Sunday, February 16, 2020

Mathew 4 - After Baptism




By Odon Bulamba

It’s a joy to be here this morning.  Today we are going to read together Mathew 4 & Luke 4. I am going to share with you about the baptism and what Jesus went through.  First, I praise God for these girls (Leah, Rebekah, and Anna) being baptised on 02 02 2020.  If you read it backwards, it is also 02 02 2020.  This has only happened 01 01 1010.  It’s an amazing coincidence that means a lot that they were baptised on this day.

We don’t get baptised because we love water but because it is a command from the Lord.  To make the command strong in what we believe, Jesus Himself came down and accepted to be baptised by immersion.  When He got baptised, it was just in a river.  It was a normal day but it was a special day in heaven because a voice came down from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son”.

When our girls got baptised, it wasn’t just because everyone does it.  When Jesus was baptised, something happened in heaven.  That was the beginning of the tough journey for Jesus.  When you get baptised, it is a day of joy but the journey of becoming a Christian and serving the Lord starts now.

In some churches, they give you a ring and put it on your finger so that from now on you are a true believer.  If I take off the ring and put it somewhere, does that mean I lose my alliance with God?  Your alliance with God should be more than a ring that you can take off.  Be a Christian forever. 

Don’t be a Christian because the situation is tough for you and you need God to help.  For example, some will pray to God, “If you change my situation, I will give my life to you”.  If you pray in this way, you are lying to yourself and making a wrong decision.  We must decide to give our lives to Jesus and let Him control our lives.

The day Jesus was baptised, Jesus didn’t stay there but moved to the wilderness.  The Spirit took Him to the wilderness.  When you give your life to Jesus, the first thing you must do is let the Spirit to take you somewhere, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and accept the Holy Spirit to take you to the right direction.  If you accept Jesus but you give restrictions to the Holy Spirit, then you won’t be able to serve your Lord in the right way. 

Imagine coming from a river where there is plenty of water and now Jesus is heading to the desert where there is no water.  A few minutes ago, He was in a river and now He is somewhere dry.  He spent 40 days with no food.  When you leave somewhere and you have lost everything and don’t have access to all that you had previously, how are you going to decide to live? 

My ancestors 100 years ago didn’t know clothing, they walked naked.  Still today, in some places in Kenya they still walk naked and believe clothes are a curse.  One time I went to take the gospel to such a place and I was told that I had to walk naked like them before I could enter.  I prayed, “Lord, is this correct”.  Then a thought came in mind, when Jesus was crucified, He was left naked.  It was a tough decision to take off all my clothes and then read my Bible.

It feels morally incorrect and contradictory but because their souls need the gospel, I decided to do so.  Now these people wear clothes and have several churches.  This was God’s plan for them.  If I didn’t accept their rules and then teach them about God, clothing, and humanity, maybe they couldn’t accept Jesus at all.

Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness and gave three big temptations.  There are only three types of temptations in our lives and Jesus went through all 3.  The first one is “the lust of the flesh”.  It wasn’t Jesus fault to feel hungry and this is not a sin but because Jesus’ body needed food, that was the first temptation.  Satan came with that temptation. 

Some people feel like drinking alcohol or stealing.  This is the lust of the flesh.  Satan uses the path of what your body wants.  The lust of the flesh does not last long.  If you say no, the temptation will go. Someone can feel like a cigarette but then they can tell themselves no.  It is a matter of decision.  It is a simple decision that any person can make.  We all have the ability to say no to the lust of the flesh. 

We have the power to defeat satan.  He will run away from us by simply saying no and resisting him.  This morning, my aunty rang me and I was feeling sick myself.  I was in my bed and I wondered if I should go to church.  I told my body, “On the day they bury you what are you going to do?  I have no time to waste”.  I decided to come.  I felt dizzy driving here but now I am good.  It is up to me to decide where should God want me to be.  Where does the Holy Spirit take me?

You can have the intention of stealing.  You look left and right and take it because no one sees you but if you look up, someone is watching you from above so you can easily tell yourself no.

My mum is very old now.  Two days before Christmas, she went to the second hand shop and wanted to buy a small box.  The owner of the shop said, “Look, instead of buying this box, I have one that my grandmother used to keep.  You can buy that instead”.  She bought out a small box.  My mum’s intention was to keep money in the box.  Mum bought the box and it fell onto a stone on the way home and it smashed.  Inside the small box was a small bag of pure gold. 

Mum didn’t know if she should take it back to the family or keep it.  Her mind was divided.  In such a case, what will you do?  She decided to take the gold back to the owner of the shop.  The lady was surprised, “My grandmother never told me, what can I give you as a reward, here is a hug and a blessing”.  My mum thought, “Maybe I should have kept half”.  Mum’s children told her, “You are so dumb, you should have kept it”.

Recently, a person came to her and said, “Thank you for giving the gold back.  For the gesture you did, I have a surprise for you”.  Sometimes we do things according to our will and thoughts but God has a different plan where He will put you in a challenge and you have to decide.  This is where Jesus told satan, I am hungry that is true but I cannot change bread from stones because it is not written that way.  Check the Bible to know what you can and can’t do because your life doesn’t belong to you now.

The man said to mum, “I bought this mansion a few years ago, you can take it”.  My mum is 86 years old and didn’t think she could take care of such a big mansion at her age.  The man suggested it could be used as a house for those girls who are victims of rape, “They can stay here and we will provide food, water, and clothing to say thank you for bringing back the gold to us”. 

The man said, “All that gold we sold and we have purchased this house, land, and the remaining money will help those girls”.  Whatever we lose in the world, we gain.  When you say, I lose something, God will tell you, no you didn’t let me prepare it in another way, I will give it back to you.

The second temptation is “our eyes”.  Satan took Jesus on top of the mountain and showed Him, look all of this is mine, I can give it to you if you bow down.  Satan uses that part of our bodies frequently.  Looking at Colleen, that is a nice top.  Looking at Odon, ugly top.  We judge others by looking.  We envy by looking.  Because of what we see, we kill each other, we want to steal, become aggressive and sometimes insult people.

How often have your eyes led you to sin?  When you see something, anger can rise up in you.  When you see something, you may become judgemental or a tough situation may rise up or jealousy because you need the same thing and that leads to envy and hatred.
Don’t look around.  My father was among the most rich people in Africa in the early 30s but on the day he passed away, he had nothing.  We used to have a room in our house where bank notes stored.  We had servants and some were there just to count bank notes and put as bricks in that room.  When my dad became sick, money couldn’t give back his health.  Money couldn’t buy back his life.

When they buried my father, he took nothing with him.  He had plenty of nice clothes and shoes and jewellery but they selected one shirt and one pair of trousers and no jewellery or shoes when he was buried.  When we went to the cemetery, I jumped into the tomb because I didn’t want my dad to leave me.  Although I am his son and wanted to go with him, I was told you can’t go with him.

What are you planning to take that day?  We have investments, nice cars, house etc.  Who are you investing for? Yourself, the next generation, or God?  It is not a sin to invest in this world but we must also invest in the Kingdom of God because that is where our treasure is kept.  To give to God money or to help others, it is a challenge.  Where do you invest? 
The third temptation is “pride”.  Satan took Jesus to a third level, “If you jump from here, angels will hold you”.  When you believe you are a child of God and you can do what you want, then pride will kill you.  People in Africa are extremely proud and that is what has destroyed Africa.

One time I travelled from one city to another.  This authority picked out people and said follow me.  He gave order to soldiers to arrest people for no reason and they went to jail because he wanted to prove he is the boss.  Some can kill for no reason except to prove that they are strong. 

I have seen people smash a baby against a wall to prove they don’t fear.  Pride is one of the things that made satan to be kicked out of heaven.  Satan continues to use that path, bringing pride to people which can lead people in a wrong way.

When Jesus went to pray at the mountain of olives, he knelt and prayed.  He saw something coming.  He said, “Let this cup not come on me,” but the will of God was something else.  In your journey as Christians, sometimes your will does not fit in the will of Jesus.  Jesus will say, “This is My will and although you have your will, My will must be done”.

Sometimes you can cry just as Jesus did with tears of blood but Jesus has His own will.  Today, many Christians want God to bow down before their will.  If God doesn’t want it, then it will never happen.  Many want to kill or steal to get what they want.  In your Christian your life remember not everything will be given to you unless God has a purpose to give it to you.  Mathew 7:7, God will give to you when you ask but not everything will be given as you expect.

If you ask because you have a desire of your flesh, then God may say no.  If you pray because others have it and you don’t, then God may say no.  Will you quit because God doesn’t give you what you wanted?  Some quit for that reason.  I’ve seen human beings say, “You are not my child anymore,” but they will still be there child.  When you tell God, “You are not my father anymore”, you will continue to be God’s child but you need to repent and keep walking by His side.

Put your pride aside and follow Jesus.  Jesus told us, remember olives produce oil and to get the oil the olives need to be crushed.  When you are crushed, that is the time of anointment, blessing, and you will produce oil.  That is not the time to run away because your body is suffering or because you don’t get what you need or because you don’t have what others have.

If you want to follow Jesus, carry your own cross.  Every single day, people tell you about the cross of Jesus.  People wear a cross around their neck believing they carry Jesus with them.  Even those next to Jesus carried their own crosses.  We must carry our own cross.  What did the cross of Jesus do?  Jesus was nailed to it and hung for six hours in pain on it.  The cross that you are carrying where are you taking it?  Golgotha?  Christ?

When you are crucified on your cross, who do you blame?  Since I have become a Christian, I don’t enjoy life anymore or gain money anymore, who do you blame?  Jesus on the cross did not blame but forgave.  How often do you forgive those that treat you harshly?  How often do you step back and say, yes they have done wrong to me but I need to love them and teach them? 

="EN-NZ">The Bible says we must love our enemies and pray for them.  When was the last time you visited your enemy and said I love you?  What sign of love do you show your enemies?  What is love for you?  If I ask a child if they love their father, how do you show it?  They will express what is love for them.  You and I as Christians, how do we show love to those we consider as enemies?  When we pray for them, what do we tell God?  Do you pray that they will be blessed?

Jesus said to the one next to him, today I will see you in paradise.  Will you tell your enemies that they can come to heaven with you?

The life of following Jesus is not easy but only requires to make the right decision.  We are on the earth today but tomorrow we will die or Jesus will come back.  When Jesus comes back, no one can stop it.  We will go by ourselves.  Prepare your way to go to heaven.  Whatever the Bible restricts, then take it as a restriction.  Do not sin.  No one will blame you if you don’t sin but if you do, the entire community will be on your back.  When you say no to sin, everyone will see that you reflect child of Jesus.