Chosen and Sent

 Jesus Sent Men on a Mission

Book of Matthew Chapter 10

Who is a disciple of Jesus Christ? 

1) They will believe His doctrine.

2) They rest upon the sacrificial works of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation.

3) They are full of the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

4) They will follow according to His example.

You cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ if you reject any of these things!

There were many who followed Jesus at the first, but Jesus chose 12 specific men for His own reasons.

*****Mat 10:1  And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 

We can say that Jesus chose twelve men because there were 12 Tribes of Israel. 

At the time of Jesus the separation of the tribes of Israel did not exist in the fashion as determined by Moses.

It is the Church who will "Judge" the twelve tribes of Israel during the 1000-year reign of the Lord Jesus.

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Notice men have no power before they are given power by the Lord Jesus Christ.

These men were given only the same powers that Jesus had already shown to the world!

Mat 9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Jesus considered all humans as spiritual sheep:

Mat 9:36  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 

Jesus also said many more would become disciples if there were enough laborers with His message:

Mat 9:37  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; 

Mat 9:38  Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. 

These powers were amazing powers to be given to men. 

At this time they could only preach the same message as John the Baptist except to say the Messiah had come.

1) They had power to heal all manner of sickness and disease.

2) They had power to cast out evil spirits.

If you do not have the Holy Spirit living in you, then you have an evil spirit living in you!

Then we see the names of these 12 disciples who are now called apostles.

The 12 Apostles were men specifically chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that the traitor Judas is in this first group, but he is later replaced by the Apostle Paul, still because every Apostle had to be specifically chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know Paul, then Saul, was chosen as he traveled the Damascus Road.

There were no other apostles then nor can there ever be.

The Church is the one and only group chosen to spread the Word of God throughout the world today!

Their names:

*****Mat 10:2  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 

Mat 10:3  Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 

Mat 10:4  Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 

We must understand that when the Lord Jesus allocates power to individuals, it is not about ranking it is only about His ministry.

It is not about position, it is not about wealth, it is not about fame, it is not about earthly dominion.

Those given the power of Jesus Christ are given that power to reach and help people.

The soul of man is the most important commodity to the Lord.

The power of God is to be always directed against the evilness and wickedness in this world.

It is not the power to judge, the Lord holds that power to Himself.

Jesus Christ in the flesh could only be in so many places.

The Lord Jesus taught men to carry on His work after He completed that work and returned to Heaven in all His glory.

These 12 men were not administrators, they were always just ministers.

The Church has only one Head and that Head is the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is not the Pope or any other religious leader.

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

The Church is that "body", the Body of Christ.

Israel was first called the people of God, but they rejected the Lord.

Remember, the Lord Jesus will not force Himself upon anyone. When you say leave He will leave as Jews insisted before Pilate.

Mat 27:22  Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 

Mat 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 

Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 

Mat 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, “His blood be on us, and on our children”. 

Mat 27:26  Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 

Why would they still believe they are God's people?

The Church is now God's chosen people!

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

It is these Apostles who taught the message given to them by the Lord Jesus, how can we reject their message?

Jer 3:15  And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 

An apostle belongs to the One who sent them.

An apostle is commissioned to be sent out.

An apostle possesses the authority and the power of the One who sent them.

These powers were given to these 12 men and to Paul and no others.

Because these men died, then their apostleship died out.

At first these men went only to the Jews, but we must also remember, the Lord Jesus is all-knowing, and He already knew what would happen, Jesus came to die for all sinners in every land!

*****Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 

Mat 10:6  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

These disciples were undergoing a training program that they did not really even understand at this point.

This was a temporary mission. 

They were to go only to certain places. 

They had a specific message.

They had a specific manner in which they were to conduct themselves.

They had specific powers given under the authority of the Lord Jesus.

We should completely understand that no one is given the power to preach the Word of God unless they are called and then sent by the Almighty Living God.

Much of the problems in the Church today is because of so-called men of God were not truly called of God.

The message to the Jews was a message of repentance as John the Baptist preached. 

The difference being John preached Jesus was coming.

These 12 would preach that Jesus the Messiah was now here.

These 12 after the death of Christ and after the Holy Spirit gave them full power would preach, Jesus is coming again and their message would be to all people, in every nation, Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan alike.

Every human being will fall into one of these categories!

There were at this time many others who were following the Lord but most of them followed Him because of the miracles He had shown.

You see a ministry for the Lord is not a profession with retirement plans and salaries and all such things.

A ministry for the Lord is a commission!

Without the power of a calling to serve, you would have to serve in your own strength.

Without the power of a calling, you will try to serve with your own ideas of God's plan.

Without the power of a calling, you will always come up short in proclaiming the Gospel.

Without the power of a calling, you will always wonder if you are doing any good at all.

We find these problems in many a house of God today.

These 12 went only to Israel at this time and not to the lost world.

Only after the death of Christ and the Holy Ghost came down to these disciples at Pentecost, would their message be a true salvation message!

Rom 9:30  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 

Rom 9:31  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 

Rom 9:32  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 

Rom 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

We must understand that Israel will always hold a special place in God plans.

God made certain promises to Israel and He will keep those promises.

If we truly understand the plan of God for our salvation, then we should also understand once we are saved our first priority is to reach out to our family. 

These Jewish disciples were reaching out first to Jews a lesson to them for the future and a lesson for us once we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior.

We also see that those who are lost are as sheep. Sheep have to have a Shepherd to survive!

What was their message?

*****Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

They were not sent to “discuss” the Kingdom of Heaven, they were sent to preach!

They were to proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand.

They were to preach the message that the Lord Jesus gave to them, not some message of their own.

What did God tell Jonah?

Jon 3:2  Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, "and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee".

This is another problem in the modern church. The modern Church has forgotten "to preach the message of Jesus Christ".

This is the message given to the Apostles after Pentecost when they were filled with the Holy Spirit and sent out to the World!

We are never to preach or teach our own ideas about the Gospel, we are simply to preach and teach the Gospel of salvation and then all the Word of God as it is written.

2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

These disciples preached repentance and this repentance message is forgotten today!

We have to stop our sinful ways and turn toward Jesus Christ and His ways.

We cannot say God made me the way I am and refuse to repent, this is what the meaning of being "Born Again" is all about!

We must turn from our old ways and turn to the ways of Jesus Christ!

These disciples were given other powers that are not given to the workers of Christ today.

The Jews always had to have proof.

Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

This same sign that was shown to the Jews was shown to the world!

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 

The Lord Jesus Christ remained in a borrowed tomb for three days and three nights just as He said!

*****Mat 10:8  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 

These disciples were given great powers from the Lord, these powers do not exist on this world today.

These things cannot be done without the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat 10:1  And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 

We should understand all powers for the ministries of Christ come by Christ!

Notice the differences in the powers given to the Church and the powers given to these disciples who were to go strictly to the Jews.

1Co 12:28  And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 

1Co 12:29  Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 

1Co 12:30  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 

1Co 12:31  But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. 

The greatest trait we can be given from the Lord is a giving love!

1Co 13:3  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, "and have not charity", it profiteth me nothing. 

The message of Jesus Christ is nothing without "love"!

These disciples had to go to the house of Israel based upon their faith in Jesus Christ!

*****Mat 10:9  Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 

Mat 10:10  Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

If we place our faith in any of these things, then we cannot say we have true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most missionaries today do not go to the field until they have established a fund of support for themselves and their families, but the Lord Jesus did not allow these 12 disciples who would become the 12 Apostles, after Paul joined them, to carry these things with them.

The only thing they had, was their faith that Jesus was the Messiah, and the Kingdom of God was surely at hand.

These disciples were not allowed to accumulate great estates through their ministry, and they were not allowed to spend their own money on the ministries of the Lord.

1) Their minds and their hearts had to be centered on the Gospel and ministering to the people. Not buying, selling, or accumulating.

2) They were to trust God to meet their needs and teach dependence upon the Lord.

3) They were to depend upon God's people to provide.

4) They were to allow God's people to be a part of the Lord's ministry by the act of giving to that ministry!

The true servant of God is worthy of our support!

These Apostles were to give full time to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they could not do this without support from God's people!

*****Mat 10:11  And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 

Mat 10:12  And when ye come into an house, salute it. 

Mat 10:13  And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 

A worthy house would be a hospitable house. A person who was willing to entertain strangers. 

There was most always someone like this in every town, city, or village, it was in the Jewish culture.

These people would have good reputations for their hospitality to strangers and have good morals according to the Word of God.

These disciples were to stay in this home until their work was done in this area.

A worthy host would normally not be the rich nor the leading citizens of a city.

In many cases, the worthy host may not have the best accommodations, but this was not important.

God's people are never to seek more comfort and luxury over a Godfearing home!

All these things were to test the sincerity of these soon to be Apostles.

Once established they were to go house to house with the words of Christ.

Pro 18:24  A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Col 4:6  Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. 

If they were accepted into the home, then they were to share the peace of God.

If they were not accepted, then their salutation would be enough, and they would go elsewhere.

They were to say nothing else at all.

It is called being courteous no matter what that person did to you.

We are not ambassadors for Christ to make enemies!

If they reject the message of Christ, then they have rejected Christ!

These were all Jews but no matter what was served at mealtime was not to be rejected!

They were to be content with their accommodations!

If the house be worthy of it, God shall give them the peace you wish them. If not, He shall give you what they refuse. 

The same will be the case when we pray for them that are not worthy.

*****Mat 10:14  And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 

Mat 10:15  Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 

What is discernment? 

Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. 

As witnesses of the Lord Jesus we must discern and make "righteous" judgment, of the people we witness to.

We are not their personal judge, but we can judge according to the Word of God!

Jas 2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

1) Are they kind and gracious or cold and hard?

2) Are they just shy and bashful or really not interested?

3) Are they truly receptive or just kind and gracious to everyone?

4) Are they spiritually sensitive or just interested in religious questions?

In reality, we are not to waste our time on those who will never trust the Lord.

1Th 4:8  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 

How did the Apostle Paul react to these things?

Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 

Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 

Jesus put things a little harsher!

When we are rejected as witnesses for the Lord, just trying to tell someone about Jesus, the Lord Jesus says Hell will be hotter for those people.

If we consider the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to be some of the worst of all sinners, then we are thinking wrong.

Gen 13:13  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. 

We see many living in this lifestyle today and they will suffer in a like manner of Sodom and Gomorrah but those who have rejected the simple witness of the child of God, will find the "Judgment" of God to be even more severe!

Jud 1:7  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 

Sodom and Gomorrah rejected the truth of God!

Lam 4:6  For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. 

Today those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, reject the "Grace" of God who sent His only begotten Son to die for them.

All sin brings death of the soul and eternal damnation and eternal separation from a loving God, but to reject the Son of God brings with it an even harsher judgment!

At this time, these 12 men were witnessing to the Jews, but it will be the same for all those who reject God's Son!

The witness for Christ is just the messenger as is every true Pastor and Preacher.

Those that reject the messenger also reject the message, and that message is the salvation plan for this world.

This rejection brings the condemnation of God!

Jud 1:14  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 

Jud 1:15  To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and "of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him".

As the messengers of God we are God's sheep, and our Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 

The Lord Jesus has told us we would face persecution for becoming His sheep.

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

2Ti 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can send true messengers of Heaven.

We as disciples are commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we should have great comfort in this fact because we go forth with the power of God.

The Lord Jesus is fully aware of the persecution we will face!

Persecution teaches us about God's care for us.

Persecution matures us as believers.

God sometimes uses persecution to touch the hearts of the persecutors.

We must also consider that if we are persecuted to our death, we will be in Heaven before our dead body hits the ground.

Death holds no power over God's children!

We must not be caught off guard when persecution comes.

It is almost impossible to walk upon a snake, they can feel your presence as you walk.

A snake will get out of your sight as quickly as possible.

A snake is very quiet!

A snake does not expose itself needlessly.

A snake always seeks to preserve itself.

A dove is mild and meek.

A dove bears no ill or hurt.

A dove is innocent and inoffensive.

A dove is a symbol of peace and not war.

When we have the love of God, we will act like we have the love of God!

1Co 13:4  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

1Co 13:5  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

1Co 13:6  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

1Co 13:7  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

1Co 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 

1Co 13:9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 

1Co 13:10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

There is much more to be being a witness for Jesus Christ than just walking around with a Bible in your hands!

Amen

Jesus the Messiah

 Jesus Dealt with Questions

Book of Matthew Chapter 9

We can talk about the greatest of the traits of God, but we should understand that every trait of the Lord is perfect.

There is no weakness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The world will certainly look upon humility as a weakness, but it is not.

The world will look upon compassion as a weakness, but it is not a weakness.

The world will look upon love as a weakness, but love is not a weakness.

The world will look upon forgiveness as a weakness, but forgiveness is a great trait to have.

The Lord Jesus is perfect in every trait the world calls a weakness and yet there is no power in the world that can stand against the power of God!

We have already established that Capernaum was at this time the base of operations we could say of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus had been busy since His time of temptation, though Satan stood against Him every day!

Jesus had been in Gadara where He had met a man who had been possessed with the devil and Jesus had caused that horde of demons to leave this man.

The one thing we know for sure is, that Jesus can heal anybody, anywhere, and at any time if they will only trust Him.

Gadara was on another side of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus had been asked to leave Gadara and He left.

We should completely understand, the Lord Jesus will never force Himself upon anyone. 

This is a choice we must make ourselves and we must invite Jesus to come into our hearts.

Jesus left Gadara but not before He left a great witness of the truth behind.

Jesus was now returning to Capernaum where we pick up our lesson.

*****Mat 9:1  And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 

Mat 9:2  And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 

The palsy was a disease that caused the loss of muscular motion. 

Either in the whole body or in parts of the body. We will meet a man here who could no longer walk.

We might say if this man was in such bad shape, why does this passage begin with forgiveness?

It is really simple! It is far better to be forgiven of our sins than to be healed of any sickness.

If we are healed of one thing it will not be long until we are sick or weak from something else.

When you are forgiven of your sin by the Lord Jesus Christ, you are forgiven throughout eternity.

It is foolish to believe that our Savior has the power to forgive us our sins and then does not have the power to keep us saved.

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Why was this man forgiven? "Faith"!

Notice the joy in the voice of the Lord for being able to forgive this man and then add to that He healed him.

You will never receive anything from the Lord Jesus Christ unless you have saving faith!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

We must believe there is a God who is All-Powerful, and we must believe that he is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 

As we will learn as we continue in our study of the Book of Matthew, unbelieving religious leaders had already sent out spies to spy upon Jesus.

*****Mat 9:3  And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 

The scribes who were the men who made handwritten copies of documents, especially of the Old Testament Scriptures and the Books of Moses, the first 5 books of the Bible.

The one thing these scribes got right was the fact that only Jehovah God can forgive sin, because no matter what sin we commit, we sin first against God!

God expects us to treat each other as we would treat ourselves and most of us love ourselves!

When God says, "Thou shall not", He means it.

The Lord Jesus did not blaspheme because He is God! God cannot deny Himself!

God the Father (Jehovah), God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost).

Listen to what this passage says. These scribes spoke within themselves.

Jesus knows our every thought!

This is kind of scary. I know I have had some terrible thoughts that would greatly shame me if anyone else knew them, but Jesus does know them, and this is another reason we need Him to forgive us.

Mar 7:20  And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 

Mar 7:21  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 

Mar 7:22  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 

Mar 7:23  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. 

Jesus knew exactly what these hypocrites were thinking!

*****Mat 9:4  And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 

Mat 9:5  For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 

Mat 9:6  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

We must understand that sin is a great evil. If we get this one right, then we will understand that "faith" is a great blessing!

You see Jesus did not concentrate on the suffering Jesus concentrated on his "faith".

Does this mean that Jesus does not see our suffering? No not at all!

When "faith" is present, then suffering, just as sin, can be done away with!

In typology these men spoken of with palsy, represent the Children of Israel who are paralyzed in unbelief and cannot move forward until the blindness has been removed from their eyes.

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 

Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 

Rom 11:9  And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 

Rom 11:10  Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

They have stumbled at the truth of the Scriptures and paralyzed, but we already know this will end after they go through the seven years of tribulation.

We must understand, we are still "heathen" until our sins are forgiven.

No amount of healing can take place until our sins are forgiven!

To Jesus it was just as easy for Him to say "rise up and walk" or 'thy sins are forgiven" for only He knows what is in our heart!

The truth is all mankind are disabled and sick "spiritually"!

What is the truth of the job Jesus has given us to do?

1) We must realize it is our job to get the disabled to Jesus Christ.

2) We must acknowledge that only Jesus Christ has the power to help.

3) We must persist and persevere until we get the disabled to Jesus Christ.

Our lost children and grandchildren are not just someone we love they are spiritually disabled!

We must not miss that Jesus knows the rejection of religionists.

Religionists think only evil when the name Jesus is mentioned!

We also note that these evil and wicked men did acknowledge that Jesus had the power to heal.

They did not recognize that this healing power as being the power of God.

They rejected Jesus for many reasons and one of those reasons was that He could heal anybody at any time, and their thinking was that God would certainly not heal sinners.

The Lord Jesus asked, "Why do you have evil in your hearts"?

Why is this world so afraid that Jesus is real? 

Because their hearts are so full of evil wickedness!

You know what Jesus did not do? He did not show any fear.

He just went about the business He came to do. He was not intimidated by evil men!

What did this man who "was" paralyzed do?

*****Mat 9:7  And he arose, and departed to his house. 

Mat 9:8  But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

You see anyone can say "I forgive you" or even "rise up and walk", but if there is no action from those sayings then they are only loose words.

The Lord Jesus spoke our world into existence!

Col_1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

There will always be action in the Word of God, so we can depend upon the Word of God as being the truth and it is not important that the world believe, it is important that we believe as individuals.

When the Lord Jesus says your sins are forgiven, then it is not necessary for the world to believe!

Salvation comes to those whose sins are truly forgiven!

The fact is, the Messiah did truly come, and He will return a second time for separate reasons.

Salvation means truly saved and not ever lost again!

Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 

The sad fact is that some people attempt to glorify God, yet they will not receive forgiveness.

Just recognizing that someone has the power of God is not enough for forgiveness.

Forgiveness begins in our own heart and the Lord sees into the heart!

It is not even important that we marvel at the power of Christ! 

It is important that we recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and not just some prophet and not some man who went around doing good!

Col_1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

1Jn_4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1Jn_5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

The Lord Jesus Christ is certainly Emmanuel the God Man!

All those who witnessed these things marveled and glorified, but they did not recognize our Savior.

Then Jesus spots Matthew.

*****Mat 9:9  And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 

In this passage we will see a short introduction to the person of Matthew, known as Levi before accepting the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mar 2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. 

Luk 5:27  And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. 

Luk 5:28  And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 

If Matthew had written this book without the Holy Spirit, he would certainly have used more words to describe himself, but as Christians we know our old life is in the past but forgotten by the Lord and we begin a new life just as Matthew did.

The name Matthew means "Gift of God". He was the son of Alphaeus and was a publican or today we would say tax collector.

We all hate the tax collector!

Custom, as it was called was not for Israel but for Rome. A man such as Matthew would be located at the gates of every city, town, village, and along each highway.

They collected money that was paid for goods.

Many of these tax collectors would collect more than was due and they became rich. Rome did not care as long as Rome received what was called for.

They were called "Publican" which means an employee of low degree.

1) They were Jews who worked for Rome.

2) They collected more that was required.

On this day Matthew began working for the Lord and he and the Lord made a big deal of it making a feast to celebrate his last day as a Publican and his new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

What we should understand is that Matthew wanted all such as himself to meet the Lord.

*****Mat 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 

Mat 9:11  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 

Matthew was a hated man, but he found that God loved him.

Luk 15:1  Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. 

Luk 15:2  And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. 

Matthew had decided no more needed to be known about himself, and he moved on to tell the world about a Savior who loved all sinners and who came to save them.

When everyone else saw a man as a traitor who worked for Rome, Jesus saw a disciple who would become an Apostle.

The Bible teaches us to pay our taxes:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 

Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 

Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 

Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 

Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 

Rom 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

"As much as we can" we must live in peace with our governments.

The Lord Jesus saw the loneliness of Matthew, his lack of purpose, a man who needed a Savior.

What did Jesus see when He saw me?

What did Jesus see when He saw you?

What does Jesus see when He looks at His world today?

This world was created for Jesus to show His power!

One day for the Church at the 'Rapture" and seven years later one day of "Judgment" for those who reject Him!

Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

Mar 8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 

Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 

Mar 8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 

This is why today, during the Church Age is the "Day of Salvation"!

Jesus sat down with these sinners and joined them in a meal.

Then the super religious, who rejected all sinners and rejected that they were sinners or that they were self-righteous, looked upon Jesus with disgust.

We should acknowledge that the first thing that Matthew did was to bring all his old friends into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Ti 2:2  And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 

This is exactly what we are all to do today. To bring every sinner into contact with the one and only Savior.

Even Jesus cannot save a self-righteous man or woman!

*****Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 

Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 

Those who are whole are all those who think they do not need our Heavenly Savior!

What is the reality of this passage? It reminds us of the last Church Age that we are now in!

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

The so-called modern-day church has forgotten that there is never a day that we do not need our Savior!

Jesus is not allowed inside the modern church. 

The teachings of Jesus about abortion are forgotten.

The teachings of Jesus about the sodomites and the lesbians, and those who cannot determine what sex they are, all forgotten.

We either accept the Word of God as it is written and believe what Matthew wrote and Jesus said. 

Those that are whole do not need Jesus!

When we place ourselves above the Word of God, then we have rejected the God of the Bible and He is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Just like Jesus says, "go your way and learn what this means".

Jesus did not come to this earth to save those who have made themselves to be righteous!

Jesus came to save me a dirty rotten sinner! He can save you to.

Sin is a sickness and a sickness that affects our minds.

This sin sickness needs a Heavenly Physician!

Sin is the sickness of the spirit. Our spirit cannot be healed, but needs to be replaced by the Holy Spirit.

Sin is a sickness of the flesh. Our flesh cannot be healed, but needs to be replaced, we need to be Born Again!

We are foolish to believe our sin sickness cannot be healed and it begins with repentance!

Do not be one of those who continue to walk with the fatal disease of sin believing the Devil!

A merciful Physician named Jesus, brought the tools needed to heal us all and it begins with "Faith"! 

You see, we just need a "Blood Transfusion", we need to be washed in the blood of Jesus.

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

A merciful God came down from Heaven to put a stop to animal sacrifice and sacrificed Himself that we might be saved!

Then Jesus was confronted by men who had become the disciples of John the Baptist.

*****Mat 9:14  Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? 

By this time John the Baptist was in prison because he was not afraid to preach the truth to the government of Israel being led by King Herod.

It would not be long before John would be beheaded because of a political farce.

John had told his disciples that he had to step back so he would not draw people away from Jesus.

Joh 3:27  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 

Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease. 

John's disciples were a bit confused, so they watched Jesus for a while, and then had some questions.

Jesus will always receive our questions, but we must be prepared to know that what Jesus says is the absolute truth!

We cannot question the Word of God!

How, did Jesus answer?

*****Mat 9:15  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 

Mat 9:16  No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 

Mat 9:17  Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. 

We have talked a little about fasting.

When we fast, we prove to the Lord that we are serious about some request and are willing to give up something that we need if He would consider filling our request. A fast should always be about godly things such as beginning a ministry.

The disciples of Jesus did not seem bothered by the fact that John was in prison and be willing to fast and pray to God that he might be freed.

The Lord Jesus speaks wonderfully here.

Remember Jesus is God in the flesh and if He wanted John out of prison, He would have just caused it to happen as He did for the Apostle Peter.

John the Baptist had a large following, but we must remember his message.

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

The Lord Jesus was that Light that John preached of and this message was fulfilled and had no real meaning.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world!

Joh_8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John's disciples, just as the disciples of Christ, were to become little lights just as we are today!

Mat_5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Mat_5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Mat_5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The little lights, of the world is the Church and as commanded we must not allow our light to go out!

How could the disciples of Jesus mourn for John, when the Lord Jesus Christ was with them every day?

We fast today because the Lord Jesus is back in Heaven being an intercessor for our prayers.

When you put a patch on an old garment to repair a hole all people will see is that patch.

The religion of Judaism cannot be patched to become Christianity.

Christianity is something new that the Lord Jesus has built from the ground up.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and we are the Body of Christ.

Eph_5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Col_1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

You cannot take Christianity and pour it into Judaism, it will rot Judaism, and both would fail.

A bottle in this passage is really a skin that was used to contain the juice of the grape.

You could only use these things one time, because the juice would cause the wine skin to rot, and you would lose the grape juice.

You cannot take Judaism and pour it into Christianity, because Judaism is all about the Law and not Grace.

Rom_6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom_6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Gal_2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Gal_5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

These things are not hard to understand if you trust the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

We must just remove our own thoughts and concentrate on what the Lord has done for us.

He has reconciled us back into the favor of God!

2Co_5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2Co_5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Amen

The Power of God

 Jesus Used the Power of a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 8

The definition of power is "the ability to perform under one’s own authority any task".

In the case of the Lord Jesus Christ we would say Supernatural Power!

The ability to perform supernatural tasks under His own authority!

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Jesus not only has "power", but His power includes authority and ability!

We would never wish an ignorant, impatient, unmerciful man to possess such power and no man on this earth does possess such power, though some would have you to believe that they do.

All man-made power comes from God, good or bad. God provides the good and God may allow some bad if it fulfills His purpose!

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

We could say that Jesus shows us only a small portion of the power He possesses!

We can just open our eyes such as this season of Spring and see death come back to life and realize we have a God of life.

We sometimes forget His power of creation.

In fact we sometimes allow His power to save a soul, but forget His power to keep a soul saved when the same Scriptures say Jesus has "all" power on Earth and in Heaven!

Let us see what Jesus has to say:

*****Mat 8:1  When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 

Mat 8:2  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 

We should ask ourselves, just what is a miracle?

A miracle is a wondrous work of God that can be seen with our own eyes that takes place in this world.

There are no miracles that do not involve the work of our Omnipotent, all Powerful, God!

I repeat myself, there are "no miracles" that happen in this world that do not involve the hand of God.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

No human can be the cause of a true miracle!

Man does not have the ability to change this world, only God has that power, and that God is Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Not Allah, not Buddha, not any false deity!

We must not forget we live in a cursed world!

Only Jesus has the power to change this world or make changes to this world!

It is His world!

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

It would be better to ask ourselves, who can limit the power of God?

On the day of the Sermon on the Mount, a light came on in the mind of this leper.

This leper knew that to be healed of his leprosy all Jesus had to do was to just do it.

Do not let the doctor fool you, he or she cannot heal you, they can be used of God as an instrument of healing, but all healing comes by the will of God, just as this leper found to be true.

Medicines do not heal they are just tools of our Savior when they are prepared according to His will. We should realize that all medicines that work are made from some part of God's creation.

On this day, all Jesus did was touch this leper and this is all any of us need, a touch from on High.

*****Mat 8:3  And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 

Again we see the compassion of the Lord Jesus, but we also see amazing faith of a believer.

We begin to see where "faith is the key" to the workings of our Savior and our God!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

If we believe in "typology teaching" and we should, we can also see that leprosy in the Bible is a type of moral corruption.

Immorality will lead to the destruction of the body even more than leprosy!

The Lord Jesus Christ can take away our sin just as easy as He healed this leper of His leprosy!

In the time of these lepers, they lived a life where no one would touch them for fear of catching that disease.

Many have found out, that we as humans need a touch from those we care about and who care for us.

The leper who ventured out in public in the days of Jesus, had to walk pronouncing that they were unclean.

They would say, "unclean, unclean", and crowds would move to allow them to pass through.

Lev 13:45  And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 

Lev 13:46  All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

 The leper was treated as dead while he lived.

It is the exact same for each sinner who has not ask the Lord to come into his heart.

We are all the walking dead until, we accept Jesus Christ!

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Jesus immediately reached out to touch this leper to show him His great love, and immediately his leprosy was healed.

Jesus is the only one who can heal leprosy just as through Jesus is the only way sin can be forgiven!

Jesus did not like to broadcast to the world the truth of His miracles.

The message of Jesus is "Grace by Faith"!

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

*****Mat 8:4  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 

We should clearly understand that the Lord Jesus Christ did not want a multitude of people coming to Him just to see some miracle.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth with a plan of salvation. The same for the Jews and the Gentiles.

Mat 12:18  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 

Mat 12:19  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 

Mat 12:20  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 

Mat 12:21  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. 

The laws of Moses were still in effect for the Jewish people and this leper needed to go to the priests.

Without the official verdict of the priests, this leper could still not return to communal privileges. 

They still had to offer up the designated sacrifice to Jehovah.

Lev 14:4  Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 

Lev 14:10  And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 

Lev 14:11  And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 

These laws still existed in the time of Jesus and they still do to practicing Jews today the exception being, they have no Temple nor Tabernacle to practice their religion that still cannot save.

Again Jesus shows His compassion and a healing based upon faith.

*****Mat 8:5  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 

Mat 8:6  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 

Mat 8:7  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 

Capernaum was at this time, was the base of operations for the Lord and His disciples.

As Jesus was returning, He is met by a Roman officer. A Centurion would be in charge of 100 Roman soldiers.

Beseeching is not begging, but we could say he was pleading with Jesus and he got the attention of Jesus with the words that he spoke.

He was pleading for a servant. We do not know if this servant was a Jew or Gentile, and it did not matter.

Now palsy is known as paralysis, and no doubt the life of this servant was in jeopardy or could have been.

The pain comes from the uncontrolled contraction of muscles.

Leprosy and paralysis could not be cured by the medical professions of that day and not even today.

We see where this Roman officer had compassion for someone, who most Romans would consider a nobody.

Capernaum was in fact a military town and just like today cities near military bases are full of sinful attractions.

Notice what Jesus said. He did not say He would come and take a look at this man.

Jesus said: "I will come and heal him".

You know, it did not matter how close to death this servant was, Jesus was intending to heal him!

When this Roman showed the same compassion, then the Lord Jesus also showed compassion which is a trait of believers and Jesus told the man He would come and heal his servant but then something astounding happened.

A sign of faith that even the Jews did not show.

*****Mat 8:8  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 

Mat 8:9  For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 

Mat 8:10  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 

Many will teach you that the Gospels are all about the Jews, yet here we see Jesus with a Roman officer and Jesus treats him as He treats all people.

Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. 

Act 10:36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

The world has never gotten this one right. The world picks and chooses who they will deal with and all the others are left out.

The Roman officer humble himself before the Lord Jesus who he had never met, but knew only by reputation.

Mic 6:8  He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Here is a Gentile who had come to believe in the Jewish Messiah something these Jews had not done themselves.

We have already said it is faith that gets the attention of our Savior. Without faith we cannot please Him at all.

This Roman soldier recognized the power of God in this man called Jesus.

The truth is, no matter where we come from in this life, we are all unworthy to come before the Lord!

As a military man myself I understood the chain of command.

With the Lord Jesus Christ there is no chain of command! 

When that veil in the Temple rent into two pieces the doorway to the throne of God was opened to whosoever would come to the Lord, who humbled themselves and were full of faith.

We next understand that this Roman soldier did all these things in the presence of the Lord and he did not do it for himself but for a lowly servant. 

We can see the typology in this if we pay attention.

Jesus spoke to those who were present who were Jews.

*****Mat 8:11  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

We now see Jesus the Messiah as the Prophet.

He prophesies of the revival of the Gentile nations. The Church Age that we are now in.

We know that the Jews at this time felt that Jehovah was God of the Jews only, but the Messiah, God in the flesh, had a different message.

We are in the midst of the Church Age today, well in fact near the end of the Church Age.

The last Church Age is described this way:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 

Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 

It is evident that these things are true today of the modern church who have booted Jesus out of the Church.

Say what we will but the modern Church does not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ which are commandments!

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

It is about time for the Church Age to end and it will end with a Banquet in Heaven when the Lord Jesus brings His Church home.

All those who will miss out on the marriage supper of the Lamb, will be left in this outer darkness. "Outside the banquet hall"

*****Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

This is what is called the "Judgment of God".

The Lord Jesus is upfront claiming He will reject all those to lack the faith that this Roman soldier had!

The "Judgment" on unbelievers will be terrible!

Here Hell is described as an "outer darkness". A home of pitch blackness. A place without any light at all but still a place of torment.

Terrible weeping with the striking of teeth together in rage but also in anguish.

Who would want to go to this place, but this is where all those who reject the Lord Jesus and His Power to forgive sin but it is He who can also takes away that sin by forgiveness?

The greatest enemy of the Church today is all those who claim the Lord Jesus Christ, but who also want to hold onto their sin saying it is God who made them the way they are in sinful lifestyles.

You will not be able to find this line of thought in the Bible or at least in a true Bible.

Today there is a Bible for every belief when in fact there is only One Word of God.

Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

If your faith tells you that God made you the way you are, then your faith is meaningless because God said we must be Born Again into a new life according to the works of Jesus Christ who had "no sin".

To be a Christian still means to be "Like Christ".

Jesus told this Roman to go on home and he would find his servant to be healed.

*****Mat 8:13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Notice the "as thou hast believed".

Did you notice that Jesus did not need to be in the presence of this man with the palsy to heal him?

No matter where the Lord is, He can heal us! 

In reality we can say the Lord is everywhere all the time.

When Jesus has "all" power then this is what it means.

All these miracles the Lord did, do prove that He was the Messiah, but He did not do these things for that reason.

Jesus did these things because He is full of compassion for us!

Did Jesus heal everyone that He knew were in need? No

Did Jesus heal to prove He was the Messiah? No

It is not the action of miracles that prove that Jesus is the Christ.

It is the truth of the Scriptures that prove that Jesus is the Messiah!

We should also notice that Jesus approves greatly when we have interceded on the behalf of others, because this is what He has done for all of us.

We should be able to see what true "faith" can accomplish!

The more faith we have, the more we can receive of the Lord!

*****Mat 8:14  And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. 

Mat 8:15  And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 

We now know that it was Peter who lived in Capernaum.

We now know that Peter was a married man. A married man could not be a Pope!

We now see that Jesus does heal without a request.

It is the traits of compassion, mercy, and love that bring forth the "Grace" of God!

Jesus came into this home of Peter to rest because the flesh side of the Lord was tired, but the God side of Jesus does not ever rest.

We see that this mother did not ask for anything, Jesus just saw her suffering.

At this time Jesus had chosen His 12 disciples, yet Peter being a disciple did not earn him special privileges for his family. His family still suffered the same afflictions that are in the world.

According to the Book of Mark, Jesus had just preached a sermon in a Jewish synagogue.

Synagogues could be called a satellite of the Temple because not everyone could make it to the Temple on the Sabbath.

We should remember the Sabbath's Day journey which is less than a mile.

This mother n law was in a home. There was no crowd, no publicity, no recognition. 

Just a mother who had been overcome with a fever and just a touch from the Master set her free and she arose to help feed her family.

This is what God loves to do, to minister to His children. 

God's power is unlimited but so is His mercy!

*****Mat 8:16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 

Mat 8:17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

After a meal and a little bit of rest, the whole city turned out to see the miracle man Jesus Christ.

The ultimate cause of all sickness is sin.

The ultimate cause of all the wickedness in this world is those who are possess with evil spirits.

Do not be fooled. If you do not have the Holy Spirit living within you, then you are possessed by an evil spirit!

The Lord Jesus Christ can meet the needs of a multitude just as easily as He does for one individual such as Peter's mother n law.

One reason that Jesus did not want to broadcast his healing was so that people would want to see His miracles rather than listen to His message.

There is not one miracle that will save us from going to Hell even though saving a rebelleous sinner as I was from Hell could be seen as a miracle by those who knew me.

Not one miracle can save us from the wrath to come.

Not one miracle can deliver us from evil.

Faith in the works of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, is the only thing that can save us from the wrath to come and eternal damnation!

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 

The world needs Jesus. 

This city of Capernaum needed Jesus, but they chose the wrong reason.

It is great to be healed from sickness.

It is great to no longer possess an evil spirit.

These things will not get you through Heaven's gates.

Why did God pour Himself into this body of flesh called Jesus?

Luk 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. 

Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The Lord Jesus Christ had the power to heal everyone in this entire world. but this world has a greater need, and it is not miracles.

Whether we like it or not the Lord Jesus is returning to "JUDGE" this world and no amount, of miracles can keep us from this "JUDGMENT"!

By casting out devils, Jesus proved that Satan, the head Devil, had no power to stand against the Lord.

He is just a liar and a deceiver!

The one main reason the Lord Jesus healed so many during His days on earth was to fulfill prophecy.

Jesus had to make the written Word of God to be real or we would not be able to trust the Word of God.

People try to deny it, but the Lord Jesus made the Word of God come alive!

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

We do not have to understand all these things, we just have to accept it as the truth that it is!

The power of God is not to be mocked!

Act 10:36  The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 

Act 10:37  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 

Act 10:38  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 

The one thing that the world rejects is that all these things put together proved that this Jesus was truly the Messiah.

The world may call Him just a good man.

The world may call Him just a prophet.

Jesus is truly the Messiah.

I call Him Lord!

This world we live in cannot ever be fixed.

The Lord Jesus Christ will make all things new!

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

We can be a part of this new world only by faith in the works of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!

Jesus Teaching Us How To Be A Christian

 Jesus Changed Things like a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 6

Last week in Chapter 5 we read of the inward holiness of all those whose home would one day be in Heaven.

These are all those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

We should clearly understand that our journey to Heaven begins when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart and begin our walk of sanctification with the Lord.

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

To come out from amongst them is to repent!

You see what we do with our Christian life does matter to the Lord.

God expects us to be kind to one another.

God expects us to do good in the world.

God expects us to get personally involved in the goodness we learn from the Lord Jesus Christ.

God expects us to be personal witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In fact we are not being Christians unless we do these things.

Our fleshy nature must show an inward holiness because we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

All our intentions must be pure!

We must be pure in our giving.

We must be pure in our prayers.

We must be pure in our fasting.

We must be pure in our desires.

We must be pure in our actions while we are barely being seen!

*****Mat 6:1  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 

Most people see the word "alms" as relating to giving, especially the giving of money, but the Greek word "eleemosune" actually means "acts of kindness", "acts of compassion", "acts of righteousness".

Alms giving is doing good toward others without seeking a reward for your actions or drawing any notice to yourself.

Alms giving is a Christian duty and comes second only to witnessing for Christ and living in obedience to the Lord.

In fact living in obedience to the Word of God includes the giving of alms!

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

When we accept this as being the truth and it is, then we must be alert to the deception of the giving of alms by those who put on a show as they make a big deal out of the giving of alms as many of the Pharisee and Sadducee did in the time of Jesus.

It happens today when buildings are built, and someone’s name is placed upon it and many such things as this. Pews are in someone’s name.

*****Mat 6:2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

We have not talk about that word "therefore" in a while so let us not forget the meaning of the word.

Therefore means: For that; for that or this reason, referring to something previously stated.

In other words pay close attention to what was said in verse 1 when we read verse 2.

If we broadcast our alms giving, seeking glory for ourselves, then we are hypocrites then what we have done will not get a reward in Heaven.

In fact hypocrites do not even make it to Heaven!

Hypocrite is someone claiming to be Christian in their beliefs, but their actions prove otherwise.

Our Capitol city of our nation, is full of professing hypocrites.

The modern-day, Church is full of professing hypocrites.

Anyone denying the truth of the Scriptures is a hypocrite if they claim to be Christian, meaning like Jesus Christ.

Singers who refuse to sing in Church unless they are guaranteed a certain amount are hypocrites. They know the church uses love offerings as a gift, or alms giving.

Evangelist, who refuse to preach unless they are guaranteed a certain amount, are hypocrites.

Pastors who are called to preach but reject a church because of the salary offered are hypocrites.

Church members who claim Jesus Christ but pick and choose over the Gospel they will commit to are hypocrites.

Those who would rather have a reward here on earth rather than Heaven's Glory are all hypocrites!

Then the Lord Jesus gives us the remedy.

*****Mat 6:3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 

The more secretive we are in our charitable giving the better the reward in Heaven!

We know it is impossible that our left hand not to know what our right hand is doing but the Lord is saying no one else needs to know!

Our charitable giving is personal and individual.

Our charitable giving should always be for the promoting of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We should not dwell on our giving, if it is not given for the joy of giving it is not given for the right reason.

Once we have given our alms for the right reason then we have placed it in the hands of God, and we should forget about it and allow God to do His work!

*****Mat 6:4  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 

The only person who knows all "ALL" our secrets is our Heavenly Father. There is nothing we can hide from God!

When we have followed these guidelines in our giving, then the Lord will many times reward us in this life where many will see how God has blessed us.

The truth is a true relationship with the Lord can be seen as coming from the heart and a devotion to God in absolute sincerity.

We cannot increase the size of our Mansion in Heaven.

We cannot increase our wealth in Heaven because wealth has no meaning in Heaven.

We can know that there are rewards other than these things that God has for those who are true to Him!

Any time we appear as a hypocrite we will lose rewards that we could have gained.

A Heavenly reward is out of this world!

We all need some help in our prayer life and there is no such thing as being prayed up!

*****Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

Do we pray with a motive?

Prayer is having a conversation with God! Sure there is a place for corporate prayer but if you are like me, much of what I talk to God about is just between He and I!

It is important for good godly men to pray in the Church.

It is important for good godly women to pray in the Church.

It is important for others to pray while we pray.

It is important for our children to hear us pray.

But still, the majority of our prayers should be between us and God and we must always end our prayers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we do not take our prayer life seriously, we certainly become hypocrites.

We do not have to have a reason to begin a conversation with our Heavenly Father!

He always wants to hear from us!

When we are speaking to our Heavenly Father, we can speak to Him about anything and we do not always have to make a request of Him.

This is the prayer the Lord is speaking of here in this passage. One on one prayer with the Living God.

Hypocrites pray to be seen of men.

This does not mean that when we have altar call all those who go to the altar go to be seen of men.

This is a perfect time to pray because it normally takes place at the end of the message that is given to the Preacher.

This is a time when a heart is touched and just wants to talk to the Heavenly Father.

What Jesus describes is something else entirely.

A hypocrite may stand up while the message is still being preached and disturb the message claiming a movement of the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that this could not happen but there must be a movement of the Holy Spirit.

Anytime we draw attention to our conversation with God then we are praying to be seen of men.

God expects us to pray even though He already knows what will happen in our lives.

To pray shows that we trust that God can change the outcome of certain things, which He can.

We must certainly understand, God will never go against His written Word!

There is nothing we can say to God that will make Him change His plan that begin before creation.

The most important thing we can pray for is "forgiveness"!

We hold the most important gift God has given us, which is the freedom to choose!

The most important prayer is to pray for the forgiveness of our sin.

God will not hear any prayer until He has first heard this prayer!

Psa 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 

Our greatest challenge in our prayer life is to make sure our Heavenly Father will hear our prayers!

This is the right motive for praying!

If our prayers are heard by our Heavenly Father, then we have prayed a good prayer.

We must live our lives so that our prayers are always heard by our Heavenly Father!

We must remember the answer to our prayers comes by the will of God for our lives.

We cannot change God's will for us except by refusing.

When we are praying in public when we should be praying for that public and not for ourselves.

Our prayer life should consist of public prayer, but we must establish all prayers in our closet prayers!

We must be willing to spend some quiet time with the Lord!

We should be willing to go to God at any time and before every situation that affects our lives.

Praying is not to chant over and over!

Our prayers should be in the language that we use every day. God understands every language!

No one language, except foul language, is more important than another!

*****Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 

Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 

Vain repetitions mean at least two things:

1) Saying the same words over and over again as in a chant. These prayers do not come from the heart and God is not listening.

2) Using certain religious words or phrases thinking God hears just because we are using religious talk. Wrong, God hears a one-word prayer if it comes from a sincere heart. Such as "Help".

Ecc 5:2  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 

Ecc 5:3  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 

We should never just rattle on without thought of what we are saying! Knowing this we must certainly not ever stop and close out our prayer until we have given God a chance to speak.

After all we are praying to receive and answer most of the time.

It is also OK to pray to God when we are not expecting and answer. We are His child, and every true father likes to speak to his children.

God already knows our needs and He promised to meet our needs.

There are times when we may feel He is not meeting our needs, but our most important task is to be living in the Will of God.

If we are not living in the will of God, then why should He meet our needs?

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

Then the Lord says our prayers should be something like this:

*****Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

Why can we call the Creator of this world Our Father?

1) With respect to Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, all those who choose to believe the Work of Christ toward our salvation.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

2) Because we are "Born Again" into the family of God and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

3) Because we have received the free gift of "Grace". God's Riches at Christs Expense we can call God our Father.

2Co 1:2  Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

4) Because we have chosen to live by the Will of God and not our own will, God is then our Father.

Gal 1:3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, "according to the will of God and our Father": 

Gal 1:5  To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

If we do not acknowledge God as our Father, then why would He even listen to us?

A wise earthly father does all he can for his children even if he does not grant all his child's request the child still calls him their father.

We must respect our Heavenly Father as also God with all Power but with all Goodness also!

There is no other way to have a conversation with our Heavenly Father if we do not acknowledge Him and we must reverence Him for who He is, the Almighty Living God!

Then we can proceed with our prayer.

*****Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God is greater than all the kingdoms of this world.

1Co_2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

If we cannot believe in a Heavenly Kingdom, then why take the time to pray.

Mar_11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and "shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass"; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Rev_3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev_21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

If we cannot believe these things and have a desire to be with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom, then we are wasting our time praying to the One True God.

Our Heavenly Father holds power over all His creation, and we need to live according to His will on this earth!

If we cannot do the will of God, we cannot be in the family of God!

Mar_3:35  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

*****Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 

We must desire the "mercy" of God!

We must take no thought for tomorrow we need God's mercy day by day!

That daily bread is not just the food we eat but also that Heavenly Manna.

Mat_4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Luk_4:4  And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

We do have a specific need for our sustenance, but we should never be praying for luxuries.

We must include Jesus!

Joh_6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Joh_6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Joh_6:48  I am that bread of life.

Joh_6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

*****Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

We must understand that sins are debts, shortcomings in our service due to God.

We in debt to duty, worship, and most of all obedience to the Lord.

Obedience is where Adam failed!

We must understand that forgiveness is a favor that comes by God's "Grace" through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our hearts must be free of ill-will toward all others!

We must first be forgiving to those who have sinned against us before we pray for our own forgiveness.

Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 

Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 

We must understand that God supplies His "pardon" to us only according to these terms!

Our Heavenly Father promises to pardon us if we are obedient in all these things!

We cannot deal falsely with God and expect answer to our prayers!

*****Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

God will never tempt us Himself!

Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 

Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

As Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to face temptation, we will also face temptation, but He will also deliver us out of that temptation.

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 

God will always make a way to escape that temptation! It is the worship of false gods that will cause God to lift His hand of protection away from us!

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

1Co 10:14  Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who made a way for God to deliver us from temptation.

Gal 1:3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Gal 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 

All God requires of us is to pray and to pray for forgiveness!

King Jesus has already solved the sin problem for each believer!

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 

God is in the business of saving souls!

Psa 121:7  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 

Psa 121:8  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. 

That word "Amen" says we understand what we must do, (our part) and the God promises to do His part.

2Co_1:20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

However we word our prayers, they need to based, upon these things of this prayer as taught by Jesus Christ our Savior.

Why would He defend us if we reject His teaching!

We must be just as forgiving as we expect our sinless God to be!

*****Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 

Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 

What is the truth? If we cannot find it in our heart to forgive someone who has done us wrong, then we cannot be saved because our heart is still wicked.

Jer_17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

We cannot say we believe if we do not possess the trait of "mercy"!

Without "mercy" a loving God would have completely destroyed this world.

Psa 86:15  But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. 

Psa 86:16  O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 

God would not be God if, He was not merciful!

How can we expect to be accepted into the family of God if we do not show that same "mercy"?

What will God do to those who refuse to forgive? Listen to what Jesus says.

Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 

Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 

Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. 

Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 

Mat 18:34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 

Mat 18:35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. 

To be forgiven:

1) We must confess our sins.

2) We must have faith in God and believe he is capable of forgiving such unworthy sinners.

3) We must repent, we must turn away from our wickedness, forsake our sins, and turn to God believing in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ to save our souls.

4) We must forgive "all" those who wronged us. Hard feelings and anger are sins that must be confessed to show we are sincere in seeking the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father.

When we refuse to forgive then we become a judge of another person's sin:

Luk_6:37  Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Without these things we cannot be saved and do not be fooled by naysayers!

God makes a promise to forgive to all those who also are willing to forgive.

We are all still sinners, but those sins will be forgiven upon request.

Rom 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 

Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

It all goes back to that forgiving heart that shows "mercy"!

*****Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 

Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. 

We have seen this word "fast" in some of our recent lessons and we can see that Jesus takes for granted that we as Christians will have a time when we need to fast to prove to God, we are serious about some request.

The most dangerous fast is the fast that is wrong!

Fasting as a "hypocrite" is wrong!

Why do we fast?

1) We fast to gain a sense of God's approval and of self-approval. This is wrong!

2) We fast to fulfill some religious act. This is wrong!

3) We fast gain religious recognition. This is wrong!

4) We fast to genuinely meet God for some special purpose. This is the only reason to fast!

Our heart must be pure!

Mat 15:8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; buttheir heart is far from me. 

We must desire the knowledge of God!

Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 

We must not act super-spiritual!

We must never be over-confident in ourselves, our confidence must be in the Lord.

Our fasting experience is our own and not to be broadcast.

We must never act like we are suffering from our fasting experience.

If we cannot give up a couple of meals for the Lord what does that say about us!

The more secretive we are with our fasting the closer we are to an answer from God!

No one else needs to know about our fasting it is between us and a Holy God.

We must fast to God alone, there is no other reason to fast!!!!!!!

We fast when we are feeling a call from God a call to get alone with God and discuss His calling.

We fast to prove to God He is most important to us.

We fast because our needs come from Him as He promised.

We fast because we are serious in our request.

We fast to break the bondage of our habits.

We fast to remain physically fit to serve the Lord.

We fast because God and God only, has the answers to our request!

Amen