Tag Archive | Matthew

Matthew 8 – Meeting Jesus : The man of Authority

Mar11

Good evening y’all. We are looking at Matthew chapter 8.

Today’s blog has been written by someone dear to my heart 🙂 . I pray you are blessed as you read. Amen

Just reading through the chapter gives various aspects of Jesus’ personality.  From healing the Centurion’s servant without having to be there in person; to rebuking infirmities and demons and the elements; and even inspiring a following of people in those who allow Him lead them.  All these topics were really though-provoking, however, I would like to talk about one aspect of Jesus’ personality: Jesus: The Man of authority.

First, in order to get us all on the same chain of thoughts, I’d like us to think about what authority means to each of us.  People of authority (in our lives) tend to order us around; provide protection for us; instruct us on what to do; and even delegate authority to us so that we may do something in their stead.

Some time ago I got into pondering upon the Centurion’s encounter with Jesus (Matt 8: 5-13).  From their conversation, it is easy to see that the Centurion had settled (in his heart) the questions of, ‘who is Jesus?’ and ‘is He capable of granting my request?’.  He called Jesus, ‘Lord’ (verse 8); and didn’t just say it, but expressed his acceptance of Jesus’ lordship by humbling himself before Him. This was a man who had understood, by reason of his training as a soldier, the meaning of authority, and the respect for authority.

Now I want us to ask ourselves these questions: Do I respect Jesus’ authority? Whenever I approach Him, do I make demands or humbly make requests that also speak of His boundless abilities so that He is glorified before all?  This was what the Centurion succeeded in doing.  He exalted and believed in Jesus’ supernatural abilities so much that He saw what others could not see: that the manifestation of Jesus’ power and authority in our lives was limited by our faith.  In other words, we prevent Jesus from doing all the things He wishes to do for us because of our limited faith.  This was later exemplified in the disciples’ actions on the boat in verses 26 and 27.

In verse 3, Jesus made it clear that He can not be forced into doing what He doesn’t want to do.  He has authority to show compassion.
In verse 13, Jesus made it clear that He can effect His authority without being physically present, by healing a person far away.
In verse 15, Jesus made it clear that He can effect His authority over sickness by just a touch.
In verse 16, Jesus made it clear that He can effect His authority over a variety of illnesses and spiritual problems.
In verse 26, Jesus made it clear that He has authority over the elements.
In verse 32, Jesus made it clear that he has authority to cast our and determine the destination of demons.

In all these examples, the authority of Jesus was recognised by the sickness, demons, wind, and even the Centurion.  And so I ask again, ‘Do you recognise His authority, and what does that cause inside of you?’  Does your recognition of Jesus’ authority cause your faith to rise like that of the Centurion?

Romans 1: 20 says, ‘For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.‘ (NIV)

Jesus showed a nature the Centurion could recognise and relate with: established authority is wielded effortlessly by whoever possesses it.  The teacher in verse 19 recognised that Jesus is a Teacher for teachers to follow.  Today, Jesus still expresses His nature to us in various ways, even according to our experiences in life:  He is the Leader for leaders to acknowledge and follow; the Physician for physicians to acknowledge and follow; the Son for the sons of God to acknowledge and follow; the Priest for priests to acknowledge and follow; and so on.

Why don’t you acknowledge, exalt and desire Him for the boundless things He can do?  Do not limit what He can do in your life.  Let your faith rise to meet Him, giving glory to Him who can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us.  (Eph 3:20-21)

Hallelujah!!!!!

—Blog by Kenoye Muzan.

Thanks for joining today

Have a wonderful evening 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Matthew 7 – Finger Pointing

Mar10

Good Afternoon y’all. Today we are looking at Matthew 7

Be blessed 🙂

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Matthew 7: 1-5 (NLT) :

1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.[b] 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[c] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[d] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye”.

As Christians we shouldn’t go around with a judgmental attitude thinking we are better than others, displaying a holier than thou attitude or being quick to condemn others. One tends to find out that those people who are condemning, are also guilty of the same offence! I’m reminded of the story of the women caught in adultery (John 8: 1- 11). The people who were quick to judge her, were no where to be found after Jesus told them if none of them are guilty of an offence, they can cast the first stone. They all disappeared one by one until Jesus was the only one left and He told the woman to go and sin no more. He showed her compassion instead of condemnation. If Jesus had condemned her, perhaps this woman wouldn’t have experienced the love of God and come to know Him. A lot of people have missed out on salvation because of someones judgmental attitude towards them.

Jesus clearly tells us not to judge others because we too will be judged. I often hear people say when you point a finger at someone there are 3 fingers pointing back at you. The Message version of verses 1 – 5, drives home this point about judging others.

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor”. (Matthew 7:1-5 MSG)

People will treat us as we treat them. If we want to be treated rightly then we need to make the effort to treat others rightly as well.
If we all treated each other the way we want to be treated, the world we live in today, will be a better place. As Christians we are called to be different and not live as the people of the world do. Jesus has set the standard for us. Yet most Christians are quick to judge and condemn each other 😦 sometimes i find myself doing it without even realizing I am condemning with my words or actions. Church hurt has become really common today because of this attitude. I have had people say to me they would rather stay at home and pray to God in their room than go to church and have someone look down on them because they don’t fit their expectations or not good enough. When i hear statements like this, it breaks my heart because the church should be a place where all are welcome irrespective of color or status.

We are the church of Christ and not the building. If we want to see change, it has to start from us. Each and everyone of us has a part to play as stated in verse 12 of our chapter today. I pray God gives us the grace to carry out this instruction

“Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets[a] are all about”. (Matthew 7: 12 CEV)

“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get. (Matthew 7: 12 MSG)

Verse 21 – 23 was a bit scary when I read it. Made me ponder on my obedience to Gods instructions. I don’t want God to reject me on that fateful day due to disobedience

“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.” (Matthew 7: 21 -23 MSG)

I pray God will give us the grace to be obedient to His word.

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. Thank you for reminding us of how we should treat each other. We ask for grace to deal with others with compassion, help us not judge and condemn. Give us the grace to fully obey You. Thank you Dear Lord. In Jesus Name we prayed. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a wonderful evening 🙂

***With God all things are possible***