Pray Psalm 2.10-12.
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Sing Psalm 2.10-12.
(Agincourt: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High)
Be wise, O kings, O judges, hear, and tremble with joy, serve the LORD with fear.
Embrace the Son, keep His wrath at bay, or you shall perish in the way.
His wrath is kindled like a flame at all who refuse to bow to His Name.
Beware His anger and judgment grim: How blessed are all who trust in Him!
Read Matthew 4.12-25; Mark 1.14, 15; Luke 4.14, 15; meditate on Matthew 4.12-25.
Preparation
1. What was Jesus’ message from the first?
2. How were people to receive that message?
Meditation
Jesus’ ministry involved words and deeds. He wasn’t just a preacher or a teacher. And He didn’t just heal people of their various maladies. He did both. Underlying all He did was the message of the coming Kingdom of God (v. 17), a message which is much bigger than just helping people get saved. Jesus came to restore the goodness and uprightness with which God originally created all things. That meant His work had cosmic and not merely salvific effects: His salvation is for the world, and not just for our soul. We are ambassadors of a Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18), and not just of helping people get to heaven.
Jesus quickly began to enlist others in His work. He has commanded us to make disciples as well (Matt. 28.18-20), so we should always be looking for people we can teach, equip, encourage, and send in ministry, just as we have been sent. All believers are called to teach others (Heb. 5.12); this is how the Kingdom expands so that the whole earth becomes the Mission Field of God’s Church.
Jesus expected results—spectacular results. He knew that people would come to Him by the thousands, and they did. What are our expectations for the Kingdom work we take up each day? Are they as hopeful as what Jesus realized? We serve a King Who is making all things new, and we should go forth conquering and to conquer with Him every day, sowing seeds, tending the Lord’s field, and gathering a harvest for Him (Rev. 21.5; Rev. 6.1, 2; Ps. 126).
May our every next step mirror the first steps of Jesus, to the praise of His glorious grace!
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Jesus expected results—spectacular results.” For Himself.
And then He left the Kingdom work in His disciples’ and followers’ hands; and ultimately, in ours.
Then on to the next generation. And He expects all of us to continue what He started; and prepare others to do the same.
How is that possible? And Who will help us accomplish this great task?
Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (Jn. 14.12).
He then went on to explain how this truth could be possible: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,
for He dwells with you and will be in you” (Jn. 14.16, 17).
God is faithful. Always. And He leads us daily into victories for His Kingdom.
Solomon prayed for God’s people, in this way, when he dedicated the newly built temple:
“When Your people go out to battle against their enemy,
wherever You send them, and
when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and
the temple which I have built for Your Name,
then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication,
and maintain their cause” (1 Kin. 8.44, 45).
And way before the building of the temple, even before God brought His people out of Egypt, “when their cry came up to God because of the bondage…God heard their groaning, and remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them” (Ex. 2.23-25).
And a long time before that—eternity past—Jesus was preparing for the Kingdom of God on earth.
“The LORD possessed Me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning,
before there was ever an earth” (Prov. 8.22, 23).
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (Jn. 1.1-4).
This Jesus. This Kingdom. This calling.
The Triune God is the epitome, the paramount, the quintessential of trustworthiness.
We can rest our hope, our work, our life upon Him and His Word.
“What are our expectations for the Kingdom work we take up each day?”
We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Phil. 4.13).
Let’s expect—like Jesus did—spectacular results!
Reflection
1. What results of Jesus living through you are you expecting today?
2. What results should you expect from working your Personal Mission Field?
3. How will you prepare to seek the Kingdom and righteousness of God today, all day?
The doctrine of repentance is right gospel doctrine. Not only the austere John the Baptist, but the gracious Jesus, preached repentance. There is still the same reason to do so. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 4.12-17
Pray Psalm 2.4-9.
Thank God, that He has fulfilled His promise to David and Abraham by sending Jesus to rule over His Kingdom and become a resting place for us all. Rest the activities of the day ahead at the feet of Jesus and claim the promise of His Presence with you throughout the day.
Sing Psalm 2.4-9.
(Agincourt: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High)
The LORD in heaven laughs in wrath at all who embark on this cursèd path.
His angry Word to them is plain: “Yet shall My King in Zion reign!”
I will declare the LORD’s decree. He said, “My Son I have begotten Thee.
Ask Me, and I will give every land for You to rule as I have planned.”
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast takes up the book Understanding the Times to help us in knowing how to live and proclaim the Kingdom. Our twice weekly column, Crosfigell, is well into a series on the life of Brendan the Navigator, one of the great saints of the 6th century. Our ReVision series, “The Kingdom Economy”, features the first three installments this week. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
