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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
We move on to Luke Chapter 4. After being baptised in water, and filled with The Holy Spirit, all our problems are over! Is this so? NO! What frequently faces the disciple of Jesus Christ is TROUBLE.
Jesus left Nazareth for the Jordan and that essential experience and now he is led to the WILDERNESS.
Jesus is empowered, anointed and equipped. He has heard words of approval, confirmation and reassurance from his heavenly Father, but Jesus returns not to blessing and success, but tempting and testing.
After the confirming words Jesus is confronted with undermining words. We read now of a very private incident, and a severe battle.
If Jesus had not won this battle, we would not be around today, as believers and disciples. Make no mistake about that.
Jesus is on His Own - working out the implications of what has just happened. Few of us like to be all alone. That can be hard, but often it is necessary. Jesus is there alone. It would be hot during the day - cold at night - dry - barren - no shelter - no grass - no shrubs.
Jesus is at prayer and in communion with His Father for 40 days. He is in "quarantine". That is where we get the word, and the Mount where Jesus spent these six weeks bears that name, and I have gazed at in on various occasions when leading groups down to Jericho and the Dead Sea. Jesus is hungry - physically weak - exhausted - 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. And the enemy comes with this word - "IF". Jesus had heard His Father’s Voice. Now Jesus hears the voice of taunting - undermining – an attempt to place doubt in the mind of the Son of God.
The request to turn the stones into bread is so plausible. “Go on - satisfy your own needs.” Temptation is NOT sin. Succumbing to it and giving in is.
“Go on Jesus, use your power for your own interest - if you have any real power.
Adam failed feasting - Jesus will be victorious FASTING. Jesus would not use the power of The Holy Spirit, selfishly – but only for SERVICE. It is such a plausible and almost legitimate request. Jesus could have satisfied the physical need of the entire world – BREAD for the entire world. Sometimes you have to say “NO” - and that can cause massive problems.
A few weeks later, Jesus would transform water into wine, and then go on to feed 5,000. The people were so impressed they wanted to make HIM, KING, but he slipped away. Jesus Christ would not become popular for wrong reasons.
He refused to give people what they wanted, but always gave them what they needed.
Not bread alone - but the Word of God. He throws the Book at the devil quoting from Deuteronomy.
Be careful. There is an enemy of Christ who would seek to divert and sidetrack us and even get us to do things to satisfy ourselves or please people in the wrong way. Be very very careful.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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