Nick Spaulding, 
Florida Christian College graduate, 
preaches at Northside Christian Church on LOVING your Enemies

Matthew 3:1-17 , John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-17 (New King James Version)

Matthew 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

 ¹ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

      “ The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

      ‘ Prepare the way of the LORD;
      Make His paths straight.’”<sup>[a]

4</sup> Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶ and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 
⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham asour father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.^[b] 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John Baptizes Jesus

  
¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 
¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 
¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He^[c] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 6:1-34 , The Model Prayer , Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:1-34 (New King James Version)

Matthew 6

Do Good to Please God

 ¹ “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ³ But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.^[a]

 

The Model Prayer

  
⁵ “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.^[b] 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 
⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray: 

      Our Father in heaven, 
      Hallowed be Your name. 
       ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. 
      Your will be done 
      On earth as it is in heaven. 
       ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. 
       ¹² And forgive us our debts, 
      As we forgive our debtors. 
       ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, 
      But deliver us from the evil one. 
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.<sup>[c]

14</sup> “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

  
¹⁶ “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.^[d]

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

  
¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lamp of the Body

  
²² “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

  
²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Do Not Worry

  
²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 
²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 
³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 4:1-25, Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry, Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

Matthew 4:1-25 (New King James Version)

Matthew 4

Satan Tempts Jesus

 ¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”^[a]
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 

Matthew 5:1-48, The Beatitudes, Christ Fulfills the Law

Matthew 5:1-48 (New King James Version)

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

 ¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
       ³ “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
       ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, 
For they shall be comforted. 
       ⁵ Blessed are the meek, 
For they shall inherit the earth. 
       ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
For they shall be filled. 
       ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, 
For they shall obtain mercy. 
       ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, 
For they shall see God. 
       ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, 
For they shall be called sons of God. 
       ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 ¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

GOD healed me

GOD healed me before the surgeons could even get me on the ICU schedule get me into Operating Room and get me knocked out! GOD is Great! Thank you for your prayers and most of all your LOVE and I'm going to ask GOD to send you an angel in JESUS name #JC2011

The Power of PRAYER

The Power of PRAYER is so incredible I can testify to that  because with 1 tweet I had thousands of people praying for me as I lay in the Emergency Room having a Major Heart Attack and now I would like to thank everyone at Lakeland Regional Medical Center LRMC ! Father GOD LORD of all I lift these wonderful people up to you for helping me in my hour of need, may they be blessed in JESUS name ! #JC2011 #W^GOD  James 5:16 (King James Version)
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Breaking news an Atheist in Florida

Breaking news

An Atheist in Florida is going to be at one of my churches this Sunday, WooHoo! Being an Atheist doesn't mean you are a bad person and we LOVE all Atheist for it just means they don't believe GOD or that there is a GOD, etc. which is okay because we know there is a GOD and I can prove there is a GOD if antone has questions. I hear people say there can't be a GOD, because why would GOD let that happen, and I think, Wow, we were created by GOD and we live according to His plan! For example I just had a Major heart attack and the Doctor said "you are lucky to be alive" looking in his eyes he said to me "you have been blessed by GOD" I replied back "GOD is Great!" for GOD isn't done with me yet because I have a purpose to Him.  Even those that may die GOD still might be using them in other ways you will never know! #JC2011 #W^GOD

Acts 18:1-99 (New King James Version)

Acts 18

Ministering at Corinth

 ¹ After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. ³ So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. ⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
⁵ When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.⁶ But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I amclean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus,^[a]onewho worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ⁸ Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. 
⁹ Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 

Acts 7:1-99 (New King James Version)

Acts 7

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

 ¹ Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
² And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’^[a] 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. ⁵ And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. ⁶ But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. ⁷ ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’^[b] said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’^[c] 8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacobbegot the twelve patriarchs.

The Patriarchs in Egypt

Acts 3:1-99 (New King James Version)

Acts 3

A Lame Man Healed

 ¹ Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. ² And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; ³ who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. ⁴ And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” ⁵ So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. ⁸ So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. ⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God. ¹⁰ Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Preaching in Solomon’s Portico

Acts 2:1-99 (New King James Version)

Acts 2

Coming of the Holy Spirit

 ¹ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord^[a] in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Crowd’s Response

 
⁵ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

 ⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” ¹² So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 
¹³ Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon

 
¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 
       ¹⁷ ‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
       That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
      Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
      Your young men shall see visions,
      Your old men shall dream dreams.
       ¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
      I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
       And they shall prophesy.
       ¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above
      And signs in the earth beneath:
      Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
       ²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
      And the moon into blood,
      Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
       ²¹ And it shall come to pass
      That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
      Shall be saved.’<sup>[b]

22</sup> “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken^[c] by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him: 


      ‘ I foresaw the LORD always before my face,
      For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
       ²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
      Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
       ²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
      Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
       ²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life;
      You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’<sup>[d]

29</sup> “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,^[e] 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 
³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 


      ‘ The LORD said to my Lord,

      “ Sit at My right hand,
       ³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’<sup>[f]

36</sup> “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 
³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 
³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

A Vital Church Grows

 
⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who gladly^[g] received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 
⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church^[h] daily those who were being saved.

Footnotes:

1. Acts 2:1 NU-Text reads together.
2. Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28–32
3. Acts 2:23 NU-Text omits have taken.
4. Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8–11
5. Acts 2:30 NU-Text omits according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ and completes the verse with He would seat one on his throne.
6. Acts 2:35 Psalm 110:1
7. Acts 2:41 NU-Text omits gladly.
8. Acts 2:47 NU-Text omits to the church.

Acts 1:1-99 (New King James Version)

Acts 1

Prologue

 ¹ The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, ² until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, ³ to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit Promised

Knowing GOD it's always a glorious day in JESUS name

glorious day by jeff johnson

My friend George and I Fellowshipping