BIG Commitment:Big Promises
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. In the apathetic world of today, the buzzwords include "take it easy", "just stay in the crowd", "don't take any chances", and many more. When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, He was tempted in three ways. The first temptation by the devil was the following verses when Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
The devil tried to tempt Jesus with the basic need for food, but Jesus brought to light the importance of the Word of God and resisted the temptation to choose the temporal. Temptation met had on with the Word of God. Then a second temptation was offered by the devil to Jesus and the temptation is in the following verses, 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hand so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’
The third is in the following verses, 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.":
Sadly, our replies to the temptations of the devil would fall short of what the Son of God would say or do. That is to be expected because Jesus is the Son of God, and He was fully man and fully God. Keep in mind that Jesus relied on the living Word of God, and that should be easy to figure out because Jesus IS the Word of God. The Gospel of John states that truth this way In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Jesus was about to spend three years, establishing redemption, going on the cross, being resurrected, establishing a group of believers to carry on His message of hope, and sending the Holy Spirit to empower His followers. That is a lot, and it all starts with a time in the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy. The pivotal point of this pilgrimage by Jesus all starts with temptation at the lowest point physically for Jesus. Forty days and nights without food and all alone to be tempted by the enemy. Jesus withstood that time in the wilderness and He reminded the devil of just how things really work. Then the following verse comes into focus. Verse11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
The following three years were full of ups and downs for our Savior and His commitment to the task at hand was a BIG Commitment. In light of the commitment of Jesus, we see that our commitment should be BIG as well. To dedicate your life to following Jesus at times seems daunting and almost beyond what you can do. Rest assured it IS beyond what you can do. But in that BIG commitment, we have a huge helper named the Holy Spirit. I can't live the life of a follower of Jesus without the power that only can be found in the Holy Spirit. I CAN NOT!!
Jesus speaks words that are promises to all believers who trust in God. You will find some of those words listed below.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Hebrews 6:18 So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
John 10: 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
These are just a few of the promises of God that go along with the BIG commitment that God calls us to make. When God calls us out to ministry He also enables us to do the ministry and that enabling has promises that are eternal and real as written in the Word of God. BIG Commitment is possible because of the Big Promises of God. Keep in mind we can do nothing apart from God as Jesus said in John 15: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
The following quote really makes sense if we will only rely on God and His promises. You can't break God's promises by leaning on them!
The Pilgrimage Continues...
David Warren