The Gospel
of Matthew
Chapters Three & Four
Lesson 3 – Get behind me Satan…it is written!
Main Text:
Then Jesus said to him, “away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall
worship the LORD your God and Him only you shall serve” Matthew 4:10
John the Baptist came preaching; there is a gap of about thirty years between chapter two and three.
John is fearless, radical and effective in his ministry of preparing the nation for Jesus: Verse 5 states; Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and the entire region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptised by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! The root meaning of the word REPENT is to have a change of mind and lifestyle as a result of looking back retrospectively. This should not be confused with REGRET which has a fixation with the past and many times leads to
a crisis. Being creative with the word REPENT, you can allude that it means to
re-PENT. Go back to the top, to the penthouse!
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and saviour is said to be born-again (John 1:13, John 3:3). On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were baptised into the Holy Spirit and tongues of fire were lighted upon their heads.
..And are you coming to me? John’s amazement at the humility of Jesus who submits Himself to human authority despite the fact that HE is LORD of lords and King of Kings. Ancient of days, without beginning or end, Alpha and Omega. The Creator of all things. Colossians puts it this way; He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and
for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist… Humility is the bedrock of true greatness.
Jesus came up immediately from the water; the heavens were then opened and John saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon the Lord. A voice came from heaven saying, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. This passage shows the triune nature of God, the Trinity together. The doctrine that God is ONE in three persons is a revelation the heart can grasp but the head struggles to understand!
Chapter 4 begins with
a strange statement; led by the Holy Spirit into temptation! This opens a big question of how God deals with us. Does He allow the enemy to test us so that we can be fit for purpose?
Or is it our sins that make us susceptible to demonic attack? Job’s friends insinuate that he must have sinned and therefore God was punishing him (Job 4:8). We can see from this case and that of Job’s, the test can come as an initiative from God. Therefore some trials in our lives are straight from the throne (James 1:12).
Into the wilderness…;
one of the deep principles of anointed ministry and life is that; private victories equate to public success. What you did in private where no one saw your diligence and discipline has a waygetting public endorsement after awhile. Some seasons of our lives demand obscurity. Jesus ‘disappeared’ for 18years before re-emerging at this public occasion.
It is written! Our Lord shows us the best way to resist temptation is by responding with the Word of God. it is important to note that the Scriptures were already written in Jesus’ heart so that He could draw from His memory bank. David said; your word have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against you Psalm 119:11. It is a very wise thing to have regular reading time for the bible. Parents who desire to raise godly kids should discipline themselves and their family to give priority to the Word of God. This should not be confused with attending services or other Christian activities. The average Christian should have a wealth of memory scriptures in their hearts. When life and the enemy come to test our faith, our source of resistance and victory will find its roots in our Word storeroom deep within our hearts.
And Angels came and ministered to Him: in our Christian journey, we need to be aware of and receive the ministry of Angels. This has been a long overlooked or ignored resource for believers. The bible states very clearly that Angels are ‘civil-servants’ for Christians – Hebrews 1:14. The Psalms inform us that; He gives His angels charge over us (Ps 91:11). We are not instructed to pray to angels but on special occasions they show themselves to man in aid of God’s Kingdom – Luke 1:30.
And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee SAW two brothers: it is very important as a believer to go about with your spiritual eyes open. The spirit of discernment is one of the outworkings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As a business-entrepreneur, a homemaker or professional, it is important that we catch things quickly in the spirit. Paul prayed the eye of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what the hope of His calling is Ephesians 1:18. Seize God-given opportunities.
The Gospel of the Kingdom: is the good news of the arrival and manifestation of God’s rule on Earth!! This message which began with John the Baptist (3:2) was now picked up and proclaimed by the Messiah Himself (4:23).
The Sermon on the Mount is basically the manifesto of this Kingdom which radically changes our lives.
The terms Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God are generally the same thing. Our Lord taught us to pray Your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven. This is the invasive powerful realm that the Church and Christians take with them wherever they go in the world. Jesus said
believers are the Light and Salt of the Earth bringing illumination, salvation, deliverance and preservation.
By believing on the Lord Jesus and being baptised by the Spirit of God a person steps into the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). We are thus snatched from the controlling realm of darkness and
transported into a new realm of love and light (Colossians 1:13)
Once a person catches this by revelation they would have faith to confront life with an inner joy and victory that nothing in life can overcome (1 John 5:4). The good news of the arrival of the Kingdom of God, in a person or situation ,is the best news available to mankind. Many times the enemy comes to becloud this with distractions, trials, worry and heartaches (Matthew 13: 18-22).
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