Scripture: Mark 3 v 22 - 30: "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."
Our Heavenly Father declared that Jesus Christ is His Son in whom He is well-pleased and that people should hear what He has to say. Jesus was, is, and will always be, the perfect Son of God.
There were 333 prophecies by Old Testament prophets concerning every aspect of the Messiah to come, the Saviour, the Anointed One. Every one of them was fulfilled in one person, Jesus Christ. It is inconceivable that people would say these were coincidences! But they do. They claim that The Bible is unreliable as it contains contradictions! This is usually said by those who have never studied it nor tested it.
God speaks to us out of His Word and through the Holy Spirit. When you have followed His instructions and seen Him carry out His promises every day for over 40 years you know that every word He spoke and which was written for us, is true, alive and powerful. Don't tell me about contradictions, if you have found one bring it into the light to be examined.
Jesus went about Israel and parts of Samaria preaching about the Kingdom of God being not of this world. He healed the sick and cast out demons. In His home town of Nazareth He could only heal a few people, because there was so much unbelief. It takes faith in God to believe He has healed you. If He delivers you from bad habits and you believe you kicked them by your own self-will, you will never have true peace and those bad habits may creep back in.
When Jesus was on Earth in Jerusalem the Pharisees hated Him because He was offending their laws by healing people on the Sabbath or Seventh Day. He was preaching against their religiosity and severe rules and showing them up as hypocrites. They were losing people who left the Pharisees to follow Him. They needed to discredit Him and prove Him a fraud.
They started mocking Him and saying that He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub, a powerful demon also known as the Prince of Demons, a spirit with high authority. Jesus responded that if Satan was casting out his own demons his kingdom would collapse. He told these detractors that because they said His ministry was the work of the Devil and they accused Him of having an unclean spirit, that they had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit which would never be forgiven by God.
And early this very morning a prominent South African Socialist, Zwelinzima Vavi, had this to say about Christianity on social media: "The hope is what keeps billions in church every Sunday hoping that the day is nearing when the “Son of the Man” will arrive to flatten the earth and that all who believed in Him will grow wings and fly to meet him in the skies."
Now this is mockery but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, for Jesus said people would be forgiven for insulting Him and even blasphemous use of His name, but those who say that the anointing upon Him from the Holy Spirit, and the miracles of healing and deliverance are the works of demons, that is the unforgivable sin.
However, I hope Vavi knows the reality of Mark 3 v 25 which says a house divided against itself cannot stand. He is writing about the sad collapse of the African National Congress, the ruling party of South Africa, which is so internally divided that it cannot last much longer.
To those who judge anointed ministers of God, who are doing the will of God, as being under Satan's control, is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and means that their hope of salvation could be lost forever. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, the Judge, and accuse His Son of being inspired by Satan. Sadly, this is happening today and those who continue to put Jesus Christ, and His true followers, down as evil, will stand before Him one day and hear Him condemn them to eternity with the Devil for causing many to believe their lies.
Jesus said of Himself - I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, and no-one comes to the Father except through Me. We need to be very clear about this in our own hearts and minds so that our understanding is not compromised. We are either following Jesus by walking in His footprints through Minefield Earth, or we are deceiving ourselves.
Every day, every where the world, Satan's kingdom, is crumbling. There are wars, famines, plagues, economic crises, hatred, racism, corruption in high places, cults, religions, terror etc. Fear is all around. Millions have no jobs and many turn to crime to survive. Lawlessness and anarchy are more prominent every year. This world is in the exact state Jesus described in Matthew 24 nearly 2000 years ago.
He said when you see these troubles arising know that the end of the world is near. To my mind global warming is really Jesus getting nearer. Things are hotting up - the very things He created are responding to His nearness. Those who said He was unclean are running to hide under rocks to escape their judgment. Nothing and no-one will be able to hide from Him.
Jesus is coming back! Not too long from now we are going to see our King and reign with Him in glory. He said so and His words are truth. All we can do is be witnesses to His life within us and share it with those who don't know Him yet. Our witness is to do what He did, and even greater things than He did, so the unbelievers would have a chance to change their minds.
Let us worship and love God with all our hearts and understanding. Let us praise Him for all He has done for us. Let us obey His word and personal guidance to do the perfect will of the Father. Let us never accuse Him of being unclean.
Jesus said He would always be with us even when problems and hardships arise. He will show us how to overcome them and always cause us to triumph over them.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have already started dividing the righteous sheep from the unclean goats. In Revelations 22 You say that the righteous will become more righteous and the filthy become more filthy. The time for choosing to escape from darkness will soon be over. Let Your Word shine forth while there is still opportunity to heed it. Open their ears and eyes Lord to perceive Your Kingdom. In Jesus' name. Amen.
