Truth Academy - Matthew Ch. 4

Matthew 4 Click on the link to read this passage online
The Greek word that translates to tempted can also mean tested. God led the children of Israel through the desert for 40 years so that they could be tested. Jesus is experiencing a similar test, there is nothing that we have or will experience that Christ has not gone through himself.
When God tempts/tests us, it is different in comparison to the temptation of the devil, as he tempts people to do evil. Gods testing leads to humility, strength in Him, and a closer relationship with Him. The devil tried to tempt Jesus three times and each time Jesus used the word of God to show the devil that he was not going to be fall for his tricks.

In verse three the devils asks Jesus to provide food for himself since he is hungry. The devil will use our circumstances to try and cause us to turn away from God or do what is outside of his will. He was telling Jesus to use his powers for his own benefit. Jesus tells the devil that there is something more important than food, and that God is our provider and all we need comes from Him.

In verse six the devils asks Jesus to throw himself off the temple in order to prove/disprove God's word and faithfulness. Jesus points out that we should not put God to the test. God does not perform on demand just to prove who he is, we shouldn't put ourselves in dangerous situations to try and prove Gods faithfulness or even our faith in Him. If God wants to do it, He will do it, and He has already told us that He will, that is all we need to know and believe.

In verse nine the devil tries to tempt Jesus by offering Him the world in exchange for worshipping him. Jesus tells the devil that God is the only being that should be worshipped. God should be first in our life, second to none. There are some who worship Mary because she was the mother of Jesus, some worship angels and some worship saints. However, here Jesus clearly states that worship if for the Lord our God. He created us and meets all our needs, so all glory should go to Him and Him alone. We need to remain strong and not turn from the way of God because something looks appealing or beneficial. Always remember that the value of salvation is far greater than anything the devil or anyone else can give to us.

Jesus began his ministry in the same way as John the baptist, this shows a unity in the message that they brought.
When he called Peter, Andrew, James and John,  one important thing to note is that they went immediately, they didn't ask to pray and fast, or talk it over with their families. Something in them connected with Jesus allowing them to know that they should follow him. We also have to have that same connection with Christ so that when he speaks we will hear and obey.

Truth Academy - Matthew Ch.3

 Matthew 3 Click the link to read this passage

John the Baptist called for people to repent, to make a change to their lives. This change is a drastic one, when we give our lives to God we give up everything that we are and hand it over to Him. All our priorities change because we know that in putt God first everything else in our life will fall into place.

John's calling was to prepare the way for Christ, he prepared the people for his arrival. In particular he warned the religious leaders that even though they were descended from Abraham, in order to receive salvation they would have to turn to Christ. This is also an example to us that salvation is not a birth right, we don't inherit it from our parents. We each have to make the decision give our lives to Christ and not think that because our parents are that we are automatically right with God. He also told them to "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance", when we give our lives to Christ it should be evident in our fruit (our behaviour, character, our words, thoughts and what we do). Others should see the change that has been made within us and also benefit from this (as fruit is good for all).

In verses 9b to 10, John goes further and informs these leaders that God can easily raise up children for Abraham, so they shouldn't see themselves as being anything special. We shouldn't think too highly of our selves either, if we don't do what God has called us to do/don't put our talent to use, God can bring in someone else who will. We are not indispensable, we don't give our lives to Christ because he needs us, we do it because we need him, it is for our benefit not his.

Water baptism is an outward sign of repentance, you can repent without being baptised but in order to be baptised you must repent. Nowadays people will be baptised just so that they can be part of a particular community or school or hold a position within the church, but unless these people have repented this baptism is meaningless.

John brought us the baptism that would enable us to draw near to God, Christ would bring us the baptism that would enable us to live out or salvation to its full extent. He will equip us so that we can fully understand his word, hear his voice, and have his power working through us.

At the time of judgment, Christ will separate those who are his from those who aren't, he will take his people whilst everyone else will be thrown into the fire like the chaff.

We must continue to look within ourselves to ensure that we are the wheat and not the chaff.

Truth Academy - Matthew Ch. 2

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Matthew 2 click the link to read this passage

One thing of importance to note here is that the bible does not say that there were Three Wise Men, as is commonly thought. The bible just says 'wise men', and as these men gave Jesus three gifts it has been concluded by many that there were three of them.
The Magi travelled far to see Jesus, they referred to him as being King of the Jews, not King over themselves and yet they still travelled in search of this new king so that they could honour him. How many of us who know Christ and believe him to be Lord of all would be willing to travel to the furthest part of the earth to honour him.

Another common misconception is that the wise men visited Jesus on the night of his birth. In verse 11, we see that the wise men visited Jesus in house and most likely arrived months later as Jesus is described as a 'child'.

Throughout the life of Jesus we see him experience the same things that we experience. This also occurred during his childhood. In verse 15, we see a quotation from Hosea 11:1, which was originally in reference to the children of Israel being called out of Egypt. As Israel went to Egypt to seek aid, Jesus also went to Egypt to escape the threat from Herod. Then at the appointed time Israel was brought out of Egypt, as was Jesus (see v:19).

The phrase 'He will be called a Nazarene', is not found in the Old Testament. It is believed that it relates to prophecies that the Messiah would be despised (see Psalm 22:6 and Isaiah 53:3) and in those days the word Nazarene was a synonym for despised.
Jesus was not accepted by everyone, if he was despised even by the people he came to save we shouldn't expect to be treated any differently. We shouldn't be surprised to find that not everyone likes us and agrees with our beliefs, but we should seek strength from Christ and hold fast onto him.

Truth Academy- Matthew Ch.1

Matthew 1 click the link to read this passage online

We see from the genealogy of Jesus that there are different types of people,we can look at this and know that there are different types of people in the church family, the body of Christ. God has made us all as individuals but we come together to make up one body. Some of the people in Jesus' lineage were not born as children of Israel, but God still made them part of the history of Jesus. No matter who we are or what we have done, God can still use us for something significant.

In verse 16, Joseph is not referred to as the father of Jesus but as the husband of Mary. Even though Jesus was not the physical son of Joseph, he was his legal son and was still counted as a descendant of David and also Abraham.

Verse 17, states that there were 14 generations between Abraham and David, David and the exile to Babylon and the exile and Christ. It should be noted that in some instances the term 'father of...' was used when in fact they were the grandfather. For example in 11 it states that Josiah was the father of Jeconiah when in fact he was his grandfather (see 2Ch 36:1-9).
(See also 1Ch 3:17-18, in reference to Matt 1:12). There are many reasons why Matthew arranged the names in groups of 14, one may be because 14 is twice seven which is the number of completeness.

In biblical times being pledged in marriage to someone was more binding than our modern day engagements. Nowadays, breaking off an engagement involves nothing more than making cancellations and informing friends and relatives. In biblical times, this would involve an actual divorce, and we see that in verses 19 and 24 Mary and Joseph are described as being husband and wife. Mary carrying a pregnancy that was not Joseph's was a very serious matter, which should have resulted in her being publicly judges and stoned. The fact that Joseph was going to divorce her privately shows his compassion. He goes even further by bring her into his home after the message from the Angel of the Lord, this shows his level of obedience to God. He knew full well that he was not the father of Jesus but he still accepted him as his own.

Joseph is sometimes left in the background whenever we here about the conception and birth of Jesus, but we see in Joseph a man who was truly righteous and someone whose character we should imitate.

Two up coming events

We have two events lined up for November and December, It Is Finished and True Worship. Click on the Events tab for more information.

Three Days Prayer and Fasting

As we embark on moving to new premises, we at Golden City Assembly will be taking part in a corporate fast for three days from Friday the 29th until Sunday the 31st . Our scripture during this fast is Jeremiah 32:27; 33:3.

Our prayer point for day one will be "Prayer for families", in particular for christian families

• Love among families
• Peace in every home
• Commitment and dedication towards the things of God among parents (Godly parents)
• Up-root any seed of discord that the enemy has sown in homes
• Pray against the spirit of divorce that is destroying family values
• Declare that our children will be a light where ever they go
• Pray that our children will grow up with the fear of God
• Pray for the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon every home because anointing breaks the yoke
• Financial blessings upon homes
• Wisdom to make wealth upon every christian parent
• The knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God's word to be present in the life of parents
• That every parent will begin to see God's precepts as the only standard in the child's upbringing
• Pray against the spirit of hatred that is present among teenagers which end up giving birth to stabbing and killing
• Restoration of family values in the western world

Our prayer point for day two will be "Prayer for the church of God all over the world using the UK as a point of contact"

• Manifestation of God's glory in churches, as it was in the days of the apostles
• Pray that God will raise up devoted men and women from among us
• Unsettle anyone that wants to unsettle the church of God
• Repossess this land for the praise of God
• Pray that the church will grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
• Pray for boldness among ministers of the gospel and church members as well
• Pray for the regeneration of christian leaders, so that they will begin to manifest the kind of leadership characteristics that were in Christ when he walked the shores of this earth
• That God will begin to expose those wolves in sheep's clothing that are among us, who want to ridicule the message of Christ
• Pray for the baptism of the Holy Ghost upon every member of the body of Christ in the UK
• Lets quench every pressure against the church that is coming from the government of this land and communities
• Brotherly love among christian brethren
• Pray that pastors should become living proof of the message they preach e.g. love, hospitality, giving etc.
• Pray that utterance should be given to ministers of the gospel to declare the message of salvation
• God's word should grow mightily and prevail

Our prayer point for day two will be "Prayer for Golden City Assembly"

• Pray that God's plan and purpose for GCA will be actualised
• Pray for God's wisdom, knowledge and understanding upon the pastor of this ministry and his wife
• Utterance to minister the undiluted word of God
• Pray for God's divine guidance upon him and his family
• Lets command the storehouse of God's favour to be open upon this ministry
• More labourers to be added to us for the harvest is plenteous
• Pray that God will make GCA a shining light in this nation and all over the world
• Pray that this ministry will be known as a repairer of broken bridges
• Pray that every leader in this ministry will be men and women of wisdom and integrity
• Pray against every deivice of the enemy against this ministry
• Call forth men and women who will be able to read the vision of this ministry and run with it
• Sanctify our new site for the masters use
• Pray that GCA will be a place of signs and wonders. A house where prayers are answered and needs are met
• A house where God's word will continue to grow and prevail
• Lastly thank God for where he is taking us to