The Unforgivable Sin

Harvest Podcasts featuring Pastor Greg Laurie are brought to you by Harvest Partners. To receive Pastor Greg's free online daily devotions or to become a Harvest Partner, please visit us online at harvest.org. Let's pray together. Father, we're glad to be here today on this rainy day. And we know that your word is true.

And we pray that as we open it now, that you will speak to us where we're at. Lord, we come from all walks of life with different challenges, with different experiences, and frankly, with different problems. But Lord, you are the one who has a solution. You are the one that has the answers. You are the one that will give us the strength we need.

So speak to us now as we open your word, and we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, good morning. That was a great video, wasn't it? Really good. What a great crusade. Really a wonderful event and such a secular city and such a tremendous work of the Spirit.

So we really do give God the glory for that. Hey, um Yeah. This last week, I had the opportunity to be back in North Carolina. I was with Billy Graham for some time. I have the opportunity to serve on his board, and he made a surprising announcement to all of us.

Billy said that he wanted to do one last crusade. Yeah. I thought that was great. Here's a picture. from our time together.

And so I had lunch with them and I said, so Billy, You want to do one last crusade? I said, Do you want to do it in front of a camera or before a live audience? And he said, a live audience. And then he said, maybe I'll come and give it in your church. I said, well.

You would be welcome to do that, of course, you know. We would love to have you.

Now, I doubt that'll happen, frankly, because they'll probably end up in some huge arena. But I said, or stadium even, but I said, Billy, what is it you would want to preach on? What is the message you want to give? And he said, well, it's 2 Chronicles 7:14. And as you know, that's God's word to Israel.

And really, to all of us in principle, where he says, If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land. Billy says he wants to call America to repentance. And that's A good thing, and I'm sure. I'm sure the world would listen, and I mean, literally, globally, people would be listening to what the greatest evangelist of all time would have to say. And there was one other passage he wanted to speak from.

I'm reading from the New Start Bible in leather. And. But the type is too small, so I have to look at it like this. But Paul in Galatians chapter 6 says, God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. You know, one thing that Billy has always preached on throughout his ministry is the cross of Christ.

In fact, years ago, I was with him and I said, If an older Billy could speak with a younger Billy, what would you emphasize more as a younger preacher that you find yourself emphasizing now? And Billy said, I would preach more on the cross and the blood of Christ because that's where the power is. And I took note of that. And this is something he has done faithfully. And what a wonderful message that would be if he could give it.

So let's just pray, if it's in God's will, that that will happen. And we'd love to hear Billy one last time, wouldn't we? At least one last time.

So He's 92 now, and they had an event where he and Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea were all together. Bev, as we call him, sang a song. And Billy's 92, Bev is 102. And he still sings beautifully. Unbelievable.

I don't know what they're feeding these southern boys, but. The Lord has just been gracious to these guys. They've been together in ministry for 60 years. And what a great grace! ministry they've had.

We're thankful to the Lord for them. All right, well, let's turn in our Bibles to Mark. Excuse me, we're in Matthew, right? Yeah. Matthew.

Yeah. Okay, Matthew chapter twelve. Matthew twelve. The title of my message is The Unforgivable Sin. I want to ask you to pray for my voice.

I've been having some voice problems lately and. I'd appreciate your prayers. I've been struggling a bit with it. As you'll probably hear. I heard a story of a pastor who was speaking to his.

congregation one week and He wanted to make sure that people were getting the message he was trying to convey.

So he asked his congregation: Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can receive forgiveness from God? A little boy shouted from the back of the room: You have to sin.

Well Yeah. The better answer would have been: you need to ask God to forgive you of your sin and turn from it. But that is true. Before you can receive God's forgiveness, first you have to sin.

So, to make sure that. I'm speaking to the right audience. How many of you have ever sinned? Raise up your hand.

Okay, good. That's good to know. Here's some good news.

Something we all know, but it's good to be reminded of. God forgives sin. Our God has a big eraser.

Sometimes people will falsely say, Well, you know, I believe in the God of the New Testament, but I have a struggle with the God of the Old Testament because of the God of the Old Testament is harsh and wrathful and judgmental, and the God of the New Testament is loving and forgiving.

Well, that's just not true. The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. And one thing that is clear from Genesis to Revelation is we serve a forgiving God. David said in Psalm 86:5, Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, and full of unfailing love for those who ask your aid. God described himself to Moses as he passed in front of Moses and said in Exodus 34, I am the Lord.

I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. And then Micah, reflecting on this great truth, said in Micah 7, Where is there another God like you who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever.

You delight in showing mercy and compassion. You trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean. I love that picture. The depths of the ocean. Experts tell us that the lowest part of the ocean is 36,000 feet below sea level.

Wow, that's deep. I once made it down to 100 feet. And I thought it was something. Imagine a depth like that. And I don't think if we ever actually reached the literal bottom of the ocean, we would suddenly find all those sins, here they are.

But rather, it's a picture, it's a metaphor God is using. And basically, what He's saying is: I will put your sin far away from you when you turn from it and ask for my forgiveness. That means you don't have to keep dredging it up. We should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. Cory Tinboom put it well when she said, God has taken our sin, He's thrown it into the sea of forgetfulness, and He has posted a sign that says, No fishing allow.

Forgiveness. It's clearly in the Bible. And then when we go to the New Testament, we see how the Lord forgave people. What better example do we have of God's forgiveness than Jesus hanging on the cross and praying for the very people that pounded the spikes through his hands and feet when he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And God reassures us in 1 John 1:9, if we will confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Listen, the only sin that God will not forgive is the sin that we will not confess.

Now, having said that. Jesus does warn of an unforgivable sin. I've had people come to me over the years and ask about selling one's soul to the devil. I've heard people say, Well, I sold my soul to the devil. Really?

I don't think that's possible, actually.

Sort of the idea of that is that you entered into some kind of a business transaction with Satan himself where he gave you X in exchange for Y. You said, all right, devil, give me this, and I give you my soul. And once you've given your soul to Satan, you can never get it back again. That's how the idea goes. This is not biblical, of course.

Your soul is not even yours to give. You couldn't sell it if you wanted to. And I'm sure some would if they could. But the idea of selling one's soul to the devil is somewhat represented in this. Message we're looking at now, where we are saying there is a point of no return.

There is an unforgivable sin. But what is that?

Well, according to Jesus, it is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

So let's read about it. Matthew 12, starting in verse 22. Then one was brought to him who was demon-possessed, blind, and mute. And he healed him, so the blind and mute men both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David?

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, Oh, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. And Beelzebub was just another name for Satan. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to them, You know, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he's divided against himself.

How then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. How can you enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless you first bind the strong man?

Then you can plunder his house. He that is not with me is against me. He who does not gather with me scatters abroad.

So Jesus is sort of blowing their argument apart. He's saying, this is illogical. You say, I'm casting out Satan by the power of Satan. Why would Satan allow something like that? Why would the devil want to disrupt his own kingdom?

So he's showing that's not true. And now he. warns them. Because of this attitude that they've taken on. Verse 31, therefore.

I say to you, Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men. And anyone who says a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or the age to come. We'll stop there.

Now these religious leaders, these scribes and Pharisees, were royally ticked off at Jesus. Why? Because he was bad for business, ironically, bad for their religious business. They were insanely envious and jealous of his growing popularity. In fact, it was this very envy and jealousy that ultimately drove them to have him crucified.

Why were they envious? Because the people, the common people. Loved Jesus. He was understandable. He was approachable.

He was compassionate. Jesus was everything the religious elite were not. Scripture tells us the common people heard him gladly. Jesus never spoke over anyone's head. He broke it down so most people could understand what he was saying.

And that is what a good communicator should do. You know, Jesus was understood by children. But the greatest intellects of the time were challenged by his words. And I just don't get preachers that are boring. To me, there's almost not a worse crime than to get up and bore people.

It reminds me of an illustration I heard of a minister that was asked to go to a civic function and say a few words. You know, it's kind of challenging to ask a minister to say a few words. A minister's can be, well, long-winded.

So, this minister got up. He was given, I think, 10 minutes, and he went through his 10 minutes rather quickly. He's moving on to 15 minutes now, and the moderator has a meeting to conduct, so he clears his throat. Hoping the minister would hear him. Still, the preacher drones on.

So now we're at 20 minutes, and the moderator pounds his gavel down, hoping the minister would stop. The preacher doesn't slow down. He just keeps going and going. And now the moderator is pounding down the gavel loudly to stop this reverend from talking. Still, the minister continued on.

Now we're at 30 minutes. Moderator can't take it anymore. He takes his gavel, throws it at the preacher. Barely misses him and hits an elderly man who had fallen asleep in the front row. The old guy wakes up, sees the preacher is still speaking, and says to the moderator, hit me again, I can still hear him.

Ever felt that way? Do you feel that way right now? Um By the way, I ripped off that illustration from Billy Graham. That was one he used for years. That's how it can be sometimes.

You listen to some. Ministers speak, some pastors preach, and it's like. Watching paint dry. It's just boring and difficult. Or they want to use words that will impress people and speak over the heads of the people.

And people will walk out and say, Boy, that was impressive. His vocabulary is amazing. I don't understand a thing he said, but I'm glad he's on our side. You know what? If I can't share something with you in an understandable way, I am missing what God has called me to do.

That's what Jesus did. That's what we are to do. And that's what the religious leaders did not do. Instead of bringing people close to God, in many ways, they kept them from God. And they wanted to stop.

Jesus, and they actually attribute the work of God to the work of Satan. And that shows that their hearts were getting hard, and they were actually getting closer to committing the unforgivable sin. It's a scary thing. When you can see a work of God and say, well, God's not in it. Or even go further and say, I think the devil did that.

You know, we have people who are critical of our crusades.

Now, I don't expect a non-believer to necessarily always get what we do, but yet some of our most ardent critics are not non-believers at all, they're so-called Christians. Who will say things like, well, you know, these crusades, these people aren't really coming to Jesus Christ. These conversions are not genuine. You know, Greg Laurie, he doesn't preach about judgment. He doesn't tell people to repent.

He never mentions the death of Jesus Christ. And these people are just going to a big rock show and they never cry tears of repentance. And my response is: have you ever been to a harvest crusade? Because actually I do preach on Judgment, and I do tell people to repent, and I do preach on the cross, and they'll say, No, but still. You know, they critique it, and it's not of God, they'll say.

And others will say, maybe a hyper-reformed person, well, the problem is, Greg, you're you know, you're giving false assurance to the non-elect. Really? Well, I like the words of D.L. Moody when he said, Lord, save the elect and then elect some more. You know, and I would say this.

to these critics. I don't mind being critiqued. In fact, I have a lot of criticisms for myself. And if it's a valid criticism, I'm more than open to hearing it. But I think a lot of times they set up a straw man and knock him down.

They critique something that doesn't exist to make themselves feel better. And I think it says more about them than about the one they're critiquing. And I would just warn them and say, be careful when God is working, and you say, that is not a work of God. Because that's exactly what these Pharisees were doing.

Now, when we think of a Pharisee, we generally. Think of someone in a negative light. If we were to call someone a Pharisee, it would certainly not be a compliment. If we were to say, you know, you're a Pharisee. That would be like saying you're a self-righteous, hypocritical, mean-spirited person.

But actually, that's not technically what a Pharisee was. A Pharisee was a man who had dedicated his life to the study of Scripture. He took a solemn vow before three witnesses that he would spend every moment of his life. Obeying the Ten Commandments.

Now, that's not to say they succeeded because clearly they did not. But that's at least what they tried to do. There were some good Pharisees, not many. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and And he came to Jesus at night and became a believer. But by and large, these Pharisees, these religious experts, Had hard hearts.

Here's what is ironic: they spent their time studying the Word of God. You read of scribes and Pharisees. A scribe was someone who wrote down the scripture. See, they didn't have printing presses, and so they would write by hand out the word of God. That was their job.

So they spent their entire day and night in scripture, carefully writing it. And the Pharisees spent their life studying it. Yet these men. Immersed in such a spiritual endeavor, had hearts that were so hard they attributed to the devil that which was being done by God. This just reminds us of one thing.

The church is a dangerous place. Let me explain. You say, what dangerous place. I always thought of this as a safe place.

Well, it can be. It depends where the church is. There are some churches today in Islamic countries where Islamic radicals have broken in and literally have beaten and even murdered. Christians.

So, in their case, the church is literally a dangerous place. But here's how it can be a dangerous place for us today. This is a place where we honor God. This is a place where the word of God goes out.

Now, you have a choice as to how you will react to that. I don't know why you're here today. I hope you're here because you want to grow spiritually, you want to worship the Lord, and you want to learn more about Christ. But if you've come here out of mere duty and obligation, and you're sort of almost like Figuring, wow, if I go to church today, I can sin a little more this week because I've kind of done my thing for God. And maybe I'll go back tonight so I can even get extra sin credit.

Boy, watch out. Or if you sit there today, you know, with your arms crossed, there's nothing wrong with crossing, it's something, oh, you know. I was cold, sorry. But I just using this as a picture, you know, with your arms crossed and. Kind of with a furrowed brow, with a skeptical, I don't know if I like, you know, careful now, because listen to this: the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay.

Sometimes the most hardened people can be in the church, not outside of it. We think that person down there at the bar right now having their first drink of the day at 10.36 in the morning. Maybe their third drink. I don't know.

Well, they're so far from God. Yeah, maybe they are. But they may be closer to getting right with God. Than a person who comes to church every Sunday.

Okay, Greg, I lost you there. That makes no sense. Using, I'm not advocating we all go to bars and drink.

Okay, I think you know that. But just in case someone doesn't, let me state that. I'm saying that person drinking, they might be saying, My life is miserable. What am I doing in a bar at this time, living my life this way? I need to get my life right with God.

They're thinking about it. Maybe they'll act on it, but the person who's sitting in the church, they say, I know it all. I've heard it all. I am so spiritual. And the problem is, they're getting a hard heart because they're arrogant and they're actually resistant to the work that the Spirit wants to do in their life.

Easier to get a hard heart in the church than to get it outside.

So it's dangerous here in as far as. You coming without the right motive.

Now, if you come with an open heart, this is the best place you possibly could be. This will be like a greenhouse for you. You will flourish and grow. But if you come with a critical spirit and a hard heart, it can be a dangerous place for you. These Pharisees.

Or not Doubting Jesus because They merely disagreed with him. They were hardened against him. Remember in our last message when we talked about John the Baptist and we dealt with the subject of doubt? We pointed out doubt is a matter of the mind. Even Christians have moments of doubt.

We don't always understand what God is doing or why He is doing it. In contrast, unbelief is a matter of the will, it's a choice one makes. These Pharisees were full of unbelief. They did not reject Jesus for lack of evidence or because he was not consistent with what he said. The fact of the matter is, Jesus was the perfect example.

Even Pontius Pilate, who had examined thousands of men, said, I find no fault in him. Judas Iscariot, who spent three concentrated years with Jesus and even betrayed him, said, I have betrayed innocent blood.

So Jesus clearly was a model of everything that he said. They rejected Jesus because it interfered with the way they wanted to live. And that is why people reject him today. They don't reject Jesus because they've carefully examined the evidence and have determined it's not convincing enough. They don't reject him because they've read through the scripture and have found some apparent contradiction.

They don't reject him because of the so-called hypocrisy of some in the church. They reject him because he interferes with their lifestyle. They want to live a certain way. And Jesus tells them to live a better way. Here's what Jesus said in John 3:19.

This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. And that brings us to. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the very word blasphemy in the Holy Spirit shows us we're dealing with a him, not an it.

Sometimes people think of the spirit as a A force. You know, we can understand the idea of God as a Father, even the idea of God as a Son, but God is a Spirit. It's harder for us to wrap our minds around. But the Holy Spirit, a member of the Trinity. has a distinct personality.

In other words, you cannot blaspheme an object, you can only blaspheme a person. You don't blaspheme a car, though maybe you've tried. Because it won't start in the morning. You blaspheme a person. There are other sins that can be specifically committed against the Spirit, sins that perhaps even ramp up, if you will, to the ultimate sin, that of the blaspheming of the Spirit.

For instance, there's a sin of resisting the Spirit. Stephen mentioned this in Acts 7:51 as he spoke to the Sanhedrin, and these were the elite of the elite. These are the guys that were in charge of the Pharisees, effectively. They were the equivalent of a religious. uh Supreme Court, if you will.

They heard Stephen preach and rejected this message. And he said to them, You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears, you're just like your fathers, resisting the Holy Spirit. See, Stephen is pointing out that the work of the Holy Spirit is to lead a person to God. Jesus said of the Spirit in John 16, When he has come, he will convince the world of sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. The Spirit is incredibly patient and persistent, but it's possible to resist his pleadings.

Apparently, the spiritual leaders of Israel that Stephen was addressing had done just that. They were convinced of the truth of what he was saying, but they rejected it. They chose to not believe it, and that was resisting the Spirit. And that showed itself when they executed this innocent young man. Then there's a sin of insulting the Spirit.

Hebrews 10, 29 says, Think how much more terrible the punishment. Will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people, listen, have insulted and Enrage the Holy Spirit. who brings God's mercy to his people. I don't know about you.

But I don't want to enrage the Spirit. How is this done? It's done by Taking the death of Jesus and dismissing it as nothing. Again, Hebrews 10 says, They've treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common. And then holy.

It would be like this. Let's say you're going to propose marriage to your girlfriend of two years.

So She knows what's coming. You take her to a nice restaurant, and right before your proposal, you pull back a curtain, and there's a full orchestra. Playing a beautiful romantic song. You get down on one knee, you pull out the ring box, you open it up, and in front of all of your friends and family, you say to your beloved, Will you marry me? I love you.

She looks at you and says, Uh no Not only will I not marry you, I don't even like you. In fact, you disgust me. But since we're in a nice restaurant, let's order something anyway. Do you mind? Yeah, what wait, what?

Yeah, that's what she said.

Well, that's insulting, isn't it?

Now imagine God for a moment. He says to us, you know, I love you so much. And so I sent my son to die for you. Do you understand? What kind of sacrifice it is for a father?

to give a son I gave my son To suffer and die in your place, and if you'll turn from your sin and put your faith in me through my Son, I will forgive you, and you can spend all eternity with me. What do you say? Are you serious? You know, I think all roads lead to God. Really?

As long as a person is sincere with the death of Jesus, what does that mean? That means nothing to me at all. I think that if I just live a good life, that's insulting to God. You see how these things are escalating, resisting the Spirit, insulting the Spirit.

Now we come to blaspheming the Spirit. What is it?

Well, let me tell you what it isn't. Because people are troubled by this periodically. I'll have this question ask: you know, what is the blasphemy of the Spirit? Why? Because it's the unforgivable sin.

Because a lot of people before they were Christians They curse pretty much everything and everyone. Maybe in a drunken stupor or A drug-induced state or just an outright rage. Curse the Holy Spirit and the thing in man, did I commit the unforgivable sin? The answer is no, because that's not what it means. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to insult and reject his very work.

Why has the Spirit come? We already read that verse. He's come to convince us of our sin. It's to reject the mission of the Spirit, it's to say no to the Spirit. Blasphemy represents the conscious denouncing and rejection of God.

It is a defiant irreverence, the sin of intentionally and openly speaking evil against God. Remember King Belshazzar? King of Babylon And he had a grandfather named Nebuchadnezzar. And Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, arrogant man. But one day the Lord got his attention and he repented and turned to God.

But apparently his grandson didn't learn much from Grandpa. And he went out of his way to defy God. In fact, one day, Belshazzar threw this big feast and he invited all his concubines and all of his lords and subjects, and they're just partying away. And he says, Hey, man, let's take this thing to the next level. Go get those like holy objects, you know, the Jews used in the worship of their God.

Let's fill them with wine and let's offer toast to the false gods that we serve here in Babylon.

So they bring in these objects that were used by the Jewish people and the worship of the Lord. And Belshazzar is like mocking God.

Well, God says this. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap.

Well, guess what? As Belshazzar is drinking away, he sees something happening. It wasn't a pink elephant either. It was a hand, just a hand. writing on a wall that was lit by a lamp.

And on the wall these words were written. Tekel, tekle, or a many, many, techle eupharson. He didn't know what that meant. You heard there was this weird prophet dude named Daniel that could interpret these things. They bring up Daniel, who's an aged man at this point.

He reads it. Hey, Belshazzar.

Okay, here's what it says: You've been weighed in the balances, and you've been found lacking, and your kingdom is going to be taken from you now. Wow.

Now That meant that Belshazzar was weighed in God's divine scale, and he was a lightweight. I don't know about you, but I do not like to stand on a scale and weigh myself. I'm always disappointed by the result.

Well, Belshazzar had no weight. He had no substance. And that night he lost his life. He found out the hard way. God is not mocked.

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days is that people will go out of their way to blaspheme God. That will be a distinguishing characteristic of the Antichrist. who the scripture says will blaspheme God. Even as God's judgment is falling on non-believers in the tribulation, we read in Revelation 16:9, they were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God who controlled these things, and they refused to repent and glorify him.

So to commit this sin does not merely represent unbelief, but determine unbelief. The Pharisees had intentionally hardened their hearts against God. Yes, there is a point of no return. The Bible speaks of Esau who went too far. Hebrews 12:16 says, Make sure that you're not immoral or godless, like Esau, who traded his birthright for a single meal.

And afterwards, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears. But wait. How could it be too late for repentance? Because, as I said, there is a point of no return.

God looks on the heart, and Esau's heart was as hard as stone. And so you can get a hardened heart too. Pharaoh's heart was hard. Even though he saw miracle after miracle performed by the hand of Moses and Aaron, his heart got hard. Pharaoh hardened his heart, we read, but then we read, God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

And some people are confused by that. God hardened his heart? Yeah, after Pharaoh hardened his own heart. God will strengthen you, if you will, and the decision you have already made. If it's a decision of belief, He will affirm you in it.

If it's a decision of unbelief, God will say, Is that the way you want to go? Then I'll affirm you in that as well. Pharaoh hardened his heart, and God merely affirmed it. Don't get a hardened heart. If a heart is hard, It'll come out on what we say.

Look at verse 33. Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you be in evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of a heart the mouth speaks.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. An evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. And I say to you that every idle word that men may speak, they'll give an account of on the day of judgment. Out of the abundance of a heart, a man speaks. Your words will determine where your heart is at.

Now, we guard our words and we're careful. In certain circumstances, but when we get around people we're familiar with, the real us comes out. It's been said that in an average day from the time we say good morning, And then later, good evening, that we speak. enough words to fill a book of fifty to sixty pages. Or a hundred books a year of 200 pages.

Now, girls would do twice that. I I you know I am convinced girls talk more than guys do. Generally, there are exceptions to this, of course. But, you know, just watch guys in a restaurant and watch girls in a restaurant. See guys, you know though You know, one guy will say, you know, I think, da-da-da-da.

And the other guys will listen and go, well, we think, and oh, you know, there it is. Girls talk, well, I think, well, I think, well, I think, and they're all talking at the same time. Yet They understand one another. I think it's probably a higher intelligence at work perhaps.

Somehow, don't clap, don't, because... Then I'll have to balance it, and you don't want that to happen. You know, they just have this intuitive way of communicating that. Is all their own, but here's the thing. I don't know if it's always a good thing to say more words, because you'll be judged for every word you've said.

In an average day, you speak enough words to fill a book this big. That's a pretty small book, you can see. Just not too many pages. That's one day, okay? This is one week.

That's getting a little bigger. You see, there's more pages.

Okay. But wait, there's more. This is one month. This is the biggest book I have in my library. It's called Illustrations of 7,700, encyclopedia of 7,700 illustrations.

But this is one month.

Now imagine, okay, let's say this is one month out of your life, and I'm reading it now. I'm reading everything. I mean in every conversation. I've got your text in here too. Also, your emails, your Facebook entries, everything.

Talk here, little notes. Those little conversations. All those self-conversations, it's all here, and I'm reading every word. You're going to be held accountable for what you said.

Now, here's the thing. It's going to come out on what you say. If you're a bitter person, for instance, You're going to find yourself talking about it. Bitter people. Love to spread it around.

Bitter party of one. You know, if you're around them, it won't be long until they bring up that topic, their pet peeve, this person they're ticked off at, and on they go. And coming back to that statement about Esau that I quoted, let me read it to you now from another translation. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time.

Watch out for the Esau syndrome. Cheating away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. But the weeds of bitter discontent that can ruin a whole garden in no time. If your heart is filled with bitterness, it will come out in your words. If your heart is filled with lust, that too will come out in words.

What is it with some people? Everything is a sexual innuendo or a double entendre. Their minds are so messed up. Everything they say seems to have a sexual connotation.

So you're talking to them, they say, well, I don't know, but I know this, da, da, da, da, da, da. I'm not even going to use words to illustrate it. But you and the die. Uh-huh. You're like what?

You know. I don't get it. You don't get it. It's nice when we don't always get that stuff, isn't it? Like, I didn't get that.

To explain that. Oh yeah. Wow you really are twisted aren't you? I get it now. Yeah, yeah, I got it.

But that's what their mind is filled with. That's going to come out on their words, or in their emails, or in their texts, or whatever else. And if you have a heart that's filled with Grace and love and wisdom from God's Word, that too will come out. You know, spending time with Billy Graham, I have to say that. He is the most godly man I've ever met.

He is everything in private that you think of him. Think of him in public. He's the same guy. In fact, he's disarmingly A candid, and you're amazed at his humility. I mean, he is Billy Graham.

But he doesn't act like it. He he's just a godly man who has an open heart and gracious words. I can't really think of any times I've heard him speak critically of anyone. Amazing.

So, it's all going to come out of what you say.

So, after all this, here they're having this conversation, and Jesus is warning him: He's going, guys, I just got to warn you right now: you are pushing the envelope big time by attributing to the devil that which is being done by God. That shows you're getting a hardened heart. And I'm warning you, you might end up blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which essentially is the rejection of Christ because the Spirit has come to bring us to Christ.

So, be careful. They're like, Really? Hey, you know what? We'd like to see a sign from you now. What what?

Yeah, we want to see a miracle to convince us. Like he hasn't done enough miracles. Didn't he raise the daughter of Jairus from the dead? Didn't he just touch this demon-possessed man? Yeah, we want to see a miracle.

You know that? Show us the trick. Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat? You know, I have a little box of tricks I bought for Stella, my granddaughter, and you know, she loves to do little pranks on people.

Now, she hasn't learned the ways of deception very well, and because people know what she's doing when she's doing a trick. I mean in this box for instance we have the predictable tricks like the fake fake barf, right? And you put it on the floor and oh no, barf and uh then there's a squirting ring, you know, it's got the little squirter and you hide up there and you, hey, look at my ring and squirt them in the face and Stella will do it and squirt herself and You know, and then there's the dribble glass where you know you have the little holes in it, you drink and the water drips on the person. And then there's the shocking gum where you pull the gum and it shocks you and all that.

So, you know, she'll do these tricks to people, and they always know, but they'll go along with it, and she's, you know, so happy when it happens. Hey, do a trick for us, Jesus. What do you got? Jesus says, I'm not going to do any tricks for you guys. I'm not going to do any signs for you.

In fact, Here's a sign that I'm going to give to you right now. Look at verse. Thirty nine. An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given but that of the prophet Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

You know, sometimes we think if we could do a miracle for our friends, they would believe. Man, if I could just... You know, pray for this person to be healed. They would believe right there. I know they would.

If I could just do something dazzling, you know, if I'm at a barbecue with some buddies and call fire down on my steak right there, man. Check this out. You know. Do you want to believe in Jesus right now? No, you know what, that wouldn't convince him.

Even when Jesus walked the earth, they didn't believe him, though he raised people from the dead. Even after he himself raised bodily from the dead and people saw them with their own eyes, they still rejected him.

So here is what he says. Here's your sign. Remember that Jonah guy? Three days, three nights in the fish's whale, fish's belly, whale's stomach. He said, So will the Son of Man Be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

In other words, Jesus was saying, Here's my sign to a lost world: I'm going to go to a cross, I'm going to die, and I'm going to rise again from the dead. You can accept that and be forgiven, and you can reject that and not be forgiven.

So that is your choice. And if you don't accept that, that will lead you to the blaspheming of the Spirit, where you are insulting the work and mission of the Spirit, which is to bring you to Jesus Christ. Yes, there is a point of no return. During World War II, a United States battleship aircraft carrier and some smaller boats were patrolling the waters of the northern Atlantic in search of German U-boats. And one evening, several pilots took off from the carrier and were told to be back by a certain hour.

But the leader of the squadron of four planes purposefully stayed out longer, feeling with just a little more time he could score an impressive hit on the enemy. But as the sun was setting, a German armada entered the area, and the American fleet was now in trouble for they were outgunned and outmanned and outnumbered.

So they had to order radio silenced so they would not be discovered by the German armada.

Meanwhile, those four planes that were out on their mission were coming back. They were very low in fuel. They needed to land. And they called in, saying, turn on the landing lights. But because radio silence had been ordered, they would not turn the landing lights on and disclose their position to the Nazis.

And so, as the story is recorded, the men in the aircraft carrier stood by in horror as they watched four American planes crash into the icy waters of the Atlantic. God says today is a day of salvation. The light is shining. People hear the word of God, but there's going to come a day when the Lord, the commander-in-chief, will order radio silence. The lights will be dimmed.

and people will not be able to find their way home. You know, you say, Well, I'll just do it later. I don't want to be a Christian now. I want to mess around. I want to have some fun.

I'll be a Christian when I'm really old, like 40. Or I'll make a commitment to Christ on my deathbed. Yeah, really? Here's my concern. Maybe by the time you're forty your heart will be so hard you won't care any more.

You know, I think it's some of these atheists that have gone out of their way. to thumb their nose at God, Sam Harris. Richard Dawkins. Christopher Hitchens. who've written books.

Attacking the Christian faith. Christopher Hitchens has throat cancer. He's debated Christians on multiple occasions, including in our friend Inesh D'Souza. Who was here a while back? And a lot of Christians have taken it upon themselves to pray for Christopher Kitchens.

That God would heal him and that he would come to Jesus Christ. And he's actually said, Please, I don't really want your prayers. I appreciate the fact that you care about me, but don't pray for me to be converted. He's come out and publicly said, I will not be converted. Really?

I really pray you will be. Because you know what? God can even save atheists. C.S. Lewis was once an atheist.

And he came to faith in Jesus and became one of the leading apologists of the Christian faith. Lee Strobel was an atheist. And through his careful research into the claims and promises of Jesus, he became a believer and now is an apologist as well. There are many people who said there was no God and have come to know God.

So there's always hope, and we should pray, but we are concerned for those that would go beyond the point of no return. Don't let that happen to you. One closing word from Jesus. Verse 30 of Matthew 12, he that is not with me. is against me he who does not gather with me scatters abroad.

A mother a more modern translation makes that clearer. Anyone who isn't helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me. Yeah. You have to make a decision about Jesus. And if you've joined us today and you've never said yes to him, Do it.

Now, say yes to Jesus and be forgiven of your sin. Don't say, well, I'll do it later, because every day you put it off, your heart gets a little harder. The Bible says, He who is often reproved hardens his heart, and he will be cut off, and that without remedy. Don't harden your heart. If you can hear his voice today.

Respond to this invitation that I'm about to give. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word to us now. And I pray for any that have joined us who do not yet know you. Help them, Lord, to come to you at this very moment, we pray.

Now, while our heads are bowed and we're praying, If you want Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin, If you want to know that when you die, you will go to heaven. If you want to be forgiven of all the wrongs and sins you have committed. Right now, wherever you are, I want you to stand to your feet. And I'm going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand to your feet, if you would, wherever you are.

And I'm going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Christ up there in the balcony, in the back, and you up there in the front of the balcony. God bless you. Just stand up, you won't be the only one. There are others already standing. God bless you down here toward the front.

Just stand to your feet. You want Christ to come into your life? You want your sin forgiven. You want to go to heaven when you die. Let me lead you in a prayer.

Stand to your feet now. If you want to make this commitment to Jesus, anybody else, God bless you. Stand now. If you want to pray and ask Christ into your life. This final moment stand now.

Anybody else? All right, God bless you. God bless you and you. One final moment. If you're going to stand, stand now.

God bless you. All right, all of you that are standing, I'm going to lead you in a prayer, and I want you to pray this out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud now. Lord Jesus. I know I'm a sinner.

But you died on the cross. And shed your blood. For my sin. I turn from that sin now. And I put my faith in you.

I want to follow you, Jesus. From this moment forward, Is my Savior and Lord. As my God and friend. Thank you for calling me. and loving me, and accepting me.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. I bless you.