Let us pray that the Spirit will be poured upon us from on high.
When people stop listening to God’s Word, their life becomes ‘a
desolate wasteland’ (Zechariah 7:11-14). What are we to do when we see
this happening? - ‘Do not be afraid... Be strong’. We must keep on
believing God’s promise: ‘I will save you, and you will be a blessing’.
We must keep on praying that our faithful witness will bring others to
the Lord: ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with
you’ (Zechariah 8:13, 23). We must pray that ‘the Spirit will be poured
upon us from on high and the desert will become a fertile field.’ ‘Don’t
hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all
to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father’ (Isaiah 32:15;
Matthew 5:15-16).
Through the power of the Spirit, we are born again.
‘Glorious things are said of you, O city of God... The Lord will write
in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they
make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’ (Psalm 87:3,
6-7). The ‘city of God’ is our glorious destination - ‘we are looking
for the city that is to come’, ‘the Holy City’ (Hebrews 13:14;
Revelation 21:2). It is also the place of our heavenly birth - ‘This one
was born in Zion’. The heavenly birth - This is where our journey to
the ‘city of God’ begins: ‘No one can see the Kingdom of God without
being born from above’ (John 3:3). Between our heavenly birth and our
glorious destination, there is life in the Spirit: The Psalmist says,
‘All my fountains are in You.’ Jesus says, ‘Rivers of living water shall
flow from the heart of anyone who believes in Me’ (John7:38).
The Spirit leads us to call upon the Name of the Lord and be saved.
To ‘Jew and Gentile’, God says, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved’ (Romans 10:12-13). The Jews had praised the Lord
Jesus: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even
the King of Israel!’. Before long, they were shouting, ‘Crucify Him,
crucify Him!’ (John 12:12-13; 19:6). We rejoice that the Gospel has now
come to the Gentiles. We remember also that God still ‘holds out His
hands to Israel’ (Romans 10:19-21). Still, Christ says, ‘O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem... How often would I have gathered your children together...’
(Luke 13:34). ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’, for the advance of the
Gospel among the Jews (Psalm 122:6). Pray also for the ‘voice’of the
Gospel, ‘going out into all the earth’ (Romans 10:18). Pray that ‘faith
will come as the Word of Christ is heard’ (Romans 10:17).
Through the power of the Spirit, we are led in Christ’s way of victory.
Having overcome His enemy, Jesus begins His ministry. Satan will be
back - Luke ends his account of Jesus’ temptations with these ominous
words, ‘When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left until an
opportune time’ (Matthew 4:12). Satan will try again, but - for now - he
has failed to stop Jesus setting out on His ministry, a ministry which
brings light into the darkness. The light is shining brightly - ‘the
Kingdom of heaven is near’ (Matthew 4:17). Jesus’ ministry is viewed as a
fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy (Matthew 4:15-16; Isaiah 9:1-2).
The prophecy had been given: Death will be overcome, men and women will
be delivered from ‘the shadow of death’. Now, in Christ, the prophecy
has been fulfilled: by His death, Christ has destroyed ‘him who holds
the power of death - that is, the devil’ and He has set ‘free’ those who
live in ‘fear of death’ (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Christ’s victory over the
world was won for us (1 John 3:8: 5:4-5). Jesus was not a loner. He was
a team leader: ‘From victory to victory His army He will lead’ (Church
Hymnary, 481). At the very outset of His ministry, He set about putting
together His ministry team. Peter, Andrew, James and John were the first
four disciples. He called them to follow Him. His call was both
gracious and demanding. It is gracious because it is the Saviour who
calls us: ‘Follow Me.’ It is demanding because He calls us to follow, to
submit to His Lordship: ‘Follow Me’. These men were called to a new
kind of ‘fishing’ (Matthew 4:19). Jesus’ ministry reached ‘great
crowds’ through His ‘teaching... preaching... and healing’ (Matthew
4:23-25). This chapter sets the scene for Jesus' ministry. We see the
Word of the Lord triumphant over Satan, fulfilled in Christ, and
effective in the lives of the disciples and the crowds.
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