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Reality TV you want to see By Paul Thompson

Now, I need three volunteers from the young people, but there's a proviso. You've got to either seen The Matrix or read Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. So three young people if you can come out the front, I want to ask you just one simple question to help us in our message. If you don't volunteer, I'll volunteer you myself.
It's the same question for each of you. What is the fascinating thing about the book that you've read or the video that you've seen as it relates to the supernatural or the miraculous just in one sentence? Well, it has action and I like action and it has killing things.
I like that. Well, I chose Harry Potter because I really like all those books and I just like them not because they're supernatural but because they take us out of our everyday world to somewhere where we can never imagine. I like Lord of the Rings because it's beyond our imaginations. It's the sort of things that we have in our minds and we imagine all these things. I don't like it because of that but mostly because I love Aragon and there's a lot of things and I'll wear no blue and that's about it.
There's no easy way to tell a person who's very sick the truth about their illness and this morning
that relates very much to our passage. There's no easy way of relating to our passage but
as it is in the Bible. Now, I want to say that this is a passage I believe for those
who aren't Christians. This is a passage for you this morning if you're not a Christian
and so if you're a young person or maybe you're an older person, this is a passage for you.
And if this passage offends you or upsets you, I'm sorry about that but the wonderful thing
you know is that Jesus didn't even need to bother to reply to the Pharisees. You remember
that on one occasion he refused to answer his critics. So everything that Jesus says
to the Pharisees and he says to us this morning, he says in love and he says because he has
a deep concern for you if you're not a Christian this morning.
Now Reality TV has taken off, hasn't it? What's the popularity behind Reality TV?
Why is the Lord of the Rings and the Matrix and Harry Potter so popular? This fascination
with on the one hand reality and on the other hand the supernatural. Well the problem is,
isn't it, that man thinks that he can understand both. But the other thing of course that the
Bible tells us is that we have a natural fascination with the supernatural and with reality simply
because we are made in the image of God. I would say that those who own the television
companies and have shares in the television companies can't believe their luck at the
success of Reality TV. It's almost as though it has saved the television industry. And
of course as Christians we can understand why everyone craves reality. But of course
the message of the Bible is that we can only understand true reality when we are in a
relationship with the reality who is of course God. It's the Bible, it's the message of the
Bible, it's the Gospel that gives us the true reality about ourselves. And in our passage
this morning Jesus gives the Pharisees, those religious people, one huge reality check.
He brings them face to face with themselves with some home truths about themselves. But
as we said it's because he loves them. And I wonder how many Pharisees are in the kingdom
of God now because in the early life of the church they read this Gospel of Matthew that
Matthew wrote to new Jewish converts and Matthew wrote to the Pharisees as a reasoned defence
about this Jesus that he was the Messiah, the Messiah that the Pharisees should have
known so much about but who many of them rejected. We of course remember Joseph of Arimathea
and a man called Nicodemus and how blunt the Lord was with Nicodemus too. So in this
building this morning there's really only two groups of people isn't there? There are
those of us who are Christians and of course many of us are but there's those of us who
aren't Christians this morning. And so we want to come and have a look at our passage.
I hope that everyone can see a Bible and have a look at verse 22 as we have a look at our
passage here.
1. Then one was brought to him who was demon possessed, blind and mute, and he healed him,
so that the blind and mute men both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed
and said, Could this be the Son of David?
This is a triple whammy. It's a triple miracle that Jesus performs and there's something
about demon possession that affects the personality of a person, their thinking, their reasoning,
their speech, their understanding. Notice the reaction of the multitude or the crowds.
It's an interesting statement here that Matthew includes. Could this be the Son of David?
This isn't a cry of faith is it? It's an explanation of curiosity. We know that the crowd were
familiar with their Bibles. They knew the Old Testament. Their Bible was of course the
Old Testament and they have this great curiosity. And if you're to become a Christian it starts
with being curious doesn't it? We sometimes meet people and they're curious about Christianity
and sometimes they can ask us very difficult questions or questions that they think are difficult.
But we have to learn to be like Jesus and bring them back to the reality of their relationship with God.
But notice now on verse 24, when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons
except by Zalba, the ruler of the demons.
You see Matthew only gives us one sentence on the miracle and I think this gives us a clue to the passage
about what it might be all about because the rest of the verses are an explanation.
It's really a warning. They're a warning to, as I said, you who aren't a Christian.
And we'll see what that warning is.
Now the Pharisees' words, for those of us who are Christians, they beg a belief. What an incredible thing to say.
Another person, of course Beelzebub, is none other than Satan. If you were here a few weeks ago when Philip was
preaching a word appeared in the passage that he was reading from the Old Testament.
Another name for Satan.
Now here we see the religious leaders interpreting the supernatural according to their own reasoning or thinking.
Now notice, have a look at the passage again. The problem isn't that they don't believe the miracles.
Those in biblical times have less problem than us moderns do of believing miracles because of our scientific or rational
education and background. The issue with the Pharisees is not the question of whether the miracle occurs or not.
The issue, the question with the Pharisees is that they refuse to believe the One who performs the miracle and therefore
they deny the reality. In other words, they trust their own understanding rather than accept the evidence.
They attack the messenger, the age old tactic. Shoot the messenger. We have seen it recently in politics, haven't we?
With Tony Abbott and Mark Latham. Try and knock your opponent out. Destroy him before he can destroy you.
But of course the evidence is steering the Pharisees right in the face. As we said, the Pharisees knew their Bible.
The Pharisees were the religious leaders. They had no excuse. They knew the prophecies in Isaiah that there would be a coming one,
a Messiah who would have the power to perform the miraculous, the supernatural, to perform these miracles.
We'll look here a few verses earlier in verse 18 through to 23 that we considered in our passage last week.
Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased.
Now listen, I will put my spirit upon him and he will declare justice to the Gentiles.
Not quarrel nor cry out nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
The Messiah is the anointed. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who brings in the age of the Spirit.
And yet the religious leaders deliberately choose to suppress the truth about this person.
And I say to you this morning that if you are not a Christian and you regularly come here, you in a sense are no different to the Pharisees.
They are a religious people. You are a religious person. What is a religious person? It's someone who goes through rites.
I religiously go and do such and such every day.
Another thing that I have to say to you this morning if you are not a Christian is that maybe for many years you too have been exposed to this Bible.
Not just the Old Testament like the Pharisees but the New Testament. So you too know about this Jesus and his power and his authority.
So what are you doing with the reality of that this morning as we look at our passage?
And the second thing we need to say there is the first thing was because we are trusting in ourself.
The first reality is that we don't trust Christ now. Secondly now because your thinking is wrong and that is from verse 25 through to verse 30.
Have a look at verse 25 in particular.
But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them,
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to destruction and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Jesus knew their thoughts. Jesus knows your thoughts this morning if you are not a Christian.
There is not one thought that he doesn't know past, present or future.
And because he knows the thoughts of the Pharisees and your thoughts and really no one has any new thoughts, there is no new thoughts.
They are all basically the same. Our thoughts are either the thoughts that God would have us think or the thinking of our own imagination and our own heart.
You see the scripture tells us that the natural man cannot understand the things of God.
How could these Pharisees not understand this miracle and its significance?
Well as we have just said they are in their natural state, in their natural habitat.
Look at verse 25,
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to destruction and every city or house divided against itself will stand.
Jesus simply shows the Pharisees how silly or stupid their thinking really is, how illogical, it doesn't make sense.
And it's as though he were saying to maybe some knights supporters, say you went to a knights game and Andrew Johns picks up the ball.
But then Robbie O'Davies tackles him. You think this is ridiculous, this team is divided against itself or another sporting example.
In almost the last minute of the World Cup Johnny Wilkinson picks the ball up and rather than kick it over his own goal he kicks it over the Wallabies goal and they win the World Cup.
You see a team divided against itself, it's just so stupid.
Here we have intelligent men trying to wiggle out of the truth, the reality that this is the son of David.
Here we have the Messiah and he demands that they come and worship him.
Of course they've got a vested interest, haven't they? They're leaders, so called leaders of the people.
Or thirdly we want to see here, Olive, just turn over will you? You've got your Bibles open.
Let's turn over to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 and 3. It gives us a good understanding about our thoughts if we're not Christians this morning.
In Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 3.
And you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now listen carefully.
In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
See this here? The prince of the power of the air. We've just talked about a miracle where this demon possessed man has had this demon exercised from him.
Verse 3. Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves, now listen, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind or of the thoughts and were by nature children of wrath just as others.
To put it quite bluntly or quite simply, what the apostle says here is that if you're not a Christian and you're rebelling about becoming a Christian, one of the influences that is causing you to do this is the influence of Satan.
And that shouldn't surprise us, should it? Because we know we're either in the kingdom of God, we're either Christians under Christ rule and serve in Christ or we're serving the devil, we're evil.
And that's something that no one in the world likes to hear or face up to. But it's an important part of the gospel.
Now thirdly we want to come on to verses 33 to 37. The reality is that you're not trusting Christ if you're a Christian this morning because your speech and your heart is wrong.
You see Christ like any good doctor, he tells us what is wrong with us but he also tells us why we have the problem and here Jesus tells us why we're unbelieving.
His language, if you like, is very direct.
Turn over to Matthew, go back to Matthew chapter 7 will you?
Matthew chapter 7 of course is that section in the Sermon on the Mount and in verses 15 through to 21 hear these words.
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
What's that silly thinking again? It just doesn't make sense.
Verse 17, even so every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
It's illogical, it just doesn't happen, it doesn't make sense. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, therefore by their fruits you'll know them.
Now go back to Matthew chapter 12 and verse 33. Either make the tree good and its fruit good or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad for a tree is known by its fruit.
Jesus says here to the Pharisees and he says to you if you're not a Christian that you are like that bad tree, that bad fruit that the only thing that you can produce is not really worth anything.
And as we're going to see in a moment the reason why that is, why it was the case for those of us before we became Christians was because of our hearts and we have a bad heart problem.
Look at verse 34. Brood of vipers, a viper of course is snakes. How can you being evil speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart the mouse speaks?
Well in the immediate context here of course it's those terrible words that Jesus says that the Pharisees say to Jesus in verse 24.
This fellow does not cast out demons except by Zelzebub the ruler of demons. And as we'll see shortly our words are the indicator of where we are with God.
We are told that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed and no one can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit. That's from 1 Corinthians 12 verse 3.
So we see in these verses here different arguments which are just stupid or illogical and Jesus exposes their wrong thinking but he exposes your wrong thinking too this morning.
Secondly, the second reality is that if you don't change the Bible is very clear that you will go to hell. It's not a nice thought but again Jesus speaks to the Pharisees
and he speaks to you who are not a Christian because he loves you and he wants you to become a Christian. In a sense this is the punch line and this is the verse of course that has done so much harm to Christians.
These words of Christ simply express the logical outcome of unbelief. In other words Jesus says if you Pharisees are going to ignore me and as we see in verse 30 you can't be neutral.
You will pay for it. You will be unforgiven and here's a little definition if you like. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit I want to suggest to you is to continue to trust yourself rather than Christ.
To believe in yourself is not to believe in Christ. Unbelief in Christ is the greatest insult to God. To say to your Creator who made you that he doesn't exist or has no right to own you or for you to trust him
is to be so offensive as to be unforgivable. Notice he says every other sin God will forgive and notice in the Bible Jesus does not accuse the Pharisees of committing this sin.
He warns them against it and we know that as I said before that one of the reasons why Matthew wrote his Gospel was not just for new Jewish converts but for the religious leaders to convince them of the Messiah.
Now you might have an objection you might say but isn't the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit words? Well yes we see here that they are but the words of course must first be thoughts as we shall see.
In Hebrews we are told they had an evil heart of unbelief. So you might be sitting here this morning as one who is not a Christian and although you're not verbally saying I refuse to become a Christian because of the overwhelming evidence
that I hear week by week from this pulpit and I read in my Bible, those words are not spoken but they are still words, they are unheard words.
They are as though you would be speaking them. Now thirdly, the third reality is to trust Christ for real life now.
In verse 23 and verse 30 real trust here in verse 23 have a look at that.
And all the multitude were amazed and said could this be the son of David? Well of course as we see there is a curiosity there, we have to be curious before we become Christians.
But we know that there are many incidences recorded for us in the Gospels where people actually declared that this was the son of David.
You remember Jesus when he spoke to Peter. He said to Peter, who do you say that I am? And he said, Peter said thou art the Christ, the son of God.
In Hebrews we are told that he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Look at verse 30 now. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad.
Simply put it takes guts to be a Christian. I am going to tell one story on my wife. She was a new Christian and she wore one of these Christian badges and someone deliberately tripped her up at school.
She fell over and what came out of her mouth wasn't exactly glorifying. We need to realize that if we are going to be Christians we are going to have to stand up for Christ.
And all of us have been in that boat where we have been ashamed because we haven't stood up for Christ. But part of the cost of becoming a Christian if you are considering being a Christian or you should know is that you have to stand up for Christ.
You have to not be ashamed of him. One servant of Christ said this verse is either or. You are either for Christ or you are against him.
You can't be neutral and again that is what Jesus is saying to the Pharisees and is saying to you who are not Christians this morning.
You see church is for Christians. Church isn't for non-Christians is it? Church is for Christians and if you are a non-Christian here week by week and you are feeling comfortable and you are thinking that you can maybe hide.
Well that is not really good at all because and that is of course why we preach the Gospel so that you will feel uncomfortable and you will have to face up to where you stand with God.
You see the church is the new community of God's people and we go out to seek the lost and to bring them in.
Now getting all lost here.
Okay we need also real submission. Look at verse 28.
If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
So Jesus is really challenging the Pharisees here as it relates back to his miracle and of course this is exactly what happened.
Jesus was casting out demons by the Spirit of God as Messiah, as the anointed one.
You remember of course he was given the Spirit without measure.
He was one who was conceived by the Spirit. He was sent out into the wilderness in the power of the Spirit.
The whole question of Jesus having the Spirit and demonstrating the Spirit of course demonstrates that he is Messiah.
So the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Again the only true reality in this world is the kingdom of God isn't it? The kingdom of God where Christ rules.
And as we said that's why there seems to be such an appeal to reality TV.
Because really people want to know really what life is really all about.
But even reality TV in light of the gospel and the bible is not real. The real reality is the kingdom of God.
And that's why again it's such a blessing to be in the church and to be a part of the kingdom of God as a Christian.
But then also we need to have a new heart and a new record and we see that in verses 34 and 36 and 37.
In 34 he says for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Now in the New Testament when the word heart is used it simply refers to what we think, what we feel and what we want to do.
It's the whole of us, it's us, it's our personality, it's who we are.
And of course we're told in Matthew 15 a bit further out that out of the heart precede evil thoughts.
And if you're not a Christian this morning the other bit of bad news I've got for you from the bible is that you have a heart problem.
And that's not the physical one of course it's concerning your thoughts and your emotions and your will and the gospel says that you need to have a new heart.
And in Ezekiel we have this wonderful promise in Ezekiel 36 that a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you.
And I will take away the stony heart of your flesh and I will give you a stony heart of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments and do them.
But we see here in verse 36 and 37, but I say to you that for every idle word men may speak they will give an account of it in the day of judgement.
For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.
It's a circular argument isn't it? We think wrong thoughts because our heart is wrong and because our heart is wrong we are condemned by God.
So really we can't get out of it except by God helping us.
You see the other bit of bad news that we have from this passage this morning is that this passage says that if you continue in your unbelief and we've tried to prove that you are like the Pharisee, a religious person
confronted with the evidence week by week in the Bible and from this pulpit there really is only two options for you.
If you continue in that course of action according to verse 36 and 37 we have the reality of course of judgement and that reality we know is true.
Our conscience, our conscience, bear it true when we do wrong things that's of course as we know because we are made in the image of God.
But of course the Bible tells us that it is appointed that man will die and that one day there will be a general judgement of all mankind.
Of course the Christian is not judged because Christ has been judged on his behalf.
So as we finish off our message to you this morning who are not a Christian I want to challenge you very simply with these truths that I've sought to bring to you from the Bible.
You see this Jesus, this Messiah, this Son of David is the one that we met as the crusher in Genesis 3. 15 he's the one who bruises Satan's head.
The reality is that if you are not a Christian you are under the influence of Satan this morning but if that's not bad enough your thinking is affected because your heart is affected.
Of course you should know why you have a bad heart. You have a bad heart because you inherited it from your parents and each of us has the first sentence of sin which is of course we are all going to die bar Jesus returning to death.
But of course the second sentence, the greatest sentence is spiritual death. So it really is a day of opportunity for you. What Christ did as the Messiah was unique and special.
He as you should well know by now went to the cross. What's the cross all about? The cross exhibits as we've seen the reality of sin but the cross also exhibits the reality of God's love in Christ.
That there is hope, that there is a way back to God. You're not submitting to God, you're not a Christian this morning. You can become a Christian this morning because of what Jesus did on the cross and the pain, that penalty for your sins.
There is no other way that you can get out of your situation this morning. The Bible says and the Gospel says apart from through the cross of Christ.
And so God is calling you to submit to this Jesus as the King. He is the King. He is King David. He's the King and he offers you a crown.
He offers you a crown. So we're told also in Matthew that it's good to respond to the word of God.
In Matthew chapter 7 verse 26 we read, Now everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish, sorry, I'm losing my, no that's the section that I want.
Anyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them. We want to present you with an opportunity this morning to pray and to ask God to make you a Christian.
Dwayne would you put the overhead up please? What I'd like you to do if you are not a Christian this morning, if you see your need which I trust you will do to become a Christian, would you pray after me this prayer?
And then following that I will tell you just something very briefly. So close your eyes and we'll pray now.
Dear God, I know that I'm not worthy to be accepted by you. I don't deserve your gift of eternal life. I'm guilty of rebelling against you and ignoring you. I need your forgiveness.
Thank you for sending your son to die for me that I may be forgiven. Thank you that he rose from the dead to give me new life. Please forgive me and change me that I may live with Jesus as my ruler. Amen.
Now in Romans chapter 10, important verses. Romans chapter 10 and verse 9 and 10.
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
Now we've come full circle this morning. New hearts confessing that Jesus is their Lord. If you prayed that prayer I'd encourage you, I'd urge you to tell someone close to you who is a Christian.
Maybe it's your parents or a friend who is a Christian and they'll be able to help you get started on the road to being a Christian. Finding out about being baptised and all that it involves in being a Christian.