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We move into Luke Chapter 4. After being baptised in water, and filled with The Holy Spirit, surely all our problems are over! Is this so? Emphatically NO!

Is 'speaking in tongues' the evidence of our being baptised in the Holy Spirit? No. That is invariably a consequence. The evidence is usually trouble, and that is exactly what Jesus Christ experienced here, as did Peter and John in Acts Chapter 3. These are questions which can bother and trouble many and we need to lay a good solid sound biblical foundation as soon as we can. If the foundation is insecure then what we try to build will probably be pretty shaky. Jesus moves from Nazareth to the Jordan, and then to the wilderness. Jesus is empowered and anointed and equipped. There have been words of approval and confirmation and reassurance. Jesus returns not to blessing and success, but tempting and testing. After the confirming words of God the Father, Jesus is confronted with undermining words. Now, be very aware of this. Most people who have been baptised in the Holy Spirit by the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ have had to face a succession of troubles and trials and battles. Look at the lives of Peter and John and Silas and Paul if you need confirmation from the Scriptures. This is a very private incident and a severe and serious battle ensues. If Jesus Christ had not won we would not be believers and disciples today! Jesus is on His own, working out the implications of His ministry. Few of us like to be all alone. That can be hard, but often it is essential. Jesus is there alone. It would be hot during the day and cold at night. It is dry and barren with no shelter. Jesus is at prayer and in communion with His Father. This lasts for forty days. That is where we get the word "quarantine". Jesus becomes physically hungry. He, the Son of God was a man taking our weak frail flesh. Jesus Christ is physically weak and exhausted and tired. No man had ever been in this situation before. The wilderness is like a school where God teaches us lessons. That is when the enemy approaches a man - when he is down. Jesus has to fight and win. "If". What impudence! Jesus had heard His Father's Voice, and now Jesus has to listen to the voice of taunting and undermining and doubt. The enemy is so plausible. Go on. Satisfy your own needs. Temptation is NOT sin. Use your power for your own interest, if you have any real power. Adam failed in the garden feasting. Jesus will be victorious in the wilderness while fasting. Jesus would not use the power of the Holy Spirit, selfishly - only for service to others. Was it not a plausible legitimate request? Jesus could have satisfied the physical need of the entire world, by turning stones into bread. Sometimes you have to say "NO" and that can cause massive problems. A few weeks later, Jesus would turn water into wine and then feed 5,000 men. People were so impressed they wanted to make him, king, but He slipped away. Jesus would not be popular for wrong reasons. Jesus refused to give people what they wanted, but always gave them what they needed. He answers the devil with the Word of God. Man does not live on bread alone. He throws the book at him, quoting from Deuteronomy. Yet is this not what man is seeking to do today? Man is seeking to live on bread alone - on the physical and the material, totally ignoring and neglecting the spiritual. Who do you think is behind that deception? Is this not the very battle in which so many of us are deeply involved?

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

A Lot Of Salt

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