We're back to Matthew Chapter
12. Matthew Chapter 12. The title of the message is Reformation
is not Salvation. Reformation, turning over a new
leaf. Becoming religious is not salvation. And our Lord points this out
in this unclean spirit going out of a man. All he is is reformed. He just
reformed some habits and quit some things and started doing
some things that he thought he ought to be doing and tried to so-called fly right. That's not salvation. That's
not salvation. And the application, one of the
first applications our Lord is making here is to the Jewish
nation that he's dealing with at that time. There was no one
more religious than they. And they had all the outward
form. They had the ceremonies, they
had all the types and the pictures that God gave them. God gave
them the Passover lamb and a lot of the things that they did do,
the feast days and all these, God gave them to them. But only a few in Israel were
truly Israelites. There were some among them who
believed God, but not many, not many. The nation as a whole,
if you think the nation as a whole, it says he came unto his own
and his own received him not. The nation as a whole, they were
lost. They were lost. Religious, you
know, Paul teaches us over here in Romans 10, look over in Romans
chapter 10. Romans chapter 10 what Paul says
about them he says brethren verse 1 brethren my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved for
I bear them record that they have a zeal of God they are zealous
You know, Paul thought he was zealous for God's glory. In reality,
he was zealous for his own self-righteousness. It really had nothing to do with
God's glory. But they are zealous. They have a zeal of God. They're
not atheists. They're not atheists. But not according to knowledge.
They have a zeal of God, but not according to the scripture.
It's a blind zeal. For they've been ignorant of
God's righteousness, ignorant of the righteous character of
God. And because of their ignorance of the righteous character of
God, they went about to establish a righteousness of their own.
And that happens every time. If you're really ignorant as
to the true righteous character of God, you will think that you
can do something to please God. You will think that you can actually
live a life and come up to the standard that God requires, not
realizing that God's righteousness and holiness demands absolute
perfection, not in outward deeds, but in the heart. You see, it
starts in the heart first. If it's not right in the heart,
it's not going to come out right. You can't make it right in deeds
if it's not right in its beginning. If the root is not right, the
fruit can't be right. That's what our Lord teaches. If the tree's corrupt, the fruit's
corrupt. So they were religious. When the synagogue was opened,
they were there. They went through their ceremonies,
their sacrifices. Those Pharisees, they dressed
in their phylacteries, and they stood on the corners, and they
prayed, and they looked. Boy, they just looked so saved. And they were so lost. They were
so lost. And the Lord applies this first
of the unclean spirit going out of a man to them, but he uses
this And it's applicable to everyone. It just makes a false profession,
it's a false reformation, just being religious, and it's not
a real possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now they accused
him, after he cast out this devil, they accused him of casting out
the devil by the prince of the devil, Beelzebub, that he was
in league with the devil. and the Lord corrected them and
showed them their ignorance because if satan cast out satan a kingdom
divided against itself can't stand a house divided against
itself that house cannot stand it can't stand and and and the house cannot
be taken over unless the stronger man than the one who possesses
the house comes in takes the house over the strong man keeps
his house You know, Luke calls it his palace. He calls it his
palace. He keeps it until a stronger
man can come in and take it over. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
the stronger man. Satan is the strong man. That's
not me and you. Let's not flatter ourselves.
Let's not believe our own hype. We're not the stronger man. Satan
is the stronger man. He's the strong man. We're not
the strong man. Satan is. And we'll see this
here in a minute. He's the strong man. Jesus Christ
is the stronger man. And if he comes in, he takes
over the house and he is the only one who can come in and
drive Satan out. He's the only one. So we pick up here over in verse
43, when the unclean spirit This unclean spirit is the devil,
it's Satan. There's nothing good in him,
about him. Satan is pure evil from top to
bottom. If God did not stop him, if he
did not put a check on him, He would make us wallow in pain
and misery and agony and enjoy every second of it. If you ever
find yourself, if I ever find myself enjoying somebody else's
pain, an enemy, you say, I would never do that. Yeah, well, just
so that somebody that's hurt you or touched your children,
And then let them get in trouble and you're like, boy, you deserve
that one. That's satanic. He enjoys our
pain. He enjoys it. There's nothing good in him.
He's a foul spirit. Always, always doing evil. He never sleeps. He never rests. He's doing evil. And it says
here, when the unclean spirit, when the devil's gone out of
a man, and this tells me that he's allowed to go in and out
of the unregenerate. The unregenerate, he's allowed
to go in and out of. In fact, it's called his house,
his house. And he's gone out, and I believe
the reason he's gone out is seeking someone else to devour. Seeking to take over another
one of his houses. You know, he going over to check
this house. You know, he got houses all over this world. You
know, Satan is not, listen, he's not God. He's not omnipresent. He can't be everywhere at the
same time. The scripture says he's like a roaring lion walking
about seeking whom he may what? Devour. Like a hungry lion he's
looking for someone to eat and destroy and bring their life
into the dust. That's his total intention is
to do that. That's what it says over in 1
Peter 5a. Like a roaring lion walking about
seeking whom he may devour. When he came before the Lord
in the book of Job. God asked him where he'd been.
He said, I've been walking to and fro in the earth. This is
his domain. He said, I've been walking to
and fro in the earth. What's he doing that for? Is
he just sightseeing? No, he's seeking whom he may
devour. He's seeking whom he may devour.
What home he can destroy. What witness he can destroy.
That's what he's doing. That's what he's doing. He's
crafty. He's crafty. He's a lot crafter
than we are. He knows our weakness. He knows
what the chink in the armor is. He knows what my weakness is.
He knows where it is. He knows me better than I know
me. That's why in the Lord's prayer, or in the disciple's
prayer, deliver us, lead us not into temptations. You know, that's, I heard someone
say, we like temptations. You know, we think of hardships
and trials. No, temptation is the ice cream I don't need to
eat. We like temptations. Lord, don't lead me into that,
because I'll fall. There's a part of me that likes that. Deliver
me from temptation. Don't let me go in that direction. He's gone out of a man, and listen,
he's gone out for a time. He'll be back. He'll be back.
He's not worried about you unless the Lord begins to work on you. He's not worried about, he's
got the key to the house. He calls it his house. If you'll notice, he says, he's
gone out of a man, not driven out as Christ drove out the devil
from the possessed man. He can never come back to that
man. When the Lord said, get out of here. When he dispossessed
that man and that devil, the devil can never come back to
that man. That's the Lord's house. The stronger man has taken over
the house. He cannot come back and possess
you again. The Lord has you. You're the temple of the Holy
Spirit. But I'll tell you what, outside of that you're the temple
of Satan. You're the dwelling place of Satan, the evil spirit. It's his house and he comes and
goes as he will. As I read to you over here in
Ephesians, look in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. It says, you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sins, verse one, wherein in time
past you walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air. That's your life outside
of Christ. Everyone's life is according
to the prince of the power of the air. The spirit, the evil spirit,
that unclean spirit we are reading about, The spirit that now works,
worketh means continual, is a continual work. In the children of disobedience,
unregenerate, don't believe God, Satan is at work in every one
of them. Spirit of disobedience. The devil here, he'll let men
and women make religious professions. Here's what's so interesting.
These Pharisees were accusing Christ of casting out devils
by the prince of the devils, and they are the ones who are
the devils. I like what Joe Terrell said one time. He said the spirit
of Antichrist is leading the search for Antichrist. You know,
if you Get on these, listen to some of these TV preachers. They
get on this, this thing of the Antichrist is coming and trying
to find out who the Antichrist is. I'm not concerned who he
is. I'm concerned who Jesus Christ is. I'm concerned who the Christ
is. But the Antichrist, the spirit
of Antichrist leads you in the search for the Antichrist. You're
not looking at Christ. You've taken your eyes off of
the one who is, who is our help. and hope and life. I'm not concerned
about the Antichrist, I'm concerned about Jesus Christ. But he'll
let men and women make a religious profession as long as they don't
have a real possession of Christ. It don't matter, get religious. It don't matter, not to him.
In fact, you're even more lost in religion than you would be
if he was in a bar. I'd rather be lost in a bar than
lost in a church. Sitting around thinking that
I'm already fixed up. I know a man, not too long ago,
he was telling my brother, he said, he said, well, I know I'm
saved. And I know the gospel. Listen,
I'm being serious here. I know the gospel he believes.
I know what he believes. I know what he believes. And
it's not the gospel of God. It's not the gospel. It's not
the gospel of free grace. It's the gospel that Jesus Christ
wants to save you if you'll let him. It's the gospel that he
died for everybody, even the ones in hell. That's not the
gospel. And that is a false refuge. And
I tell you what, boy, you give somebody a false
refuge, that's double trouble, double trouble. Now it says he's gone out and
he says he walks through dry places. He's active. He's active. You know, you and
I, tonight, for me anyway, 10, 30, I've got to go to bed. I've got to go to sleep. Not
him. Not him. He's still looking for
somebody to devour. He's out there looking for somebody
to devour. He's active. He's never idle. He never sits
idly by. And he walks through dry places, places where there's no water,
no water of life. But he walks through these dry
places seeking rest, and he finds none. Satan is a restless spirit. You know, Paul speaks in Philippians
about being content in the Lord Jesus Christ. Finding real contentment
in Christ, whether I have little or whether I have much. Paul
said, I have learned, and listen, this matter of contentment in
Christ is learned. It's not just like that. He said,
I have learned in whatsoever state I'm in. If God has put
me in prison, If God has made my bread to be very little today,
or if God has put me at the palace and I'm preaching in the palace
and I'm eating well, I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith
to be content. To be content, not restless,
content. Because I tell you what, tomorrow
your state's going to change. And if you have no real contentment
in Christ, you're going to just be messed up. It's gonna be a
good day, bad day, good day, bad day, you know, just she loves
me, she loves me not. Like pull off a little daisy,
leaves, flowers. If you find, you and I find real
contentment in Christ, we can find rest no matter what the
day brings. We can find it in Christ. But
here he finds no rest. And it means this, he's seeking
satisfaction He can find no refreshment. You see, the scripture says that
mischief with evil is a sport. It's a sport. It's a sport. It's
like you enjoy entertainment. You enjoy watching sports. You
enjoy playing sports. It said with the wicked, mischief
is a sport. And Satan is not, he finds no
rest unless he is in some kind of mischief. He can find some
kind of mischief going on. He can find no refreshment. He
can find no refreshment. He can find no satisfaction except
in the wickedness of the human heart. Manipulating it, destroying
it, bringing it down. He's like this, he's like, that
just makes my day. Dirty Harriet. At 44, he said,
go ahead and make my day. That's Satan's attitude. Unless he's bringing somebody
down and causing mischief, that's what makes his day. Well, he
can find no rest. And that's like the Israelites,
especially at that time. There was no rest. That's why
they were in bondage to ceremonies and all these All these do's
and don'ts and all these traditions that they added on to everything
else. There's no rest. Tell you what, when you find
no rest, you find no rest whatsoever, you can be sure the Lord's not
there. Cause he's the spirit of rest. Then he said, this unclean
spirit, the devil says, I will return into my my house. He left him alone for
a while. He said, I'm going to go back.
I'm going to return to my house. Whence I came out. Then he saith, I will. He takes
counsel with himself. That's just a fool taking counsel
with himself. But he says, I'm going to go
back to my house. He returns to his house. He has a lot of
houses across this world. Men and women of this world,
they're not their own. They're not their own. Satan comes and goes as he wants,
as God allows him to. All false religion is his house. All false religion is his house.
There are a lot of services going on this morning, a lot of them. A lot of them satanic. Paul said
he'll come preaching another gospel, another Jesus. That's satanic. Just because
a man takes a Bible and he uses the name Jesus Christ does not
mean he's preaching the truth. That's why John said, try the
spirits, try those who are standing preaching to you, whether they
be of God. The only way to try them is by
the word of God. That's how. It's by the word
of God. He returns when he will and he
takes the house back over. Look over in 2 Timothy. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, let me make sure I get this right.
In 2 Timothy chapter 2, look at verse 24. And the servant
of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt
to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose
themselves. if God for adventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may
recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken
captive by him at his will. Hear that TV preacher say, tell
the devil to be gone. He's laughing at you. He's laughing. He's laughing. Only Christ can
say, be gone. Christ is the only one to cast
him out. Look here in 2 Timothy chapter
3. This explains Israel and this
explains a false profession without possession
of Christ. Having a form, in verse 5, 2
Timothy 3, 5, having a form of godliness but denying the power
thereof from such turn away. They have the form of it, but
they deny the power of it. There's no salvation in it. They
just have the outward form of it. It's like the grave, you
know, it's got that wide, Christ said to those Pharisees, you're
like whited sepulchers. You're white, you're beautiful on the
outside, but on the inside, you're full of dead men bones. And he comes and he takes the
house back over. He finds it empty, unoccupied. Empty, oh, unoccupied. Empty of real conversion. Empty
of real grace. Empty of real salvation. Empty. Nobody's there. Nobody home.
Nobody home. thought of Simon Maggis over
in Acts chapter 8. He heard, I believe it was Peter,
preach him. And it says he believed and was
baptized. There was a bunch of them. He got caught up, what
it is, he got caught up in all that was going on and the emotion
of it and the atmosphere of it. And he, you know, he said he believed and was baptized. And later on when he saw the
The laying on of hands that they were giving the Holy Ghost by
the laying on of hands, he said, he pulled out his billfold. He
said, hey, let me buy that. Oh, let me pay you for that.
Because he was a sorcerer anyway, he made his living like that.
And he offered to buy the gifts of the Holy Ghost. And Peter
said, your heart's not right with God. Your money perished
with you. He too had a form of godliness,
but denied the power thereof. Salvation is a real possession
of Jesus Christ. And when the stronger man takes
over the house, that house is his. That house is his. And that house won't be the same.
It'd not be the same. And notice here, he says he finds
it empty, unoccupied, and swept. Swept. Not cleansed, just kind
of swept, the floor been swept. Not thoroughly cleansed, been swept. An attempt at reformation
made. The man straightened up for a
while. He straightened up for a while.
And I've seen this, I've seen people I've worked with, David said in Psalm 51, wash
me throughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Wash
me inside and out. There's a difference between
sweat and cleanse, the house being clean. And garnish, it was furnished,
there was some furniture in it. I tell you what, those Pharisees,
they look sane. Boy, they look sane. They had their scriptures written.
They had down on the bottom of their factory, they'd have scriptures
down there. You see people now, they wear
shirts and they'll have scriptures up on them. Wear crosses. They got all the outward paraphernalia. That's what he said. They have
all, it's garnished. There's some furniture there. but they don't
have Christ. And that's why he's saying to
Israel there and those Pharisees, you have the furnishings, you
look, you're religious, you've got all the outward show and
signs, but you're empty. You're empty. And he goes in, he says, he goes
in and he takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked
than himself, more self-righteous, more arrogant, More pride, and
really it's more of whatever man, whatever someone was given
to, it's just more of it. With Satan, the more evil, the
merrier. And I think it's interesting,
he says, he takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself. More wicked. They're gonna do his bidding. Evil comes back, listen, evil
comes back with increased power. It's as if the Lord is saying,
you know, he's held Satan at bay. He's speaking here to these
Pharisees. He's in Israel and he's held
him at bay. He's going to die. He's going
to go back to glory. And it's like, it's like Satan's going
to come back and take the house over. And the, and the last end
of them is going to be worse than the beginning. In 70 AD,
they were just decimated. Evil comes back with increased
power. Someone said, and I thought this was good, he says, like
taking steel, you just keep bending it back and forth, back and forth,
until it just gets so weak that there's no more resistance. No
more resistance. And they enter in, and listen,
it says they dwell there. They've taken that house over.
They've taken it over. And you know what? The person
or the religious organization doesn't even know it. When our Lord went over to the
land of the Gadarenes and that man was possessed, you go back
and you read that, you have a hard time telling who's talking, the
man or the devils. And every time a possessed person
was ever brought to Christ, they never said, Lord, cast this devil
out of me. They always said, get away from
me. What do we have to do with you? They were in league. They're
one. They go in, they dwell there.
They become one until, and here's the good news. The good news
is until the stronger man comes and takes that house over. This
is my house. This is my son. This is my daughter. It's mine. In the last state of that man,
he says worse than the first. Peter said in 2 Peter 2, it's
better not to have known the way of righteousness than to
have known it and leave it. Now, people who've known the
way of righteousness, so they become religious, They don't
just pack up their bags and become atheists. They don't just become
atheists. They just become more religious. They just get more and more grounded
into false religion, false faith. You have to get more grounded
in it. Our Lord is saying this was the
real state of the... He's saying to these Jews, this
is your old condition. You're religious. You're religious,
but you're lost. You're religious, but you're
lost. But God does have a people. Listen. He does have a people,
and I'm going to be short on this one. While he talked, while
he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brother
stood out. They wanted to speak to him.
They said, tell him we're outside. Now, he's going to say, excuse
me, mom's outside. I gotta go talk to Mary. She
wants me. She's knocking. I gotta go. No,
he stopped them. He said, hold on here now. Because
they interrupted him. It'd be like somebody coming
in the door and saying, John, your mother's on the phone. I'll
say, OK, hold on. Hold on a minute. I'll be back.
No, he says, no, hold on here a minute. Hold on here a minute. Let me tell you who my mother,
my brother, and my sisters are. Let me tell you who God's family
is. It's not these Pharisees. It's not these God-hating religious
Pharisees and self-righteous. He said, it's everyone who does
the will of my Father. The same as, for whosoever shall
do the will of my Father. You know what that is? It's everyone
who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. They said, what must
we do to work the works of God? He said, this is the work of
God, that you believe on him whom he has sent. You believe the gospel. You're his children. You're his
children. Not everyone that makes a profession.
Not everyone that's religious and uses the word of God, uses
the Bible. It's everyone who bows to, loves,
looks to Jesus Christ alone. They are my mothers, my brothers,
my sisters. That's my family. That's my family. They are the true children of
God. God has his family. And it's
probably not who you think it is. They thought it was those Pharisees.
No, they're not the ones. It's the ones who believe and
obey. They are my family. Well, I sure pray God enabled
me and you to just believe and look to the Lord Jesus Christ
alone. I don't want to be religious.
I'd rather be a drunk. than just be religious. I would,
I'm telling you the truth. You may think I'm nuts, but I
would. I would rather be a dope addict
than to be a religious addict without Christ. Now listen, without
Jesus Christ, I would. Because there's nothing more
obnoxious to God than a self-righteous person. robbing God of His glory, who
He is. All right.