In Matthew 11:25, Jesus prays to God the Father, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”
I love the way The Message Bible translates this verse. Jesus in His prayer says, “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.” Many who think they are the smartest, richest, and most powerful exalt themselves with a mindset of I don’t need God because I am my own god. The interesting thing is if they are their own god, why can they not overcome death? My God lives forever in me and with me. It is truly amazing how some of the “smartest” people are not smart enough to work out their salvation by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank God as well for not giving us as much secular “wisdom” or “knowledge” as the sophisticates and know-it-alls so we can be “wise” enough to trust in, rely upon, and cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Messiah, brother, and friend, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the ONE and ONLY.
In Matthew 11:23-24, Jesus says “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will bebrought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
This verse immediately leads me to think of the superpowers of the world who exalt themselves above all, believing they are better than anyone else. Yet, they live in their sins, conforming the word of God to make the pagan and the heathen pleased. This country which supposedly the most powerful in the world calls itself a Christian nation, but is very far from the will of God. The forefathers of this country, when writing the laws of the United States, while some of them not believing in God, they recognized and realized the laws of God were perfect and beneficial to mankind. In this generation, nations say the laws and righteous ways of God were good for the old days, but now we have a new morality for a new generation. This “new” morality that is being preached among the pagan and heathen which is desperately trying to infiltrate the church is the same exact sin that caused the land of Sodom and Gomorrah to perish. A Christian nation will not compromise with the word of God in the name of equality. God knows who believes and who does not. He knows who are His people in a nation who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 11:22, Jesus says upon the cities which He did His most mighty works and still rejected Him, “but I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.”
So many times, especially non-believers, ask the question “What will happen to those who never heard the gospel or about Jesus?” It is amazingly sad that some people will allow their salvation to be determined and dependent upon people they do not know. First of all, we have no way of knowing who has heard the gospel and who has not. However, if someone can ask that question, apparently they have heard the gospel and already has the opportunity to repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The world loves to “play” God trying to make a way for every sinner who does not want to be granted eternal life through the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Unfortunately, what the world fails to realize is since they have heard the gospel and rejected it time after time for whatever reason it may be, they have place themselves in worse positions than those they suppose have not heard the gospel. Many deny themselves of their salvation for this cause. If the world does not know what will happen to itself, how can they tell someone else what will happen to them? Before we can worry about the salvation of another person, we must take the necessary steps to assure our salvation by the grace of God through faith in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Too many times when there is uncertainty, people simply say, “just have faith.” However, exactly what are they saying to have faith in? Faith is often times directed in the wrong places. People tend to have faith in a person or an object (wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, car, job, church, etc.) What happens when those people or things let you down or just do not work? Abandonment of faith is soon to follow.
This is a reminder of Matthew 7:24-27:
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
From the amazing CD/DVD of Faith+Hope+Love by Hillsong United
VERSE 1
Lost and stranded, empty handed
Broken down and all alone
Your mercy it entered into darkness
And enfolded us in love
PRE-CHORUS
We give You all we are
For the glory of Your Name
We give all we are
For Your praise
VERSE 2 Just a glimmer of Your glory
And the earth falls to its knees
You level the mountains with a whisper
And You calm the raging seas
CHORUS
Let the earth come to life
In the light of heaven’s glow
And the streets sound with joy
As the shackles lose their hold
You laid down Your life for one and all
So we give all we are to You alone
VERSE 3
This means freedom for the captive
And good news for those in need
Your message is justice and compassion
God of love and Prince of Peace
BRIDGE
With one voice we sing hallelujah
All the earth cry out hallelujah
With the angels sing hallelujah Jesus Christ is King
We give everything to You alone
We give everything to You alone
What can we know for certain? Surely the Lord is in this place where ever I go, and He will keep me, He will strengthen me; He's given His promises to me and I'm going to make it through, that I know because the Lord is with me, where ever I go.