We want to know the Bible, not as an end in itself, but as a means to the most important things in life.

• To meet Jesus personally and know His voice and heart.
• To know what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and a person of the kingdom.
• To understand God’s wisdom on relationships, money, temptation, forgiveness, and leadership.
• To live the full life of the Holy Spirit.

We do not idolize the Bible. We do not believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Scriptures. The book is super important because it tells the story of the ages—the gospel, the good news that transforms hearts and histories. When you get good at the New Testament, you get good at the stuff that actually matters. This week the story unfolds in four movements: Wilderness, Wine, Disciples, Kingdom.

Wilderness

After His baptism, Jesus is inaugurated for ministry. Boom. And then:

Luke 4:1–2 (NIV)

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.

Full of the Spirit.
Led by the Spirit.
Into the wilderness.

That is surprising.

Jesus, limited in His body, needed the Spirit to guide Him. He did what the Spirit said. And you and I have access to that same Spirit. We can be full of the Spirit and led by the Spirit. We must simply be yielded to Him. It is one of the most understated and underutilized blessings of the Christian life.

In the wilderness He faces three temptations:

• Bread for physical hunger.
• Power over the kingdoms of the world.
• Testing the goodness of God.

All of them are shortcuts. Skip the fast. Skip the cross. Skip the trust.

Sin always promises the reward without the pain. But it will take you further than you want to go, give you less than you thought it would give, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.

And how does Jesus fight back? Scripture.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)

3 Man shall not live on bread alone.

Deuteronomy 6:13 (NIV)

13 Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.

Deuteronomy 6:16 (NIV)

16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

The Spirit is leading. Scripture is His authority. Those are the same tools you have. Read it. Quote it. Memorize it. Put it in your heart so when life bumps into you, Scripture spills out.

Luke 4:13 (NIV)

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Stay alert. You may win a battle. The enemy looks for the next opportunity.

Wilderness forms you.

Wine

From wilderness to wedding.

At a celebration in Galilee, they run out of wine. Total shame. A major hosting failure. Mary tells Jesus, “They are out of wine.” He is not ready to go public. But He does it anyway.

Six stone jars. Twenty to thirty gallons each. At least 120 gallons. About 605 bottles. And it was the good stuff.

Jesus was not just performing a miracle. He was rescuing people from shame. He turned embarrassment into abundance.

This is a symbol of the gospel.

Those ceremonial jars represented the old covenant—washing again and again. But in the new covenant, the wine of Jesus’ blood is forgiveness and cleansing once and for all.

From water to wine.
From repetition to redemption.
From shame to celebration.

Jesus takes sinners filled with failure and transforms them into people who want to dance.

Wine restores you.

Disciples

After wilderness and wine comes discipleship.

Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

19 Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus forms a community. Twelve men. Tax collector and zealot. Fishermen and doubters. Conflict, misunderstanding, forgiveness, insider clubs, resentment. Discipleship always happens in community.

The church is not meant to be safe. It is meant to transform.

Community is sanctifying precisely because it is messy. It is in community that you experience acceptance and rejection, love and offense, vulnerability and forgiveness. It is where rich and poor are thrown together and discover they need each other to be whole.

The gospel knows nothing of lone ranger Christianity. It always requires people rubbing up against people for the work of Jesus as Sanctifier and Healer and Shepherd to be put into play.

Disciples are followers and imitators of their master. Little Jesuses carrying His legacy.

Discipleship shapes you.

Kingdom

This was Jesus’ main message.

Matthew 3:2 (NIV)

2 Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.

The rightful King is back. The kingdom is here.

We often think the good news is only forgiveness. That is true and good. But Jesus preached the kingdom. The King is here, and it is Me.

The kingdom is the place where God is in charge. The hearts He rules. The people He rescues.

Jesus described it with stories:

• A pearl of great value.
• A treasure hidden in a field.
• A mustard seed.
• A wedding banquet.

The kingdom is of immense value. Invest in it. The King is coming. Everybody is invited.

And He taught us to pray:

Matthew 6:10 (NIV)

10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Not “God, get me out of here.”
But “God, make it down here like it is up there.”

You are a kingdom bringer. A kingdom outpost. In this world, but not of it. Bringing light, truth, and goodness wherever you go.

Message recap adapted from the February 15, 2026, message by Minister Mark Ashton.

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