Speaking Truth

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SPEAKING TRUTH

Matt 4:5-7

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 

NIV

Yes, the tempter knows the scripture, but he twists it, takes it out of context, manipulates it for his own purpose to test Jesus. It is difficult, in some sense, to understand how Jesus would allow this to even happen as he was the one who cast this devil, lucifer from heaven in the first place. We also think it was God who cast Lucifer to the earth, but Jesus is God, nothing was made that He did not make. Jesus was there in the beginning and so these two have a lot of history together, they are not strangers. Still, Jesus allows this to happen, so that we can gain insight into how the schemes of the devil will play out in our lives. We know Jesus is not going to yield to any of the temptations and we would think the devil knows that too, but still, he attempts to trip Jesus up in his scheme. We think that is a problem in our lives in that it seems for the most part that we always blame the devil for all the temptations we face. We think that first, we have to understand that the devil is not omnipresent and cannot be tempting all of us all the time. Yes, there are other evil spirits, angels that were cast down with Lucifer and may do his bidding or may not. First, we do not know how many angels were cast out with him, and second, we do not know for sure that he is in absolute control of all of them. From the experiences Jesus had with these evil spirits, these demons, they knew him, again because He was there when they were cast out of heaven. Nevertheless, because we cannot be sure if there are enough demons for each person that is alive, and of course the population of the earth has increased dramatically since the time they were cast down to earth and it continues to increase and their numbers do not. So the point of all this is that as Paul said, when we want to do good, evil is right there with us, and that is not in the sense beside us, but within us. The Apostle James makes it very clear that it does not take God, the devil, or a demon, to tempt us for we are drawn, dragged away by our own evil desires and when that temptation is conceived it becomes sin. The temptation is not sin, but it is what we do with it that counts. But, at the same time, we have to understand that we are capable all on our own to do evil, to sin, without any help whatsoever from an outside tempter. We are in error if we think we are a good person, for no one is good except God himself. Those are the very words of Jesus that both Matthew and Luke record when a young ruler came to Jesus and asked him what must he do to inherit eternal life. He started out by calling Jesus a good teacher and that is when Jesus made that comment about no one is good except God. Therefore, there can be no such person who can claim to be a good Christian, for that implies we are inherently good, when we are just the opposite, inherently bad, with evil residing within. We are all capable of evil all by ourselves. Here the devil tempts Jesus to prove that God will watch over him and keep him from harm, and we might think that sounds right, in some sense. But do we put God to a foolish test by some of the dumb things we do in life? Do we take chances that we shouldn’t? Do we put ourselves in situations that could raise up that evil within us so we yield to that temptation? We need to understand what we are capable of and resist even putting ourselves in those situations that could cause evil to have its way. The best way includes allowing God to clothe us in His armor, plus hide His word in our heart and mind so, like Jesus, we can discern the truth and quote ourselves those verses that speak to our temptation.

Self-Reliance

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SELF-RELIANCE

Matt 4:1-4

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 

NIV

It is interesting that Jesus had just experienced one of the greatest highs having the Holy Spirit descend upon him and hearing the voice of God the Father declaring that Jesus was His Son and that He was well pleased with him, then by the influence of that Spirit he is sent out into the desert to fast for forty days, and be tempted or tested by the devil. There are several truths here that are of interest.  First, we could compare This experience of Jesus, the second Adam, that he won the battle with the devil, as compared to the first Adam who lost his battle with the devil. Because of the first Adam, mankind was ruined, however, because of Jesus, the second Adam, Mankind is redeemed. It is also interesting that two of the Old Testament men fasted for forty days and forty nights. Both Moses and Elijah fasted, and it was at a time they were in complete union or communion with God. This is not to say that for us to find that kind of communion with God that we need to fast for forty days and forty nights, but it is just interesting that what Jesus did is sort of the same thing, in that he spent time alone with the Father and the Spirit. It was not till after his fast had been completed that the devil came to tempt him. This does give us some insight into our lives. It was when Jesus was hungry the devil came to him to tempt him with food, with providing himself with food by turning stones into bread. Hey, if you are a true believer in Jesus, you can do this or that, you can become famous, or well known, or wealthy, all on your own, with your own skills and talents. There are all sorts of schemes the devil can come up with to tempt us to trust ourselves rather than on every word that comes from the mouth of God. This is what he was tempting Jesus to do, trust in his own abilities as the Son of God, to break his allegiance with the Father. We know Jesus would never do that but are we confident that we would do never break our allegiance with God and look to ourselves for our needs. This morning we were just reminded that the Lord is our shepherd, we will not want. He is the one who shows us where the green pasture is, the place in our lives where we are provided for, where through his leading we are where we are supposed to be. He is the one who causes us to lay beside still waters, that he is the one who calms our hearts, that gives us the peace of mind, the world cannot give. He is the one who restores us, gives us life, sustains our life, even when it seems we are fading away, losing the fight, so to speak, getting down, experiencing a little despair, or even depression. We need not be concerned with our provisions, or search our own way in life, depending on ourselves for whatever we need. That is the scheme, the temptation to make these stones into bread. No, each one can choose for themselves, but as for me and my household, we will rely on God.

Baptized and Anointed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

BAPTIZED AND ANOINTED

Matt 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

NIV

It is interesting that Jesus felt that he must submit to this ordinance of baptism. There is a question as to whether this was an ordinance in the same sense as that of circumcision following the law of Moses. However, what is referred to as the law of Moses, is really the Law instituted by God, the highest authority. John the Baptist stands in the Jordon calling for the baptism of repentance with the authority of God. There is also something else that makes this an important event. Because within the Jewish law, when a new high priest is installed into office, he is washed, that is ceremonially washed and anointed. Jesus serves as the high priest forever, and thus he should be washed, baptized, and anointed. We see His anointing coming directly from the Father. It makes perfect sense that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day and that he Bar-mitzvah at age twelve, this is when Joseph and Mary had to go back into the city to find him. They were all there in the first place for the bar-mitzvah of Jesus. As we were in Jerusalem, we witnessed these celebrations with music and dancing in the streets. Jesus did all that was required as a Jew, and now this was the beginning of his ministry and needed to follow the protocol as a high priest. What an event that must have been. Surely those who were there, saw the Holy Spirit descend like above. This does not mean the Spirit was in the actual form of a dove, although He was in some appearance that was notable. If He was simply a dove, nothing would have been extraordinary about that. He had to have some special glow, some supernatural appearance for those to recognize, for Matthew to record this was the Spirit of God, one of the holy trinities of God. The fact that the Spirit hovered upon Jesus like a dove would have shown everyone that He was there. Then the voice from Heaven, this was the Father speaking clearly, not as the Israelites hear at Mt Horeb in the desert. Here, God the Father speaks in words the people can hear clearly. The Father anoints Jesus, making sure people know that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is loved by God, and He is pleasing to God. Would this not be the most excellent testimony that we could have? We have been anointed by Jesus, as He sent the Holy Spirit to rest on and in us. We have the plain words of God to hear each day. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior God declares us holy and blameless in his sight. He tells us that he loves us and is pleased with us because we are in Christ. When Jesus said that we would do that which he does, and even greater things, that would include being baptized, having the Spirit descend upon us, and being anointed by God as His children, loved and pleased with us.

Gathered in His Barn

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

 GATHERED IN HIS BARN

Matt 3:11-12

11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

NIV

There it is the fullness of the gospel in one statement. The whole truth of salvation is told right here. We are either in or out, and the choice is ours. Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That is if we accept his baptism because he has that winnowing fork. This fork is used to pick up the grain and throw it up in the air to separate the grain kernels from the chaff, or to stalk. In the day of Christ, the way a grain, such as wheat, was harvested, it would be cut down and piled up. The piles would be taken to the threshing floor, a place where the grain would not get lost as they took the winnowing fork and threw it up in the air, thus getting the kernels to fall to the floor and the chaff would blow away. This is the analogy of how Jesus will separate those who accept his baptism and those who do not. The kernel, those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and are baptized in the Holy Spirit will be gathered into his barn, or heaven, or the kingdom of God. The chaff, those who are not the kernel of grain, those who refuse to accept him, and his baptism will be burned up in the lake of burning sulfur. We know this due to the detailed account in the revelation given to John. Why would anyone want to be the chaff when they can decide to be the grain is beyond reason? We are so thankful that the Spirit got through to us and that we repented of our sin and accepted Jesus’s baptism with the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Spirit was the one who first convicted us of our sin, but that is far different from being baptized with Him. This being baptized is being immersed in the Spirit. Although he dwells within, it is deeper than that. We are immersed in the Spirit, which is completely covered by Him. He is more than a part of our life, he is our life. In some sense, it is like being immersed in water, and not just a second as in water baptism, but we are fully and completely immersed in the Spirit forever, under his leadership for he is the only one who can lead us into all truth. Without being fully immersed in the Spirit we cannot see or know the truth and we would then be susceptible to the lies and schemes of the evil one and all those who follow his ways. The other beauty here is also the confidence we have that we are going to be gather into His barn.

In Keeping With Repentance

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE

Matt 3:7-10

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

NIV

Why would John call those Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers? What is known about vipers is that they are one of the deadliest snakes that lived in Israel. From the account in the very beginning when God said the serpent was craftier and any of the other animals would imply that John was calling them out for being cunning and crafty, but also one of the most dangerous venomous people in Israel. They professed their religious acts but according to the words of John, they did not produce the fruit in keeping with repentance. What good is saying they are children of Abraham if they did not believe God as Abraham did which God declared to him as righteousness. The Pharisees and Sadducees tried to attain righteousness through the observation of the law. This was not just the law given to Moses, but of all the rules they had added. We can be sure there have been books written about all the aspects of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes as well as some of the other smaller sects within Jewish culture at the time of just before Jesus arrived. But the point here is about producing fruit in keeping with repentance. Although we were not born by natural methods into the family of Abraham, we can claim to be of his line because we believe God, except we believe through Jesus Christ and not through the law. Abraham lived before the law was given, so they could not claim in all reality that he was their father, for they did not live by faith, but by works. So, then there is something we should be doing in keeping with repentance and that produces fruit. Of course, we also know that the fruit of the Spirit is not us producing it, but the Spirit who dwells within us who produces that fruit in our lives. Still, we need to allow the Spirit to work within because we have repented of our sin, our self-driven life. If there is no evidence of repentance in our life, could we say that we might be in danger of being cut down and thrown into the fire? There must be evidence of repentance. We must produce good fruit, and the implication is the fruit of the Spirit, but at the same time it could also be a fruit that appears like a life that has been turned around and one that believes God and lives accordingly. If we use Abraham as an example, then we must be willing to sacrifice our most precious one to God. Abraham loved his son above all else for God told him he would have a son and through him, he would be the father of many nations. Abraham was willing to kill his son because God told him to. We cannot sacrifice anyone else, but only ourselves. Paul tells us to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. This is our spiritual act of worship. This is being a descendent of Abraham in a truer sense than those brood of vipers claimed. A viper only brings death to its victim.  Jesus brings life to those who believe, those who repented and live by faith and not by works.

Confessing Sin

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

CONFESSING SIN

Matt 3:4-6

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

NIV

There is such a great debate and a far difference of opinions regarding this baptism of so many people in the Jordan River. Much of this stems from the denominational backgrounds of the interpretation of this word, baptize. On the one side, there is the thought that John immersed all these people, on the other side he merely sprinkled them as in a ceremonial sense. There is the question rather both men and women came, and if both walked fully clothed in the Jordon and were immersed, as with what occurs today in some denominations. This is to follow the idea of complete burial and resurrection from the dead, that is the complete forgiveness from sin, and its penalty of death, raising as a new creature in Christ. There is evidence of such type of ceremony for a pagan becoming a Jew, but this has nothing to do with that, for this is people confessing their sins, Jews confessing their sins, making a straight path for the Lord in their hearts. People were understanding John to say the time of the Messiah was at hand, and they should prepare themselves for his arrival. We do not know how many people came to him. We do not know exactly how he baptized them, whether by immersion or by sprinkling them and that does not matter whatsoever, although we are sensing even though it seems strange they would be immersed in all their clothing and it would be otherwise not modest in the presence of both men and women to disrobe, we think they had to be immersed, as all need to be immersed in Christ. It also makes more sense this is a manner in which we follow Christ in burial, a mere sprinkling does not imply burial, however, ceremonially it could. But the point is still the same in that the people understood they need to get ready for the coming of the Messiah. We cannot get ready for he has already come, but as he comes into our lives, we do need to confess our sin and be baptized as Jesus was by John in the Jordan. Without the confession of sin, there is no forgiveness of sin. This is the main truth we must always be aware of in our lives. This is not a one-time confession and then we are all set up, finished, and never in need of confessing again for we no longer have any sin. How bizarre to even think that. Sure, we have left that sinful life behind, and we have changed our ways, for the most part, but what about those attitudes of envy, jealously, or not forgiving someone who hurt our feelings, of course, that would then mean that we think more highly of ourselves then we should, which is sin that needs to be confessed. What about the sin of gossip, or resentment, or being judgmental? There are so many attitudes and behaviors each day that would need confessing. Let us always be aware of the Lord and of our need to confess. We say it everything we pray the Lord’s prayer, forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us.

Make a Straight Path

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

MAKE A STRAIGHT PATH

Matt 3:1-3

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"  

NIV

In those days doesn’t really do it justice for Matthew has just skipped some thirty years of time in the life of Jesus. However, we do know from the gospel of Luke that John the Baptist was born about the same time or just a few months or so ahead of Jesus. John’s birth was a miracle as it was foretold to Zechariah by a messenger of God in answer to his prayer. But He was struck dumb until the birth of his son and as he was told, he named him John. We are going to get to how John looked later and his dietary intake, but for now let us consider that he had a special mission, one that God foretold hundreds of years ago through the prophet Isaiah. John’s call upon his life, the very purpose of his life was to be a voice calling people to repent and declaring or preparing the way for the Lord, telling people to make straight paths for him. That had to mean to make a straight path in their hearts for Jesus, for that is where he needs to be in every person’s life. We cannot make a path in this world for Jesus, although in some sense we can make a straight path for him by declaring the message of the gospel. We can also make a straight path for him within our own hearts. There are too many in this world who have established crooked and twisted paths full of deception and deceit. But we have been called to make a straight path, both in this world and in our own hearts. John was just one voice and that is all we have just one voice. John used his voice to prepare the way for the Lord. Should we not also use our voice to prepare a way for the Lord? Can we just live out our days in selfish ambitions? Can we just live our daily lives thinking of simply our needs, our self-fulfillment, and our plans for our golden years? How can we not be about the business of our Lord, saving people from their sins? How can we sit by while people we know are on that wide crooked, twisted road to hell, when there is a straight path, although it is narrow, right to the gates of heaven? Still, we are not all called to preach the word to the unsaved. Surely God has brought up evangelists over the years for that purpose. However, if we think of our heart only, then we need to be aware the path is straight, or if it has a few twists and turns within. Have we put up any barriers at all? Are we trying to hide away some areas of our heart from Jesus, although that would seem difficult as he knows our heart better than we do? However, should we not make straight the way for him into our hearts, and perhaps we should also be making headway in this world for the Lord. When we use that definition of grace, as we have, being the divine influence on our heart and how that is reflected in our lives, we must understand that as we reflect Jesus to the world, we are making straight a way for the Lord. The Apostle Paul also noted that we are always being made in the likeness of Jesus with ever-increasing glory, that is we are always increasing in reflecting his glory, each day we reflect more and more. By doing this we are making straight a path for the Lord both in our heart and in this world.