Sunday, February 14,
2016, 8:38 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “In Holiness.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Luke 4:1-15 (ESV).
Led by the Spirit
(vv. 1-2a)
And
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the
Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
Jesus Christ, God the Son, when he walked the face of this
earth, was fully God yet fully man, so he was subject to temptation as we are,
yet he was without sin.
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, who is the third person
of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit led Jesus into the
wilderness where he was tempted of Satan for forty days. God does not tempt us
to sin, yet he may lead us into situations where he knows we will be faced with
temptation, in order to test and to strengthen us in our faith.
God is completely sovereign over all that he has made, and
over all powers and authorities. He allowed Satan to live, even after he
rebelled against God, along with a third of the angels in heaven. He allowed
him to tempt Adam and Eve, knowing that they would sin, and that he would have
to put a curse on them, and that all humankind would thus be born into sin,
without God, without hope, and destined to spend eternity in hell. And, he
still allows Satan to roam this earth like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour, for a time.
Yet, God has made a way of escape for us from the temptation
of Satan. Jesus Christ took the sins of the entire world upon him when they
hung him on that cross to die. He became sin for us, who knew no sin, so that he
might put sin to death with him on the cross. He died that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with
Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ in newness of life, “created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). We are
empowered with the Holy Spirit and are given the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-20)
with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us. In the power of the
Spirit, we can say “NO!” to sin! Amen!
By Bread Alone
(vv. 2b-4)
And
he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The
devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become
bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread
alone.’”
Satan loves to tempt us when we are at our weakest points,
like when we are sick, hurting, lonely, hungry, tired, and sad, etc. One of his
biggest weapons against us is his lies. He likes to try to get us to doubt God
and to question who we are in Christ, by faith, if truly we are in Christ via
death to sin and through new birth into a living hope, by the Spirit of God. He
also attempts to convince us that we have to solve our own problems, i.e. that
we must take matters into our own hands, and fear if we do not, that things
will go bad for us. He will try to convince us that God just doesn’t care, that
he is not paying attention, and/or that he lacks the power and authority to do
anything about our circumstances. He will also try to make us believe that if
we do not have much in the way of material possessions, wealth, and an
abundance of provisions stockpiled for the future, etc., that we will be without
resources when things do get bad. Yet, we need to believe God’s word. He says
that he will supply all that we need, so we are not to worry about what we will
eat or wear.
Serve Him Only!
(vv. 5-8)
And
the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment
of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their
glory, for it has delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then,
will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You
shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
Satan will try every which way to get us to bow to him and
to serve him as our master, rather than us serving God. He is very stealthy and
subtle, though. He doesn’t usually tempt us so boldly as he did Jesus in the
sense that he let Jesus know exactly his goal. Yet, he did try to convince
Jesus that he (Satan) was the all-powerful one, and that if Jesus would just
bow to him, that all the kingdoms of the world would belong to Jesus. Yet, they
already belonged to Jesus. It is just not his time yet to set up his reign on
the earth.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to those of us who have
trusted in Jesus Christ, yet Satan will try to convince us that we are missing
out on something that only he can supply. He will attempt to persuade us that we
need to make our own way in this life, and that we have to build our own
castles, if we are to be successful. He has convinced much of the church to
follow human-based philosophy on how to grow their churches man’s way, using
man’s methods and marketing schemes, as though God is not capable of growing
his own church his way, using his own methods. He has persuaded the church that
they must immerse themselves in the culture of their day, and use worldly means
and methods to attract the world to the church. In so doing, many are actually
following Satan instead of God. Yet, God is the only one we are to bow to, and
we are to serve him only.
Don’t Test God
(vv. 9-15)
And
he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to
him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is
written,
“‘He
will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
and
“‘On
their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a
stone.’”
And
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the
test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him
until an opportune time.
And
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him
went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their
synagogues, being glorified by all.
Satan will also use the word of God against us. He will
twist it to his advantage to try to convince us that we need to toot our own
horns, or that we must do things to draw attention to ourselves or to gain fame
for ourselves, i.e. that we have to market ourselves or our ministries using
human methods if we want people to listen to us, to like us and to approve us.
In other words, he will try to get us to test God by us not trusting God with
our lives, and by us not relying on the power of the Spirit, but by us thinking
we have to manipulate our circumstances so that they go the way we think they
ought to go.
But, God doesn’t need our help, i.e. he doesn’t need us to
augment his work, as though his work is not enough. He doesn’t need all our
marketing schemes and gimmicks. He just wants people sold out to him, submitted
to his will, walking in the Spirit, and by the Spirit putting to death the
deeds of the flesh. He wants people who will obey him, and who will follow his
lead, who are empowered of and submitted to the Spirit of God, who will allow
the Holy Spirit to do his work through them for the glory of God, not for the
glory of man. It is the power and working of the Spirit of God which changes
human hearts and turns them from darkness (sin) to the light (righteousness),
and from the power of Satan to God, to walk in the ways of the Lord. This is
the way God grows his church.
In Holiness / An
Original Work
February 1, 2016
Praise the Lord all you saints!
Worship God in holiness.
Trust in Him! Do not faint!
Believe in His righteousness.
God is faithful in all things.
He delivered you from sin.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Witness daily. His words heed.
Trust in Him! He is truth!
He has not forsaken you.
Rest in Him! Let Him lead!
He will meet all of your needs.
When you go through trials deep,
He’ll be with you. He’ll not sleep.
Walk with Him throughout your day.
Read your Bible. Kneel and pray.
Give to God all your heart!
From His mercy ne’er depart.
Jesus died for your sin!
Walk in vict’ry. Live in Him.
Jesus paid the debt we owe.
From our lives His love should flow,
Living for Him ev’ry day,
Loving others, His words say.
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