John the Baptist begins his ministry. Jesus calls His disciples and declares how to enter the kingdom of God to a lost world.
Matthew 3: John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"
4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,
6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
The Baptism of Jesus
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 4: The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you, 'and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.
13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles---
16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.
25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Things to think about…
1. We are introduced to the Elijah to come that Jesus spoke about, Mt 3:1-12 cf Mt11:14. It is of course John the Baptist. He is like Elijah possibly by the way he dresses and the fact that he is sustained in the wilderness “John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey”, Mt 3:4. He is certainly like Elijah in the sense that he shouts out God’s Word of judgement, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”, 3:7. How many preachers do you know today that would not only say this, but have the right Spirit as they said it? We have a Spirit of grace as well as truth. Pray the Lord’s preachers are blessed with both these qualities.
2. What an incredible blessing for those who were able to witness the Baptism of Jesus by John. Do you believe in your heart the same thing that the Father revealed from heaven for all to hear , “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”, Mt 3:17? May we also be well pleased to follow Christ in all we say and do.
3. Any ministry that is being anointed and blessed by the Lord will undergo a period of testing and refinement by Satan. The ministry of the Lord Jesus was no different. Satan always quotes the word of God out of context and Jesus confronts him by quoting the appropriate scripture back at him. We can hear things and think that they are true and sound legitimate, but really they are lies from the devil. In these seasons it is important to remember to test the spirits. The best way to do this is to go with prayer, discernment, and the counsel of scripture to assess all the facts from every side. Proverbs 18:17 helps us here – “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
4. Jesus began preaching where He had no distractions. He didn’t preach at home in Nazareth where they didn’t have their ears and He didn’t begin in Jerusalem where the Scribes and Pharisees were prejudiced as to who the Christ would really be. He goes to those who are living in sin in the north of Israel who are not spiritually hardened to the truth. He fulfils prophecy from Isaiah 9:2 regarding Himself as He does so. The message nonetheless very direct “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”, Mt 4:17.
5. Jesus calls his disciples, and they immediately follow him, Mt 4:20, 22. The crowds of course love the ministry of Jesus. Who wouldn’t, He is an amazing healer and a deliverer of demons. He would even go on to miraculously feed them. We know that His popularity would not last when He revealed how the kingdom of heaven would be achieved – through a Roman cross.
6. If Jesus had remained just healing people and casting out demons, Mt 4:23-25, His ministry would have been celebrated by one and all. Unfortunately for some, Jesus being the logos, the Word of God, the miracles came with the testimony of His words. This is the part that many, indeed most did not appreciate, certainly at His trial before the crucifixion. Any ministry that wants to follow Christ must not just be one of compassion, miracles and healing. It must also be complimented by the words of Scripture by proclaiming the whole counsel of God.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “Divided we fall” - from 1 Kings 12:1-24
1. We have heard the phrase “united we stand and divided we fall”. Jesus said “a house divided against itself cannot stand”, Mark 3:22. Can you remember a time where you worked as a team on a project to complete an agreed outcome, or otherwise where a team member let you down. Has this happened to you in a spiritual context?
2. Solomon’s son Rehoboam didn’t listen to the counsel of his father or elders and became a foolish son, yet Solomon was not without blame – discuss. How have you been influenced by your parents? How have you influenced your children?
3. Israel was divided due to the folly of Rehoboam, but 1 Kings 12:24 says “for this thing is from me”, referring to the Lord’s plan over it all. Explain how you reconcile this statement with what is clearly sin being used by the Lord in the lives of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. What encouragement do you find from this statement?
Prayer Points
1. Pray for ministries as they start up this week.
2. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points.
1. Safe return of everyone from holidays
2. Testimony of Richard Gauntlett on Sunday.
3. Josh and Ben leading worship, Dan on sound, Maddison and Melissa on the desk.
4. New volunteers stepping forward to help out.
5. The unity and grace on display at CBC.
Announcements
1. PlayPatch for toddlers on break for 2 weeks.
2. Kids@church starts back on Sunday. Please check your rosters
3. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all teenagers.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
