The NXR Podcast - September 22, 2025


THE SERMON - They Will Not Believe Jesus Because They HATE Jesus

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Episode Stats


Length

52 minutes

Words per minute

135.47

Word count

7,084

Sentence count

382

Harmful content

Misogyny

11

sentences flagged

Toxicity

31

sentences flagged

Hate speech

92

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, Pastor Ken continues our series on the Gospel According to Matthew 12:38-42. In this message, we discuss the three components of faith and how they are necessary to understand what it means to be a Christian.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00 Leave us a five-star review on your favorite podcast platform.
00:00:03 I get it.
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00:00:16 You and I both know that this ministry is willing to talk about things that most ministries
00:00:20 aren't.
00:00:21 We need this content for the glory of God to reach more people's ears.
00:00:27 Amen.
00:00:28 Please join me in standing for the reading of God's Word.
00:00:31 Our text for today is the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 42.
00:00:36 Again, that's the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 42.
00:00:40 I'll read our text in its entirety.
00:00:42 When I finish reading the text, I'm going to ask that you would respond by saying, thanks be to God.
00:00:47 One final time, our text is Matthew chapter 12, verses 38 through 42.
00:00:53 The Bible says this.
00:00:54 then some of the scribes and pharisees said teacher we wish to see a sign from you but he 0.87
00:01:01 answered them an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign but no sign will be given to it
00:01:10 except the sign of the prophet jonah for just as jonah was three days and three nights in the belly 0.98
00:01:16 of the great fish so the son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth
00:01:22 the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for they 0.70
00:01:29 repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold something greater than Jonah is here the queen 0.79
00:01:36 of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for she came from
00:01:43 the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold something greater than Solomon
00:01:49 is here. This is the word of the Lord. All right, please be seated. Let's dive in.
00:01:56 Two primary principles that I want us to see from our text today.
00:02:02 In the first half of the text, verses 38, 39, and 40, the big idea is this. You will not believe
00:02:10 what you hate. If you hate something, you won't believe it. You won't believe it's real. You
00:02:17 won't believe it exists, and you certainly will not trust it. The Reformed tradition holds that 1.00
00:02:23 faith is comprised of at least three elements. One is the intellectual ascent, knowledge. That
00:02:32 is a component of true faith. You have to know something. You have to know it, right? So there's
00:02:38 an intellectual ascent, but faith, true saving faith, Christian faith, is not less than intellectual
00:02:47 ascent but it is in fact far more right it's not less but it is more so there's a sense of knowledge
00:02:56 but there's also a sense of uh in addition to knowledge um assent agreement giving your
00:03:06 affirmation to the thing that you know right and the third component knowledge assent and then
00:03:12 lastly personal implicit trust trust knowledge assent and trust to illustrate these three
00:03:22 components when it comes to faith you can give this example think of a heretical doctrine right
00:03:30 let's make the argument from something that we know as christians is not true not only is it not
00:03:36 true, but it's actually damnable. It's something that is poison. Well, I know the prosperity 0.98
00:03:44 gospel. I know it, but I do not give my assent, my affirmation, and I certainly am not placing
00:03:54 my personal trust in those doctrines. I'm not betting the farm on the health and wealth
00:04:02 prosperity gospel. I'm not going to allow my soul to hang in the balance on those precepts,
00:04:10 trusting in that for my eternal salvation and well-being. But I know it. I can articulate
00:04:17 word of faith theology better than a lot of word of faith pastors, because it seems as though a
00:04:25 prerequisite for being a word of faith pastor is to have below an 85 iq so i i know those doctrines
00:04:32 better than they do and i can probably articulate those doctrines better than they do but i don't
00:04:38 have faith in the prosperity gospel because faith is not merely knowledge it includes knowledge
00:04:45 but it's not merely knowledge faith according to the reformed tradition is knowledge assent
00:04:54 and trust. Now, the second component, you can have knowledge. That's an example of me having
00:05:00 knowledge, but not giving my affirmation. I don't agree. So I know the doctrines of the prosperity
00:05:06 gospel, but I do not agree with them. I believe they're false. And I certainly am not personally
00:05:12 trusting in them. But you can actually not only have the first component of faith while lacking
00:05:19 the next two but you could actually have the first and second component of faith while lacking the
00:05:26 third so here would be another example the demons demons know that god is triune they know that god
00:05:38 the eternal god the only god that is exists in three persons they know this and begrudgingly
00:05:45 albeit, while kicking and screaming, screeching into the void, they give their assent to that
00:05:56 knowledge. They know God is triune. They know that God is holy, holy, holy. They know many
00:06:03 attributes of God. And they not only know these things, they actually assent to these things.
00:06:10 they do agree they not only know it's true but they agree that it's true but they're not trusting
00:06:19 in jesus they don't trust god at a personal level they don't have implicit trust in the triune god
00:06:27 they know he exists they agree he exists and they hate him they hate him so faith is knowledge
00:06:38 assent, and trust. I know something. I know the details. There is an intellectual component of
00:06:46 knowledge. I assent to it. I don't just know about it. I know about evolution, but I don't
00:06:52 assent to it. There's all sorts of absurdities that we know. I know that some people out there
00:07:03 think that fish eventually turn into people, but I don't agree. I appreciate it. It's good to have
00:07:12 a good laugh every now and then, but I certainly don't agree. And I'm certainly not personally
00:07:18 trusting in the doctrines of macro evolution. Certainly not. So again, faith, true Christian
00:07:28 saving faith knowledge i know the intellectual components the tenets i agree i don't just know
00:07:37 about them but i agree i've given my ascent and at a personal level i'm betting the house
00:07:43 i'm betting the house i actually am putting my life on the line for these things that's faith
00:07:54 and you will not believe something that you hate you won't because you can't and when i say right
00:08:04 there in your notes roman numeral number one we haven't gotten very far i'll get there you will
00:08:08 not believe what you hate when i say the word believe there i'm talking about faith christian
00:08:14 faith as i've just defined it so including in that word believe i'm including all three of the
00:08:21 elements, including particularly that third one, personal implicit trust. You will not believe
00:08:28 what you hate. Or to say it more particularly, you will not personally trust Jesus if you hate
00:08:35 Jesus. And the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes and the religious rulers,
00:08:41 all these Jewish leaders in Israel at the time, hated Jesus. Absolutely hated him.
00:08:51 And that's why they would not believe in him.
00:08:55 And that's why they demand that he produce for them on the spot.
00:09:01 Think of the audacity, the arrogance.
00:09:06 You have the son of God incarnate, deity, wrapped in flesh, standing in front of you.
00:09:12 And you're telling him to produce parlor tricks at your authority, at your will.
00:09:20 that would already be absurd but couple that with the fact that jesus has been by this time
00:09:29 performing miracles in front of their faces day after day after day they've already seen signs
00:09:38 they've seen plenty they've seen the sick healed the blind see the deaf hear the lame walk they've
00:09:50 seen demons exercised and cast out. They've seen all these signs. They've seen food multiplied
00:09:59 miraculously for thousands. And yet they're still demanding a sign. But the reality is that even if
00:10:09 Jesus on the spot produced a sign for them, they would not believe. They would not believe in Jesus
00:10:16 because you cannot believe in that or who you hate.
00:10:22 They hate Jesus.
00:10:24 And if it was merely a matter of evidence,
00:10:27 well, then they would already be followers of Jesus.
00:10:30 Because by this time, plentiful evidence
00:10:34 has been generously and graciously provided.
00:10:39 In your notes, I've written this.
00:10:40 Once again, we see the spiritual blindness
00:10:42 and hostility of the Pharisees.
00:10:44 these religious men are so puffed up with their own righteousness that they would demand signs
00:10:50 from the Son of God himself. They cry out, Teacher, we wish to see a sign, as if Christ had not already
00:10:56 healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and preached the gospel of the kingdom.
00:11:02 Their hearts were hardened, just like Pharaoh, who saw the mighty hand of God and yet still
00:11:08 refused to repent. Remember, Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, in the Old Testament,
00:11:15 Pharaoh, in his hardened heart, continues to hate the God of Israel.
00:11:22 Even after miraculous signs have been performed ten times. Ten times.
00:11:31 Right? We know this. Right? We have the Ten Commandments, but we also have the Ten Plagues.
00:11:38 god had performed many signs and wonders and pharaoh had personally witnessed them all
00:11:47 and yet he would not repent and this is key he also could not repent he could not
00:11:57 in fact in the new testament and commentating on pharaoh and what god performed all these
00:12:04 miraculous works in egypt the new testament tells us for this reason i raised you up
00:12:11 so that i might display my power think about this for a moment god the infinite one the omnipotent
00:12:22 one all power all powerful how can god ever when it comes to wanting to show his power his authority
00:12:32 His majesty against an opponent of his.
00:12:36 How can God ever really manifest or display
00:12:39 his power against an opponent?
00:12:42 If you're infinite, all your opponents are ants.
00:12:47 Right? I mean, how impressed would you be
00:12:49 if right after church I took you outside and I said,
00:12:51 you want to see something cool? Watch this.
00:12:54 And I stepped on a bug.
00:12:56 That's your pastor.
00:12:59 Pretty threatening, huh?
00:13:01 pretty impressive right that's you know my two-year-old son might be excited might be excited
00:13:08 about it but even then he'd only be excited because he knows he can do it too it's not unique
00:13:14 so then how does god show off his power when it comes to opposing an enemy well because he's
00:13:21 omnipotent because he's infinite and all his opponents by comparison are mere ants what god
00:13:27 has to do is to show off his left hook he has to hold up his opponent also at the same time with
00:13:32 his right hand he literally has to prop up his enemy just so he can display his offensive power
00:13:39 and that's what the scripture is saying in the new testament when it commentates on pharaoh
00:13:45 in the book of exodus in the 10 plagues of egypt for this reason i raised you up it's not merely
00:13:51 talking about the fact that providentially pharaoh was raised up to become the ruler of egypt
00:13:56 at that time but it's also saying that god did a supernatural work in pharaoh's heart
00:14:02 what was that supernatural work he supernaturally hardened his heart and produced a supernatural
00:14:12 rebellion in pharaoh so that after 10 plagues he would still after losing his firstborn son
00:14:21 The Nile has been turned to blood.
00:14:24 Egypt is decimated. 0.98
00:14:26 And the Israelites have now exited Egypt and taken all their gold. 0.92
00:14:32 And after all of that complete decimation, 0.80
00:14:36 through miraculous means,
00:14:39 and not random miraculous means,
00:14:40 but each of these ten plagues,
00:14:43 the God of Israel showcasing His power over each of the gods of the Egyptians. 0.78
00:14:48 Oh, you have the Nile God?
00:14:50 i'm stronger than him oh you have a god of frogs a god of flies i'm stronger than them 0.97
00:14:58 so god has not just decimated egypt by this point he has humiliated egypt 0.84
00:15:05 he's humiliated all of their false gods all of their false worship all of their idolatry 0.88
00:15:13 all of their paganism all their perversion has been decimated destroyed and shamed 0.98
00:15:20 humiliated how in the world after all of that your kingdom lying in ruins and your 0.92
00:15:30 son dead but his body still warm how would you muster the will to say after 0.99
00:15:39 all of that let's still go and chase down the Israelites maybe we could still 0.95
00:15:45 win that's not just being delusional right that's not just like like the incurable gambler is like
00:15:54 maybe i can win my money back after he's lost all of his money no this is something supernatural
00:16:02 it's far more how not just why i think that's the wrong question it doesn't really get at the
00:16:10 principle the truth that we need to know it's not just why was pharaoh so rebellious how how had
00:16:16 pharaoh attained such a degree of rebellion and the answer is god because the old testament tells
00:16:25 us in the book of exodus plainly that two things occurred pharaoh hardened his heart human agency
00:16:32 is inescapable it is real it is a biblical principle and therefore because pharaoh chose
00:16:40 to harden his heart he is morally culpable for every ounce of god's judgment he did it he earned
00:16:47 it he deserves it also other side of the coin completely true simultaneously pharaoh hardened
00:16:57 his heart and god hardened his home supernaturally hardened his heart to the degree that after being
00:17:07 shamed decimated and losing a child he would still think maybe i can win 0.95
00:17:17 and so too it is with the jewish rulers here in israel at the time of christ they had seen 0.84
00:17:26 jesus perform miracle after miracle after miracle it's not merely that they will not believe 0.56
00:17:34 brothers and sisters we must know that they cannot believe because repentance is a gift
00:17:42 it is not a work conjured by man it is not merely something that you can dig deep down
00:17:50 The gospel is not sola bootstrapia.
00:17:53 It's not something you can accomplish in your own strength.
00:17:57 Repentance is a gift.
00:17:58 And it must be granted sovereignly by God as an act of His mercy.
00:18:04 And if He does not grant us repentance, we will not repent.
00:18:09 Not merely because we will not, but because we cannot.
00:18:12 Because repentance cannot be found.
00:18:15 We see this elsewhere in the scriptures.
00:18:17 speaking of esau hebrews chapter 12 verse 15 through 17 says see to it that no one fails to
00:18:26 obtain the grace of god and that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and by
00:18:31 it many become defiled that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like esau who sold his birth
00:18:38 right for a single meal verse 17 now for you know that afterward when he desired to inherit
00:18:46 the blessing, the blessing of God that would be transpired through his father, Isaac. He was
00:18:54 rejected, not merely rejected by his father, but his father standing in as representative of God.
00:19:01 God rejected him. When he sought this blessing, he was rejected for he found no chance to repent.
00:19:10 the scripture doesn't just say for he was unwilling to repent or he didn't want to i don't
00:19:18 want to no he couldn't find a chance to repent there was not the opportunity to repent there
00:19:26 was not the capability to repent he would not because he could not though he sought it with
00:19:36 tears there's a whole sermon in that last phrase which i don't have time to preach today but beware
00:19:43 of tears i'll say that at least i have seen many tears but absent of repentance
00:19:54 we have lived in this country for decades now with our highest virtue being this
00:20:01 When she cries, she of both sexes.
00:20:05 When she cries, she's right. 0.99
00:20:09 And she gets what she wants. 0.66
00:20:13 And following that roadmap, we have achieved Drag Queen Story Hour. 0.86
00:20:19 The mutilation of children. 0.64
00:20:22 The murder of 70 million babies, that's a low number, in their mother's womb in the last 50 years. 0.51
00:20:30 A full-scale invasion at our southern border.
00:20:34 Our jobs stolen away
00:20:37 from a country that allegedly has the most geniuses in the world. 1.00
00:20:45 Yes, I'm talking about India.
00:20:49 Now, if they have to start paying $100,000, 0.99
00:20:52 mark my words, I predict that all of a sudden
00:20:55 our tech lords will discover that actually Americans are really bright.
00:21:00 oh you know what it turns out that americans aren't so lazy after all and and they're not 0.87
00:21:06 so dumb after all and turns out that we have a lot of great americans and we're not racist 0.96
00:21:12 we're just we're hiring americans because we have to win the tech race on the global map 0.98
00:21:17 and beat china and we're hiring americans because they're actually the hardest working 0.98
00:21:23 and the smartest so but you told us we were dumb and lazy and we couldn't win unless we 0.98
00:21:27 imported from the rest of the world 0.97
00:21:30 people to code 1.00
00:21:32 because no American would code 1.00
00:21:34 or could code. 0.97
00:21:36 What changed?
00:21:37 Your pocketbook.
00:21:39 That's what changed.
00:21:43 And yet this is the country
00:21:44 we now live in.
00:21:46 Full scale invasion.
00:21:49 The erasure 0.99
00:21:50 of heritage Americans. 0.99
00:21:54 Taking away an opportunity 1.00
00:21:56 to own a home to provide for a family mass perversion with the lgbt lmnop mafia 0.54
00:22:06 political assassinations of moderates by the way they killed the nice guy
00:22:15 they're going to regret it we'll see who comes next when people say what happened
00:22:23 who radicalized you.
00:22:26 You did.
00:22:28 You tried to brainwash our children. 0.98
00:22:32 You tried to replace our culture. 0.96
00:22:36 You took our jobs. 0.99
00:22:37 You took our country.
00:22:39 You killed our heroes.
00:22:42 You did.
00:22:45 For two weeks now,
00:22:46 I've been getting emails.
00:22:48 About half of them are, 1.00
00:22:49 I hate you, I'm going to try to kill you. 0.99
00:22:52 Thus, why we're moving around right now, 0.99
00:22:55 the Webbin family.
00:22:56 The other half are,
00:22:57 I stopped listening to you six months ago.
00:22:59 I'm sorry.
00:23:00 I was a lib.
00:23:01 You were right.
00:23:04 Doesn't seem so radical anymore, does it?
00:23:08 Husbands. 0.77
00:23:10 Husbands, lead your family.
00:23:14 Joel's too radical.
00:23:16 You know, if you're going to say that,
00:23:18 why don't you just put your wife on the phone? 0.99
00:23:19 I'd like to talk to the decision maker of the household. 1.00
00:23:24 Right?
00:23:25 Let's just stop playing games.
00:23:27 Let me talk to the man of the house. 1.00
00:23:28 Could you put your wife on?
00:23:33 No, it's not too radical.
00:23:36 One of my constant convictions that I'm wrestling with the Lord actively on a daily basis, and I mean this, is, Lord, am I compromised?
00:23:46 Lord, am I cowardly?
00:23:49 Lord, if there be any sin in my heart, any weakness, any cowardice, reveal it.
00:23:55 Convict me by your Holy Spirit.
00:23:57 Help me, God.
00:23:59 After careful and prayerful consideration, help me, Lord, to become worse.
00:24:04 For your glory and the good of your people.
00:24:08 Make me half the enemy, half the monster that your enemies think I am.
00:24:15 save the church and save the country lord i want my kids to at least have a semblance
00:24:27 in their childhood and their adulthood and as they
00:24:31 desperately seek one day to start families of their own a semblance of the country that i got
00:24:36 to grow up in.
00:24:39 But here we are.
00:24:42 Here we are.
00:24:45 And part of the reason we're here
00:24:47 is because we have chosen
00:24:49 to succumb to tears
00:24:51 without repentance.
00:24:54 Esau cried.
00:24:58 Oh, please, I'm so sorry.
00:25:00 I'm so sorry.
00:25:01 Please, please,
00:25:02 but you don't understand.
00:25:03 he cried
00:25:06 but he never repented
00:25:09 he was unwilling
00:25:11 he was unable
00:25:13 he could not repent
00:25:15 oh but please please
00:25:18 it's just a four year old little girl 1.00
00:25:20 families can be deported together 0.69
00:25:23 praise God 1.00
00:25:24 they all have to go back 0.96
00:25:27 because you're allowed to have a country
00:25:30 it's not racist
00:25:32 It's not sin. It's not wicked. It's not mean. It's not arrogant.
00:25:36 Every single country in the world is allowed to have their people and their home, except for the West. 0.88
00:25:45 That's wicked. It's wicked. It's sin. And I will speak against it. 0.90
00:25:54 Repentance is key. The Pharisees could not repent because you cannot believe in that which you hate.
00:26:02 Esau could not repent because you cannot believe that which you hate.
00:26:07 And Esau had tears, but he had no true godly sorrow, no true remorse.
00:26:15 That has to be the standard for us as the people of God.
00:26:19 We have to stop being manipulated by tears, by shows.
00:26:27 And we have to be willing to say, no, it must be true repentance.
00:26:31 America has apostatized.
00:26:35 We have a Christian history, a Christian origin.
00:26:38 We were a Christian country,
00:26:39 and we have apostatized against the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:26:42 And anyone who's not truly repenting
00:26:46 gets no say in the matter.
00:26:50 You'll be deported.
00:26:52 You'll be removed from office.
00:26:54 But you get no say in the matter.
00:26:56 I don't care how sad you are. 1.00
00:26:59 We've been led by women in this country feigning sadness for 50 years. 0.98
00:27:06 And the tears of women have directly fueled the blood of babies. 0.96
00:27:12 And we're not having it anymore. 0.99
00:27:14 We're not doing it anymore.
00:27:18 When did you become so heartless?
00:27:20 When babies were murdered.
00:27:25 When throats were slit on subways.
00:27:28 that's when
00:27:31 and God forgive me
00:27:34 for being radicalized
00:27:35 far too late
00:27:36 the Pharisees hated Jesus
00:27:41 and the Pharisees today
00:27:43 still hate Jesus
00:27:44 you need to know
00:27:46 they will not repent
00:27:48 because they cannot repent
00:27:49 repentance is not a work of man
00:27:51 it is a gift of God
00:27:52 it must be sovereignly granted
00:27:54 and if it be not granted
00:27:55 by God in his mercy
00:27:57 then that person will never change they might cry they might wail they might say all the right
00:28:06 things but their heart will remain hardened they will hate jesus and on account of christ they will
00:28:13 hate you they will hate your wives they will hate your children they will hate your grandchildren
00:28:18 children, and you must be innocent as doves, but as wise as vipers. We cannot afford to be naive
00:28:30 any longer. Evangelicals cannot afford to be naive. You will not and indeed cannot believe
00:28:42 in that which you hate.
00:28:44 It is not a matter
00:28:45 of merely providing
00:28:49 the sufficient evidence.
00:28:52 The Pharisees had evidence.
00:28:55 They saw sign after sign after sign.
00:28:58 The audacity is unbelievable
00:29:01 of these guys.
00:29:02 Show us a sign.
00:29:05 Are you kidding?
00:29:05 I literally just got done
00:29:06 healing a guy.
00:29:09 Are you kidding?
00:29:09 I just got done exercising demons.
00:29:12 are you kidding me i i just i just did this i just did that what do you mean show me a sign
00:29:17 you were right there you were right there what do you mean show me a sign oh well we just don't
00:29:23 believe we're we're just simply objective spectators no you're not you're deceitful 0.99
00:29:30 maniacal manipulative leaders who are trying to lead the people of israel to hell 0.91
00:29:35 you're the elite leaders in a country that has taken that responsibility that should be an honor 0.96
00:29:45 and a privilege and you've perverted it you put heavy burdens that you yourselves will not lift
00:29:51 with a single finger defund the police meanwhile you're in a gated community with private security
00:29:59 Yes, there are many parallels to the Pharisees in the country that we currently live in. 0.53
00:30:07 Show us a sign. We're objective. We're reasonable. 0.97
00:30:12 If you provide the evidence, we'll come along.
00:30:16 The evidence had already been provided and they refused
00:30:19 because the problem was not merely intellectual assent.
00:30:23 It was not merely evidence. It was moral.
00:30:26 The problem is always moral.
00:30:29 It is a matter of the heart.
00:30:32 Why do people not believe in Jesus?
00:30:34 Because in their minds, they're lacking reason.
00:30:37 They're lacking evidence.
00:30:38 No.
00:30:39 In their hearts, they hate him.
00:30:42 They hate him.
00:30:45 We had a guy in America
00:30:46 who was willing to sit down with people and say,
00:30:50 well, maybe you're just lacking reasons.
00:30:53 And so I'll have respectable discourse.
00:30:56 And I will talk to literally anyone
00:30:58 and make myself available
00:31:00 day after day after day
00:31:01 in the public square.
00:31:04 Anyone can come up to the microphone.
00:31:06 They can make their objection
00:31:07 and I'll give a response.
00:31:09 They can ask their question
00:31:10 and I'll give a reason. 0.77
00:31:14 And they shot him in the throat
00:31:16 in front of his wife and kids.
00:31:19 No, it's not intellectual.
00:31:21 It's moral.
00:31:24 People don't believe in Christ
00:31:25 because they hate Christ.
00:31:27 and we the church need to know that in our bones and live accordingly no more mr nice guy 0.98
00:31:35 kindness is a fruit of the spirit niceness damn it to hell niceness is one of the greatest lies
00:31:43 the enemy ever persuaded the american church to believe no more mr nice guy love yes kindness yes
00:31:51 niceness no romans 8 chapter 7 and verse 8 to illustrate this point even further the mind
00:32:02 that is set on the flesh is hostile towards god not merely indifferent not simply neutral
00:32:09 but at enmity with god if a person's mind be set on the flesh if they are an unbeliever 0.75
00:32:16 unregenerate the mind of the sinner the unbeliever the non-christian it's set on
00:32:24 the flesh and therefore not merely neutral and objective and if I just have 0.98
00:32:28 the evidence then I'll believe nope hostile to God for it does not submit
00:32:34 to God's law nor can it indeed it cannot those who are in the flesh cannot not
00:32:42 merely will not cannot please god we have to believe the scripture believe what's being said
00:32:51 in our text today in matthew chapter 12 in regards to the pharisees believe what was said in hebrews
00:32:56 12 verse 15 16 and 17 about esau and believe romans chapter 8 verse 7 and 8 what's being said
00:33:03 about the unregenerate man whose mind is set on the flesh in all three instances one in the
00:33:08 the scripture would be enough to make the point in all three of these instances and there are more
00:33:13 the principle is clear the unregenerate man will not submit to christ for he cannot submit to
00:33:21 christ because he hates christ get it in your bones second point for today and the final
00:33:29 the adultery of the jews and the salvation of the gentiles the adultery of the jews and the 0.95
00:33:36 salvation of the Gentiles. In your notes, I've written the following, and so our Lord, focusing 0.64
00:33:44 our attention now in verses 41 and 42, and so our Lord answers them, these religious rulers in Israel,
00:33:52 not with flattery, but with the truth. He says, an evil, an adulterous generation seeks a sign. 0.98
00:34:00 adulterous because they have forsaken their true husband the Lord and gone 0.99
00:34:07 whoring after their own righteousness and their perverse traditions of men but 1.00
00:34:14 the Lord gives him a sign in his mercy and kindness nonetheless the sign is
00:34:21 this it is the sign of Jonah just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the
00:34:27 fish so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of
00:34:32 the earth and here is the gospel hidden even in judgment Christ crucified
00:34:40 buried and risen the true and final sign which no man can overturn or deny just
00:34:47 as Jonah emerged alive out of the fish to preach repentance to Nineveh so to
00:34:54 who Christ rose from the dead
00:34:57 to proclaim forgiveness
00:34:58 to the ends of the earth.
00:35:01 This is the sign.
00:35:02 It was a sign for them
00:35:04 and it's the sign for you.
00:35:09 And to demand anything more
00:35:11 is arrogance and rebellion
00:35:13 and you will be judged
00:35:14 on account of it.
00:35:16 You have been given a sign.
00:35:18 Jesus Christ,
00:35:20 wrapped in flesh,
00:35:22 the God-man,
00:35:22 he lived a sinless life
00:35:26 not only avoiding all sin
00:35:28 but in his act of obedience
00:35:29 fulfilling all righteousness
00:35:31 he died a sinner's death 0.98
00:35:34 a criminal's death 1.00
00:35:35 that you deserve not him
00:35:37 and the Lord bodily rose him
00:35:41 from the dead on the third day
00:35:43 he presented himself
00:35:44 to over 500 witnesses
00:35:46 at one time
00:35:48 so that means the number is far higher
00:35:51 and he ascended in majesty and in glory
00:35:57 to the right hand of God the Father Almighty
00:36:00 where he is now seated in honor.
00:36:04 And one day he will return to judge
00:36:06 both the living and the dead.
00:36:09 And if you reject that sign,
00:36:11 he will return and he will say to you, 0.99
00:36:15 depart from me, you workers of iniquity 0.99
00:36:18 and cast you into the lake of fire. 0.98
00:36:21 And there will be no more chances.
00:36:23 Jesus is not like a DEI hired judge in America.
00:36:30 Jesus doesn't give 14 chances.
00:36:36 No, on that final day, all the chances are gone.
00:36:41 And those who rejected him and were ashamed of him,
00:36:44 he will be ashamed of them before his father.
00:36:47 And he will say, depart from me, I never knew you.
00:36:51 but for all who believe the sign of Jonah
00:36:54 as it relates to Christ
00:36:56 that he died, was buried and rose again
00:36:59 that he is the Son of God
00:37:00 that he died for your sin
00:37:02 the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
00:37:05 to you there will be honor
00:37:07 there will be glory
00:37:09 there will be forever eternal communion
00:37:12 with the triune God
00:37:14 you will be blessed
00:37:15 to you has been given eternal life
00:37:18 and that judgment
00:37:19 for the living and the dead,
00:37:21 whether it be reward for those who are in Christ
00:37:24 or judgment for the wicked,
00:37:27 it is coming.
00:37:28 Christ will one day return.
00:37:30 And if he tarries,
00:37:32 that judgment is still coming
00:37:34 because either he will come to you
00:37:37 or you will go to him
00:37:38 one way or the other.
00:37:40 Time is running short.
00:37:44 Trust in Jesus.
00:37:46 Believe in Jesus.
00:37:47 And know that if you're not a Christian
00:37:49 and you're here today, 0.62
00:37:50 your only hang-up is not a lack of evidence.
00:37:53 Your hang-up is not intellectual.
00:37:55 It is moral.
00:37:56 You hate Him.
00:37:57 And the only thing that can change
00:37:59 is God supernaturally changing your heart.
00:38:02 To believe in Jesus, you have to love Jesus.
00:38:06 And to love Jesus, you need a new heart.
00:38:10 That's the gospel.
00:38:12 1 John 4, 19, we love because He first loved us.
00:38:15 is not that we simply weigh all the evidence
00:38:22 in some unbiased, objective way
00:38:24 and then choose to love God
00:38:27 and then God who's sitting in heaven
00:38:28 chooses to respond after we first initiate
00:38:32 and says, well, because you've worked so diligently
00:38:35 and you've chosen to love me,
00:38:37 then as a response, tit for tat, I will love you.
00:38:41 No, we love because He first loved us.
00:38:45 Those who do not love God are those who have not been awakened by the Spirit of God to see His love for them.
00:38:52 They are spiritually blinded, just like the Pharisees.
00:38:55 Spiritually deaf, they cannot hear.
00:38:57 Their hearts are hardened.
00:39:00 And the heart of stone must be replaced with a heart of flesh that is softened and malleable and receptive to the things of God.
00:39:08 You need a new nature.
00:39:10 It's not just that you have to turn over a new leaf or make a new set of choices.
00:39:13 You must be born again.
00:39:16 You need a new nature.
00:39:17 You must become a new creature in Christ Jesus.
00:39:21 And if that doesn't happen,
00:39:24 then you are an enemy of God
00:39:26 and an enemy of His people. 0.77
00:39:30 And so we need to do two things in our country. 0.72
00:39:33 The church must preach
00:39:36 and administer word and sacrament.
00:39:40 And we must pray that God in His mercy
00:39:43 might send revival to actually give people new hearts and also i know this is tough
00:39:52 really really really hard for evangelical christians in 2025 but i like to believe
00:39:59 that by the grace of god and the spirit of god that we could walk and chew gum as christians
00:40:03 at the same time i know it's tough christians are insufferable in our country over spiritualizing
00:40:10 everything truncating everything but we must begin to think clearly and think in categories
00:40:18 as it pertains to the church we need revival you want the land to be saved you need more
00:40:24 regenerate hearts they hate you because they hate god and they will never do anything else unless
00:40:28 god gives them a new nature so as a church lord send revival and we doing the work of an evangelist
00:40:35 preaching the gospel praying that many might be saved now as private citizens it's not just
00:40:41 another area another group of people it's you wearing two hats as a christian as a member of
00:40:48 the universal church do the work of an evangelist seek for new converts to be made and pray that
00:40:55 god might grant them grace but then you also as a part of the civil magistrate because we still
00:41:03 live in a republic i know it's a bit of a joke at this point but technically well then you also
00:41:09 must enforce justice not as a vigilante but through whatever civil political power you have
00:41:16 because here's the deal contrary to the belief of pietists of which the reformed church has
00:41:26 many contrary to that belief you can have a country that's safe for your children temporally 0.80
00:41:34 physically safe where the majority of that country is actually still unregenerate and goes to hell
00:41:39 did you know that wait a second no that's not possible no you you literally can
00:41:44 japan is two percent christian guys two percent christian high trust society
00:41:53 huh how how is that possible they've rejected the lord jesus christ how do they have such a low crime
00:42:02 rate well they didn't invite the whole world to live there and they actually have some laws
00:42:09 and there's some homogeneity you trust your neighbor because you share in
00:42:14 common things with your neighbor you come from the same people the same
00:42:20 ancestors the same heritage the same history the same customs and so even an
00:42:27 unbeliever with another unbeliever can say this is my kin this is my brother he
00:42:34 can have a box in his front yard with fresh farm eggs it says please only take
00:42:38 one and you don't have to worry about one of the neighbors coming with his u-haul truck to take them
00:42:43 all we don't have that in america because we brought the whole world here that's why
00:42:56 so it's both things and this is what people will misinterpret and they'll slander
00:43:01 but hear my words it's not one thing it's both things why are things as dire in our nation as
00:43:09 they are today number one we the people rejected christ it is spiritual number two in our rejection
00:43:20 of christ we rejected law we rejected order we rejected heritage americans and imported the third 0.93
00:43:28 world. We exalted women into places of civil leadership. It's all of it. It's the whole 0.99
00:43:38 enchilada. And you're called to do both, Christian. As a Christian, preach, evangelize, pray. We need
00:43:49 revival. We need hearts to be changed because if they're not changed, it's moral, not merely
00:43:54 intellectual if the heart is not changed then people will go on hating jesus but also not just
00:44:01 as a christian but as a citizen in your civil duty work towards political and civil reform
00:44:08 because here's the deal there are plenty throughout all of human history there have
00:44:14 been plenty of cases millions of examples could be told of people who did not have a new heart
00:44:20 and therefore hated Jesus and yet never committed murder.
00:44:23 Why?
00:44:25 Because Romans 13, the civil magistrate is a terror.
00:44:29 God's avenger.
00:44:31 God's deacon, his servant, to carry out vengeance on the wrongdoer. 0.78
00:44:37 It is possible for someone to not be a Christian,
00:44:41 therefore hate Jesus,
00:44:43 therefore in their heart of hearts hate you as a follower of Jesus
00:44:46 and still be afraid to throw 0.99
00:44:48 a piece of trash out of their window. 1.00
00:44:53 Ask El Salvador. 1.00
00:44:56 It can be done. 0.98
00:44:58 It requires the will.
00:45:00 Oh, we just don't know what to do.
00:45:02 We know exactly what to do.
00:45:04 We need hearts for revival.
00:45:05 You also need stomachs for revival.
00:45:09 You have to have the grit.
00:45:13 And really, it's just a question.
00:45:14 It's going to happen.
00:45:15 It's not if.
00:45:16 It's just when. 1.00
00:45:17 And a lot of this is up to the women.
00:45:19 I want you to hear me. 0.81
00:45:20 It's up to you.
00:45:21 It shouldn't be.
00:45:22 It shouldn't be.
00:45:23 But because our nation is wicked and has given you political power equal to your husband
00:45:27 to divide the household, then yes, it is very much up to you.
00:45:31 When the country changes is up to you.
00:45:34 And this is literally what it comes down to. 0.94
00:45:36 It comes down to when the women of these United States of America finally decide that their
00:45:44 fear of being mugged
00:45:46 and killed and their children
00:45:48 slaughtered in public outweighs 0.93
00:45:50 their fear of being called a racist.
00:45:53 That's it.
00:45:55 As soon as that happens,
00:45:56 the nation changes.
00:45:58 And you're safe again.
00:46:00 And your kids have a future again. That's all it takes.
00:46:02 It just takes the women in America 1.00
00:46:03 to stop being slaves to the 1.00
00:46:06 approval of men.
00:46:08 That's all it is.
00:46:12 We'll see.
00:46:14 one year two years five years ten years we'll see 1.00
00:46:17 so an adulterous generation god's not going to give them a sign 0.99
00:46:24 the only sign left is the sign of jonah that jesus christ would be
00:46:29 crucified buried and raised on the third day and this
00:46:34 is the gospel even tucked away in judgment
00:46:37 in god's kindness yet christ goes further the final thing in our text
00:46:42 And he begins not only to indict, to correct, and to rebuke,
00:46:47 but he shames these religious rulers. 0.94
00:46:50 And he shames them with the faith of Gentiles. 0.63
00:46:54 Notice what he says. 0.58
00:46:55 He says, you're going to be under judgment.
00:46:58 You hate me.
00:46:59 You've rejected me. 0.97
00:47:01 And you've lied and manipulated all those under your care.
00:47:04 But the men of Nineveh, pagans, they repented.
00:47:10 The queen of Sheba, 0.65
00:47:11 she came from a long way off
00:47:14 just to sit and hear the wisdom of Solomon. 0.98
00:47:18 And yet the Jews with the true Jonah 1.00
00:47:22 and the true Solomon now standing before them 0.97
00:47:25 still do not believe.
00:47:28 What God has done these last 2,000 years
00:47:31 with the great commission
00:47:32 and the spread of the gospel
00:47:33 to all the four corners of the earth
00:47:36 has been an indictment on Israel. 0.86
00:47:39 For 2,000 years, more and more nations have heard and witnessed the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and come to repentance. 0.69
00:47:52 And yet for 2,000 years, Israel has remained hardened. 0.86
00:48:01 now that said 0.61
00:48:06 you're not merely a tool
00:48:09 and you need to hear this
00:48:12 God is not merely saving Gentiles 0.95
00:48:14 to stick it to the Jews 0.90
00:48:16 God is saving Gentiles
00:48:19 because he loves them
00:48:20 he loves you
00:48:21 and this was always his plan
00:48:24 from the very beginning
00:48:24 through you Abraham 0.54
00:48:26 all the nations of the world
00:48:29 will be blessed
00:48:29 the original covenant the covenant of redemption included the nations it was never just about
00:48:38 israel but through abraham many nations would eventually be blessed and flock to mount zion
00:48:48 and find salvation in jesus christ so god is saving nations and he's saving them because he 0.76
00:48:56 loves them first and foremost but he's also saving them as an indictment and a shame to Israel
00:49:04 and that's what Jesus tells the Pharisees here and the scribes and these Jewish religious rulers 0.90
00:49:12 of that day he says not only are you demanding a sign when you've received many and I'll call
00:49:19 your bluff I'll actually give you one more sign the sign of Jonah but you did not believe the
00:49:25 signs I've already produced, you will not believe that sign either. And it's not because of some
00:49:31 kind of lack of evidence or intellectual hang up. It is a moral issue. It's because you hate me.
00:49:37 And your hatred for me is unique. Because there are many others, many pagans, many Gentiles who 1.00
00:49:46 have not had your response. And they never saw the miracles that you have seen. There are many 1.00
00:49:52 Gentiles who have never had the distinct pleasure of the son of God in the flesh walking down their
00:50:00 streets performing signs and miracles and wonders and yet they believe just as Jesus told his 0.53
00:50:06 disciple Thomas better for those who do not see and yet still believe and that's the promise for
00:50:12 you that's the promise for me that by the grace of God he has given us new hearts awakened us
00:50:19 given us spiritual eyes to see and we believe. The leaders in Christ's day, they had far more
00:50:28 evidence, but their hearts were hardened. And for you, if you have any love for Christ at all,
00:50:34 any faith in Christ at all, it is because God has worked a miracle. God has changed your heart. And
00:50:41 for that, you should be eternally grateful and thankful and vigilant, knowing that this change
00:50:49 of heart, this softness of heart, this new nature was not your own doing. And it's not a switch that
00:50:55 you can control at your will, but it was a sovereign, merciful work of God. And to take it
00:51:02 for granted that the Lord softened your heart and gave you affection for him and to neglect
00:51:08 spiritual duties and disciplines, saying, well, I can control it. I can control at my convenience,
00:51:17 my affection for Christ, my faith in Christ,
00:51:21 my submission and obedience to Christ.
00:51:24 That is an arrogant thought.
00:51:27 Repent of it.
00:51:29 The response today should be gratitude.
00:51:31 Like the men of Nineveh, like the queen of Sheba,
00:51:35 the response should be, 0.97
00:51:37 thank you God for choosing me a wretched sinner. 0.98
00:51:41 Having mercy on me, a wretched sinner.
00:51:44 But for the grace of God,
00:51:45 my heart would be just as hard
00:51:47 and I would be rejecting all your kindness and goodness.
00:51:52 So keep me.
00:51:53 The same grace that saved you
00:51:55 is the only hope to keep you.
00:51:57 Keep me, Christ.
00:52:00 Soften me even more, Christ.
00:52:03 Convict me even further, Christ.
00:52:05 And use me for your glory
00:52:07 and the good of your people.
00:52:09 Let's pray.
00:52:10 Father, thank you for your word.
00:52:11 Bless it to your people
00:52:12 and bring about for yourself great glory.
00:52:15 We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.