Luke 4: Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and He went without food the whole time and he was naturally very hungry. It was at this point that satan came on the scene to tempt Him. Remember, scripture records that Jesus was "filled" with the Holy Spirit. Not half full, but FULL. This further illustrates that in our walk with Jesus, we need the Holy Spirit He gave us to be able to fight this spiritual battle that satan wages against us. Satan hits us when we are at our weakest and only the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives will empower us to deal with the enemy.
Paul wrote this in Ephesians 5: 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. The "liquid courage" of alcohol is meaningless to live the spiritual life we have been called to live. The more we rely on physical outward things the more we fail at every turn. Our walk is to be led by the Holy Spirit and since Jesus needed to be "filled" with the Holy Spirit for His battle with satan, how much more do we need to be filled with the Spirit? Paul spoke to this spiritual war that is before us and he also gave a way to fight it in Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
The sinful nature of the flesh was defeated on the cross and should be left there, but we need the power of the Holy Spirit to leave all of that behind. Further in Galatians Paul writes the following in verse 24-26 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Jesus' example of how to handle the temptation of satan in the wilderness is a perfect example of how to fight satan when he tries to distort God's Word. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit and we need to be filled with Spirit constantly, just like we at times must fill our car with gas to make it continue to run. We may not be going forty days without food like Jesus but our wilderness may be not reading God's Word or spending time in prayer. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and you will live a Spirit-filled life. Be filled with the Holy Spirit because your wilderness may be approaching and only God can help you through it. This way you will not fall from your faith, but grow in your faith. The powerful life is only made possible by the Holy Spirit. Anything less is a compromise.
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren