St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 31, The Unforgivable Sin: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit not forgiven.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Blasphemy against the Spirit not forgiven)
Pt 1. 

And now the curse comes upon the Pharisees who proclaimed that Christ performed miracles by the power of Beelzebub.  For he has prophesied to them of the kingdom of God.  He has prophesied to them of the plunder that will take place.  For he has prophesied to them of the binding of the strong man and the taking of his treasures.  And they do not see, they do not understand.  They only know that they are the men of authority, the men of power.  And it is that same power and authority that brings them to damnation.  It is that same power that has corrupted them so that they do not understand that the kingdom of heaven is in their midst and that their children will be their judges on the day of judgment.

Christ makes his conclusions to the Pharisees, "Therefore I say to you, that every kind of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."   So if they did not know before, they know now that they have committed blasphemy.  They have spoken words against the Holy Spirit that will lead to their damnation.  Being educated men of the Scriptures, they knew what they were doing.  Being educated men of people they knew what they wanted.  Being educated men of the world they clung to their power and authority even unto death.  For they had been long in authority.  They had held power for many years over the house of Israel and they did everything and all things to maintain that power.   The lines of battle were set and the battle continues.

The lines were drawn long before Christ came.  They were put into place when the demons crept into the temple.  The lines were set and greed came in.  The lines were set when lust reached her talons into the hearts of the Pharisees.  The lines were set when the actions of the Pharisees were merely acts and not an indication of their intentions.  The lines were drawn over the years with the devil slowly taking control of those in power in the house of Israel, those in authority.  God sent prophets.  God sent his messages.  God sent his wrath that they may understand the root of the problem.  But they did not listen.  They did not understand.  They were possessed of the world.  And then the world brought the curse upon them, the Pharisees, because of their blasphemy.  They world led them to believe that they were still in control and nothing could take that away from them, not even this man who claimed to be the Messiah.

We see the same results in our churches, synagogues, and chapels today.  The Pharisees and the Chief Priest rule the people.  They have long been in power and authority.  And evil creeps into their midst.  It starts small and grows.  I festers and becomes a sore.  It blossoms and become full blown evil in the midst of the believers who are also corrupted and misled.  They saw the signs but ignored them.  They heard the messages but did not listen.  And now the signs begin to show of the corruption.  The evil begins to show its head and Scandal exposes herself.  Abuse of power, sexual misconduct, financial misdealings,  and all sorts of evil comes forth.  Even death finds its way into the temple.  And it is that evil that brings the downfall of the pastor of the church and the believers in the church.

Are you a man or woman of authority in your church?  Do you cling to your position?  Will your position of power, your position of authority bring about your ruin?  For it was this same clinging desire that led to the downfall of the Pharisees and brought about their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  Be careful of the drunkenness of power.  For it will intoxicate the spirit.  It will bring about downfall.  It will mislead the heart.  It will blind the eyes to will of God.  Humility is the key to the drunkenness of power.  Be humble!  Seek humility from the source of all humility, Christ Jesus.  For he gave up his authority, his power, and came to earth to save mankind.  Be his example!  Be his follower!  Live by the humility of his life and the drunkenness of power will not overtake you.  Are you a humble man or woman?  Remember the Pharisees.  They got drunk with power and committed the unforgivable sin!

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 30, Choose your side: Gatherer or Scatterer.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 5. 

The lines are being drawn.  The battle continues.  The sides are chosen and the players know the stakes at hand.  Christ has given the Pharisees the run down on his prophecy of what is about to happen.  They listen and are astonished that such a man, a man in their eyes and not the Messiah as they see it, would give such a statement to them, the men of authority, the men of power.  Christ told them that the kingdom of God was upon them and they did not see it.  He told them that there will be plundering because the strong man had been bound and all his treasures would be taken from him.  

Christ was speaking to the Pharisees and he was speaking to their counsels , the devil.  He was giving notice that he came to plunder.  He was giving notice that he came to take back the treasures that were stolen from the kingdom.  He came to separate the good from the evil, the just from the unjust, the damned from those who would be saved by his actions.  let nothing or no one get in his way.  For he brought the sword of God with him.  He brought the sword that would cut, the sword that would slash, the sword that would slice to the bone.  Christ came to bring victory to the house of God and to restore what was taken by force.

He told the Pharisees,  "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.   So the Pharisees knew without a shadow of a doubt where they stood.  They knew that they did not follow Christ.  They knew that they were against him, for he sought to take away their power over the people and spoke directly against their teachings.  So they knew that they were against him and being such, they knew that they were there to scatter.  For they wanted to divide the people.  They wanted to turn them away from Christ.  They wanted to be the leaders of the people.  They wanted the people to follow them and not Christ.

Give God the glory for he is worthy of the glory.  Give God the praise for he is worthy of the praise.  Unity in Christ is our desire and our future.  We desire to be one in Him and being in Him we are one with each other.  Yet we have those who would scatter, in our churches, in our towns, in our villages, in our homes, in our markets, at work, at school, wherever we are.  We have those who would seek their own praise and their own glory instead of giving it to God.  Do we go to church to scatter or to gather?  Do you go to church to be with Christ or to be against Him?  For in our churches, in our synagogues, in our chapels, we are one in union with Christ. 

There are many Pharisees in the midst of the believers.  There are those who would scatter for their own glory.  There are those who would scatter for their own gain.  There are those who would scatter for their own praise and yet they are not worthy.  And praise be to God that there are those who gather.  There are those who, through their efforts, others are brought into the church.  There are those who, through their sacrifice and their devotion, work to build up the church.  And they are the ones who are with Christ.  They are the ones who love Christ.  They are the ones who have the spirit of Christ within their hearts and know him.  Be not deceived.  There are workers in the church who work to build up the kingdom but they do not know Christ.  He does not live within them, for they work for their own glory and edification.  Give God the praise that all things work for the good.  Be not a scatterer but a gatherer with Christ.  Be with Him and not against Him.  The battle continues, even within you.  Come, join the army.  Which side do you choose? 

St Matthew, Chapter 12, verse: 29, Christ's promise to plunder.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Christ refutes them) Part 4. 

So the Pharisees wanted to do battle and they brought their fight to Christ.  They accused him of having the power of Satan to cast out demons.  This was their way of casting doubt.  This was their way of bringing fear.  This was their way of dividing the people so that they could regain the control that they were loosing to the teachings and miracles of Christ.  In their crooked minds they thought that by making this statement they would bring a shadow over Christ and cause the people to wonder.  But Christ brought the fight to them.  He told them a house divided would not stand.  He told them that by their fear and doubt their children would be their judges on the day of judgment.  He told them that because of their blindness that the kingdom of God had come upon them and they did not even know it.  The battle continued.

And as the final blows took place, Christ brings the TKO to the Pharisees with these words: "How can anyone enter the strong man's house, and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  Then he will plunder his house."   So Christ gave them a forewarning of things to come.  He would plunder their house of authority over the people.  He would bind their power and release the people, loosing them from the authority of the Pharisees.  This was a prophecy to the Pharisees who then had to stand back and take heed of these words.  For they were warnings that they could not overlook.  They were signs of the times that they had to address.  These words were a slap in their face of their coming demise.  They did not know.  They did not understand the one that they came before.  They only saw him as a man and not the Messiah.

Not only did Christ speak to the Pharisees but he also spoke to the demons that possessed the Pharisees that led them to come against Christ.  He spoke to the demons of the coming downfall of their authority.  He spoke to the demons of their house being plundered and all of their treasures being taken away.  For what did the demons treasure most, the capture of the righteous 
souls of men, for Christ had not yet completed his mission.  What did they seek to accomplish day in and day out, except to bring mankind to turn against God and to live in hell with them for the rest of eternity.  But Christ spoke to them through the Pharisees.  The strong man is being bound and the house of hell will be plundered.  And the righteous souls of hell would be released and brought to the kingdom of God for all eternity.

Which side will you belong, in the coming battle?  Which side will you lend your support?  Judge wisely or judge not.  The decision is made, with or without your consent, for the judge will decide for those who wait.  Be not dead to the kingdom of God, for it is upon you.  Judgment will come when you least expect it, whether you are prepared or not.  The dead of the world are dead.  They do not know.  They do not believe.  They will discover the truth.  Open your eyes, now.  Open your minds, now.  Open your hearts, now, to the wisdom of God and he will bring you to salvation.  Be not the fence dweller.  Be not the changeling, part in the world and part in the spirit.  The two do not coexist together in you.  You are either of the world completely or of the spirit completely.  Otherwise you choose to walk the fence.  And those who walk the fence can be snatched off by evil. 

The battle continues even today.  Where does your soul belong?  Does it belong to Christ or to the devil?  You do not know!  Christ calls to you to come to him, not partially but totally.  Give to him totally and he will give to you completely.  Most people fear giving themselves to Christ because they still belong to the world.  Deep down they believe that total commitment to Christ is for those religious fanatics and not for them. So they continue to do the repetitious behaviors only giving on the surface and not giving deeply, down to the heart.  Christ wants 100% and not 50%.  Christ wants all of you and not half to him and half to the devil.  Release your soul from evil.  Come to Christ.  If you only knew the riches of his rewards you would run into his arms.  Christ awaits you!  The Holy Spirit desires to be with you!  God the Father loves you!