SF Stagecoach, NV
Dear Brothers, Sisters, Prodigals and
Unsaved,
Our Lessons in Matthew will always
contain topics such as; Life, Healings, Miracles and Deliverance. Throughout
Matthew. Today we'll learn; His
Word is telling us about; John's Questions, Jesus' Tribute to
John and The Unrepentant Cities-
So hang in there, - Abba [God], does not want His children to
have lack of knowledge, so Jesus tells us what it's like in Heaven, so we can
preach/live it on the earth.
Verse NOTE:
ALL meanings are from Strong's Concordance.
10:1-8 John's Questions:
·
[Matthew 11:1-3 NKJV] 1 "Now
it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 And when John had heard in prison about
the works of Christ, he sent two of
his disciples. 3 and said to Him, "Are You the Coming
One, or do we look for another?"
o
John the Baptist, was put in prison, because he
publicly shamed king Herod, for his flagrant sin, in marrying his
sister-in-law.
o The
doubts John had were due to John's purpose to prepare the Jews for the coming
Messiah - and John wondered IF Jesus was really the true Messiah. Then why was he in prison when he could be
preparing the hearts of the crowds for Him.?
·
[Matthew 11:4-6 NKJV] 4 "Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and
tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 "[The] blind see and [the] lame walk; [the] lepers are cleansed and [the]
deaf hear; [the] dead are raised up and [the] poor have the gospel preached to
them. 6 "And blessed is he
who is not offended because of Me."
o
Jesus answered His cousin John's doubts, by
pointing to the acts of Jesus, John's disciples saw/heard and Jesus preaching
the Gospel. With so much evidence - it
was obvious Jesus was the Messiah.
o
Why did Jesus say, "blessed is he who is
not offended because of Me? NASB reads
"And Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me?" Have you ever had anything confront you over
and over again? You're tired, weary,
exhausted to the bone, so any reminder is offensive to you. Example: For months the Holy Spirit was
telling me to get back in the Word. I
was so busy, setting my Uncle [74] up in NV I had gone three months not getting
in the Word. I had bound [Genesis 1:28 ] "...over the
birds of the air, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth." some red ants from my land,
usually in the next morning they were gone, but for 3 mornings I commanded them
to leave, they didn't. Finally I asked
the Lord why they weren't leaving - His exact words were "THEY ARE LISTENING TO YOU, AS YOU'VE BEEN
LISTENING TO ME". Needless to
say, I went back in the house, called my Uncle and stopped going daily to help
him. I needed rest and the Lord's strength
to help me, to help him any more. I
repented, and the ants left the next day and have not returned since. PTL. I was stumbling over what I knew to do, and
the needs of my Uncle. ABBA FIRST!
o
If there are times, you doubt your Salvation,
the forgiveness of your sins, or Abba's [God's] work in your life - look at the
evidence in Scripture and the changes in your life. IF you
doubt, don't turn away from Christ - TURN TO HIM!
7-19 Jesus' Tribute to John
·
[Matthew 11:7-11 NKJV] 7 "As
they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:
"What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by
the wind? 8 "But what did you go
out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft [clothing] are in kings' houses. 9 "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 "For this is [he] of whom it is written:
'Behold, I send My messenger before Your
face, Who will prepare Your way before You.' 11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not
risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
o
Each time Jesus questioned the multitudes,
"what did you go out to see"? His answer must have been that some expected
to see "a read shaken by the wind." "A man clothed in soft
garments" or did they think John was a Prophet? John was neither weak, nor tossed to and fro
from the wind. John was hardly dressed
to entertain, when he was always baptizing people in the water - so what did the people come to see? A man, speaking BOLDLY about the coming of
the Messiah, that they needed to repent to receive Him when He came.
o
Jesus doesn't expect perfection from us, just a
sincere willingness to allow Him in your
life. He proved Himself by the many
miracles; demons cast out, various healings and raising the dead. It doesn't matter to Jesus how many sins you've
done, He's always knocking at your door wanting you to open it, for Him to come
in and cleanse you of your sins. How
much more must He prove to you? Truly,
without Him, you can do NOTHING [John
15:5]!
·
[Matthew 11:12 NKJV] "And
from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it
by force."
Ø
Kingdom
means: royal power, kingship, dominion, rule, not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather
the right or authority to rule over a kingdom, used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah.
o
Think about it, 1/3rd of the angels were thrown
out of Heaven, but where are they? The
twerp's [satan's] domain is below the Heavens, and above the earth. The 2/3rd are constantly watching over us,
protecting us from the twerp's minions tempting us, to keep us, often by our
fleshly desires, away from Jesus. The
enemies among us their main goal is to destroy our lives. It's not just the ones who are new in their
born-again experience. Did you know that
infants when born, have their own angels watching over them?
o
Earth is a violent place, but there are many
angels watching over us.
o
When I have to move/lift something heavy, I
always ask for an angel to help me - and although I don't see them - the couch
slides out easy so I can vacuum behind it and the 40 lb bags of solar salt seem
more like 10 lbs - that I can handle. Check
out Hebrews 1:14 below, they
are here to minister to us who have accepted Jesus, so when you need HELP -
ASK. Yet, James 4:2-3 tells us why it doesn't work sometimes when you
ask. So make sure you ask for the right
reasons.
Ø
[Hebrews 1:14
NKJV] "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for
those who will inherit salvation?"
Ø
[Psalm
34:7 NKJV] "The angel
of the LORD encamps
all around those who
fear Him, And delivers them."
Ø
[Matthew 18:10
NKJV] "Take heed [warning] that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their
angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."
Ø
[James 4:2-3 NKJV] 2 "You lust and do not have. You murder and
covet and cannot obtain. You fight and
war. Yet you do not have because
you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may
spend [it] on your pleasures."
·
[Matthew 11:13-15 NKJV] 13 "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 "And
if you are willing to receive [it], [John]
he is Elijah who is to come. 15 "He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
o
Many keep guessing who the 2 witnesses are. Some say Noah and Elijah, but in truth
Elijah's spirit left John the Baptist's body when John was beheaded. Some say it will be an Old Testament Prophet
and a New Testament Prophet. We are the
seed of Abraham and one of the witnesses should be him. Yet, on the Mount of Transfiguration:
Ø
[Matthew
17:1-3 NKJV] 1 "Now after six
days Jesus took Peter, James, and John
his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He
was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes
became as white as the light. 3 And
behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him."
o
Whoever comes, they will be here not for the
Christians, but for Israel
·
[Matthew 11:16-19 NKJV] 16 "But
to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in
the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 "and saying:
'We played the flute for you, And you
did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.' 18 "For
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19 "The Son of Man came eating and
drinking, and they say, 'Look, a
glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But
wisdom is justified by her children."
Ø
Lament
means = "to beat one's breast for grief." In other words, they did not agree to morn
for someone when they refused to lament.
o
The enemy never gives up, putting thoughts in
our head, to speak negative, doubtful words against anyone who follow
Jesus. But our wisdom is justified by
the Word of God [Bible] and we have the option to believe it or not. In truth, if you doubt the Word, your FAITH
cannot grow, nor can you please Abba.
Ø
[James
2:17-26 NKJV] 17 "Thus also
faith by itself, if it does not have
works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I
have works." Show me your faith
without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You
believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! 20 But do you want to
know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by
works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works
faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
"Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot
also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent [them] out
another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
Ø
[Hebrews
11:6 NKJV] "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."
Ø
[Jeremiah
1:5 NKJV] "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before
you were born I sanctified you; I
ordained you a prophet to the nations."
o
Yes, Jeremiah was ordained at conception as a
prophet, but Abba created a 5-fold ministry and all Christians belong in at least one
of them. Who'd have thunk [not me] that
I'd be teaching to the nations, by this blog?
Ø
[Ephesians
1:11
NKJV] "In Him also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel
of His will,"
o
Being dead in Christ, is not the place any of us
should be. There can be no Fruit or
Gifts of the Spirit - when one is dead spiritually. No Holy Spirit to guide you to read or
understand the Bible, other than thinking it's a history book. But I tell you this - THE BIBLE IS ALIVE! Just as the Angels are watching over you and
your family. And we all have been
pre-ordained to do special works here on earth, for such a time as this!
o
When you have the "Wisdom of Christ"
you train your children in His ways and then, they train their children up and
you have one BIG REUNION in Heaven with all your relatives and your children's,
children for eternity - whole and happy.
20-24 The Unrepentant Cities:
·
[Matthew
11:20-24 NKJV] 20 "Then He
began to rebuke the cities in which
most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For IF the mighty works which were done in
you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 "But I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre Sidon land of Sodom
o
Would you say, that any unrepentant cities are
going to be in HOT WATER? Why? Because few, if any, can claim they have
never heard of Jesus. That they
experienced miracles of some kind - but still refused to believe. Their outcome will be like Tyre Sidon Sodom
Ø
[Mark
3:7-8 NKJV] 7 "But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the
sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem Tyre Sidon
o
Yet they chose to disregarded Jesus and His
works. They might have gone home happy,
healed or delivered, but they neglected to give Jesus or Abba the Credit/Praise for
their healings - so the Word didn't get spread around of the Messiah they
met and what He did for them. I also believe this is why it's so
important to give your Testimony to others - It a great way to SPREAD THE
GOSPEL - and keep it going.
25-30 Come To Me:
·
[Matthew 11:25 NKJV] "At
that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these
things from [the] wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."
o
Notice, the two kinds of people Jesus
mentioned, "wise" and
"babes"? The wise were arrogant in their own knowledge
- and the babes, were humbly opened to receive the truth of God's Word. Are you wise in your own eyes or can you see
the Truth in a Childlike faith? Solomon
wrote most of the Book of Proverbs and we know how wise Abba made him.
Ø
[Proverbs
3:5-7 NKJV] 5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And
He shall direct your paths. 7 Do
not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil."
o
Thinking you can be smarter that Abba is
foolish. It's so much easier to ask Him
to deal with something, that you have no peace or understanding of. All our wisdom is from Him, so why not just
go to the source? And to stop everything
else, IF He can't find a way - HE MAKES ONE!
o
The Lord started my ministry in healing, but I
started to goof up, by "leaning on my own understanding and trying to do
it my way which boiled down to "lack of FAITH", instead of letting
Jesus do it HIS WAY - The RIGHT WAY.
Needless to say, I no longer tell Him, how or when to do anything - I
just TRUST HIM, with all my heart, to fix what is needed in someone - and it's
done!
Ø
[Isaiah
43:16-17 NKJV] 16 "Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty
waters, 17 Who brings forth the
chariot and horse, The army and the
power (They shall lie down
together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched
like a wick):"
·
[Matthew 11:26-27 NKJV] 26 "Even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 "All things have been delivered to Me by My
Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know
the Father except the Son, and [the
one] to whom the Son wills to reveal [Him].
o
If Abba thought it right to make the earth
Jesus' footstool, because He offered Himself to save us. - JESUS MORE THAN
DESERVES our LOVE & LOYALTY. There was nothing we could do on our own to
change - But IN CHRIST ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
He's the only one we can trust - He will not lie to you but in Him all
will work out for the best.
Ø
[Matthew 19:26
NKJV] "But Jesus looked at [them] and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with
God all things are possible."
Ø
[Numbers 23:19
NKJV] "God [is] not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man,
that He should repent. Has He said,
and will He not do? Or has He
spoken, and will He not make it good?"
·
[Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV] 28 "Come
to Me, all [you] who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke [is] easy and My burden is
light."
o
How much easier our lives would be, if we'd just
follow Matthew 11:28 -30. I get so weary some days and IF I didn't have
His Promises, I could never get through these days. But He helps us over and over again.
Ø
[Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV] 8 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things [are] noble, whatever things [are] just, whatever things [are] pure, whatever things [are] lovely, whatever things [are] of good report, if [there is] any virtue and if [there is] anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. 9 The
things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
o
You have to admit - if we kept our words to only
this Scripture - WE'D SPEAK A LOT LESS! [HAHA].
I know these
chapters can get long, but has it been better taking a few scripture [bites] at
a time, discussing them in how we can put Abba first in our life and do what
pleases Him? To me, enjoying the cake is
good [but overloading sweets can make you sick], but having smaller slices
daily are more enjoyable - and lasts longer.
Let me know what you think.
My prayer 4 U: Father, in Jesus'
Name I'm asking You to reveal, to Your Children, how to think from
Heaven's perspective, so we can release Heavenly solutions
in our lives and to help others, help us NOT TO LEAD with
our head, but with the heart of JESUS! - In
Jesus' Name - AMEN! and AMEN!
Blessing
to ALL,
Sandy -
The Lord's Servant
No comments:
Post a Comment