Luke 4 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for what is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
And he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. (Luke 4:1-12)
The spiritual walk with God is not a plain sailing journey. If Jesus himself was tempted and had to undergo this "wilderness" moment, we definitely would not be exempt from such rough experiences in life of temptation, testing and challenges. The wilderness - physically, a barren desert, with serpents and scorpions, thirst and lack, where it is difficult to survive; spiritually, this translates into a season of pressure, when it does not seem as if God was there as he was before. However, through this time, we can be sure that if we hold on to Jesus, and stand by God in faith, we will succeed even in the face of such challenges and ultimately like Jesus, "return in the power of the Spirit"
There are several examples of people experiencing "wilderness moments" and then emerging triumphant throughout the bible. Moses came out of the wilderness to deliver a nation, Elijah and David came out of the wilderness with the annointing of God and became a mighty prophet and king. Israel, as a nation, came out of the wilderness to conquer a promised land and to reap the promises of God. We can similarly apply such examples to our own personal life. We can learn several things about these "wilderness moments".
1. The wilderness experiences are God's idea
In all examples, it was God who directed his people into the wilderness. The wilderness has a purpose - a place of preparation, a place of enlargement. We must learn to humble ourselves before God, to learn and draw from God and at the end of the day, emerge from the wilderness stronger, and enlarged.
One example is how while David was in the wilderness, he journeyed to a village with his men and found it sacked by his enemies. The bible says that whilst his men wept bitterly, David wept before the Lord. Here we see two different kinds of weeping. One is bitter, the other is a pouring out of emotions before God, to humble oneself before God and strengthen oneself in the Lord. David committed himself to God and relied on Him, pursued, overtook his enemies and recovered all.
2. The wilderness is a testing process
In an assembly line, the testing process is one whereby the quality of goods is tested and if they pass inspection, they will attain a stamp of approval. How we respond to the wilderness experiences determines whether we are approved to go on. In this time of pressure, whatever is in our heart surfaces and is externalized, allowing you to see the good and bad qualities in our life.
Israel escaped Egypt under the leadership of Moses. However, their lives had been made bitter by their brutal taskmasters. Despite experiencing a spiritual high after they had gained their freedom, the trials such as the bitter water, after the red sea experience exposed the similar bitterness in their heart. However, Moses did not blame God or complain that it was unfair, he turned to God and God revealed himself as the God who heals.
How do we pass the wilderness test with a distinction?
Here we can look at the example of the Israelites as they were going to enter the Promised Land. Here, they were at the last lap, where they were shown the vision and the promise, but also the obstacles they had to overcome in order to attain them. Here we see that they cried and wept with self pity, complained to God with a victim mindset. God had little mercy on that generation and they were condemned to wander in the wilderness with only few of this generation being able to enter the promised land eventually.
Caleb was someone who passed this test with a distinction. We can see how God regarded him in Num 14:24. "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will i bring into the land where into he went; and his seed shall possess it." We can see that Caleb was first a servant, who learnt to yield to God and fulfil his purpose in God. He had a distinctive and different spirit and he fully followed God. He stilled the negative talk of the Israelites, he saw the trials as an opportunity to go to the next level, and he learnt to offer his life as an offering to God and rely on God for all things.
Here, the important thing is the breakthrough. Many live a life of prayer, but few live a life of breakthrough. The bible teaches us that we must pray until we get a breakthrough in God. Once we gain that breakthrough, then we can move on to bigger challenges, bigger promises in God and gain even greater breakthroughs in God!
Thus, when we go through our own personal wilderness moments, we should not hide and withdraw. We should trust God - He is in charge! We know that he will never let us go through more than we are capable of. He will offer us a means of escape such that we can bear it. If we turn to God and hold fast in our faith in God, He will help us through and we will emerge in the power of the Spirit!
*sermon from Rev. Mike Connell
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Faith between the Colt and the Fig Tree
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this? tell him, "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly"
They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, "what are you doing untying that colt?" They answered as Jesus had told them to and the people let them go. (Mark 11:1-6)
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. when he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14)
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" And Jesus answering them said unto them,"have faith in God". "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he said. Therefore I say unto you, what things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:20-25)
God has revealed several revelations to me through this verse, on this day of fasting. In Mark 11, we see two famous events of huge contrasts and comparisons must definitely be made. The similarities are uncanny. Both are situations whereby Jesus wants something. Whilst in the first case, he is immediately obeyed, in the second, we see unpreparedness and perhaps even rejection.
At the start, Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly on a colt. This is the famous scene whereby he is praised with shouts of "Hosanna in the highest" as he enters the city. The bible reveals the back story of how the colt was procured to us. With regards to this, we can make two conjectures, and through this discover three important attitudes we should have. Firstly, Jesus' missionary team had already made preparations for such a colt to be made ready for Jesus' arrival. Secondly, the people had either prepared the colt of their own initiative knowing that Jesus was passing by; or having not been prepared for Jesus' arrival were immediately willing to give up that colt once they heard that the Lord needed the colt.
1. Expectancy of God's arrival
2. Willingness to sacrifice for God
3. Immediacy of Faith
Regardless of the conjectures, the people were prepared or expectant of God's arrival. It is easy to say that the people were prepared if we go with the first conjecture. In the second conjecture, we see that even if the people had not made prior preparations for Jesus' arrival, once they heard that Jesus wanted the colt, they immediately gave it up. This shows that they knew what to do if God wanted something, they should give it up immediately. The bible tells us that the disciples said the word "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly." I certainly doubt that the people tending to the colt were gullible and naive. The fact that they were willing to give up a colt - a fresh one that had not been ridden no less - with just these words that would probably form scant assurance to the rational, indicates their faith in God.
However, this situation is immediately juxtaposed with another. This time, in Bethany, Jesus was hungry, he sees that a fig tree has no fruit as it was not fig season. He curses it and then it withered up from the roots. Now, is Jesus being unreasonable to ask from a fig tree what it could not give because it was not in its nature to do so? This reveals yet another attitude that Jesus wants us to have.
4. Faith even in the face of the impossible
Hebrews 11 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of the things not seen. The bible tells us that this whole situation was enacted in the audience of the disciples which indicates that Jesus was trying to teach the disciples a lesson. Let us compare this to the case of the colt. In both cases, the people tending to the colt as well as the fig tree were probably physically unprepared for Jesus' arrival. However, in the first case, the people were willing to have faith in God and trust that the disciples were not some bandits that would cheat them out of their livelihood. I am sure that a colt was very valuable to the people of that time. This is faith in a situation where it seems like God is asking of the impossible. In the second scenario, the fig tree seems to be constantly confining itself according to the seasons, according to the time that it believes that nature says it should be fruitful. God is trying to tell us that if we have faith, we will be fruitful all year around. We will not be confined by the seasons. Jesus then emphasizes this point when he declares that "whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received, and it will be yours." This is indeed a universal rule for "whatever" means everything and "you" means everyone.
In closing, it is uncanny that Jesus answers Peter's incredulous questioning of his cursing of the fig tree with the line "Have faith in God". It seems as if God is trying to tell us that faith in God is truly the answer to all our difficulties. So let's trust God even in the face of an impossible situation and let us be prepared and willing to do obey God's voice, that He would do a miracle in our lives. Amen!
They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, "what are you doing untying that colt?" They answered as Jesus had told them to and the people let them go. (Mark 11:1-6)
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. when he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14)
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" And Jesus answering them said unto them,"have faith in God". "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he said. Therefore I say unto you, what things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:20-25)
God has revealed several revelations to me through this verse, on this day of fasting. In Mark 11, we see two famous events of huge contrasts and comparisons must definitely be made. The similarities are uncanny. Both are situations whereby Jesus wants something. Whilst in the first case, he is immediately obeyed, in the second, we see unpreparedness and perhaps even rejection.
At the start, Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly on a colt. This is the famous scene whereby he is praised with shouts of "Hosanna in the highest" as he enters the city. The bible reveals the back story of how the colt was procured to us. With regards to this, we can make two conjectures, and through this discover three important attitudes we should have. Firstly, Jesus' missionary team had already made preparations for such a colt to be made ready for Jesus' arrival. Secondly, the people had either prepared the colt of their own initiative knowing that Jesus was passing by; or having not been prepared for Jesus' arrival were immediately willing to give up that colt once they heard that the Lord needed the colt.
1. Expectancy of God's arrival
2. Willingness to sacrifice for God
3. Immediacy of Faith
Regardless of the conjectures, the people were prepared or expectant of God's arrival. It is easy to say that the people were prepared if we go with the first conjecture. In the second conjecture, we see that even if the people had not made prior preparations for Jesus' arrival, once they heard that Jesus wanted the colt, they immediately gave it up. This shows that they knew what to do if God wanted something, they should give it up immediately. The bible tells us that the disciples said the word "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly." I certainly doubt that the people tending to the colt were gullible and naive. The fact that they were willing to give up a colt - a fresh one that had not been ridden no less - with just these words that would probably form scant assurance to the rational, indicates their faith in God.
However, this situation is immediately juxtaposed with another. This time, in Bethany, Jesus was hungry, he sees that a fig tree has no fruit as it was not fig season. He curses it and then it withered up from the roots. Now, is Jesus being unreasonable to ask from a fig tree what it could not give because it was not in its nature to do so? This reveals yet another attitude that Jesus wants us to have.
4. Faith even in the face of the impossible
Hebrews 11 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of the things not seen. The bible tells us that this whole situation was enacted in the audience of the disciples which indicates that Jesus was trying to teach the disciples a lesson. Let us compare this to the case of the colt. In both cases, the people tending to the colt as well as the fig tree were probably physically unprepared for Jesus' arrival. However, in the first case, the people were willing to have faith in God and trust that the disciples were not some bandits that would cheat them out of their livelihood. I am sure that a colt was very valuable to the people of that time. This is faith in a situation where it seems like God is asking of the impossible. In the second scenario, the fig tree seems to be constantly confining itself according to the seasons, according to the time that it believes that nature says it should be fruitful. God is trying to tell us that if we have faith, we will be fruitful all year around. We will not be confined by the seasons. Jesus then emphasizes this point when he declares that "whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received, and it will be yours." This is indeed a universal rule for "whatever" means everything and "you" means everyone.
In closing, it is uncanny that Jesus answers Peter's incredulous questioning of his cursing of the fig tree with the line "Have faith in God". It seems as if God is trying to tell us that faith in God is truly the answer to all our difficulties. So let's trust God even in the face of an impossible situation and let us be prepared and willing to do obey God's voice, that He would do a miracle in our lives. Amen!
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