The Pharisees knew scripture but did not take the time to know the Messiah. The irony is today people claim to know the Messiah but do not take the time to know the scriptures.

John 7:45-52New King James Version (NKJV)

45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”

46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”

47 Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”

50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night,[a] being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

52 They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen[b] out of Galilee.”

The Pharisees knew scripture but did not take the time to know the Messiah. They knew that scripture said the messiah would come from Bethlehem, but they thought Jesus came from Galilee… What if they would have taken the time to search it out? Do you think they may have come to a different conclusion? Jesus was indeed from Bethlehem. They missed it and didn't know it.

The irony today is people claim to know the Messiah but do not take the time to know the scriptures.

Acts 17:10-15 NKJV ¹⁰ Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.¹⁵ So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

We are called to be fair minded (open minded)!!!! However, we are also supposed to see if things line up with scripture. We are not supposed to believe everything that e hear without testing it. Many believers today have no idea what scripture says. They hear a sermon or a teaching and that is their gospel. On the other hand some search for hours to prove their point (like the Pharisees), rather than searching the scriptures to find out the truth they search them to prove people wrong.

 John 5:39-40 (NKJV) You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ⁴⁰ But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Knowing these things we should be careful not to become imbalanced. We must be fair minded (open minded) and then go search the scriptures to see if what is being taught is true. This will do many things. When we hear a teaching, write down the scriptures and then go look it up -it will begin to show you what truth is and what it is not. Eventually, you will know many different truths of the bible. It will not take you hours and hours of studying to test (1 Thessalonians 5:21) the things you hear. You will learn like a child in elementary school, little by little, and not even realize how much you are actually picking up. It will also alert you when the teaching isn't necessarily lining up. 

The Pharisees said no prophet came from Galilee (v. 52) but there were several prophets that came from Galilee. Jonah, Hosea, and perhaps Elijah, Elisha, and Amos were from Galilee or at least close to it. Not to mention, Jesus was not born there but they assumed he was. The scriptures they were referring to said exactly what they claimed it said. The Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. This should raddle you a bit. This means you can know the truth and still not know Jesus. We must know Him. If we know scripture but we do not know Jesus, then it is useless to us. We need to be intimate with Him. Know Him for ourselves, like a friend.


Jesus wants to have a relationship with you…

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV) But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Romans 5:8 ESV But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 6:40 ESV For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Hebrews 11:6 ESV And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

John 3:16 ESV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Radical Stewards

Offering Illustration for 1/21/15:

I want to ask you a question. If you were going to interview me, and your job was to find out if I really loved my husband but you could only ask me one question. What would that question be? Think about that for a minute.

I asked that question on my Facebook a couple of weeks ago and people answered with stuff like…

1.       What do we do together?

2.       Have I been faithful?

3.       How do you help/support your husband?

4.       If your husband would die, would you miss him so much you could not live without him? (In the sense that your life would be drastically transformed.)

5.       Ask someone in the audience…

I ask this question because Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me?”

                                John 21:15-17 (NKJV)

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah,[a] do you love Me more than these?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[b] do you love Me?”

He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”

He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[c] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”

And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

It was a serious conversation…

He calls Peter: Simon, son of Jonas. He says his full name…

Just like it would affect my children if I said their full name…

It gets their attention!

Jesus says, if you love me then feed my sheep and tend to them.

How many of you have heard of the book “Love Languages?” There are several different ways to show our love. The book says that we all have a certain love language that we desire and that we function in naturally...

It is my responsibility to love my husband the way he feels loved the most. I need to speak his love language…whether it is mine or not.

We need to become bilingual AND multilingual in the Kingdom of God.

In fact the bible commands women to respect their husbands and husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. This is love language. 

We know that Jesus loved his church so much that he died for her….

This is the love language.

Jesus tells Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep...

I know we are not all called to be in front of the crowd like Peter.

However, I want to suggest that we are all called to make it happen…..

Romans 10: 14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

We are all called to finance the kingdom of God…

Matthew 6:21 (NKJV)

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We should not be insulted to have our sincerity questioned. It keeps us sharp.

He doesn't ask “Do you fear me? Do you honour me? Do you admire me?”  He asks do you love Him? Will you set aside your life for the church, like He did? Will you feed and tend to His sheep and the flock that you are called to be in?

Let’s lay it all down for Him. Let’s be radical stewards of what He has entrusted us with…

Torment Takes Your Strength!

In the past week I have heard two sermons on Samson and Delilah. While I was listening and reading the scripture, this jumped out at me that was not part of the sermons.

Judges 16:15-22 (NKJV)

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”

16 And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,

17 that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

19 Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. 22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.

First, I want to point out that Samson was telling Delilah that his strength was in his hair not being cut, verse 17. He was a Nazirite from birth. I am sure his mom explained the Nazirite vow to him several times. He believed in his hair and in his vow.  

However, when we read on, his strength did not leave him until she began to torment him!

Torment in the Hebrew word is `anah. It has a primitive root [possibly rather ident. with עָנָה (H6030) to answer, respond, testify, speak, and shout] through the idea of looking down or browbeating.

I want to propose that Delilah’s words tormented him and that was the cause of his strength to leave him, verse 19.

Torment is not from God…

Interestingly enough, he was still asleep when she was tormenting him. Words are powerful whether you hear them or not.

Once you lose your strength, the enemy can do as he pleases with you…hence the reason his eyes were plucked out! His vision was stolen and he was in captivity (another picture of being in the wilderness, going in circles, not able to find the promise land-God's promises or best for your life).

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.

Oddly enough, this verse talks about hair and strength. Samson had his hair cut and his strength was taken. Hair represents our Glory because it is our covering.

1 Corinthians 11:15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.

Glory is the Greek word doxa, which means a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, glory, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace.

                       

Covering is the Greek word peribolaion, which means a veil or a mantle. When I looked it up so I could share the meaning, I was astonished at what I found.  I know about the covering and being under authority but mantle actually means:

Mantle-Noun

1.     1.   a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women.

synonyms:

cloak, cape, shawl, wrap

2.      2. an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another.

"the second son has now assumed his father's mantle"

synonyms:

role, burden, duty, responsibility "the mantle of leadership"

The second definition is the one I want to talk about. Samson had a role, a responsibility and duty to keep a vow that he had made to God. Breaking such vows was a sin. When you sin, you lose your praise, honour, and good reputation. This is when torment can affect you and zap your strength!

It is all connected!   

Nehemiah 8:9-11 (NKJV)

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”

Side Note: I would like to consider that Samson, if he believed God for his strength, he would have said “God’s grace is sufficient for me!” He wouldn’t have been tormented, over taken, or blinded! 

Right beliefs are critical! 

"Flies Don't Land On Hot Frying Pans."- Pastor Brian Rezendes

Flies don't land on hot frying pans- Pastor Brian Rezendes

Yes, I am still thinking about this. I cannot help it. Flies in the bible represent demons (Beelzebub means "lord of the flies," Matt 12:24).

Whats crazy is I just had a whole semester of forensic science. They actually estimate the time of death of a person by the different species of flies that infest the body. Flies find DEAD bodies within the first hour of a persons death! You can study just about any species of fly and find out that their life span is from 1 day to forty days!! Those of you that know the significance of 40 biblically should get excited! Jesus fasted for 40 days!

Matt 12:22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons,” [Beelzebub means "lord of the flies"].

This poor man! He was demon possessed! He was blind in the things of God, and voiceless at the throne of grace! Satan blinds the eye of faith, and seals up the lips of prayer. He was spiritually dead and he had demons!!!

However, 8 chapters prior, Jesus fasted for 40 days. The significance of this is huge!!!! The disciples came to Jesus one day and said that they couldn't cast out a demon. Jesus explained to them that some demons cannot be cast out except by praying and fasting.

Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV)

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic[a] and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;[b] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus fasted for 40 days and the longest life span of a fly is forty days. I do not believe this to be a coincidence! If we want to cast out demons, pray for the blind to see, and the mute to speak-we need to fast…the longer the better. If we only fast for 7 days, we may only have dominion of the fly’s that live only 7 days and that leaves room for the flies that can survive 40 days!!

Side note:

If you are alive spiritually, the flies cannot land on you. However, sin leads to death and faith without works is dead. We need to be very careful that we are not professing to be alive when we are actually dead as a door nail! Fasting will raise you from the dead if in fact you are. It will also give you the dominion needed to keep the flys off of you and anyone you pray for.  

I have not been able to fast for more than 2 days so far. My prayer has been for God to give me the grace and strength to go longer. 

Some seeds germinate best after a fire...

Some seeds have a hard coating that can only be penetrated by fire. One of these is conifers. Conifers are evergreens. They are green during every season. They do not need to wait for spring to experience new life. They live in high altitudes and can survive conditions that have less fertile soils or less predictable drought regimes. In these conditions the proportion of evergreen species increases.
I would like to draw a parallel with Christians and evergreens. When Christians are in regimes that have less fertile soil (hard hearts) and hard seeds (hard words)(drug attacks, gangsters, hard sinners) - fire will make them germinate. They will need less water and they will survive extreme weather conditions (good and bad times). They will produce life- all year round, not just in their “season.” They also live in higher altitudes (levels).
Many Christians are planted by with different kinds of seeds in various soils. Some by the river and others in the wilderness- but the evergreens can survive almost anywhere and all year round- Selah!
Oh how my desire is to be an evergreen!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ecology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest#Classification

Pleasing Him and the Reward...

Hebrews 4:11 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

I love this passage. It tells us how to please our heavenly Father and how to be rewarded by Him! It offers hope. I love how it gives examples of different faith. Everyone of us is called to walk by faith. When we hear that still small voice, by FAITH, we get up and act on it!!! It may seem foolish, crazy, absurd and even extreme but when we get up and act on it, it is counted to us as righteous (Genesis 15:6). God loves that! He REWARDS that! Peter got out of the boat because of his faith!!!

What is insane is that Peter walked on water and as soon as he started to sink, Jesus asked him, why he had such little faith (Matthew 14:22-33)!!! Little faith!?!?!?! He walked on water!!! He was radical, he believed God and he didnt care what anyone thought!!!!

Today lets walk by faith like we never have before! Lets ask God to call us out on the waters....no matter how crazy or scary it might be, no matter how big the storm is- be obedient! The more you hear and actually do, the deeper walk you will have.

THIS IS WHAT WILL GET YOUR FIRE BLAZIN AND KEEP IT BLAZIN!

Side note

When Peter stepped out of the boat, I am sure the other disciples were trying to stop him!!! They really were concerned and loved him, they didn't want anything bad to happen to him, but he trusted God!!! When he heard God's voice, he didn't care what anyone said. ‪#‎TrustHim‬

"The Red Words" Part 2

 This is a continuance of the study, “The Red Words,” from last month. Focusing on what Jesus actually said to His disciples. The inspiration stems from Matthew 28:16-20 and John 8:31-32.

Murder Begins In The Heart

First, I want to talk about the Scribes and Pharisees.

·        The scribes were the people that had the duty of multiplying copies of the law and of teaching it to others (Ezra 7:6 Ezra 7:10-12 ; Nehemiah 8:1 Nehemiah 8:4 Nehemiah 8:9 Nehemiah 8:13).It is evident that in New Testament times the scribes belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, who supplemented the ancient written law by their traditions (Matthew 23), thereby obscuring it and rendering it of none effect.

·        The Pharisees were the religious leaders in Jesus day. The Pharisees said that they believed the whole Old Testament. They tried to obey all God's laws. They were proficient at the law and obeyed it many times to the tee, but often they pretended to be holier than they really were. They obeyed many unimportant rules. But often they failed to obey God's most important rules. And they refused to listen to Jesus. They cared more about their religion and their traditions than about God (not all Pharisees behaved in this way). Their leaders opposed Jesus, but some of the Pharisees believed Jesus. They realized that God sent Jesus. So they trusted Jesus.

Now, I want to read the scripture I want to talk about, this is Jesus speaking and teaching His Disciples after leaving the crowds...  remember: we are His disciples also, so He is speaking to us as well (Disciple - a pupil, student, and learner).

Matthew 5:20 (NKJV)

20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

When Jesus said this, can you imagine what the disciples were thinking? This must have shaken the disciples, and really got their attention. This task was nearly impossible.  The Pharisees were regarded as being far above those of the average person, like you and me. The disciples were mere men…they couldn’t compare to the Pharisees.

Jesus wanted them to understand that the only righteousness that satisfies God is faith in Him. He died for our sins because no matter how hard we try, we have all sinned, our righteousness is like filthy rags to God (Romans 3:21-22, Isaiah 64:6).

Now to continue with the scripture,

Matthew 5:21-26 (NKJV)

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

We know that this scripture is talking about murder….one of the Ten Commandments: Thou shall not murder.

Jesus is taking us a little deeper than the actual physical act of murdering someone.

What do you think this is saying?

Jesus is talking about being angry! He is comparing murder and anger…this is a hard saying. Jesus is questioning the interpretation of the Jewish scholars, not the old testament itself.

He is saying that murder begins in the heart.

How many of you remember the story of Cain and Abel? Cain rose up and killed his very own brother. Do you remember why?

Let’s read it,

Genesis 4: 5-8 (NKJV)

3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother;[a] and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

Something in Cain’s attitude was reflected in his offering. Instead of repenting of his wrong doing (with his offering) Cain became angry. He became filled with jealousy and ended up killing his brother….OVER ANGER. Abel was innocent of any wrong doing, he did nothing wrong (Matthew 23:35).

God told Cain that sin lies at the door and he must rule over it!

The idea of Anger or hatred being the same as murder is reiterated in this scripture,

1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

 To wrap it up this month, I wanted to be sure to end it with the way Jesus ended it when He was speaking to his disciples…

                        Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV)

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

He said to do what He says and then you will be a wise man. So what did He say to do, if you are angry at a someone?

Matthew 5:23-26 (NKJV)

23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

God told Cain to rule over his anger in Genesis.  Jesus told us to go make peace with our adversary and make every effort to settle any conflicts we may have with them (Luke 12:58-59).

What would this look like for you?  

Behave Like a Christian

Romans 12:9-21 (NKJV) 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

"The Red Words" Introduction 

"The Red Words" Part 1 

"The Red Words" Part 1

Introduction

 Matt 3:13-4:13

I have been praying and fasting for several weeks on direction from God on what I should do my bible study on. I believe I have received clear defining direction and I would like to start off with the verse that led me in the direction.

John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Jesus said if we remain, stay or continue in His word, then we are His disciples and students. I have called myself a disciple for 13 years now and I take it very serious. I do not take it lightly, for instance when people say they are Christian, many times it is taken lightly, it isn’t honored the way it should be. Everyone says they are Christian. But to hear, I am a disciple of Jesus…that catches people’s attention.

            Disciple means a learner or a pupil

            Christian means a follower of Christ

 Abide means to continue in it (His word)

Now, do not get me wrong, I am a Christian but I want to be a disciple with everything in me. I want Jesus to teach me the way I should live, what He wants me to do, and most of all I want to please Him….

The second part of that scripture really has changed my life. I was addicted to meth for more than 7 years. I could not even get out of bed without it, at one point I sold it and it robbed me from having a fulfilling life. I was suicidal and bipolar….but when I came to the knowledge of truth I was completely set free! No more addiction, no more mood swings and crazy paranoid thoughts and best of all…I love my life now. This scripture explains the “why” of everything I do.

            My whole intention in everything I do is to hopefully help lead someone to Jesus, the truth, and see them experience what I experienced 13 years ago that has changed my whole life.

            So in light of what I just shared with you, I want to take us in an in depth study of Jesus’ actual words and teachings. That is why I have called it "The Red Words." In most Bibles, Jesus’ words are printed in red. So with that said, we are starting in Matt 3-4.

Part 1: Baptism

The first red words that appear, are when Jesus gets baptized by John the Baptist. Let’s read it:

 Matthew 3:13-17 (NKJV)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[a] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus here was water baptized. I would like to point out a couple of things about water baptism before we proceed. Water baptism is a baptism of repentance. Repentance means a change of mind, a change of direction… to turn in the opposite direction, and have a change of heart.

Jesus was without sin, he didn’t need John’s baptism of repentance (1 Peter 2:22), yet he was still baptized.

This had two purposes: it was the public announcement that Jesus was the Lamb of God to the people (John 1:29-31) and it fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 9:24, Jesus was anointed (Acts 10:38) by the Holy Spirit (v.16) and empowered to begin his ministry. If Jesus was baptized, how much more do we need to be? (Luke 24:49 with Acts 1:8 and 2:1-4)

1.     Jesus was 30 years old

2.     It is a baptism of Repentance… babies/young children cannot repent. In order to have a proper baptism the person needs to be aware of what it symbolizes and be capable of actually repenting.

3.     Jesus was completely submerged in the water, not sprinkled. Baptize actually means to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to make clean with water.

4.     Getting baptized symbolizes a grave, you go into the grave dead and you rise to a new life in Christ.

Part 1: Study, Worship and Serve

The second thing in red would be Matt 4:4, 7, 10

Now keep in mind that Jesus was just baptized…

Matthew 4:1-10 (NKJV)

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”[a]5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b]7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”[c]8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[e]

Crazy, Jesus gets baptized and immediately after he went through the wilderness. He has Trials and temptations. Do not think once you decide to live a new life for Christ and die to your old life that it is easy. That is when the enemy shows up. Notice what is happening with Jesus and the Devil.

1.     Live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (v. 4)

a.     The Devil  tried to get Jesus to question who he was “IF you are the Son of God”

b.     He tried to get Jesus to question what his call was

c.      He cast doubt and tried to trip him up

d.     The enemy approached  Jesus when he was weak, he had been fasting 40 days

2.     Do not tempt the Lord your God (v.7)

a.     The devil purposely used scripture the wrong way

b.     He added to the scriptures

c.      He took away from the scripture

d.     It resulted in the scripture having a whole new meaning

e.     he quoted the scripture from Ps 91:11-12 and left out:

Psalm 91:11-12 (KJV) 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

f.       The devil then added to the word in Matt 4:6 by saying:

Matt4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

3.     Worship God and serve Him alone (v.9). Pride was what caused Satan’s original sin that got the Devil thrown out of heaven. He wanted to be like God. Worship only belongs to God and the devil has always sought that. (v.10)

a.     If the devil cannot receive the worship he will do anything he can to turn the worship to anything but God: money, clothes, possessions, drugs, alcohol, even family and fitness in some cases etc….

b.     Whatever you give your time, money, and devotion to above God is worship.

c.      Anything that keeps you from worshiping God or doing the will of God, is called idolatry (Col 3:5)

1.     Baptism

2.     Study the Bible  

3.     Worship God alone

4.     Serve Him

"The Red Words" Introduction 
"The Red Words" Part 2