140921 Fasting_God’s Purpose

Isaiah 58:6-12   “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? ⁸ Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’   If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, ¹⁰          if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. ¹¹         And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. ¹² And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Fasting is not normally a part of the modern Christian church. We have never made an emphasis on fasting in this church. Most Christians think of fasting as something that was done a long time ago and can’t imagine why it would be done today. In the days of Isaiah the people practiced ritual fasting that was not pleasing to God. They felt somehow the very act of going without food should impress God and would therefore earn them God’s favor. God’s reply to them tells us that fasting should have a purpose. Let’s look at some of the purposes found in the Bible for fasting. First of all…

Fasting allows us to minister to others. Verses 6-7 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

At first glance these two verses seem to simply call on us to use the resources that have been freed up by our fasting to take care of others. Since we’re not eating a meal we can give that to someone who needs it. But there’s more going on here than that. “To loose the bonds of wickedness” talks about a great deal more than simply contributing our resources. Fasting on our part will challenge the enemy and defeat him. Fasting allows us to focus on the needs of others around us rather than on ourselves. Fasting reminds us that we have a spiritual purpose. Of course, fasting does free up resources that we are not spending on ourselves. Food costs money and that money can be used to provide for the needs of others. That is a side effect of fasting. More importantly…

Fasting will add strength to prayer. Let’s look at how fasting was used by the returning Israelites as they traveled through a dangerous country. Turn with me to Ezra 8:21-23.  Listen while I read. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. ²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Ezra was a priest who had gone to visit Jerusalem during the time of the return from captivity. Ezra had returned to Babylon to ask the king for more help in restoring the city of Jerusalem. There had been one group of exiles who had returned and began to rebuild the city. Ezra was now leading the second group and had to cross hundreds of miles of dangerous country. Ezra had told the king that God would take care of them on their journey. When he reached the river Ahava he knew that he was at the border of civilization. Once they crossed this river they would be in a dangerous country where armed bands of men roamed.

Ezra could have asked the king for soldiers to protect his group of settlers and the king would have gladly given them to him. However, Ezra did not want his people to depend upon the pagan world. Today we put too much dependence upon the world in our day-to-day lives. Our God is able to take us through anything that we confront! I believe the people were afraid and expressed their fears to Ezra. Now it was the time to put up or shut up. Ezra had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek Him, and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him.”

They didn’t just pray that day on the side of the river. They implored God! “Implored” is a much stronger term than “prayer”! Not only did they implore God they also fasted. We don’t know how long they spent there at the river but they humbled themselves before God, fasting and pleading for a safe journey. Praise God, Ezra could report, “and he listened to our entreaty.” Fasting had strengthened their prayer and had caused them to pray more intensely and repeatedly until they were sure of the answer. As God had promised Isaiah, “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” And then God goes on to explain that this will be true if those who are fasting have met the conditions of freeing the captives, no longer accusing others, or speaking wickedly. God will answer our prayers if we fast with the right attitude.

Not only does fasting allow us to minister to others and strengthen our prayer…

Fasting helps our focus on God’s will. Turn with me to Acts 13:1-3. Listen while I read. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

The church at Antioch was a powerhouse for God’s use. The church was reported to be very large in membership and was led by a group of prophets and teachers. A normal part of their life in Christ was worship and fasting. The church had been very effective in its local community and now they needed to begin to reach out. Jesus had said that his disciples would begin in Jerusalem and move out to the uttermost parts of the earth. There had really been no model for them to follow and they had to feel their way. Recall that in the beginning they had stayed in Jerusalem until God allowed serious persecution to scatter them. They seem to have forgotten, or not understood, the Great Commission. The “go onto all the world” just didn’t seem to have registered with them. Once they were scattered through persecution they shared their faith with others along the way. Now God was ready for them to begin a planned outreach.

It appears that fasting might have been a normal part of their worship in Antioch. That may well explain why they had such strength and positive leadership. Barnabas had come to town and was recognized as a spiritual leader right away. He then went out to search for Saul of Tarsus whom he remembered from several years before in Jerusalem. He was impressed by God that he needed Saul, who would later be called Paul, to help with the growth of the church. After their work was done in the church at Antioch God was ready now to move them on. So while they were worshiping and fasting they began to get a clearer focus on God’s purpose. It was God’s will that these two men be set apart for the work that he’d call them to do. We are not told how they knew what their work was or how organized they were. We do know that they left Antioch and planted churches across the territory that is now modern day Turkey. Obviously, worship and fasting helped them to know God’s will.

Not only does fasting allow us to minister to others and strengthen our prayer life.

Fasting helps our focus on God’s will, and…

Fasting will strengthen our request for help. Jehoshaphat had begun his reign as king of Judah in alliance with Ahab even though Ahab was one of the wickedest kings that had ever reigned in Israel. After he had untangled himself from this relationship he set his heart to seek the Lord. Just as it looked as though he was going to be successful three armies allied themselves against him. Turn with me to 2 Chronicles 20:1-4. Listen while I read. After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

When one army comes at a country they have some chance of confronting that enemy in battle. In Jehoshaphat’s case he had three armies coming at him and they were allied with each other. Any time God’s people are making progress our enemy, Satan, who roams the earth looking for those whom he can devour, immediately tries to put a stop to the progress. Satan had failed to destroy Jehoshaphat by allying him with Ahab. Now, the enemy uses a more direct approach. Judah is confronted by warfare. Jehoshaphat was afraid and approached the problem the right way. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah and the people gathered to seek help from the Lord. Then the king prayed for God’s direction. I love the way he concluded his prayer! “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12) Have you ever not known what to do? Follow Jehoshaphat’s plan and you will be successful. Fast and pray and then fix your eyes on God in Jesus Christ and he will provide an answer that will meet your need and change your world.

Not only does fasting allow us to minister to others and strengthen our prayer life.

Fasting helps our focus on God’s will, and fasting will strengthen our request for help. We may not think that what we do is important but…

Fasting may help change the course of history. Turn with me to Jonah 3:5. Jonah had been instructed to go to Nineveh and warn them that the city would be destroyed in 40 days! This was not what Jonah wanted to do because he knew what might result from such a message. So, after his excursion with the giant fish and his delayed journey to Nineveh, he did not tell them to repent or seek the Lord. He just told them that God was going to destroy them. Listen while I read what happened And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. Now let’s look at verse 10.  When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah knew the Lord! He knew that if Nineveh, his hated enemy, would repent and turn from their evil way then God would lift this sentence of destruction. Our God is an awesome God. Without Jonah’s help the people of Nineveh turned to the Lord with fasting and prayer. One of history’s most successful revivals was the opposite of what the preacher wanted to happen! The destruction of Nineveh was put off for several more generations.

Not only does fasting allow us to minister to others and strengthen our prayer life.

Fasting helps our focus on God’s will, and fasting will strengthen our request for help. In fact, fasting and prayer may very well change the course of history. Now, should we fast? One thing for sure is…

Jesus expected us to fast. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 9:14-15. John’s disciples had a question for Him. Listen while I read. Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

During Jesus’ ministry apparently there was not a time when He and His disciples fasted. When He was asked about it He simply said that those who are celebrating do not fast. His disciples were part of the wedding party but there would come a time soon when the party would be over! Jesus’ disciples stopped rejoicing when he was arrested, tried and crucified. Then it was time to fast.

Jesus doesn’t say, “then they might fast” He says, “then they will fast”. Jesus clearly expected His disciples to fast after He was gone. And we know that, at least in Antioch, the church did fast. Their fasting was not a result of sadness. In fact, it was out of a sense of joy that they worshiped and fasted. They put aside their food because they had something more serious to occupy their time. They needed to know the mind of the Lord! So they fasted and worshiped resulting in the Holy Spirit revealing God’s will for their missionary outreach.

Not only does fasting allow us to minister to others and strengthen our prayer life.

Fasting helps our focus on God’s will, and fasting will strengthen our request for help. In fact, fasting and prayer may very well change the course of history.

In Jesus’ day some people were fasting to get attention. They wanted to be seen by the people.

Fasting should not be for show. Turn with me to Matthew 6:16-18. Again we see a positive expectation by Jesus that his disciples would fast. Listen while I read. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“When you fast” don’t be a hypocrite! These hypocrites put on a show that they thought made them look more spiritual. God is not impressed with our display. When we fast we are told to avoid looking like we are fasting. The people that Jesus was calling, “hypocrite” were people who were fasting for the wrong reason. There was two things wrong with their fasting. First, they were pretending to have a love for God. Second, they really had a love for man’s praise.

Whatever they may have gotten in the way of being honored by others was all the reward they would ever receive. Jesus said, “they have received their reward.” There was nothing to look forward to in the future because they already had received whatever reward they would have.

When we pray in secret and when we fast in secret the God who sees in secret will reward us openly. Consider setting aside a meal, or three meals, and use that time and energy to seek the Lord. It may be that you would seek the Lord for someone else’s salvation. It may be that you would seek the Lord for direction. It may be that you would seek the Lord for the answer to a question. It may be, and should be, that you would seek the Lord just for His companionship!

There are several examples of fasting in the Bible. Moses fasted during the receiving of the law. God’s people often fasted when seeking an answer from the Lord. Jesus fasted at the beginning of His ministry. During Jesus’ ministry He stated that His disciples would fast when He was gone. We see examples in the book of Acts of the disciples fasting as a part of their worship and decision-making. I would like to encourage you to set aside a day each week or perhaps, in the beginning, a meal, each week, to fast asking especially for God to bring revival to our area and to bring people to salvation. Let’s focus on God’s will and His way. We should want to be “the repairer of the breach” and “the restorer of streets”. The Lord will guide us.

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

140126 Led by the Spirit

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Luke tells us that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when he came from his baptism and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Matthew adds that he was there “to be tempted by the devil.” I'm afraid that most Christians today, if they think of being filled with the Holy Spirit at all, think of a terribly exciting and pleasant experience. Certainly, thinking about being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil is not usually connected with being filled with the Spirit. That is exactly what happened to Jesus. Peter tells us that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. We must remember that he seeks to devour us whether we are spiritually strong or not. We should seek to be spiritually strong so that we can resist the devil. James, the Lord's brother, said that we should submit ourselves to God and then we can resist the devil and he will flee from us. Obviously Jesus knew how to resist the devil.

Jesus had gone into the wilderness to prepare for his ministry to begin. He spent forty days alone with the Father. In the same way, Moses had spent forty days and forty nights on the mountain with God before he received the law. Fasting for forty days, apart from a miracle of God, is physically dangerous. In all likelihood Jesus had water available to him because, again, apart from a miracle of God, a person cannot live more than a few days without water. Forty day fasts are not unknown but are certainly unusual. Fasting is a way to give one's full attention to God and the Word. I have never spent more than a couple of days in fasting. I do know that hunger can become a real problem. I also know that if you are spiritually focused hunger is not immediately a problem. In fact, in the beginning of a fast, your body feeds on itself and hunger only becomes a problem towards the end. Satan had waited for the right time for Jesus to be hungry and then he moved in to present the temptation. The first of three temptations was…

Temptation by hunger.

Fasting until hunger returned. Jesus had fasted for forty days and now his body was demanding food. Satan, knowing who Jesus was, challenged him to satisfy his hunger immediately.

Satan is patient. Let's see how Peter described our enemy. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. If you have watched Animal Planet or Discovery Channel you have seen how a lion will stalk its prey. In fact, the lion will wait until its prey is tired and alone. The lion may spend all day stalking its prey patiently waiting till the right time. Then he'll strike and almost always bring down food for supper. Well Peter describes our enemy as being patient and vicious. He had to leave Jesus in the wilderness after these temptations and began to look for other opportunities to take Jesus down. He watched as Jesus chose his disciples and he marked which one might be available to him. And at the right time he pounced on the weak disciple listen while I read Luke 22:3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. Satan entered into Judas and led him to betray Jesus. Just as he had waited for the right time to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. But Jesus knew how to resist the temptations. In this case it was a matter of…

Resistance by correct priority. Jesus knew exactly what was important with regard to food. Some time after his temptation in the wilderness Jesus led his disciples through Samaria. On the journey he became hungry and sent his disciples into a village to buy some food. After they left, a woman came to the well probably expecting no one to be there as she was not very popular in town. Or at least that's the way it is usually interpreted. After a discussion with Jesus about where and how to worship she put her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She went away to tell everyone she knew that she had met the Messiah. While she was gone Jesus' disciples returned with the food that had been sent for. Instead of taking the food Jesus said, found in, John 4:34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. …" Jesus knew that man did not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He used that quote in the temptation in the wilderness and I'm sure thought of it while sitting with the woman at the well. It's a very exciting thing to share your faith with another person. It can be so exciting that normal activities, like eating, take second place.

Jesus responded to his first temptation by quoting the word of God. The first temptation was a temptation by hunger, the second was…

Temptation to demonstrate God's care. As the son of God Jesus had the right to expect to be cared for. Now Satan asked for a demonstration to prove who he was. Satan said…
If you are the Son of God. Jesus, you remember, had just come from his baptism when he had heard those wonderful words found in Matthew 3:17 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Even without those words at his baptism Jesus knew who he was. He had known since he was twelve years old and perhaps sooner than that that he was the Son of God. Many people will say that Jesus never claimed to be God just somehow a distant second to the Father. Sometime after this experience in the wilderness Jesus was confronted by some of the leaders of the Jews. Let's read about it in John 5:17-18 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. "Making himself equal with God" is the understanding the Jewish leaders had of what Jesus had just said. "Equal to" and "the same as" is the same thing. John's gospel is very clear that Jesus and the Father are equal. It begins with, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

So it was fairly absurd that Satan even raised the question, "If you are the Son of God" because they both knew who he was. Satan had been defeated by Jesus quoting Scripture and so now he shows his expertise in the Bible. We need to remember that…

Satan can quote Scripture. Return to our text of the morning we find these words in Matthew 4:6. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” The devil had read Psalm 91. He could use that to urge Jesus to prove that he was God's Son. Just because someone quote Scripture doesn't mean that what they say is right. What the devil said to Jesus that day was true it was just incorrectly applied. Jesus, being God, and as such the author of the Bible, knew exactly how to use it. Satan used Scripture incorrectly.…

Jesus uses Scripture correctly. Paul wrote to Timothy to tell him that there was a right way to use Scripture. Let's look at 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. This passage reminds us that there is a right way and a wrong way to use Scripture. I won't even begin to go into all the wrong ways except to say that the right way always glorifies Jesus Christ.

Jesus was tempted by hunger and tempted to demonstrate that God really cared about him. Now he was presented with a…

Temptation to take a shortcut. After all it would appear that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and build a kingdom on earth. Satan presented Jesus with the challenge to prove who he is by turning stones into bread and by jumping off the temple so the angels will come and protect him. So it seemed logical to the devil that he could encourage Jesus to take a shortcut. You see it's true that…

Satan rules the world system. There are several passages of Scripture we can use to support this idea. We will use two. First, let's look at an incident only a few days before Jesus death on the cross. He testified that he had come into the world to be crucified. And he cried out asking the Father to glorify his own name. The Father spoke saying that he had glorified his name. And then, let's look at John 12:30-32 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” At that point in time Satan seems to be winning the battle. He is rapidly moving Jesus toward a trial and execution. The world was about be judged not Jesus! Even though Satan believed he was winning Jesus boldly asserts that the ruler of this world will be cast out at just the time he thinks he has the victory. Jesus knew that he had to take our sins into his own body and allow that body to be nailed to a cross. Jesus had no sin of his own so he could become sin for us and that would allow us to become the righteousness of God in him. Yes, he would be lifted up on a cross above the earth but at the very time that he was lifted up he would draw people to himself. Satan may indeed be the ruler of this world but he rules only with the permission of God the Father.

Another place in the Bible that testifies to Satan's rule over the world is…

Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Paul is writing to the Ephesians about the conditions under which we were born. You see each one of us, every person on earth, was born dead in trespasses and sins. All of us followed the course of this world in obedience to "the prince of the power of the air". That "prince" still works in the sons of disobedience all over the world. All of us are born children of wrath and subject to death and hell. However, when Jesus went to the cross he provided substitutionary atonement for all who are appointed to eternal life — for all who receive him and believe on his name.

Are you still subject to Satan? Or, have you submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus? Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. Otherwise, you live under the authority of the Prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this world. He was tried and found wanting but during the temptation in the wilderness…

His authority was accepted. Let's look at what the writer of Hebrews had to say in Hebrews 2:14-15 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Satan's authority was very real. He had come into the garden of Eden thousands of years before and confronted the rulers place there by God the Father. He stalked them and brought them down with a simple question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And they fell into his trap. And when Adam and Eve sinned we all sinned with them. It may not seem fair but the actions of our ancestors have an effect on us whether we like it or not. Let me give you an example that may help you to understand. When I graduated from college in 1968, we moved to New York State and, therefore, Aree, our youngest son, was born in New York two years later. If we had moved somewhere else he would have been born there. He had no choice about where he would be born that decision was made by our decision to live in New York. I will give another example. Sometime in my childhood I learned that my grandfather, Aree Oscar Bray, had wanted to travel to the West when he was nineteen years old and join the national Forest Service. As I thought about that I was upset! If grandpa had gone West I would've been born in Montana or Wyoming or some such exotic place. I would've been a cowboy or a mountain man! Then the truth slowly sank in. If Aree Oscar Bray had gone West when he was nineteen years old he would have never met Ola Crockoff and subsequently married her. After their marriage they had a son named Hubert Aree Bray. That son was my father! If they had never met, never married, not only would my father not have been born but I would not of been born nor any of my offspring as we know them. Undoubtedly, Aree Oscar Bray would have married someone but it would've been an entirely different someone. What our ancestors did has profound impact on who we are today and where we are!

When Adam and Eve sinned we sinned with them because we were in them along with every other human being on earth. Adam and Eve gave up rule of the earth to Satan in the garden of Eden. Jesus did not deny the devil's statement that he had authority over the earth his response was simple…

Jesus came back to basics. Again, let's look back at our text. Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

It was not a matter of who the Prince of this world was it a matter who the Lord of glory is. In our humanity we might think it would be a simple thing for Jesus to bow down to the enemy in order to gain control of the entire world and all its kingdoms. Jesus knew that was something Satan could not give him anyway. There was never any choice for Jesus that day. He was committed to serve and worship only the Lord God himself. Even in those early days Jesus was firmly fixed on the path to Calvary. In the wilderness, after forty days fasting, at his weakest physical moment, Jesus withstood three serious temptations. Praise God, he did not give in.

We should be strengthened by the knowledge that our Lord and Savior was himself tempted in every way that we are yet without sin. It is not a sin to be tempted — sin comes from giving in to the temptation. When Jesus began his ministry the Holy Spirit publicly demonstrated who Jesus was — the Son of the Living God! Then, soon after that, the Holy Spirit took him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. It is important for us to recognize that we have an enemy who seeks to destroy us and we have, within us, the Spirit who dwelt in Jesus to enable us to resist the enemy. You might ask, "Why does God allow us to be tempted?" He does so in order to make us strong. Don't despair when you find yourself harassed by temptation. Count it all joy that you have been considered worthy. Faith is trusting God to supply all our needs. Do you trust Him?

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.