BIBLE READING; MATTHEW 12
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
We have seen this scenario over and over. An individual that tries to clean up their life, change their habits and perspectives, and working hard to “sweep clean” their life. Usually in the process, they weep, cry, and beg God for mercy and forgiveness. Then it seems when the house gets cleaned up and straightened out, they grow comfortable, lazy, prideful, and go right back to the dirt they were in.
It is sad, and yet we all have been there. We all know the misery of looking around and realizing how badly we have messed up our “house“ and how we feel like such failures. We all have experienced the long-suffering mercy of God, and the forgiveness He freely gives. We have all experienced the patient “sweeping” that God does of the dirt in our life. We’ve all had our house put back in order through God’s grace. The problem is that so often we have gone right back to the mess. We have proceeded only to dirty the house worse.
Jesus makes an interesting statement here, He says, “the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation”. Jesus says it will grow more and more common to see people do this. The problem is that the last stage of their life ends up worse than the first. The mess gets worse and worse. I encourage you today, get your house clean. I also encourage you today to keep it clean. When you and I resort back to past sins, it always gets worse each time. We do not need to be part of this “wicked generation”.