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Two of Satan's three temptations began with the words, "If you be the Son of God."
Jesus was God, but he did have a human body that had to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God (Jn. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Lk. 2:52). It took faith for the physical mind of Jesus to believe the witness of the Spirit within Him that he was the Messiah. Satan was attacking the most basic of His beliefs. This must have been a temptation to Jesus or Satan would not have used it.
Satan is very subtle in his temptations. It may have looked like he was trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle, but he was actually trying to make Jesus waiver in His faith of who He was. He tried to get Jesus to draw on the supernatural power of God to confirm...
FOR YOU NEWLY BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE ADVICE. THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO TO HELP YOU GROW IN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK. I AM GOING TO LIST A FEW OF THEM AND WRITE SOMETHING BOUT EACH OF THEM.
I BELIEVE FIRST AND FOREMOST YOU NEED TO GET INTO THE BIBLE, STUDY AND LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT JESUS. HE EVEN TELLS US TO DO THIS IN MATTHEW 11:29 WHERE HE SAYS "Take my yoke upon you, and LEARN OF ME; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." STUDYING YOUR BIBLE IS THE WAY YOU FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM AND HE LOVES YOU AND WANTS THAT CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. IT IS ALSO THE WAY TO BUILD YOUR FAITH. ROMANS 10:17 SAYS "So then faith cometh by hearing, and...
John the Baptist was overwhelmed that Jesus was asking to be baptized by him. John had already declared himself unworthy to unloose the latchet of the Christ's shoes, and now the Christ was asking him to administer His baptism (Lk. 3:16).
Likewise, we are often overwhelmed by the idea that the Lord could use us. Who are we to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ? It is easy to disqualify ourselves and not fulfill God's instructions. However, Jesus told John that he had to do it to fulfill all righteousness.
As wonderful as it may seem, the Lord has chosen to use us. God's Word could not have been fulfilled without John's cooperation. The Lord works through men.
We can do nothing by ourselves, but the Lord will do nothing...
WHAT IS FAITH? WE KNOW WE ARE SAVED THROUGH IT AND IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD (EPHESIANS 2:8). WE KNOW IT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS WE CAN'T SEE (HEBREWS 11:1). WE KNOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY IT (GALATIANS 3:11). WE KNOW THAT WITH IT THAT NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US (MATTHEW 17:20). WE KNOW THAT WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY IT AND HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS (ROMANS 5:1). WE KNOW IT COMES FROM HEARING THE WORD (ROMANS 10:17). WE KNOW THAT WHATEVER IS NOT OF IT IS SIN (ROMANS 14:23). WE KNOW WE SHOULD WALK BY IT (2ND CORINTHIANS 5:7). WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF IT (HEBREWS 12:2). AND LAST, BUT VERY IMPORTANT, WITHOUT IT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD (HEBREWS 11:6). I THOUGHT WITH THIS MESSAGE I WOULD JUST GIVE YOU THE VERSE NUMBER SO YOU COULD LOOK IT UP YOURSELVES. I BELIEVE YOU WILL GET MORE OUT OF IT IF YOU READ THE BEFORE AND AFTER VERSES.
These scriptures record the ministry of John the Baptist. He spent thirty years in the deserts of Judaea preparing for this ministry. Then it only lasted about six months before He baptized Jesus and men started following the Messiah. Yet in those brief six months He turned an entire nation to God.
He did not take the normal approach and go where the people were. He was out in the wilderness and the people came to him. He had no advertisements other than the testimonies of those who had heard him. He wasn't a flashy evangelist wearing the latest styles of the day. He didn't do anything the way the religious leaders taught it was supposed to be done in their seminaries, yet it worked.
In six short months, an entire nation was stirred in anticipation...
How could it be that Jesus, who was God (Jn. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16), and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, increased in wisdom? (Col. 2:3)
God is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24). Jesus, as God, had existed as a Spirit forever.
When He came to the earth as Jesus, he was Lord at birth, but that was in His Spirit (Lk. 2:11). His Spirit didn't have to grow or increase in wisdom but His physical body did.
The Lord could have done things differently, but He didn't. Jesus came into this world in His physical body exactly as we did. He had to grow and learn.
He became just like us so that we could become just like Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
This is the great exchange. He became like us so that He could bear all our iniquities and become a mercy high priest for us (Heb....
I WROTE IN THE PAST ABOUT THE POWER OF WORDS AND I DIDN'T MEAN THE "WORDS OF GOD", I MEANT THE IDLE WORDS WE SPEAK EVERY DAY. JESUS SAYS IN MATTHEW 12:36-37 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." CONDEMNATION AND JUSTIFICATION COME FROM THE WORDS WE SPEAK SO WE REALLY NEED TO WATCH WHAT WE ARE SAYING ALL THE TIME. I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE JUSTIFIED BY SAYING SOMETHING GOOD ABOUT SOMEONE THAN CONDEMNED FOR SAYING SOMETHING I SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID.
This is the only scriptural record of Jesus' childhood. Yet there is much that we can learn from this brief account.
At twelve years of age, Jesus' wisdom astounded the men who had spent a lifetime studying the scriptures (v. 47). Remember that Jesus did not have full time access to a copy of the scriptures like we do today. He had to depend on His visits to the synagogue and the direct revelation knowledge from His heavenly Father.
He was also asking these scholars questions (v. 46). This is amazing when you realize that in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! (Col. 2:3) Although He was God, He inhabited a physical human body that needed to be educated.
He also had a...
HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED UP THE WORD "PATIENCE" IN THE DICTIONARY? I WAS READING IN ROMANS 5:2 WHERE IT SAYS "TRIBULATION WORKS PATIENCE" AND I GOT TO THINKING THAT PATIENCE MUST MEAN MORE THAN I WAS THINKING. MY DEFINITION WAS "JUST COOL IT AND SEE IF IT HAPPENS".
Satan was the real motivator of Herod's actions. Ever since the Lord first prophesied that a man would bruise his head, Satan has been seeking out this "seed" of the woman (Gen. 3:15).
It appears that Satan is able to perceive when the Lord is making a major move in the earth. In the days of Moses, Satan moved Pharaoh to kill all the male children of the Israelite slaves, and here he motivates Herod to kill all the male children in Bethlehem. No doubt he was seeking to eliminate this "seed" who was going to bruise his head.
Once again, we see children being...