Jesus’ Rite of Passage: Spiritual Battle with Satan

Before beginning his work of salvation,
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit
to undergo a rite of passage:
the spiritual battle against Satan.


If even Jesus, who had nothing to do with the power of sin,
had to go through the spiritual battle against Satan,
how much more is it natural for us,
who were once bound by the law of sin and death,
to pass through this same rite of passage of spiritual warfare?


Satan tempted Jesus,
who had fasted forty days,
to turn stones into bread.


Satan seeks to exchange the spiritual
for the physical,
entangling us in food, clothing, and shelter
and deceiving us to lose hold of spiritual blessing.


But as spiritual beings,
we do not live by bread alone.
As heirs sealed with the eternal inheritance of God’s kingdom, we live by the Word of God.


Satan also stirs up our pride,
tempting us to put God to the test.


He whispered that if Jesus threw himself down from the high place,
angels would catch him
and people would admire and follow him.
But Jesus overcame
with the Word of the LORD God who fights for us.


Then Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, tempting him to change his object of worship.


If we become so busy chasing the world
that we lose worship,
we cannot escape from the disaster
that destroys to the third and fourth generations.


The same Satan who tempted Jesus
still infiltrates culture, ideology, and religion today,
tormenting people with various diseases.


From the system of diseases and disasters
that medicine and science cannot explain,
the only way for individuals, families, and households to escape is
to be strengthened in the mighty power of Christ Jesus.


Cast all your anxiety on the Lord.
If you do not,
your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
If you do, God will make you rich and strong.


Just as angels ministered to Jesus
after he passed Satan’s temptation,
so must we go through the rite of passage called spiritual warfare
in order to be set free from the disaster system of this world. Amen!

(Luke 4:1–13, Mark 2:1–5, Ephesians 6:10, 1 Peter 5:8)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Thoughts of Re-Creation, The Secret to Becoming Lovable Before God and People

Image
The twelve-year-old Jesus was not an ordinary boy. As prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, Jesus was a shoot came up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch bore fruit upon whom the Spirit of the LORD rested – the Spirit of the LORD, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. He was the fulfiller of the covenant. Born from the bosom of God, the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. However, Mary and Joseph, after twelve years, lost hold of that faith and searched for Jesus for three days with worry, frustration, and irritation, captured by the thoughts of the flesh. Jesus, the remnant who grew in stature and wisdom and in favor with God, knew he must be in his Father God’s house, the place of grace. However, his parents, who had strayed from the place of the covenant and grace, could not enjoy the blessing even with Jesus the Messiah right beside them. The Virgin Mary, who once sa...
Read more

A Gospel Community of Worship Centered on the Covenant: 315 Nation

Image
The descendants of Jacob, who possessed the covenant, were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. The genealogy of the covenant recorded by Moses is directly connected to God’s work of salvation. To be related to God’s work of salvation means to be headed toward the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey, the land where the Messiah would come. Though Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, the Israelites who stood within God’s work of salvation and timing were greatly blessed according to God's promise to make them as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand of the sea. When we worship centered on the covenant just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, we will see evidence that we will increase and multiply by God’s method. This is the easiest way to overcome the world. We are not of the world, but are chosen by God. We are the remnants who carry God’s mission, the pilgrims who evang...
Read more

The Re-Creative Language that Transforms Our Thoughts Centered on the Gospel

Image
To love one another does not require much effort. If our thoughts are properly aligned with the gospel, we can love one another just as the Apostle John loved the elder Gaius. When we transform our thoughts centered on the gospel, we begin to speak the words of the gospel. The re-creative language Christians use brings prosperity to the soul, success in all things, and strength in health. "Beloved, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." Elder Gaius, who walked in the truth, was a disciple of Christ with the image of one worthy to be called “Beloved,” and used the language of the gospel. The Apostle John’s record of Elder Gaius, Demetrius the witness of the truth, and Diotrephes the hinderer of the gospel was intended to show that the outcome of the walk of faith depends on whether we crush the serpent’s head in the name of Jesus Christ who came to destroy the devil's work. Elder Gaius walked in th...
Read more