"After God had spoken to our fathers through the prophets many times and in many ways in the past, he has spoken to us in these last days through the Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2) When Jesus came on the scene, many things changed.
"Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins break, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are lost; but they put new wine into new skins, and both the wine and the skins are preserved." (Matthew 9:14) The Jews had remained in their tradition and they did not receive the Messiah. A change was introduced but the Jews did not accept it. "God was made manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16) "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15) Things have taken on another dimension. Believers must realize the size and dimension we have entered.
All the saints and the righteous, when they died, they went to Hades. They could not enter the presence of God. When John saw Jesus, he trembled. The purpose of his ministry was to introduce this Jesus. When Jesus came on the scene, John's ministry ended, John was seized and locked up.
Matthew 3
When we say breeds of vipers, we mean the seed of the serpent. John wanted to make Jesus do something that was not right, that was the eagerness of the heart but it was not according to the Holy Scriptures. We can have a lot of gladness and eagerness but it is not according to the scriptures. God cannot do anything that is not according to the Scriptures. If this had been done to us, we would have reacted differently, but Jesus did not agree.
"But to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) "He has begotten us according to his will by the word of truth, that we should be in some way the first fruits of his creatures." (James 1: 18) This is the new birth. If you don't go through this, you can't be a son of God.
This God who is so great has humbled himself so low. Israel did not understand. They thought that God was going to come in his greatness, but He came to the earth in all simplicity and humility. He was born in a stable. The wisdom of God is beyond our understanding. We don't really know God. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "The one on whom you will see the Spirit come down and stay is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." (John 1:33) John was sent. John knew who was before him. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, Behold, the damsel shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the dominion shall be upon his shoulder: he shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) Israel knew well that there were not 2 Gods but one God. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
John knew who Jesus was, that's why he told him that he needed to be baptized by Him. But the Word of God had to be fulfilled. You have to do what is right. When pride comes somewhere, you can think you are serving God when you are fighting Him! "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1) When you have knowledge and there is pride added to it, you are blind. The Pharisees followed what Moses said, but if they really followed Moses, they would have received Jesus. "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; he who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me also, because he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? (John 5:45-47) Moses spoke of Jesus but the Pharisees rejected Jesus. May God help us to make humility take up much room in our minds, souls and thoughts. We all have a little pride that is lodged somewhere. Pride is a demon, a demon is a spirit that is malicious and cunning. "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44) God wants you to do this because it is a spirit that uses the person. That is why in the Millennium, when Satan is bound, all men will be at peace and in joy because the evil spirit will no longer be able to act. The spirit seduces the person but it enters the person. It is no longer the thought of man but the thought of the devil. Satan uses the 5 senses (hearing, smell, touch, taste and sight) but Jesus uses only faith. See how much Satan can dominate a man. The devil just injects a thought and the imagination comes. The battle is there. God has a way of doing things that is beyond the understanding of man.
John knew who Jesus was. Depth calls for depth. At that moment, Jesus said to him, "Let it be done now, for it is fitting that we should do all that is right." (Matthew 3:15) John did not resist. John trembled because he had to baptize this person. What humility the Creator had towards the creature. John understood, He, the Almighty God, comes to John. We have left too much room for demons. God needs holy and pure vessels. "Sanctify them with your truth: your word is truth. (John 17:17) "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) "What has the temple of God to do with idols?" (2 Corinthians 6:16) See what state you are in? "Have the same mind in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not count it a prey to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming like men" (Philippians 2:5-7) The servant is in service to others. At the time of the foot washing, it was Jesus who took the basin to wash the disciples' feet. God is so glorious that He confounds all men.
"He rose up before him like a weak plant, like a shoot out of a dry land; he had no beauty or radiance to attract our eyes, and his appearance was nothing to please us. Despised and forsaken by men, a man of sorrows and accustomed to suffering, like one whose face is turned away, we despised him, we took no notice of him. Yet he has borne our griefs, he has borne our sorrows; and we have regarded him as a punished man, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:2-4) Satan uses your eyes a lot. Demons must go. A demon cannot live without a body. Satan wants your own destruction. Satan works much more with your "self". "The fear of the Lord teaches wisdom, and humility goes before glory." (Proverbs 15:33) This is the weapon God gives you to fight pride.
John was shaken to his core, he could not resist because he was sent for this. John had declared, "This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) Jesus was the Lamb offered by God. Therefore, the Lamb had to be washed in order to offer Him to God. Jesus brought John, the messenger, back into the Scriptures. "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11) Yet Jesus brought him back to the Scriptures because he was going to do something contrary to the Scriptures. The Word of God is the Absolute and it is this Word that corrects the prophet. John did what he had to do. If Jesus had accepted what John wanted to do, God would never have accepted it. "(Romans 3:4) A man of God can never rise up but always return to the Holy Scriptures: "Let God, on the contrary, be known as true, and every man as a liar. When you go out of the Word, you give Satan free rein. When the act according to the Scriptures has been done, God has not been quiet. Satan always observes what God says, he will always try to corner you. Religion may give you a false sweetness but touch it, the cap jumps. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) God had never done that. God poured himself out in Christ. God's perfect will was done, God could not be silent. Now that God has testified about Jesus, Satan would not let it happen. When God trusts in you, He watches you first, He tests you, that's when the enemy rises up. You, sons of God, know your God! When you go through the trial, glorify God because God has chosen you Don't complain, that's how you will come out of the trial. When God trusts you, He knows what He is doing.
Job 1:1-5
If you love your children, don't let them do anything. Your children are precious to you, don't get tired, pray for them. God gave them to us, they are ours. You pray for God to anoint your servant, and when he speaks, you do not want to listen. Watch and observe your children, not only in the church but also outside. The happiness that God has given to a man on earth is the children, his posterity. Never let your children rule over you!
Job 1:6-11
It was the Lord who made Satan look at Job. When God trusts you, be happy. He wants to show Satan and his demons that you are a son of God. Satan does not like it when God loves someone. When God praises you, Satan wants to show that God is wrong. Be at peace with everyone because evil does not come from man but from Satan. When God loves you, He gives you everything, He takes care of you. When God holds you, He watches over you.
Matthew 4:1-11
It was the Spirit of God that brought him into the desert. God did this because He wanted to show Satan and all his demons that this Jesus is different. You must never let demons control you. When the jubilee sounded, and the slave did not want his deliverance, that he wanted to stay with his master, then his ear was pierced and there was no more deliverance possible for him. Pay attention to the Word you hear, it is for your deliverance. God gave man dominion, not angels. Satan is a fallen angel. "In my name they will cast out demons" (Mark 16:17).
Satan is always trying to get you to do what God has not told you to do. A gift that God gives must be submitted to God's voice. Jesus did not multiply the loaves for Himself but there was a need for others. God only approves what He leads you to do. What is the motivation, the thought behind the request? God does not give a gift to impress others.
During the time when Satan is testing you, tempting you, God is watching you. "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by your name? Have we not cast out demons by your name? And have we not done many miracles in your name? Then I will say to them openly, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who commit iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23) Yet they did miracles but it was not God's will. When you have the Spirit of God, it comes down to your soul, so you obey the Word of God. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14) In the things of God, there is order. It is the Bible that is the order. "If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10) Satan was trying to get Jesus to do something that God had not intended. Jesus always came with the Scriptures. We are to do only what God asks of us. Fasts are important in the life of a believer. When you fast, your spirit becomes strong but it is also good for your body. When God says something, it is for our good. Satan also comes with the scriptures because he knows, he comes to confuse you. We must be led by God. If you are sheep, you must trust your shepherd. You can never know more than the shepherd. God knows why He gave you that shepherd. Satan takes the Scriptures and puts them in another context. You have to know the Word. Satan tempted Jesus in every way, but He overcame through the Scriptures. No matter what your trial is, you can have victory, just stick to the Scriptures.
Ezekiel 33:1-9
We must always speak the Word of God and the Will of God. If you preach to get the appreciation of the people then you are killing souls and the blood of those souls is on you. A man sent from God does not try to please the church members, but he only preaches what God has told him. If God asks you for someone's blood again, will you be forgiven? "If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).
Acts 20:17-27
When you are called by God to service, you will have tribulations throughout your life. When you hear the Word and rebel, you know your destination. The servant of God must only preach the Word according to the Will of God. We must pray to the Lord to give us the grace that only the truth is preached to us. You must treat your children harshly and educate them. "Moreover, brethren, let everything that is true, everything that is honorable, everything that is just, everything that is pure, everything that is lovely, everything that is worthy of approval, everything that is virtuous and praiseworthy, be the object of your thoughts." (Philippians 4:8) Never let the enemy deceive you by twisting the Scriptures. Clean up your houses. You are sentinels.