedding preparations and wedding feast is mirrored in the ministry of Jesus.

[6:08] That he has come the first time as the potential bridegroom. We are the bridegroom. We are the bride of Christ, but not yet the wife of Christ.

[6:20] But he came the first time and paid the bride price, which was his own life. And then he went away, just as the grooms did in Israel.

[6:30] They went away to their father's house and built an extension on their father's house, a dwelling place. And when the dwelling place was built, they would then come back and snatch away the bride.

[6:42] A picture of the rapture of the church. But in his statement, but of course they won't fast because the bridegroom is with them. He was putting himself in the position of the heavenly bridegroom who was going to come and snatch away his bride at some point.

[7:02] So it's on the back of that. And we also know that there is this repetitious thing in Matthew's gospel where Jesus delivers teaching. Then he delivers miracles.

[7:14] Then he delivers more teaching. Then he delivers more miracles. And he's in the process of delivering miracles. And we get to chapter 9, verse 27.

[7:26] So, Matthew 9, 27. As Jesus went from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, had mercy on us, son of David.

[7:39] When he entered the house, the blind men came up to him and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I'm able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying, It shall be done to you according to your faith.

[7:55] And their eyes were opened and Jesus sternly warned them, See that no one knows about this. But they went out and spread the news about him throughout all that land.

[8:07] As they were going out, a mute demon-possessed man was brought to him. After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds were amazed and were saying, Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.

[8:21] But the Pharisees were saying, He cast out demons by the ruler of demons. Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease, and every kind of sickness.

[8:39] Seeing the people, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

[8:53] Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Now, we may not get to those latter verses today, mainly because I'm a bit exercised about the early verses in this chapter.

[9:09] So we'll just see how time goes. So we've got these two blind men. Now, you may recall from previous studies that the Jews had set up for themselves some miracles that they said.

[9:26] And these are, it's a strange dilemma, this, because the Bible does predict that Jesus would heal the blind. But the Pharisees and the Sadducees had set up these so-called messianic miracles, which were, if you like, more messianic than other miracles, which is probably a load of rubbish, really.

[9:51] But nevertheless, they had hallmarked three particular miracles. The healing of the deaf mute, the healing of the one who was possessed by a dumb spirit, if you like.

[10:09] That was a messianic miracle. We're going to why in a minute. The healing of a man born blind and the cleansing or healing of a leper. Those three miracles were hallmarked by the Pharisees and the Sadducees as messianic miracles.

[10:24] Now, we don't know whether these blind men were born blind. We just know they were blind. But what we will fathom out, especially between now and the end of chapter 12 in Matthew, is that regardless of their rather silly bias that one miracle was more miraculous than another, which is kind of crazy view to take, but Jesus fell in line with their view.

[10:50] And he did things that were messianic miracles to take away all their excuses. And once he had done a messianic miracle, they should have been running through the streets glorifying and praising God, totally overwhelmed because Messiah was with them.

[11:08] And they didn't do that. They accused him of operating in the power of Satan, of all things. And when we get to chapter 12, we will realise together that this was the unforgivable sin.

[11:24] Now, I will put some notes up on the screen just because I want a list of scriptures. So if we start with Isaiah chapter 35 and verse 5.

[11:47] Isaiah 35 and verse 5. And it seems to be Isaiah that has prophesied this more than anybody else. But Isaiah 35.

[12:01] So this is 700 years or so before Jesus was born. So 35 verse 5.

[12:14] A messianic prophecy. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

[12:28] For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. So this is a prophecy of Messiah coming and it includes, but is not limited to, the eyes of the blind being opened.

[12:42] Now, if we flip back to Isaiah 29 and verse 18. On that day, the deaf will hear words of the deaf will hear words of a book.

[12:59] And out of their gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see. And if we go to Isaiah 47. Verses verse 7 first.

[13:16] Where. There's this lament for Babylon and it says, Yet you said I will be a queen forever. These things you did not. No, I must have the wrong.

[13:29] Isaiah 42. I'm reading from 47 for some strange reason. Isaiah 42 verse 7. So God's promise concerning his servant is the title of that chapter in my Bible.

[13:43] And. If you start with verse 6, I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I also hold you in the hand and watch over you. I will appoint you as a covenant to the people and a light to the nations to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and and those who dwell in darkness from prison.

[14:06] I am the Lord. That is my name. And I shall not give my glory to another. And then you've got Isaiah 61.

[14:20] In verse 1, The spirit of the Lord is upon me. When is this famous? Can you all remember what makes this little passage of scripture famous? You remember in Luke's gospel chapter 4, he was stood up in the synagogue to read the scripture.

[14:38] And this is the scripture he chose to read. And he was reading a scripture about himself. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom of prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

[15:13] So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. So binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, freedom of prisoners and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

[15:32] There is usually there is a. I mistakenly thought that there was a reference there to blind eyes.

[15:50] Good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted. So that's a mistake on my part, although it's a great scripture because it does tell you what the Lord came to do. And that he he associated himself with messiahship.

[16:10] Now, in Luke 7, verse 22. Jesus himself. And do feel free to turn there. Luke 7, 22.

[16:30] Well, in verse. In verse 20, men came to him and said, John, the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, are you the expected one or do we need to look for someone else?

[16:55] Verse 21. At that time, he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many who were blind. So in verse 22, he answered and said to them, go and report to John what you have seen and heard.

[17:15] The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. So Jesus in that place was saying, if you wanted a translation after Ray, which is probably not worth having really, except he would have said, everything that the prophets told you I would do, I've done.

[17:46] So I am the one. And you can hang your hat on the fact that I'm the one, because I've done what the scripture said.

[18:01] Now what's interesting is here we've got two blind guys who follow after Jesus. The first question is, how did they know who they were following?

[18:15] Well, they couldn't see him. So there must have been some kind of thing going on where there was a general hubbub, and they thought, this is Jesus, and when he goes home, we'll follow him. But the other thing is, he then says to them, or at some point he says to them, do you believe I can do this for you?

[18:34] And they said, yes, Lord. But even before that, they said, Son of David, have mercy on us. Now, Son of David is a way of saying Messiah.

[18:50] The Jews were taught to look for Messiah when he came would be of David's line. He would be a son of David. A grandson, actually. So as soon as they said, Son of David, they obviously absolutely believed that they were calling out to the Messiah.

[19:13] There wasn't any doubt in their mind. These guys couldn't read. Yet, they had taken the trouble to study the Old Testament scriptures, and they knew that one of the hallmarks of Messiah was that he would come and open blind eyes.

[19:34] It's written in Psalm 146, verse 8, as well as all the other scriptures that we've looked at. There are many, many scriptures where, well, if he's Messiah, he'll be opening the eyes of the blind.

[19:48] Now, because of the sort of confused chronology of all four gospel accounts, we don't know whether this was the first healing of the blind that he did, or whether it was just one of many, because he did many.

[20:03] And he also did many that aren't recorded in scripture. But, what they did know from their understanding of the scriptures, despite the fact that they couldn't even read the scriptures, was that when Messiah came, one of the things he would do is open blind eyes.

[20:22] And so, as two guys who had blind eyes, they were going after him, knowing that he was someone who would heal blind eyes. Do you see?

[20:33] So, their faith, there was no doubt in their mind that he could do it, because he fulfilled the scriptures, and the scriptures said he would open blind eyes, and they had blind eyes, so he could open their blind eyes.

[20:50] What, of course, they didn't know was whether he would. They knew that he could. But their first cry wasn't, open our eyes.

[21:02] Their first cry was, have mercy on us. I have a, a bit of an allergy to people that teach that you go and claim your healing from God.

[21:18] They knew they had no right to claim anything from God. They were throwing themselves on the mercy of God. We don't have a right to healing.

[21:30] We do have a perfect right to sit on our father's knee and say, help. And the ones to whom God extends mercy and the ones to whom he chooses to withhold that is beyond my pay grade.

[21:47] I do not understand. But I do know that what was important was not that they made a demand, but that they knew that he could and that they knew the word of God.

[22:03] And we are in that same position. We need to know God's word. If we're going to relate to Jesus, we need to know God's word. And so, he then says to them, do you believe I can do this?

[22:20] And they said, yes. Unequivocal, straight away, short, succinct, no debate. Yes, you can do it. Joe drew out from 1 Samuel while I was away the fact that it's not just important to have faith because you can have faith in something totally spurious and it will not produce a result.

[22:48] you can have faith that the crystal hanging in the corner of the room will bring healing to your household. It's not going to bring healing to your household.

[23:00] In fact, most households that do things like that are actually not very well at all. It's important that your faith is expressed in something that's true.

[23:15] Now, the reward for these guys is they'd express their faith in something that was true, which is that Jesus could do it. The fact that Jesus did do it is covered in the tail end of the chapter when it says that Jesus had great compassion for the people to whom he ministered.

[23:32] There was great compassion there. Now, I know this kind of leads to all sorts of dilemmas in thought because those who don't readily get a healing might say to themselves what does the Lord not have compassion for me.

[23:52] Now, I don't know the answer except to say that he knows what's best and he doesn't only know what's best for now but he knows what's best for eternity. And so sometimes we wait for it and sometimes it happens and sometimes it depends on the motivations of the people and sometimes it depends on the motivation of the minister who might be trying to create a little glory place for himself.

[24:17] All we can do is keep saying Lord, we know you can do this and you've proved it and it's in your word that you've done it and therefore we're asking you to do it again.

[24:29] That's a perfectly right thing to do. When Jesus did these things, now these guys were told, you know, go on your way and don't tell anybody.

[24:43] And we might ask ourselves, why would he say that? Why would he not want this spread abroad? And I'll come to that in a moment. And the first thing they did was disobey and go out there and tell everybody.

[24:55] And there's a part of me that wants to wag the finger and say, what a horrible thing to do, especially when the Lord's told you not to. But there's another part of me that kind of understands it.

[25:08] Because they would have been known in their community as the two blind guys. You know, people with the same problems tend to stick together, so you get lepers sticking together and you get blind people sticking together and so on.

[25:19] So they would have been known for their blindness and then they're walking around and they can now see, well, how did you get to be able to see? Well, I'm not supposed to tell you. Oh, go on, tell us. You see what I mean?

[25:30] It's going to be very hard to keep quiet and I kind of feel for their predicament in a way. But why would Jesus not have wanted them to say it?

[25:44] Well, the first thing I want to point out is Jesus was very strategic in his miracles. Every time he did a miracle, there was more there than just the miracle.

[26:01] So in this particular instance, he healed a couple of blind men. A lot of his miracles he did for his disciples' benefit because they were going to be commissioned to go out and do this work.

[26:14] In fact, as we go on to study the beginning of the next chapter, he sends out the twelve. So his disciples around him are being trained up and a lot of his miracles were reserved for the disciples and they weren't for public showing.

[26:28] When he did do them for public showing, it had great effect above and beyond the miracle that took place. It further established his position as Messiah. And Jesus gave a lot of effort to fulfilling the prophecies that he would heal the blind.

[26:50] blind. And so we've got this one, Matthew 9, 27 to 31. We've got the blind man in Bethsaida in Mark 8, 22 to 26, where he healed the man by spitting on his eyes and told him to go and wash it off in the pool of Siloam.

[27:11] We've got a demon-possessed blind and mute man in Matthew chapter 12, which we'll come to later in this gospel as we study here. We've got blind man in Jericho, recorded in Luke 18.

[27:24] And we've got another two blind men in Matthew 20, verses 29 to 34. And we've got the blind man at the pool of Siloam in John 9, verses 1 to 41, which is the only one that is designated as someone who was born blind.

[27:43] There's a particularly important one for Jesus' credibility in the eyes of the Sadducees and the Pharisees, because this guy, they knew he was born blind. And then there are two instances where an unspecified number of blind people received their sights in Matthew 15, 29 to 21, and Matthew 21, 14.

[28:07] So there was a lot of effort that Jesus put into becoming the one who healed the blind wherever he went. blind, and I believe that's because Isaiah gave so many prophetic utterances to the healing of the blind.

[28:22] But when you think of Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, where it says he came to deliver his people from their sins, that very act involves opening the eyes of the spiritually blind.

[28:44] And so his primary reason for coming was to save those who were spiritually blind, and to emphasise it, he healed a lot of people who were physically blind. There was a parallel throughout.

[28:56] there was a parallel when, by the way, if you google this study, you'll find there's quite a lot of conflict about it.

[29:26] Only, not on whether Jesus healed the blind, but they'll often try to say, well, these two blind men, there's another biblical account in Mark, where it talks about one blind man being healed, and that one blind man was one of these two.

[29:44] And there are some who say blind Bartimaeus was one of these two. And in actual fact, I can find no evidence for the truth of that. I think this is a separate healing. And I, one of my favourite little books is a Harmony of the Gospels by A.T.

[30:00] Robertson. It's one of the best harmonies I've been able to find. When you look up in there, A.T. Robertson says this was the only, in his Harmony of the Gospels, there is no other passage allied to this passage.

[30:14] So these two blind men, I believe, was a distinct, separate healing. So, these men knew that they were dealing with Messiah.

[30:30] Blind Bartimaeus, when you read verses, Mark chapter 10, verses 46 to 52, we haven't really got time to read it this morning, but once again, it's clear that he knows he's dealing with Messiah.

[30:43] Messiah. And my main point is that the blind men could see he was Messiah and the sighted men could not see that he was Messiah.

[30:56] How's that for irony? They'd read the word, they knew from all that had gone on that he was Messiah and they said, yep, we believe you can do this because you check out, right?

[31:15] When we apply the scriptures to your life, it all checks out. The people who taught the scriptures, who had taught them that when a guy turns up and starts healing blind men, particularly if they were born blind, that's Messiah, you can rejoice because Messiah has come, immediately denied he was Messiah when he did it.

[31:40] The physically sighted could not see, what the blind could see. And I think it's worth repeating that their take on this when they came into Jesus presence was not, I've come for my healing, I've got a right to my healing, I've got enough faith to be healed, was Lord have mercy on us, you owe us nothing, but would you please be merciful to us.

[32:10] and the healing came out of mercy. And he said it will be done to you according to your faith, according to what you've believed. But he didn't say, and this is where this passage is misused by a lot of word-faith churches, they did not have to have the faith to be healed, the healing was given in accordance with the faith that they had, but there are people in Scripture who were healed despite the fact that they had no faith.

[32:39] And certainly when he raised dead people, dead people can't have faith really, can they? So it's not a formula that you can apply like the word faith teachers tell you you can.

[32:53] You can't just apply it like that. So he's healing the blind and he's fulfilling Scripture. And in Matthew 12 we will see that he, and we'll take a look as well at John chapter 9 when we get there, and we'll see that he does do these miracles that they had detailed as messianic miracles, in addition to other fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy which we're witnessing here.

[33:23] But just turn with me, the other reason why he might not have wanted it spread abroad. Turn with me to John chapter 9. And the beginning of the chapter you've got the healing.

[33:40] And if we pick it up in the aftermath, so verse 8, the neighbours and those who previously saw him as a beggar were saying, is not this the one who used to sit and beg?

[33:55] Others were saying, this is he. Still others were saying, no, but it's like him. And he kept saying, I am the one. So they were saying, how then were your eyes opened?

[34:06] And he answers and said, the man who is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So I went away and washed and I received sight. They said to him, where is he?

[34:20] He said, I don't know, I was blind. I was blind. He healed my eyes and sent me off to wash. By the time I came back, he was gone. I don't even know what he looks like.

[34:33] They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now, it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. And the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight.

[34:46] And he said to them, he applied clay to my eyes and washed and I see. Therefore, some of the Pharisees were saying, this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.

[34:58] But others were saying, how can a man who is a sinner perform such signs? And there was division among them. So they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him since he opened your eyes?

[35:11] And he said, here's a prophet. And the Jews then did not believe it of him. That he had been blind and he had received sight until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight and questioned them saying, is this your son who you say was born blind?

[35:32] Then how does he now see? And his parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he sees we don't know or who opened his eyes.

[35:43] They had already put in place. If you confessed that Jesus was Messiah, you were cast out of the synagogue.

[35:55] So you've got a man who was born blind saying, I am the one. I don't know how I see. I don't even know what Jesus looks like, but he touched me and he opened my eyes. It goes on to say this, verse 22.

[36:14] His parents said this, sorry, verse 21, now he sees, how he sees we do not know, all who opened his eyes, and we do not know.

[36:27] Ask him, he is of age and he will speak for himself. The parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone confessed him to be Christ, that he was to be put out of the synagogue.

[36:40] For this reason, his parents said, he is of age, ask him. So the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God, we know that this man is a sinner.

[36:52] He then answered, whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, I was blind and now I see. So they said to him, what did he do answer them and said, I told you already and you did not listen.

[37:09] Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples, do you? Which is a bit of a kick in the teeth for them. They reviled him and said, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

[37:25] We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said to them, well, here is an amazing thing that you, and by this he means you, the teachers of Israel, right?

[37:40] Here is an amazing thing that you do not know where he's from and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God fearing and does his will, he hears him.

[37:54] Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

[38:06] They answered him, you were born entirely in sins and you are teaching us. So they put him out of the synagogue. So for Jesus to just allow these blind people to just make large with what had happened to them, everybody involved would have come under the scrutiny of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and they would have effectively been treated as traitors and cast out of the synagogue and possibly even put to death because they were now associated with Jesus.

[38:44] The blind man in John chapter 9 was persecuted for getting healed. It's crazy, isn't it? But we mustn't lose sight of the fact that that's what the unbelieving world does when people get really hooked into Jesus.

[39:05] A simple testimony, Jesus has blessed me, Jesus has saved me, Jesus has healed me, leads to persecution. And it's particularly important in the next miracle which we'll move on to.

[39:20] He then healed the deaf mute man. Go back to Matthew chapter nine. How am I doing for time? Oh, right, we're not going to get to the end of this week, but that's okay.

[39:37] Matthew chapter nine, the next bit. verse 32, and they were going out, as they were going out, a mute demon possessed man was brought to him.

[40:02] After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed and were saying, nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. But the Pharisees were saying, he casts out demons by the ruler of demons.

[40:14] Now, the healing of the dumb spirit, the demon possessed mute person, was always seen by the Jews as only Messiah can do this.

[40:27] If you take a quick look with me at Mark chapter 5, where you've got the healing of the Gadarene demoniac, and we want verse 7 onwards.

[40:50] seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, and shouting with a loud voice, he said, what business do we have with each other, Jesus, son of the most high God?

[41:03] I implore you by God, do not torment me. Now, this, of course, is the demonic presence in the man talking to Jesus. For he had been saying, Jesus had been saying, come out of the man, you unclean spirit, and he was asking him, what is your name?

[41:20] And he said to him, my name is Legion, for we are many. Now, Jesus doing that, he was applying what the rabbis used as an exorcism ritual, where they would establish contact with the demon inside the person, and they would get from the demon its name, and then they would cast the demon out using its name.

[41:45] Hence Jesus was saying, what's your name? And once he got the name, he called them out. Problem was, you need to use the voice of the person to get the demon to give its name, and if the man is mute, he can't give his name.

[42:02] And that's why the Jews always said, only Messiah can do this miracle. And they were the ones who taught the people this. And having taught the people this, when Jesus comes along and casts out the dumb spirit, they said, oh, he's doing this by the let's use their words, not mine, from Matthew 9.

[42:31] Shouldn't have closed the book really, should I? He casts out demons by the ruler of demons. Now, Jesus deals with this in Matthew chapter 12, and we'll do it when we get to Matthew chapter 12, but effectively, this is the same sin that you see committed in Matthew chapter 12, which is the unforgivable sin, which is when you attribute the work of God to the devil.

[43:05] Because the work of God is done by the Holy Spirit, and therefore to attribute that to the devil is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is the unforgivable sin. So a quick question, and we'll finish with this, how does that apply to us today?

[43:20] How can we either commit or know that we haven't committed the unforgivable sin today? Well, the work of the Holy Spirit now in the earth is the work of the gospel.

[43:33] It's the work that brings Jesus to the world. And it's the Holy Spirit that reveals Jesus to the world. So when you reject Jesus, you are rejecting the only work here that the Holy Spirit is here to do.

[43:50] So that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. They rejected Jesus and attributed his work to Satan. To reject Jesus today has the same effect.

[44:02] It's the only unforgivable sin. People say the gospel is unconditional. It isn't unconditional. It has a single condition. One single criterion for salvation.

[44:15] And that is you have to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Done. You don't need an ology. You don't need letters after your name.

[44:28] You don't need to be clever. You just need to go, yes, please, Jesus, I want to trust you. And that's it. So, to anybody who's wondering if you have committed the unforgivable sin, the chances are the fact that you're wondering about it means that you haven't.

[44:44] it's very, very unlikely that anybody who seeks after Jesus is committing the unforgivable sin. Father, thank you for this word.

[45:01] I didn't get through it all, but hey, it will keep to next week. But Lord, when we read your scripture, please bring it to life in our hearts so that we never reject you, you did so much and you left so much evidence behind that's reported by the gospel writers and by the apostle Paul and others that we have no reason to ever reject you.

[45:33] So, Father, I just ask you that you solidify your scriptures in our heart and raise our expectations that you will again heal the blind and touch the dumb man's tongue and cause the lame to walk.

[45:51] And we've seen bits of it through our Christian lives where you have touched people. Lord, I would love to see your glory flow like a tsunami through this town and other towns and for people to be drawn to you, but not for all the false miracle working that goes on where it's all fake and there's all adverse motives, but for the pure motive of seeing you glorified, Lord.

[46:25] I would ask that you pour out healings and miracles on your church again. And while we're gathered in prayer, I want to pray particularly for Ron. I admit to being frustrated and feeling helpless when it comes to helping him overcome his illnesses.

[46:45] And Lord, I pray that you would reach out and touch him for your glory. Lord, we will not try to take glory for Ron's healing. We will shout it from the rooftops that it's something that you have done.

[46:57] Lord, I pray that you touch him even now this morning, today. Lord, that he be able to go forward without these recurring migraines, that he be able to go forward and not be in constant pain.

[47:09] The fact that against all the pressures of illness he came this morning shows that he means business with you. And I pray that you would release him in Jesus' name.

[47:21]  Amen.