Happy weekend everyone,
Yesterday, I identified the truth that the devil gets our attention by making us focus on ourselves and not on Jesus. He attacks us where we’re most vulnerable and he makes us get agitated by challenging our strength, therefore making us focus on ourselves and not on Jesus. Using the temptation of Jesus as a scenario, I said the devil doesn’t appear as the devil, but as one who is nice, as a wolf in sheep clothing. I then ended my write-up yesterday by asking that, if the devil came as a wolf in sheep clothing, how then did Jesus recognise that he was being tempted by the devil? This I would address today.
The very first thing we must take note of is that you are most vulnerable when you get strengthened spiritually because that is when the devil attacks. The devil knows you are strong, but all he wants is for you to take your eyes off Jesus and focus on your strength, and by focusing on your strength you become carnally minded and before you know it, you start to either doubt, fear or have unbelief, and the devil has won! Jesus understood this first of all, which was why He was prepared after a long spiritual exercise.
Again, Jesus tested the spirit as we are expected to do according to 1 John 4:1-3. Although, 1 John was written after Jesus was glorified, so the true spirit’s focus should be on confessing Jesus as Lord who came in the flesh and is now glorified as Lord of all who is from God. But as for Jesus, (who was not yet glorified), the spirit had to focus on God the Father alone and not on Him the Son, this was how Jesus found out quickly. The spirit speaking who was the devil focused on Jesus proving Himself without being led by God Himself for the glory to go back to Him (God).
Another way Jesus knew it was the devil speaking was through the scriptures. Jesus was well grounded in the word (scriptures) that once the scripture was used to glorify the flesh instead of God it wasn’t from God. The devil didn’t quote Psalm 91:11-12 properly, he omitted a line in verse 11 which was, “…to keep you in all your ways”, the Amplified says “…and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].” If the devil had quoted that line he would be asking Jesus to give glory to God through obedience and service, since he didn’t want that, and didn’t want Jesus to remember why He was on earth, he purposely omitted it. But Jesus was very vast in the scriptures and observed the trickery there and replied the devil using the word saying, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” [Matthew 4:7].
Again, one thing Jesus did which we must always do is that the spirit MUST conform to the Word of God (scriptures), and NOT the Word of God conforming to the spirit. Jesus always used the scriptures to know if the spirit has conformed with the scriptures, which was why He was always quoting. The truth is there is a level a deceitful spirit can go, but it cannot lead you to glorify Jesus as Lord of all, and once the result of all what the spirit says doesn’t fall on glorifying Jesus as Lord, that spirit is fake!
We have to be very careful as we live our spiritual life because the devil is so crafty and if you’re not alert in the spirit, you could fall prey to his tricks, be watchful.
There is one important point to note when testing the spirit. Log on tomorrow as I point out this important point to know if the spirit speaking is of the devil or of the Lord Jesus.
May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.
Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!
Log on next time.
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GOD BLESS YOU.
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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)
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