"Now Hear This" #2

Since we will be looking into some Bible text written by Matthew, I think we can benefit from knowing something about him, who he really was and who he became because of Jesus.

• He was a Palestinian Jew whose hometown was Capernaum, the town Jesus ultimately went to after his temptation by the devil in the nearby wilderness
• He was employed by the Roman government to collect taxes from the Jews of that area and was no doubt hated and rejected by his Jewish countrymen
• Jesus called him to "Follow Me" while Matthew (also called Levi) was at work at his booth

"Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting as his tax booth. "Follow me", Jesus said to him, and Levi got up and followed him. Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house and a large collection of tax collectors and others were eating with them." Luke 5:27-29

• He became one of Jesus' Apostles and participated in the ministry of Jesus to spread the good news of the kingdom 
• He was present during all of Jesus' ministry and after the resurrection
• He was named as being present on the Day of Pentecost when the gospel was first preached by the apostles as God's completed promise to the entire world
• Matthew's name means "Gift of God" in Hebrew
• The central theme of his gospel account is that Jesus is the long awaited Saviour and King of God's new kingdom 

I also want to preface these studies of the Sermon on the Mount by hearing some very impactful words Jesus spoke to all of us who will ever breathe in this world. So I urge you to Now Hear This:

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen him''. "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me who is doing his work." John 14:7-10

"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." John 14:23-24

• Go back and read those words over and over until the word "ANYONE" really explodes in your spirit. What a wonderful promise God the Father has made through His Son to all of us!

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelation 3:20-22

• Jesus calls out to "ANYONE" who is listening and hearing him knock on the door of their heart to open that closed door and let him in. Although this passage is specifically addressed to the lukewarm church at Laodicea, it calls out to ANYONE who will hear him.

In our next session we will begin that process at Matthew 5. Please join me again. Thank you.