Baptized for the Battlefield

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Questions Sermon 12 Baptized for the Battlefield

1. The Greek word “baptizo” means to dip, plunge, or immerse. When you think of the actual visual picture, what do you think is the significance of what is means? 
2. My premise in the message is that in the actual picture of baptism, is that we are to given our starting orders, and that includes, not just a life lived in His power and His provision, but opposition from the enemy and the world. Do you think we have changed what it means today? 
3. I loved Wayne Grudem’s words, that “the amazing truths of (1) passing through the waters of judgment safely, of (2) dying and rising with Christ, and of (3) having our sins washed away, are truths of momentous and eternal proportion and ought to be an occasion for giving great glory and praise to God.” Look at those three things in this quote. We know that we are not saved by our baptism, but rather that our baptism reflects what Christ has already done in our hearts. The first is talking about what we truly deserve (Hell), the second about what we truly do not deserve (the gospel that transforms our present lives and also the promise of eternal glory), and lastly how life can be really lived out now (the knowledge that we will never be separated from God again based on the finished work of Christ on the Cross providing our forgiveness). Spend a could of minutes alone or in your group to just give God the glory for what He has done.
4. Our passage begins that Jesus was immediately driven into the wilderness. This shows us that testing for the Christian is divinely orchestrated. What do you think are the purposes of a loving Father in doing so?
5. Looking at the actual temptation in Matthew 4:1-11, we see three parts in the temptation. Here we find out not just Jesus’ overcoming of Satan as a foretaste of the actual defeat on the cross, but that Jesus is telling us the three main things we will be tempted the most. Our (1) Identity (2) Our Relationship with God – His personal love and care, and (3) Our Priorities in life. Here was Jesus pattern for us…   

JESUS LIVED BY GOD’S WORD (Matt. 4:3-4)

JESUS LIVED BY GOD’S POWER (Matt. 4:5-7)

JESUS LIVED TO WORSHIP & SERVE GOD (Matt. 4:8-11)  

Look up the three responses of Christ to the temptations. Put them into your own words. What is God saying about our personal convictions and habits of life? How do you think these three things are to be lived out in practice? 

6. Mark uses the generic term “devil” because he wants to see the that the meaning of Satan is “adversary.” If he is my enemy, what kind of ammunition do I give him to fight against me? But what kind of provisions do our Commander-in-Chief provide for us? (Look again at the rebuffs of Christ, and also Ephesians 6:10-20)
7. Do you think we are prepared for suffering for Christ in persecution? 
8. Exodus 15:2-18 records Moses song of worship. List all the things about His personal understanding of God Himself. Worship Him with these words, and ask Him to make that real to our hearts today.