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  PHARISEES ARE SUSPICIOUS AND ASSUME THE WORST ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE
  by Zac Poonen
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Summary: The Pharisees' suspicious nature is rooted in their selfishness
and inability to believe in selfless motives, causing them to attribute
evil motives to good deeds.

Topics: "Hypocrisy", "Judgment"
Scripture References: Matthew 12:23-24, Luke 6:41

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DESCRIPTION
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Zac Poonen addresses the critical nature of the Pharisees, who, despite
witnessing Jesus' miraculous acts, chose to attribute them to evil
motives rather than recognizing His divine authority. He highlights the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who are quick to judge others while being
partial to their own family members. This sermon emphasizes the danger
of suspicion and the tendency to assume the worst about others, which
stems from a selfish heart. Poonen calls for self-examination to avoid
falling into the same critical mindset that the Pharisees exhibited.

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CONTENT
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"The Pharisees said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the
ruler of the demons." (Matthew 12:24).

When Jesus cast out a demon, the crowds said, "This must be the Son of
David (the promised Messiah)" (Matthew 12:23). But the Pharisees were
disturbed by the fact that Jesus did something they themselves could not
do. And so they assumed the worst.

Even when someone does something good that blesses others, Pharisees
will attribute an evil motive for that deed. If, however their own
children had done the same thing, they would have boasted about it and
attributed the best of motives - because Pharisees are partial towards
their own family members, but very critical of others. Pharisees are
very suspicious of others and cannot believe that anyone would do
anything with a selfless motive - because they themselves are so
selfish. If you are a Pharisee, you will find yourself attributing wrong
motives for the good that others do and being critical of those whom
others appreciate.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/zac-poonen/pharisees-are-suspicious-and-assume-the-worst-about-other-people/
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