Full Circle, Part II

Each of the scriptures Jesus quoted (we read them in Part I) were part of a larger context of the Covenant that God revealed to Moses. The Covenant said that God would protect and direct His children with a fierce love; their part would be to obey His commandments. Jesus would fulfill the salvation plan of God by inaugurating the New Covenant, which meant His utter obedience to God in everything He said and did:

• Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. (John 5:19-20 NIV)
• For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. (John 12:49 NIV)

He would then hand over His life and die on a cross.  The New Covenant meant His blood must be shed to satisfy God’s requirement for cancelling sin.  Philippians 2:5-8 puts it so well:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (NIV)

Wow. We stand in the New Covenant of His love. He dwells in us and we dwell in Him.

That is how Jesus lived and how we are to live. The desert will always be there, as long as we walk on this planet. Satan will try to convince us that the desert will never end; that we will wander there forever. Wrong. Even the children of Israel had an expiration date on their wandering. Jesus left the desert after a certain period as well. We will leave it at some point as well.

God is not trying to punish us; He is disciplining us with His love. Why? He greatly desires for us to be His disciples. In fact, “discipline” and “disciple” both have the same root. (Merriam-Webster)

God’s love for us is fierce. If that seems odd to put “fierce” and “love” together, watch a mama bear with her cubs. You get the idea. He loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us. That’s fierce love. His love for us has no bounds and He will do whatever He can to draw us to Him.

So, spiritual warfare comes down to perspective. If we trust that we are fiercely loved by God, Satan will test/tempt us to believe any thing but that:

• Satan wants us to lose faith in God’s love and see our desert as punishment.
• Satan wants us to see a lack of bread as abandonment.
• Satan wants us to see devotion to God as one-sided and useless.
• Satan wants us to see the desert as the only home we deserve and we will not be able to leave.
• Satan wants us to work without God, thinking that He is too slow, too uncaring, too busy, too self-absorbed to be concerned about every aspect of our lives.
• Satan wants us to be afraid of what God requires, insinuating that we will have to bear the burden of obedience on our own power and strength.
• Satan wants us to question His Word, for how can a Book written thousands of years ago be sufficient for the challenges we face today?
• Satan wants us to focus on him and his power, forgetting that he is a dog on God’s leash and someday he will be judged and cast away forever.
• Satan wants us to think the desert is all there is; those still waters and green pastures are just illusions and that God delights in the sufferings of humanity.
• Satan wants us buried in doing good works, being so busy for God that we don’t have time with God. Satan uses guilt to motivate us. We do, do, do and then end up resenting God. That’s what Satan wants. He wants us to forget that we should only do what God orders, just like Jesus did when He was here on earth. Works without God’s power and direction are empty. Soon, so are we.
• Finally, Satan wants us to think God is non-existent; He has left the universe; He’s AWOL; He’s powerless and out of touch. Satan wants us to resign ourselves to his ugliness and our defeat as the only reality.

The only answer to all these lies? JESUS.
The only power we need to overcome? JESUS.
The only perspective we need in the desert? JESUS.
The only power we should draw on? JESUS.
The only love that endures and empowers? JESUS.
The only answer to life? JESUS.
The only answer to death? JESUS.
The only way to axe fear, doubt, pride, sin, anger and hurt? JESUS.
The only truth? JESUS.

The spiritual battle is not fought with what you know, but with WHO YOU KNOW.

Amen!

Full Circle, Part I

The temptation of Christ took place in a wilderness, a desert. In facing down the devil, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy. Why?  

The NIV Study Bible sets the scene:

"Deuteronomy locates Moses and the Israelites in the territory of Moab in the area where the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea (1:5). As his final act at this important time of transferring leadership to Joshua, Moses delivers his farewell addresses to prepare the people for their entrance into Canaan. These addresses were actually a covenant renewal…In them, Moses emphasized the laws that were especially needed at such a time, and he presented them in a way appropriate to the situation. In contrast to the matter-of-fact narratives of Leviticus and Numbers, the book of Deuteronomy comes to us from Moses’ heart in a warm, personal, sermonic form of expression…

"The love relationship of the Lord to his people and that of the people to the Lord as their sovereign God pervade the whole book. Deuteronomy’s spiritual emphasis and its call to total commitment to the Lord in worship and obedience inspired references to its message throughout the rest of Scripture."(243)

The Israelites were facing a transition from Moses’ leadership to that of Joshua’s. They would be moving from wanderers to warriors.  The Jews of Jesus’ day were facing a transition from the law of Moses to the revelation of Jesus Christ:

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:17-18 NIV)

Deuteronomy emphasizes the covenant the Lord made with His people. The Jews of Jesus’ day were seeing a New Covenant, not written on stone tablets, but written with the blood of the Son of God. Covenant, God’s sovereignty, His love for His people, and His call for total commitment to Him are the book’s major themes (NIV Study Bible 243). It is no surprise that Jesus, Who was inaugurating a new era in God’s salvation plan, would use this book to rebuke the devil and emphasize those same themes by His own life and ministry.

Jesus Himself entered into the narrative of the Forty Years in the Desert by adding His own chapter as He faced Forty Days in the Desert. Let’s see Jesus’ responses and the larger context from which they are drawn.

To the first temptation, Jesus says, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” (Luke 4:4 NIV) He is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. I have included the surrounding verses to show the larger context:

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. (Deut. 8:2-5 NIV)

God led His Son to a place where He would have to keep His Father’s commands, depend on Him only, and only do His will. Jesus says later in His ministry:

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed...By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. (John 5:19-20 & 30 NIV)

Jesus responds to the second temptation with, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Luke 4:8 NIV) He is quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. Here are the surrounding verses:

Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. (Deut. 6:13-19 NIV)

Jesus will not even consider serving anyone else other than His Father. In fact, in Deuteronomy 6:4 is the beginning of the Shema, the prayer that is the essence of Judaism: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (NIV)

Jesus is reasserting the oneness and the holiness of God. No other gods shall receive any honor other than the one true God—Jesus’ Father. The absolute unity of God, His glorious oneness is preserved by Jesus, for He applies this verse to Himself. The mystery of one God in three Persons is never up for debate by Jesus. He asserts it as truth, for He is Truth.

Thus, Jesus will serve only God as He walks on this planet. That alone is the reason why He came. Jesus loves His Father with every fiber of His being. He will walk in obedience for He loves the Father with an all-consuming love.

Jesus responds to the third temptation with, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Luke 4:12 NIV) He is quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Here are the surrounding verses:

Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said. In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us that will be our righteousness. (Deut. 6:16-25 NIV)

Jesus is the new Moses, about to deliver His people from the greatest enslavement of all: to sin and death. We are to be the new house wherein the God of the Universe personally dwells. That will only be possible, however, with the death and resurrection of Jesus:

He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. (Heb. 3:2-6 NIV)

I see many things emerging out of Jesus’ encounter with Satan that are very applicable to us. God’s Word alone is our strength and shield. Jesus stood on it no matter who He was talking to and what He was doing. The Word alone was His foundation for how He saw His Father and for His ministry. He knew the Word well enough to wield it powerfully at His supporters, His detractors and Satan.

But most of all, it was His comfort. He knew the promises were absolute, not subject to change or whim. Those promises were woven into every part of Him. We, in following our Lord, should do no less.

It is in the desert where we are tested THE MOST. If you look at the desert in Israel, it is rocky, desolate and hot. The landscape has a certain ominous aspect to it that says: If you are not careful, you will perish here.

We are tested every day, but a desert period in our lives can reach into our very soul causing us to ask: Does God care? Will He continue to care? Why should He even care?

Jesus went into a desert to show us how we should cope with ours. He doesn’t ask us to do anything that He Himself has not done. He truly knows what we are going through: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Heb. 4:15)

He knows and hears the depths of our cries. Out in that silent and desolate desert, His Father heard the cries of His Son’s heart.

What did Jesus learn in that desert to overcome the satanic lies against God? What can we learn from Him when we are in our own desert? In Greek, the word for “tempted” may also be translated “tested.” (Luke 4, Bible Gateway)

Think of it this way: When we are tempted, our character is being tested. Will we stand on what we know of His grace and power, or will we succumb to our flesh and Satan’s lies, believing that God does not care and has abandoned us?

Just before the desert experience, Jesus had received His Father’s love and approval for His life and ministry: "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" (Matt. 3:17 NIV)

Satan was in the desert, just waiting to totally undermine what the Father had said to Jesus. Each temptation was a satanic rebuke of the truth Jesus heard at His baptism. We will see the same thing happen in our lives. After receiving a call to the work for the Kingdom, after an especially lovely time in His presence, after a loss, after a challenge, Satan will chirp in our ear and try to rebuke what we stand on in God.

Solution? Rebuke him back with the Word.

Next Week:  Full Circle, Part II

Facing a Jericho Stronghold With Jesus

I was inspired by an Internet website to see Joshua 6 as an excellent roadmap for how we are to take down spiritual strongholds. When I read the passage, I saw a good battle plan!

1 Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in.

2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors.

3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days.

4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns.

5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town...”

20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys. (Josh. 6:1-5 & 20-21 NLT)

The word “stronghold” in Greek means “a castle” (Strong’s). When we read about Joshua conquering the first stronghold or fortified city in the Promised Land, we find a powerful analogy here.

Joshua’s name in Hebrew means “the LORD is salvation” (Strong’s). Jesus’ name in Hebrew means the same thing—the same as Joshua’s name. So, making this comparison has merit.

Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in.

Strongholds are where people hide. But we are called to be different in Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 declares: 

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (NIV)

That is who we are. We don’t hide and we are not afraid. We have the King of kings and Lord of lords on our side. The Promised Land is ours because we have salvation in Jesus and He is always with us.

Sadly, the world is full of those who do not know Jesus and do not care. The world is equally full of those who know Jesus but are living behind a wall, filled with fear and condemnation. They don’t want to go out and they certainly don’t want anyone coming in.

So, we have to show both groups that we are victorious in Christ. We walk in His freedom and shout the praises of God. That kind of faith brings results.

But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors."

The Lord had already given Joshua the city. Even though it stood there, looking invincible, God had other plans.

Addiction, fear, condemnation, doubt, deep hurt, unforgiveness, and unrepentance: they all look invincible, whether we see them in ourselves or in others. But the battle is won in Christ. We need to take this promise and boldly walk up to the city walls.

"You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days."

Marching showed the people’s faith in God. But it also showed obedience to a God-ordained process. Whatever process for recovery and growth God shows you—a counselor, a mentor, a doctor, therapy, medication, fellowship with believers or all of the above—do it. Joshua did not question the process of conquering Jericho.

Once God reveals His plan, we step out in faith, knowing it is for our best.

Yes, God could have caused the walls to immediately tumble down, but He was out to build the character of His people. A character centered on faith in God will be able to move mountains. Why? A mature character knows of God’s goodness in the past, how God doesn’t change and how He will come through in the future:

• Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Rom. 5:3-5 NIV)
• Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 NIV)

Faith is a walk. Joshua and his men boldly walked out and around the walls, focused only on the mightiness of God and His love. Compared to that, the walls seemed rather puny!

"Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns."

We serve and follow the High Priest, Jesus. The Ark contained the covenant was made between Moses and God. Jesus is our Covenant with God. He died for us and we die to self. He lives in us and we live in Him. We are His own. As we walk behind Him each day, we are reminded how much He loves us, even if our walls haven’t fallen. 

YET.

"When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town...”

The process that Joshua and his men engaged in will take days. Our process of building and acting on faith takes time as well. We are walking, focused on our High Priest and His love covenant for us. Then, just as God had the people walk around seven times on the seventh day, our day of freedom dawns.

The stronghold begins to weaken, for our heart is growing stronger in Him. The walls lose their power to instill fear and a sense of never-ending slavery.

The priests blow the horns one last time and the people shout. We work together with our High Priest; we follow His lead and we shout for joy in His presence. The trumpet of His love drowns out the whispers of Satan that sin is who we are, we can never recover, hope is for other people, and condemnation is all we deserve.

The trumpet blast of His declaration of “It is finished” from the cross drowns out all of the lies of Satan. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is ours:

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Rom. 8:11 NIV)

When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

The Holy Spirit rushes into our city as the walls collapse to give us hope that the city will not rise up again. Now, the Lord is occupying our city in His power:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 NIV)

They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys.

It may sound harsh to our modern ears, but what is sinful must be removed completely. If we have an addiction, we may have to walk away from friends, family, and certain environments to keep the city from rising again.

We may need to bag the computer, or put it out in the living room, facing where everyone can see it.

Whatever needs to be removed for your recovery and to remain free in Him, do it! Do Jesus’ words sound any less harsh than what was said to Joshua?

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matt. 5:29-30 NIV)

God does not compromise with our sin in any way. Why? When we compromise with sin, Satan gets actively involved. When we surrender an area of our lives to God, Satan now has one less area to operate on in our lives.

It’s a process, but God is faithful! The walls of Jericho fell down after the warriors followed and were obedient to the leader and the priests. We (the warriors) must follow our Leader and High Priest (Jesus) to bring the city (whatever strongholds we face) down.

He is faithful.

The battle is won.

He fought and died for us.

We need to be faithful by remaining obedient.

We wield the Sword of the Spirit in one hand.

What do you think we do with the other hand?

We keep it firmly in His nail-scarred hand.

Jesus' Enemy Contact in the Gospel of John

We will now explore with Jesus how Satan colludes with religious people. One expects the world to be influenced by Satan; but to hear Satan through the mouth of religious leaders, who should on the lookout for such intrusions, is mind-boggling. Some of our deepest hurt can come from those who should know better.

Jesus experienced this first hand:

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! (John 8:39-45)

The leaders, because of their anger and jealousy at Jesus, have given Satan a stronghold. Their emotional reaction has now transformed into murderous intent.

This is why anger is so dangerous, for it can lead to murder. Why? Once you have given Satan an open door with your anger, he will come in and start building a case against the person you are angry at; soon, with your anger growing, ideas about what you should do to that person also grows. It may even grow into ending that person’s life.

This is why lust is so dangerous, for it can lead to adultery or any kind of sexual sin. Lust opens the door to Satan, allowing him to influence your thinking. Such thinking grows into more and more of a focus which transforms into potent desire. Before long, you are making plans, with Satan providing the itinerary.

Satan is the “father of lies.” A stronghold—anger, lust, jealousy, fear, doubt—will allow him in to start weaving the lies into a greater and greater web. Our emotions and our heart will blind us to who Jesus really is; Satan works with that blindness and the lies will become stronger and stronger, bringing us deeper and deeper into Satan’s way of thinking. Soon, we have united our wills to his agenda and the results will be devastating.

These religious leaders, so angry with Jesus, are going to soon unite with the Romans (whom they despise) to kill Him. Sin makes strange bedfellows, does it not?

Think of the kid, growing up in an alcoholic home and despising his father, will, because of anger and unforgiveness, someday turn into his father and head down that same road of destruction.

Think of the kid, growing up in a violent home and despising her father for beating her mother, will, because of hurt and a desperate need for love, choose a man who will turn out to be like her father.

The list goes on and on, because of Satan’s lies to our heart.

We have the right to be angry, jealous, hurt, bitter, disappointed, and broken because of what has happened to us in our lives. God doesn’t want us to live in such bondage. Jesus came to heal and restore us. But instead of seeking Him, we listen to the lie of You Deserve to Feel This Way!

Then a long list (signed by Satan) of how to live with the pain comes rolling in: drugs, alcohol, abuse, fear, sinful indulgence, alternative lifestyles, unbelief... The list is endless because Satan tells us the pain will be as well.

But if we bring our anger, jealousy, hurt, bitterness, disappointment, and brokenness to Jesus, He will heal, restore and give us a new heart, one sensitive to His love and forgiveness. The choice is ours, despite what Satan and the world says. Stand on what the Word says:

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:31-39)

In summary, Jesus encountered evil and spoke the truth and the Word to drive it away. Despite Satan’s best efforts to appear invincible, he’s not. The Word of God is the best at rebuking Satan; this sharp Sword reminds the enemy that you are ready and willing to use it for yourself and for others.

Whatever we do for His Kingdom must be done in the name of Jesus:

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;
     the righteous run to it and are safe. (Prov. 18:10)

Amen.