In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3) Immediately before this, at the end of Luke 11, Jesus was proclaiming woes to the Pharisees and lawyers because of their wrong ways and by hindering people from coming to God. The Pharisees and lawyers were vehemently upset with Jesus and seeking to catch Him in what He might say to accuse Him. In the meantime we see crowds of people are drawing near. It would appear this was becoming quite the ordeal since so many thousands of people were gathered that they were trampling one another – I kind of imagine much like Black Friday shopping used to be when the doors to stores opened to those early bird shoppers gathered for the best shopping sales. Yet, Jesus tells his disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees. In the midst of a pressing crowd, Jesus wanted His disciples to heed this warning, so it clearly was important to Him. He didn’t even wait until the commotion had died down or He and His disciples were alone, and the lesson was about hypocrisy. The Rise of Hypocrisy He goes on to include that what is covered up will eventually be revealed and that things can’t stay hidden forever. When you think of His warning to beware the “leaven of the Pharisees”, it creates this picture. Leaven is used in bread and it’s what makes it rise. When baked in fire, it makes the bread airy and fluffy, but without leaven the bread will be dense. Not much leaven is required for a whole loaf of bread to rise and when the leaven is added, it is covered up and put into a dark place to rise. Much like hypocrisy, what might start as a seemingly small thing, done in the covered up places of hearts – it will eventually rise and be uncovered to reveal that that little bit of leaven has leavened the whole lump and the substance is nothing but the air and fluff of hypocrisy. This gave way to another aspect of the warning – THEREFORE whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the rooftops. If gossip, slander, or other ill words are spoken in darkness, they find their way to be heard in the light. And this goes both ways – have you ever done a good deed or said something nice about someone in private and it ends up being known anyway? Jesus often healed people in private and it had a way of being spread around. Ultimately, this warning is against hypocrisy and being careful what you say in light of it. A hypocritical word can and will bite you in the end because it stems from a double-mindedness, in which James tells us that a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways (James 1:8). How We See Ourselves Whenever we read the gospels, we clearly see that the Pharisees weren’t doing things right and Jesus points it out on many occasions, but the Pharisees don’t seem to see the wrong in themselves, do they? So often we tend to not want to put ourselves in the position of the Pharisees because it’s a place of correction from Jesus. Yet, in this instance, whether we do or not, Jesus is warning us about the hypocrisy that the Pharisees demonstrated. So whether we are actively in need of that correction or whether it’s only a warning right now – beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Jesus wouldn’t tell us to beware of something if it wasn’t a possibility to fall susceptible to it. We are all susceptible to hypocrisy, and I think even more so when we are professing to be Christians because sometimes we forget that our salvation and our sanctification is not by our works but by God’s work alone. In that failure to remind ourselves of that gift and grace, we can become piously pompous as we strive to appear holy even if we’re not taking the time to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. How do we apply this warning then and avoid the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy? Abide in Jesus, letting the word of Christ dwell richly in you, and not only read what it says, but also do what it says.

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. (Luke 11:37-41) This is a hard section that we happen to be on as we gear up for the Thanksgiving holiday here in America this next week, but God knows and planned this timing so let’s dig into it! Many Pharisees in Jesus time were hypocrites, they were more concerned with their outer appearance and what people thought of them than the state of their hearts and what God knew of them. This ended up with them disapproving of Jesus because Jesus didn’t uphold the tradition of their fathers, even though He was perfectly doing the work of His Father and upheld the Law perfectly. One of these traditions that Jesus didn’t follow was washing before dining. To Wash or Not to Wash Now, this wasn’t like when your mom told you dinner was almost ready and to go wash up; this was a ceremonial washing of the hands with water only. It often wouldn’t even be a full hand washing, it would often be a dipping of the fingers and drying them off. But it wasn’t their hands that needed to be washed, they needed to be washed with the water of the word to cleanse the inside. It could seem like common sense to wash, even with only water, before eating, but the issue here is not about hygiene, the issue was that the Pharisees held the traditions of man equal to the Law of God and were more concerned with upholding traditions – even disapproving of the actions of God in the flesh based on it. Could you imagine disapproving of God Himself?? Goodness me! Instead of Jesus’ actions being a catalyst to inspect themselves and change to be like God, they placed their own traditions and outer perception of spirituality above God’s Law and desire for them. This, as is many sins, was based in pride. They held people’s perception of them higher than God’s because they wanted to look good. And honestly, it’s easier to operate in this way because people can’t witness our every action or word and they certainly can’t know our every thought; however, God knows it all and He sees it all so it’s that much harder to live pleasing to the Lord than it is pleasing to man. And even further, the reward for living right according to God has eternal rewards that will be received in heaven, to where doing right for eye service to man has it’s momentary and fleeting reward of maybe accolades, likes, or follows. Clean the Inside In this section, Jesus specifically mentions paying attention to the inside and that the outside would be clean. These are a few bible verses that speak to this as well: And [Jesus] called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:10-11) For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34b) To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:15-16) When you think of an illness, such as cancer or an autoimmune disease – the illness starts inside. It may be months by the time you notice outward symptoms, but the issue has already been stirring within. When you treat the illness within, the outer symptoms go away and the body is healthy both inside and out. And there may be times where someone doesn’t even realize they’re sick, maybe in the case of something like cancer, but when they go in for an annual physical and get blood work, it indicates something is wrong. The body on the outside seemed perfectly fine, both to the patient and the doctor, yet the bloodwork revealed something wrong. In the same way, Jesus here is like the bloodwork to the Pharisees, who may or may not even have realized they had a serious internal issue to repent of and get healed from with God. Jesus so much wanted them to see the heart of the matter and stop living for the outer, temporal things, and live with the eternal things in mind, which was what matters to God; and in order to share that truth in love, Jesus had to point out their hypocrisy. Dealing with Hypocrisy Being faced with hypocrisy in our own lives is not easy at all, it’s a huge hit on our pride and requires humility before the Lord to deal with properly. Is there anything in your life that although seems fine to everyone around you, Jesus is pointing out is not clean within? Don’t dismiss that quickly. Sit with it and allow the Holy Spirit’s conviction to grieve you over your sin. And then repent and make the necessary changes, asking God to help you. Take the Time Next week in America, we’re going to be gathering for a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. Take time to first cleanse the inner dish of your heart so that your thanksgiving to God will be genuine and not only a tradition done yearly for appearances or holiday’s sake, or based on what those around you think it should be. And regardless of the Thanksgiving holiday, the principle remains – Jesus desires for our hearts to be clean and pure before Him, which requires self-examination and full surrender to God. Just as Jesus warned us about the health of the lamp of our body last week, this week is another spiritual health check. Jesus cares immensely about your inward state. So follow His lead and make it your prayer, like king David had when he prayed to God, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” (Luke 11:33-36) Here in Luke 11, Jesus explains that your eye is the lamp of your body. The epitome of spiritual health would be having your whole body full of light, and the opposite would be a body full of darkness. And Jesus gives a stern warning - Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. This is a serious warning! If one thinks they have light in them, but it is actually darkness, how can they truly see? The Light That Is Darkness “A man without an eye might as well be without the sun, so far as light is concerned. The eye is as needful as the lamp, if a man is to see. The most brilliant light that ever has been invented, or ever can be discovered, will be of no use to the person who has no eye… The condition of the eye of the mind is of the utmost importance: our light or our darkness will depend upon it.” (Charles Spurgeon) If someone is self-deceived and what they consider the light in them is actually darkness, they are completely misled in all things because the premise on which they operate is based in darkness. The thing is, the darkness has to be willfully embraced for the eye to be diseased and unhealthy. For those who truly have light within, they are abiding in Christ, seeking truth, and the truth sets them free with the word of God being a lamp unto their feet and a light to their path. For those whose light is actually darkness, the love of sin has blinded the lens of their eye, not actually allowing light in. Once again, Charles Spurgeon puts it so well: Nine times out of ten, allowed sin is the cataract which darkens the mental eye. Men cannot see truth, because they love falsehood… When people reject the doctrines of the gospel, they also tolerate laxity of morals, and give predominance to the customs of the world. (Charles Spurgeon) Be Full of Light As followers of Jesus, we are to be lights. After the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus said, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16). We all come from a sinful nature and we all have darkness within us prior to receiving Jesus as salvation, but once born again in Christ, we are the light of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) and James tells us that of God’s own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18) The only reason we are the light of the world is because we have been made new in Christ, who is the light. And the point of being a light is to shine and allow sight in this dark world so that God will be glorified by our good works. Jesus’ statement says that we are the light of the world, so if we’re hiding the light within, it’s simply hypocrisy of which we need to repent of. Let Your Light Shine In a couple short weeks, at least in America, we will literally be in our family’s houses for Thanksgiving celebrations. These times are opportunities for us to shine bright and not hide our light under a basket. So often we don’t want to let our lights shine because it may stir up uncomfortable situations with unsaved people, but if we are to love others, truly love them the way Christ loves them, then we will let our lights shine and put it on a stand to give light to all in the house. I encourage you, to self-analyze the light within and if then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, so take the opportunities that the Holy Spirit opens and let your light shine before others.

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will 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, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:29-32) As Jesus went through His earthly ministry, He encountered people who wanted a sign, and here He says that the generation who was seeking a sign was an evil generation. Now it’s important to distinguish here that these people weren’t seeking a sign to inquire of the truth, they were seeking a sign as proof of what had already been prophesied about. Jesus said that the queen of the South sought the wisdom of Solomon and the men of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching, and yet those would rise up at judgement against that generation who was seeking a sign from the Son of God. The Sign of Jonah Jesus says the only sign that would be given is the sign of Jonah. Now, there are distinct parallels between Jonah and Jesus. Jonah was sent to preach repentance to a people in captivity to their sin and Jesus was sent with the message of repentance for the kingdom of God was at hand and He was sent to set the captives free. Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of a large fish before rising out of the ocean onto dry land and Jesus died and rose on the 3rd day. And yet, regardless of the similarities and even foreshadowing of Messiah through the sign of Jonah, Jesus is greater than Jonah and He was there. Something Greater Jesus tells the people that they’re an evil generation because there was a foreshadowing of their Messiah in that sign, and even with Jesus being greater and the fulfillment as the Messiah they had long awaited, they still sought a sign from Him. The thing is, Jesus didn’t need to perform any signs because He WAS the sign – He is Messiah, He is salvation, He is God. They missed the big picture! They were so focused on wanting a sign they could see that they actually failed to see Who was right in front of them. The issue with that generation was their lack of faith because faith walks not by sight. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things unseen, so if they’re focused on what they can see then faith wouldn’t be required. Yet, we know that Abraham, and many others, believed and it was counted to them as righteousness – hence the righteous shall walk by faith. As followers of Jesus, we already believe and have accepted Jesus as Messiah, but it can still be tempting to have a worldview based on what we see happening in today’s culture. However, as followers of Jesus we should have a biblical worldview, trusting in God as we walk by faith in following Him. Our current days are evil, but we have the assurance that Jesus, as our living hope who died to redeem us and rose on the third day and has set us free from the captivity of our sin, is coming to take us home someday soon. Be comforted, my sibling in Christ, and keep walking and focusing on our Savior, who is greater and is here.

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28) On our first reading, we see a woman yell out that basically Mary is super blessed and Jesus responds with “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” But what on earth is happening here, what does this mean, and what can we glean from it? An Out of Place Response? Let’s start with this woman in the crowd. This woman had sat there and listened to Jesus talk about demon possession, the kingdom of God, being with or against Him, gathering with Him or scattering, and not being in a place of allowing for return of unclean spirits, and her response is about His mom being blessed? Seems a bit out of place doesn’t it? Who knows if she truly had listened to His words or if she was caught up in the heightened emotion of all this and kind of stuck in her own head in which she blurted out something that sounded spiritual, of what we might call “Christianese” today, but ended up being out in left field somewhere. And she raised her voice so the whole crowd could hear. Who knows what her motive was, but it does appear that she wanted to be heard more than she wanted to listen. Are there times when you aren’t really listening when God speaks, could be at church during the sermon or while reading your bible, and then you get caught up in your own thoughts? Or maybe you get tempted to care more about how you’re perceived by others than hearing and learning what God is teaching? There is a time for everything, and there are times when we don’t need to speak or make ourselves the center of attention, we just simply need to hear and obey. This was one of those times. The Distinction Jesus Makes Although this woman’s outburst was a rather oddly timed one, Jesus did what He does so well – He used it as a teaching opportunity. On one hand, yes, Mary was blessed among women being the mother of our Savior, and that is incredible, yet when this woman in the crowd attempted to elevate Mary, Jesus shifted the perspective to the proper place. This doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t think Mary was blessed, but this makes it clear that the focus shouldn’t be on her and that she too, was blessed not that she was simply the one who birthed him, but because she heard the word of God and she accepted it and kept it. With that, Jesus is saying that anyone who hears God’s words and keeps it are blessed, so Mary isn’t elevated even because of that, she is a co-heir along with us all. Why is this an important distinction then? Well, we see this especially in the Catholic Church that Mary is elevated, even to the point of praying to her. But the simple fact is that Mary doesn’t save you, she can’t give you faith, and she cannot mediate between us and God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of God, and Jesus is the only one who can save. So yes, we acknowledge that Mary was blessed, but you too can be just as blessed in following her and other believers’ examples of faith and obedience. This is the same message that Jesus told the lawyer who had come to test him which we went over a couple months ago in Luke chapter 10 – hear the word of God and DO IT! This may be something you’ve heard before, especially if you’ve been a Christian for some time, but are you hearing AND keeping God’s word? If you have ears to hear what the Spirit says, don’t harden your heart, but instead receive the word and obey, for then Jesus says you will be blessed. Lastly, some may wonder, what exactly are we supposed to hear and obey in the word of God? Well, all of it. The word of God is living and active and it is breathed out by God, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness so that we can be complete and equipped for every good work. In order to hear though, we must listen as we read, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak directly into our lives. We could be willing to listen and obey, but if we don’t open the word of God then we can’t hear Him speak to us. Today, open God’s word and let Him speak to you and when you hear Him, keep His commands.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26) This may seem to have changed topic, but it is continuing Jesus’ thought train. He had been talking to the Pharisees about casting out demons and which kingdom He’s from, iterating that those who aren’t for Him are against Him and that those who don’t gather with Him scatter. He’s now talking about a person who has been freed from demon possession and gets themselves cleaned up so to speak, but not filled with God, which just opens themselves up to even worse possession later. If they are not with Jesus, they are against Him and therefore prime real estate for the kingdom of darkness since they are not filled with light. Now I want to preempt this by clearly stating that Christians cannot be possessed by demons. If someone has the Spirit of God dwelling inside of them, they are sealed as set apart to God and satan has literally no power or control over them. They are not of this world, they are living in it as a light of the world. Just as darkness cannot penetrate light since darkness is the literal absence of light, so too is a Christian who is in the light cannot have the demons of the kingdom of darkness dwelling in them simultaneously. Simply put, being bought and paid for by Jesus, as followers of Christ we belong to God and are not the possession of satan; therefore, a follower of Christ cannot be possessed by demons. The State of a Person This issue of the state of a person is an important one to know, even if you’re a Christian and therefore cannot be possessed by any demons. Why? Because you never know when you may come across a demon possessed person. If you were to come in contact with a demon possessed person, which is common when serving in homeless ministries for example, casting out a demon would only be half of the battle. After they’re free from possession, they still have sin to deal with. If they aren’t willing to surrender to Christ and receive salvation, they are then open to being possessed in a worse state than before. We must remember the context in which Jesus says these things. Because Jesus is saying it’s not enough to simply cast a demon out of a person, they must be filled with Him in order to not be a clean vacancy that invites demons back in. Jesus is the stronger man who has authority to cast out demons AND completely redeem anyone who accepts His salvation. Don’t Open the Door By these verses, it appears that demons are at rest when possessing a person, and they look for vacancies. Now we know that a follower of Jesus cannot be possessed by demons, but what about non-believers, are they free game for demon possession? Well, that’s not an easily answered question where we have a clear bible verse on this, but if God allows man to have free will and doesn’t force salvation upon us in which we’d be filled with the Holy Spirit, then it’s reasonable to think that God would not allow satan to overpower our free will with demon possession either. A person becomes available for demon possession when they open the door to demonic activities. Messing around with tarot cards, Ouija boards, occult practices, etc – these are all activities in which a person uses their free will to open the door to demonic spirits. We need to warn people, and especially children, not to dabble in these things. So what is Jesus’ point here? The point is, if someone is freed from demon possession, they also need to be freed from the bondage of their sin to be truly free and the only way to do that is through Jesus. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Luke 11:21-23) In continuing the response from Jesus about casting out demons and the discussion about which kingdom He’s from, He gives the example of a strong man and a stronger man. When we generally think of satan, the true enemy, I think we’d like to think of him as a wimp who doesn’t have much power. But biblically speaking, he is the ruling principality in this current world and he does have strength. And while Jesus considered us the reward set before Him, satan merely looks at people as goods. The beauty of this is that while yes, satan is strong, armed, and dangerous; seeking to steal, kill, and destroy; Jesus on the other hand is stronger and overcomes. Greater is God who is in us than he who is in the world! That is very encouraging, but we don’t want to let our guards down against the enemy because we’re not impervious to his attacks even though we have the armor of God available to us – we must use it in order to prevail. With or Against For the rest of this week’s devotional time, we’re going to focus on verse 23, Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. This is a two-parter here: Whoever is not with me is against me Whoever does not gather with me scatters We touched a little last week on the fact that you can’t ride the fence when it comes to your faith, you’re either all in or all out. These really are circumstances of choices and defaults. If anyone chooses to receive the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus’ redeeming offering on the cross, they stand uncondemned in the righteousness of Christ, being part of the kingdom of God. But if anyone doesn’t make that choice, they are by default part of satan’s domain in the kingdom of darkness and are condemned to an eternity in hell because that’s where satan’s kingdom will end up in the end. This is made clear in the bible where it says, For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:17-18) Gather or Scatter For the last two hundred something years, America has enjoyed a religious freedom in which we can freely worship God. This has not been the case for all our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, and yet in those places where religious persecution is still happening daily, they still gather as the Church. If the Church didn’t gather, it would scatter, especially in the face of persecution. I wholly believe that persecution is coming in America, and while we know that our God is greater than the ruler of this dark world, persecution tests the resolve of our faith and produces a perseverance to those who are doers of the word. But if we are not making the habit to gather with Jesus and His Church, we will scatter in the end. And here’s the truth: we can’t expect to have great faith in a moment of any persecution if we don’t regularly meet with Jesus and exercise our faith in Him. This is how God designed our relationship with Him and each other. By gathering with Him, we grow and mature into more Christ-like people. By gathering together as the Body of Christ, we sharpen one another like iron sharpens iron and stir one another to love and good works. So…we shouldn’t neglect to meet. The disciples were known for spending time with Jesus, and when the counsel brought them in to tell them not to teach, they recognized they had been with Jesus, and the disciples passed the test as they stood their ground in faith regardless of their physical well-being. And one by one over the years, the disciples would prove their love of God and faith in Him as they were persecuted and martyred. That didn’t come from periodic church services, it came from gathering with Jesus, abiding in Him daily, and gathering with the Church to encourage one another in their faith. My dear sibling in Christ, you are for God, and He in you and greater than the enemy. Be encouraged by that fact that Jesus has overcome and therefore you will overcome. And lastly, be sure to gather with Him and His Church the way He designed and wills for you to.

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Luke 11:14-20) This interaction is so crazy to me, to accuse Jesus of casting out demons…by Beelzebul, the prince of demons; in essence claiming that God gets His authority by demons! Now, admittedly, any Christian would be biased here because we’ve already come to the saving knowledge of Jesus and know that He is indeed God, but holy smokes that is crazy. Interestingly enough, the Pharisees sought to discredit Jesus so much that they became hypocrites to their very claims. They were claiming Jesus cast it out by demonic power, yet Jesus points out that their sons cast out demons as well and asks what authority they do it by then. But the lesson we’re going to focus on here is that a kingdom divided cannot stand. A Church Divided This can be true of a church body. If a church is dividing within, they won’t be effective in the mission God gave them. Jesus prayed in His high priestly prayer, in John 17, that we as His people would be united as one body – His body. And He also said we would be known as His disciples by our love for one another. If we expect to be a household of God that won’t fail, we have to remember who the real enemy is, not fighting one another, but seeking to reconcile any hurts and be united in seeking and serving God. A Person Divided This can also be true of an individual person. If someone is riding the fence of faith, they are divided and cannot stand. You cannot be half in, half out. You cannot love the world and love God, you cannot be of the world and of God, you cannot serve the world and serve God – you’re either with God or against Him. James 4 tells us clearly that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Jesus later in this section, which we’ll go more into depth on next week, says in verse 23 “Whoever is not with me is against me”. That is a sharp claim that still remains true today. So, are you with God or against Him? We know that the kingdom of God has come upon us – it was proclaimed through prophecies of old and spoken of by John the Baptist and Jesus very clearly. We cannot be divided against each other nor in our own hearts and expect to be effective for God. United, Not Divided In seeking to be united and not divided, we have to be willing to be humble, gracious, and forgiving – all of which are not going to come from our flesh nature. Just as we gleaned from last week’s devotional, we must ask for the Holy Spirit knowing He can empower us to live with these characteristics that are natural to our God. The next time you’re faced with a situation in which you’re hurt or have a disagreement with another believer, ask the Holy Spirit for the empowerment to follow what Jesus said in Matthew 18, to reconcile and be united as siblings in Christ.

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13) This whole section, starting with the model of prayer is one continuous thought, so even though we’ve broken it apart to devotionally study through it week by week, we need to remember the context is still prayer. So, continuing in this context of prayer, Jesus gives another example and instruction on prayer. Last week, Jesus used the hypothetical example of a friend giving what was requested due to persistence, and this week we’re looking at another example Jesus gave of a father giving good gifts to his child. He started with a rhetorical question, getting the hearers into a mindset of the relationship and love a father has for his children using the earthly example of a child asking for food. Now of course this is completely relatable, because even amongst those who don’t have children, they can easily understand that a parent isn’t going to give something harmful when their child asks them for something they need. In Jesus’ model of prayer, He already included that we are to ask God for our daily provisions, but here Jesus goes beyond the necessities of things like food and shifts our focus to another need we have that we may not even realize we have – the Holy Spirit. In and Upon Now we know that when we accept salvation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He dwells within us; but we also have need of the Holy Spirit for more than just salvation. The Holy Spirit is the one who gives gifts of the spirit in which we are empowered to serve God and His people, He is the one who convicts us of sin, reminds us of God’s word, and guides us into all righteousness. Just as we surrender to the will of the Father, are covered in the righteousness of Christ, we are enabled to act like Christ and are being shaped more and more into His image by the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made it very clear that if we ask our heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, He will give Him. This is applicable to salvation as well as godly living. As Christians, we are our Father’s children in Christ – the Father of lights who gives good gifts and we can know that He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. So the question is: Do you ask for the Holy Spirit? And just like the example of a child asking for food, no one asks for food only once. It is a continual process. Now to make this clear, you aren’t asking for the Holy Spirit again and again unto salvation, because once you’re sealed with the Holy Spirit, you’re sealed. However, there are different ways in which the Holy Spirit interacts with us. He comes alongside everyone, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. Once a person has accepted Jesus as salvation, the Spirit indwells that person in which they are sealed as a guarantee of salvation. But we also see another way the Holy Spirit interacts and that is to come upon. In John 20, when Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room after He rose from the dead, we see Him breathe on them and said to receive the Holy Spirit. Then fast forwarding to Acts 1 when Jesus was getting ready to ascend, He said that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they would be His witnesses in fulfilling the great commission. It was when the day of Pentecost arrived that this happened and we see gifts of the Spirit in operation in the disciples He had come upon. Now the Holy Spirit coming upon someone isn’t some mystical thing, it’s simply the empowerment of God, enabling followers of Jesus to serve for the glory of God. A Daily Holy Habit With that in mind, if we are called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus daily, knowing that our flesh can be quite persistent in trying to win against our spirit each day, then doesn’t it make sense that we also need the Holy Spirit’s empowerment each day? We can and should be asking for the Holy Spirit every day, knowing that our good heavenly Father will give Him to those who ask. The Father knows we need the Holy Spirit. There’s no way we can walk in this life and follow after Jesus without Him. And notice that there’s no qualifier to asking, we just simply need to ask. I encourage you to make asking for the Holy Spirit a holy habit that’s part of your prayer life every day. If you don’t already do this, I want to challenge you to ask for the Holy Spirit every day this next week, starting right now, and take notice of the difference it makes in your life and being more like Christ – in your family, at work, in your responses to life circumstances. We all know we need the Holy Spirit, so take Jesus at His word in this and ask!

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 11:5-10) This section of Scripture is immediately following the model for prayer where Jesus taught the disciples to pray. Here Jesus gives some additional information of being persistent in prayer. He tells a hypothetical story of going to a friend at midnight with a need and receiving what is asked for because of being persistent in asking. That word “impudence” in our English means to not show respect for, but that’s not exactly what this implying here. It is implying that this person is such a close friend that they feel they can interrupt them in the middle of the night with a type of boldness and shameless persistence in their asking. If you’re only acquainted with someone, you certainly wouldn’t call or text them in the middle of the night, right? That would be considered rude. But if it’s your parent, sibling, close friend – you definitely have more freedom to approach them in the middle of the night. With God, we have even more freedom to go to Him at any hour of the day or night because by grace through faith we are no longer at enmity with God, we are His friends and children and can boldly approach the throne of grace for help. We don’t need to follow a certain etiquette, because He’s our Abba, our Daddy! Now there’s an important factor here. We can’t just ask for anything and expect God to magically give it to us; God’s not a genie existing to provide our every desire. But we can know that if we are seeking God, loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, being transformed by the renewing of our minds, we can indeed pray in the perfect will of God. And for the things when in our flesh we don’t pray in His will, we are reminded why Jesus included “Your will be done” in the model of prayer He taught. With that in mind, be persistent in prayer. Now our persistence to another human being causes an urgency for human reasons. In this example Jesus gave, it’s mainly out of annoyance to the persistence; but God doesn’t sleep, God isn’t annoyed with us for our persistence, and God isn’t even changed by our persistence because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever – but our persistence in prayer changes US. It gives us time for our hearts to change and align with God so that when we ask, we ask in alignment with His will in which, we will receive, find, and the door will be opened to us. As you persistently pray to the Father for things, be open to letting the Holy Spirit change your heart and mind, molding and shaping you into the image of Jesus through the transforming process of sanctification in your life. If you’re not receiving, finding, and having doors opened – don’t be discouraged, instead I encourage you to ask God to search your heart and align it with His so you can pray in His will, knowing that in His will the answer is always yes. I’ll leave you with these verses from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth: As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (2 Corinthians 1: 18-20)