matthew-6:3-4

The best starting point for a study of the Christian discipline of fasting is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:1-18 Christ gives instructions to His disciples on three related duties: giving alms, praying, and fasting. In each case He places His main emphasis upon the motive, and... Read More

The following message was given at the Heart-Cry for Revival Conference in April 2004 at The Cove, Asheville, North Carolina U.S.A. Normally when revival comes, historically and biblically, it comes on the wings of a person or a small group of people who pray and seek Him desperately, wanting Him to... Read More

Perhaps no spiritual discipline today is as much misunderstood as fasting. Why to fast, how to fast, when to fast, how long to fast, what type of fast, SHOULD I fast…etc. In simplest terms, fasting means to abstain from food for a period of time for a spiritual purpose or goal. As a Christian, obvio... Read More

Isaiah prophesies that God will one day rise up and shake the Whole earth. The prophet writes: "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty... and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof... all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.... When thus it shall be in the ... Read More

Matthew 6:1-8 First we have the general proposition that righteousness, that is, one’s religious duties, should not be done for the sake of display; and that principle is then applied to alms, prayer, and fasting-the three departments into which the Jews divided personal religion. The words take h... Read More

Evidently he had been accused of deceitful behavior (cf. 2Co 7:2; 12:16). This he emphatically rejects. The openness marking the new covenant had always been reflected in his conduct. His tactics had never been secretive or deceptive, nor had he ever dishonestly manipulated the message of God entrus... Read More

Lust (1937) (epithumeo from epí = upon, used intensively + thumós = passion) (Click study of noun epithumia) means literally to fix the desire upon (object could be good [Mt 13:17, Lk 22:15 used of Jesus] or bad [1Co 10:6]). It means to have a strong desire to do or secure something. To desire great... Read More

Make disciples (3100)(matheteuo) This is the verb form of mathetes and is found 4 times in the NT. Intransitively, the verb means to be the disciple of another, to follow his precepts and instruction, to be a pupil of another implying one is an adherent of the teacher. Transitively, matheteuo means ... Read More

Evident (5318) (phanerós = manifest, visible, conspicuous, from phaino = give light; to make to shine, to cause to become visible from phos = light; Study verb phaneroo) means made visible as an external manifestation to senses. Phaneros stresses what is visible to sight. Conspicuous, apparent, (ope... Read More

False prophets (5578) (pseudoprophetes from pseudes = false, untrue + prophetes = prophet) who teach any other way than that our Lord has clearly marked out in this passage. These men (1) claim to be a prophet from God and (2) utter falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies. This term pseudopro... Read More