March 11, 2023 - Just Informed Talk - Craig James
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| Hi and welcome to another God's Grace is Greater segment where we do a deep dive into scripture. | |
| We're picking up right where we left off. | |
| We're in Luke chapter 11 starting in verse 29 and we're reading about this interesting exchange where Jesus talks about The signs that people are rejecting and unable to see because of their inability to recognize the power of God standing right before them. | |
| And then Jesus talks about the light that is inside us all and what we're meant to do with it. | |
| And these are powerful verses and it's picking up right where we left off. | |
| You know, we left off with Jesus being confronted by the scribes and the Pharisees about After he had cast out a demon, he was accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the devil. | |
| And he basically destroys the logic behind that, saying that a house divided against itself cannot stand, suggesting that why would Satan go against his own demons through Jesus? | |
| And he suggests actually and tells us in no uncertain terms that That he was able to overcome and conquer the demons not because he was working for the devil but because he is working with God through God in him who is stronger than the devil and Satan. | |
| So that is where we left off and where we're picking up is in this interesting exchange as it continues where the crowds are increasing around him and There's this exchange with him in the crowds that's fascinating, talking about the sign of Jonah, and then we're going to talk about the light inside. | |
| So let's go ahead and read here in Luke 11, chapter 11, verse 29 through 36. | |
| Let's read here. | |
| says as the crowds were increasing he began saying this generation is an evil generation it demands a sign but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah for just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh so also must the Son of Man be to this generation the Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and And look, something greater than Solomon is here. | |
| The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at Jonah's proclamation. | |
| And look, something greater than Jonah is here. | |
| No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light. | |
| Your eye is the lamp of the body. | |
| When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. | |
| But when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. | |
| Take care then that the light in you is not darkness. | |
| If therefore your whole body is full of light with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated as when a lamp shines its light on you. | |
| Now, I love these verses because there's so much profound wisdom always in all of the words. | |
| But in this particular section here where Jesus is essentially rebuking the crowd that has challenged him, the scribes, when they accused him of driving out a demon just before this in the name of Beelzebub by the power of the devil, essentially... | |
| And he breaks their logic by saying that a house divided can never stand. | |
| They also insist that Jesus give them a sign from God that he is ordained to have this power. | |
| Now, they weren't doing it because they genuinely wanted to believe in Jesus. | |
| They were doing it because they feared Jesus' authority through God and the challenge to their authority as men on earth over those who follow the religion that they were trying to sell to the public of the day. | |
| And in the same way here, he goes on chastising the individuals who are calling on him to present a sign to prove he was Jesus because they were just trying to trap him in his own words. | |
| He says this generation is an evil generation. | |
| He says it demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. | |
| Now, if you guys don't know the story of Jonah, it's a fascinating story, but essentially Jonah is tasked by God to go to a city to prophecy in his name. | |
| And what does Jonah do? | |
| Jonah gets scared. | |
| Jonah doesn't go to the city. | |
| And what happens to Jonah? | |
| Well, you guys have probably heard the story of Jonah and the whale. | |
| He was swallowed by a whale or a fish, a giant fish. | |
| And he was basically inside of the fish for three days and nights. | |
| And then he was brought back to life, to the surface. | |
| And he went and he prophesied to the people of Nineveh. | |
| And with that story of God's grace and his mercy and allowing Jonah, who... | |
| Refuse God's will at first, but then was saved by him through this hard time that he had to face. | |
| They believed in him. | |
| And he gives the other example here about the Queen of the South who went to seek the wisdom of Solomon. | |
| When she found out of the power of God. | |
| And in both stories, what Jesus is trying to show here, first, the comparison to Jonah is similar to Jesus in that he's saying that as Jonah was swallowed by the whale and basically held under the water for three days and nights until he was finally brought back to the surface so that he could complete the journey and the task which God gave him before it all, That in the same way Jesus was about to suffer in a similar way, he was going to be crucified. | |
| He was going to be buried for three days, and then he was going to rise from the dead to deliver us from our sin and give us our eternal salvation. | |
| And he says, the men of Nineveh will rise up to the judgment of this generation, condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation, and look, something greater than Jonah's here. | |
| He's saying, and even those from Jonah's, or the men of Nineveh, those who were listening to Jonah as his proclamation, that they will condemn this generation, because they... | |
| Are ignoring Jesus standing in front of God in flesh, the Messiah. | |
| Finally, he says, So, what is he teaching us? | |
| He's teaching us that once the light of God is in us, once we're filled with the Holy Spirit, we don't hide it. | |
| I know that when I was saved recently, and I say recently, it may have been a few years, five years, six years, when I was finally saved by God again in the way that I had always had faith, but I lost my way. | |
| And then when I was a young adult, he came and God showed me. | |
| It was almost like an instant where God just came and I saw the light, and I was saved by God's grace. | |
| And then what did I do immediately though? | |
| The first thing I did was I started sharing the word with others. | |
| It wasn't because I thought, oh I have to share it or else I won't be saved. | |
| It wasn't because I felt guilty that I had been saved and others hadn't. | |
| It was because I had been given the greatest gift on earth. | |
| A chance at eternal salvation. | |
| With a savior who loves me. | |
| Whose grace and mercy can save my life. | |
| And all I wanted to do from that moment on was to share that with others. | |
| And just in that same way, Jesus teaches us that once we have that light in us, we shouldn't hide it. | |
| We should share it as a lamp on a lampstand is put out for all to see. | |
| Because he says that your eye is the lamp of your body. | |
| He says, and that's a window into your soul, as some people say. | |
| And he says, if you're filled with things that are good, then your whole body is full of light. | |
| But if you're filled with things that are bad, then your whole body is full of darkness, and there is no light that can shine. | |
| So he tells us and warns us to take care then that the light that is in us is not darkness, rather that it is full of light, with no part living in darkness. | |
| Because in that moment, everything will be clear, illuminated as it says, as when a lamp shines its light on you. | |
| So take care and remember that our light is meant to shine into the world. | |
| And if you feel like your heart is clouded with darkness, this is your opportunity to let it all go. | |
| To give your life over to Christ. | |
| To turn and accept Him as your Savior. | |
| I always say that God is never leaving us. | |
| He's always coming toward us. | |
| But, if we're always going away from God, if we're always moving away from God, if we're always saying, just hold on God, I'll be there in a minute, and you're going in the opposite direction, then God's never going to catch you. | |
| He's never going to find you. | |
| That relationship's never going to happen. | |
| You can do this one simple thing. | |
| Stop where you are. | |
| Turn around and pray. | |
| Open your heart to God. | |
| Give your life to Him. | |
| Let Him show you what power really is. | |
| What truth really is. | |
| What eternal salvation feels like. | |
| And I guarantee you, just as Jesus tells us about this lamp being put out for all to see... | |
| You will want to do nothing other than share this light into the world and help others find the grace of God for themselves so that they will in turn do the same thing for others. | |
| So let's go ahead and say a prayer. | |
| Lord and Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. | |
| We thank you for all of your many gifts. | |
| We pray that you allow us to let our light shine into the world. | |
| We pray, Lord, that you'll help those out there Thank you for this day and every day, | |
| and most of all, our eternal salvation. | |
| In Jesus' name, amen. | |
| All right, well, I hope you enjoyed that episode. | |
| Remember, there are links below on how you can share this. | |
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| So with that being said, we're going to sign off there. | |
| Thanks for watching this episode. | |
| By the way, no show tomorrow for everybody expecting on Rumble. | |
| There probably won't be a show tomorrow, but there might be, so who knows? | |
| As we'll keep you guessing. | |
| But other than that, thanks for watching. | |
| We'll see you in the next one. | |
| Until then, my name is Craig. |
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