Jesus: Tempted in all points, Yet without Sin

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matt. 3:1-4)

Some sentences in the Bible, we become so accustomed to, that they stop amazing us. But, when you take a moment to look at this first sentence again, “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil…” It is amazing. No wonder, in the following passages in Matthew 6, Jesus taught us to pray “lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one…”

If you find yourself alone, during these unusual quarantines of 2020, and being unusually tempted by sin – go to these passages to help you fight.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are. And being alone and in isolation—it is even more difficult to withstand sin, because of lack of accountability, no one sees you, and also, maybe you have much more idle time on your hands and you are trying to understand what to do with it. Also, maybe you are fighting depression, loneliness, fear, isolation. Here in this story of Jesus, he was tempted by Satan in the most vulnerable areas when He was hungry, tired, and alone.

And yet, He was without sin. He fought, and He used Scripture. If you find yourself being hit with certain temptations – find the Scriptures that contradict those temptations and memorize them, say them, and fight with them. Also, even when we are in quarantine, we are not at this time alone in a desert as Jesus was in this story – so pick up the phone, call a friend, call a pastor, call a Jesus-loving family member.

In Hebrews 12:4, the author corrected that readers by saying, “You have not yet resisted sin to the point of bloodshed…” And pointed to Jesus in verses 1-3, that He did resist sin to the point of bloodshed, by tgoing to the Cross. And this is a reference to His struggle to submit His will to God in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He died, where He said, “Not my will, but Yours be done…” He actually prayed and sweat to the point of sweating blood, as He struggled to say yes, and did it. This is the example He gave to us.

So, if you are struggling, alone, and tempted – look to Jesus, the author and finisher of Your faith, who was tempted in all points as we are, and was still without sin.

And in Luke, it says that Jesus came up from this time of testing and temptation that, “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all” (Luke 4:14-15). Jesus came through that time of testing and was then powerfully used by God. Many times, the devil tries to lie to us in the midst of our temptation and struggle and say that now God can no longer use us, but if we resist, fight and come out on the other side – we actually will be moving in power and authority, because of the temptation and testing that we have overcome.

Scripture: Prayerfully read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 3, and Luke 4.

 

Interaction: Write down some temptations that you are been facing lately. Confess them to God, and ask Him to deliver you from temptation and deliver you from the evil one.

Write: Write a list of those temptations, and then go find Scriptures that speak against those sins or temptations. Find Scriptures that speak about your identity in Christ, walking in the Spirit, resisting temptations, abiding in the Spirit, etc.

Memorize: Pick 2-3 Scriptures to memorize as your go-to scriptures in the time of temptation or struggle. If it helps to memorize them by putting them to a song melody or drawing a picture or writing them out, then do those things to help you remember them.

Share: Ask 2 or 3 trusted friends or family members to help hold you accountable in these temptations and struggles. Share the Scriptures with them that you have picked, and ask them to check on you and ask you about these temptations that you are struggling with.

Ask: Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you as the High Priest who was tempted in everyway as we are, and yet without sin. Go in boldness to His throne of grace in confidence that He will strengthen you to overcome. Ask Him to give you a picture of yourself free from that sin, so that you have a goal set before you.

For more tools on praying Scripture and exploring the knowledge of God, check out the “knowledge of God” blog series.

Difference Between Mercy & Justice

Along with the confusion between grace & mercy, people also have confusion between justice & mercy. Many believe that mercy & justice are against each other, but really, they are two sides of the same coin.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was mercy for us because it was something that we did not deserve; it was God’s heart reaching out to His people to give them a chance to turn back to Him again.

However, the Cross of Christ was also justice, because it was a judgment against evil & the fulfillment of all righteousness & all the Law.  It was seemingly unjust, because an innocent man died for the guilty, but because it was a voluntary act of love—it was a fulfillment of justice.

Now, those who call upon the mercy of God and His redemptive work of the Cross are covered by the blood of Jesus which is necessary for all justice & righteousness to be fulfilled. All of those who do not accept this free gift through the mercy of God will be judged according to the absolute justice of God without the covering of the blood of Jesus which filled that necessary vacuum of injustice.

Many ask, "If God is love, why does He judge?" God is Love, but He is also a Judge. He is Merciful, and He is also Just. He is loving and He is Holy. It is difficult for us to fathom, because we cannot hold this seeming opposites in perfect balance like the Lord can.

When God breaks in on a sickness through healing, He is releasing mercy to the person who does not deserve it because of their own righteousness, and He is fulfilling justice by responding to the completed work of the blood of Jesus. He is also fulfilling justice by judging the evil sickness, disease, & death which Jesus conquered on the Cross.

When God saves or delivers someone, He is extending mercy to them, because in their own power, they do not deserve that salvation or deliverance, but because they are applying the legal transaction of Jesus on the Cross, they are appealing to the legal implications of His complete fulfillment of the Law.

Many ask why God is allowing wickedness to keep prevailing and getting darker. It is because He has extended mercy so many will turn. However, at times when He does release judgments, it is also mercy, because people’s eyes are opened to the grave nature of their sin, and they are given the opportunity to turn. Also, those who do not turn are removed; thus, releasing mercy on those who evil was tormenting.

We must understand that God can hold all of His attributes in complete and perfect balance. God is both merciful and just, and we cannot pit mercy and justice against each other as though they were enemies. They are both part of the nature of God, and we should ask Him to help us understand them more.

Difference Between Mercy & Grace

So many times, I hear the words “mercy” and “grace” used interchangeably in conversations. I also speak several languages, and I often hear people translate grace for mercy and mercy for grace. This is an error. I believe it is a doctrinal error more than a translation error. People do not understand the difference between mercy and grace. They are not the same thing.

Mercy is getting what we do not deserve. This is when we deserve punishment, but God takes the punishment away or delays it to give us time to turn. God was merciful to us by sending His own Son to die on the cross to take away the punishment that we rightfully deserve because of sin.

Grace, however, is the ability or power to do something. The Greek word charis means “grace” and has a similar meaning to the word “gift.” It is where we get the words charisma, charismata, and charismatic. These words all trace back to a gift, ability, or power to be able to accomplish a specific purpose or task.

Why is it important to distinguish between grace and mercy? Because when I say, “God, give me mercy…” I am asking Him to forgive me for my wrongs and give me something I do not deserve. I am asking Him to take away my punishment that I rightfully deserve. When I say, “God, give me grace…” I am asking Him for the ability to walk in holiness and not walk in sin.

If I am praying for someone and I say, “God, release your grace over them,” then I am asking God to give them the ability to walk in holiness and righteousness. However, if someone translates it as, “God, release your mercy over them,” then the meaning changes to, “God, give them the ability to receive your forgiveness for sin, and give them something that they do not deserve.” Both are good prayers and both are needed, but they are not the same.

The problem is that when we have a wrong view of the difference between grace and mercy, we will not correctly see the need for holiness. God gives us the grace to walk in holiness, but He gives us mercy for when we fail. We cannot use them interchangeably, because it will cause a disaster in our theology to the point where we do not understand the need for grace in relation to holiness.

Hebrews 4:16 says that we “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We obtain mercy at the throne of God by being covered with the blood of Jesus who took away our punishment for sin. Then, we find grace in our time of need to strengthen us in walking out our salvation.

Perfected Forever Those Being Sanctified

And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified… (Hebrews 10:11-14)

“He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified…” What an amazing statement. This is saying that not only did Jesus complete our salvation of justification (we are saved), but also at the Cross, He completed our salvation of sanctification (we are being saved). Sanctification is the process of being made holy.

Also, this statement is saying that although we are currently in the process of “being sanctified,” we actually are already sanctified through His blood and the work is already finished in the sight of heaven.

Why does there seem to be such a contradiction between what we see in our lives and what this verse says about our sanctification being made complete? Why am I a new creation, but still have to put to death daily the deeds of the flesh? (II Cor. 5:17, Rom. 8:12-14, I Cor. 15:31)

This is where transformation comes into play. When we first accept Jesus into our hearts (justification), our spirit is made alive to Christ and we begin to walk in the newness of life (Rom. 6:3-11). Our spirit is 100% holy and pure, but our body, mind, will & emotions still need to be transformed. As we look at God, we begin to be transformed into His image (II Cor. 3:18).

Romans 12:1-3 outlines this process of transformation. It says first, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice…” This is the way new believers typically begin. They stop drinking, smoking, & sleeping around. Those things have to do with the body. They are presenting their bodies as living sacrifices.

Then it says, “Do not be conformed to the world…” This has to do with coming out of alignment with the way the world leads, which is self-serving and coming into alignment with the leadership of the Cross, which is seeming foolishness to the world (I Cor. 1-2).

Next, we are to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” which is bringing our mind out of the wisdom of the world into the wisdom of God. To do this, we must constantly be bringing our minds into alignment with Scripture and asking the Holy Spirit to lead our minds.

Then, the result is that we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is”—this is how we bring our will into alignment with the Holy Spirit. Once the will is in alignment under the mind, which is under the Spirit, then the emotions will follow. Emotions are terrible leaders, but great followers. Also in the ideal scenario, the body is brought under subjection by the mind and the will which are being led by the Spirit.

Many of us think that this process of sanctification is impossible, and we want to give up. However, saying that we cannot have victory over sin is to deny the power of the cross in our lives. Jesus already “perfected forever those who are being sanctified…” This means that we must call forth that eternal reality in our daily lives and live as though we can taste it today. We must set that perfection before us and realize that the blood of Jesus was not only enough to save us from hell, but also enough to save us from living in sin. It is His blood that gives us the grace (ability, power) to walk in holiness.

Life & Message of the Apostolic: Laying Down Your Life

On the night that Jesus died, he was in the garden of Gethsemane praying in anguish that the grueling assignment of his death would be taken away from Him. He knew His assignment on earth was to die on the Cross. Yet, He knew it would be the hardest thing any human being has ever done (Lk. 22:39-46; Mt. 26:36-46).

However, Jesus stayed in the place of prayer and surrendered His will over to the will of His Father. He said, “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Lk. 22:42). In the place of prayer, He laid down His life before He was even arrested or went to the Cross.

Jesus knew what was coming for His disciples and He told them to pray so that they would not enter into temptation (Mt. 26:41; Lk. 22:40). He knew that they would have the opportunity to lay down their lives that night, and He told them to pray to strengthen their spirits so that they were not tempted to betray Him.

However, they all fell asleep in the garden. None of them prayed during that time of temptation, and all of them were scattered. By the end of the night, every one of the disciples betrayed Jesus.

Jesus had promised that anyone who wanted to be His disciple needed to take up their cross and follow Him (Mk. 8). A mark of following Jesus is laying down your life.

Later on, after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were restored back into their ministry. I believe they were forever marked with what it means to lay down your life.

Time and time again, Paul preached how the mark of the apostleship was laying down their lives for the Church. And ultimately, nearly all of the apostles (if not all of them) were killed for their faith.

Laying down your life is a constant process of being identified with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ in your daily life (Gal. 2, Rom. 6). It is like being “a living martyr” who is fully surrendered to Jesus. However, the entire New Testament is marked with those who actually died for their faith.

Before the return of Jesus, the Lord will restore the true apostolic to the church again and many will die for their faith in Christ.

However, if we, like Christ, stay in that place of prayer so that we will not be delivered over into temptation, our lives will already be completely surrendered to Christ in life, a long time before we are given over to death.

“Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).

Message of the Apostolic: Christ Crucified

…Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

(I Cor. 1:20-25)

It is a tragic thing that so many in the body of Christ are beginning to water down the Gospel and the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Many are beginning to say that there is more than one way to the Father other than Jesus Christ.

However, we need a restoration of the true Apostolic Gospel in the Church today. We need to restore back the absolute Truth of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ into every home, every school, every church, and every place in the world.

There is no way to God the Father, except through Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man can come to the Father, except through Him (Jn. 14:6).

Everything in the world goes in the exact opposite direction of the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God was an innocent man dying on the Cross for the sins of the guilty. The wisdom of God was the Creator of the Universe taking on a human frame as a baby, then growing into a man and being killed by the very people He came to save.

 

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…so that no one may boast before him… (I Cor. 1:27, 29).

The wisdom of God cannot be understood by human thinking, but it must be revealed by the Spirit (I Cor. 2:9-10). The fleshly human mind is at war with the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:7). So, the things of God cannot be discerned with the human mind, but our mind must be renewed so that we can come under the leadership of God rather than the leadership of man (Rom. 12:1-3).

For this reason, Paul said that he did not preach with persuasive words of human wisdom, but with demonstration of the power of God, so that their faith was not in the power of men but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:4-5). He said that he determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified (I Cor. 2:2).

A Violent Act of Love

"...having wiped out the hand-written requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities & powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it..."
Colossians 2:14-15

We all want a hero. We all want someone to look up to that will fight for us, defend us, & make wrong things right. No matter how old we are, how tough we are, how wise, beautiful, or smart we are--at the end of the day, every single person wants someone to be their hero. We want someone to fight for us.

All of us have images in our heads of what a hero looks like--brave, mighty, strong, smart--someone who always knows what to do & how to fix it. We all have people in our lives who have been that to us--whether for good or bad. We have all also had people who failed us.

However, Jesus turned everything upsidedown & used the foolish things to confound the wise (I Cor. 1-2). He embraced humility & took the lowest place (Phil. 2:5). Yet, what He did on the Cross was not a weak act of surrender; it was a violent act of love. He violently took hold of every sin, disease, death, pain, hurt, sin, accusation, lie, & assault & nailed them to the Cross.

In doing this, He publicly disarmed the enemy. He took every weapon out of their hands with one fell swoop. He took on the entire army of bad guys completely by Himself (Heb. 1:3). And He won.

One man took down every act of evil. Not only did He disarm them, but He publicly humiliated them. He disarmed the entire military of the enemy single-handed. He made a public spectacle of them. In a single act of self-less mercy, He brought justice once & for all. It was a violent act of love. Talk about a hero.

Devo 65: Consecrated

Devo 65: Consecrated June 8, 2010

“Jesus stepped in front of me and took His hands with the bloody nail scars and pressed them into my hands. His blood was left on my hands and I realized that even my sacrifice was His sacrifice…”

The Hebrew word “consecrated” literally means “hands full of blood,[1]” and was used to describe the priestly ministry because they had bloody hands after sacrificing animals at the temple altar. They were then stripped naked and bathed in front of the whole assembly of Israel, redressed by Moses and blood was put on their ear, thumb, and big toe. They then stood in the door of the tent of meeting for seven days—just waiting there.

It is amazing that when Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, He was pierced through His hands. He literally had “hands full of blood.” It was the ultimate consecration as a priest. He was the priest and the sacrifice. His hands were full of His own blood rather than the blood of bulls and goats.

When Jesus asked us to take up our cross and follow Him, He was saying not only to take up a life of sacrifice, but take up a life of priestly ministry—of “consecration.”

However, the more I learn about it, the more I realize that even this sacrifice of ours is not really ours, but His. We can only do it through His Grace, which comes through the blood that He shed. No matter how zealous we are to fast, pray, give, and live lives of righteousness—we only accomplish it through His Grace. Works of our own are as filthy rags, but when we enter into His rest, it is His work of grace that works righteousness in us. It was by His obedience that we were made righteous (Rom. 5:19).

These nail scars of Jesus were more than just sacrifice and priestly ministry, they were also the fulfillment of a promise to Israel. In Isaiah 49:15, Jesus said, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget you, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…your walls are continually before me.

Jesus inscribed Israel on the palms of His hands according to His promise. Those nail scars are a continuous reminder of the remnant He will never forget. He was pierced for their trangressions and wounded for their iniquities—and ours (Isaiah 52-53).

His very name in Hebrew “Yeshua” literally means “salvation.”[2] So, the places in the Hebrew Scriptures where the word salvation is used, it is the same word as the name Yeshua. So, Isaiah 49:6 says, “Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be my salvation (yeshua) to the ends of the earth.’”

I heard a teacher[3] say that even the Hebrew letters YHVH (the Name of God) basically translate as “The hands,” “Behold,” “The nail pegs,” “Behold.” I have to research that more in depth to make sure it is legitimate, but it is amazing to think about.

The Grace and Salvation of the Lord far exceeds what we can ask, think, or imagine. I used to think that salvation was the point where the blood of Jesus covered us, but after that we needed to live holy, obedient, and work as hard as we could to live a life of righteousness. Well, that is true to an extent, but actually it is His grace that helps us do that as well. It is only by His blood we are saved and by His grace we keep on the path of righteousness.

We have to realize the power of the blood of Jesus. He was only “salvation” when He did that one act on the cross, but He IS salvation. His name is still Yeshua. His name is Salvation. Every time we interact with Him, we are interacting with Salvation. In Him we exist, move, and have our being (Rev. 4:11). Every moment is because of His saving grace.

It was through His sacrifice and surrender to the will of God that He entered into the rest of God and also created the way for us to enter into His rest.

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His (on the Sabbath). Let us therefore enter into that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience…
Hebrews 4:9-11

How do we enter this rest? What does it mean to enter the rest of God? Verses 12-14 go on to speak of the word of the Lord that divides soul from spirit and determines the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We cannot hide anything from Him, but all things will be revealed. We will have to give an account. I believe this is speaking of the motives for why we are striving to do our own works and entering into everything but the rest of God. However, there is a High Priest who sympathizes with us…

Seeing then that we have such a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but on all points was tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16

We see our High Priest and we hold fast to our confession. What is that confession? It is the confession of His blood sacrifice that He gave, and therefore we can enter into the rest of the Father, by approaching His throne where we obtain mercy and find grace.
Mercy is something we obtain, but not through our own works, but by approaching His throne and holding fast to our confession that we have been bought with the blood sacrifice of Yeshua, our salvation. If we came to that throne claiming righteousness by any other work, we would not obtain mercy, but rather the wrath of God.

When we approach His throne, we find grace. It is almost as if unexpectedly, grace comes to us. It is as if we are there groveling, hoping that in the midst of His glory, fire, and the fear of the Lord we may obtain mercy, and we feel as though we will never amount to anything or do anything right. Yet, right in that place, we find grace. Grace is not merely forgiveness, but it is empowerment to become what God has designed you to be. It breaks off condemnation, shame, and sin that has already been bought. Grace is a wonderful gift that God gives us so that we can live a life of righteousness—a life of consecration.

It is as though the very blood from His hands covers our hands and gives us the strength to follow His example in living a life of being totally His. Not only were we bought out of sin into life, but we are given the grace to be transformed and to live a life of taking up our cross and following Him.

Ask God to give you that grace (strength) to remain in His righteousness. Ask Him for grace in time of need. Ask Him even before you feel you need it. Ask Him to strengthen you, and focus on the fact that everything—literally everything is about Him.

Bless you in the name of Jesus.
Amanda

[1] Apostolic Foundations. Art Katz
[2] Eitan Shishkoff. Israel Mandate Conference. 2010
[3] Dr. Terri Terry

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 58: There is no Fear in Love

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:17-18

As the world continues to spiral downward in economics, politics, morals, spiritual decline, crime, etc…many people find themselves terribly afraid. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of debt, fear of loss, fear of men, fear of rejection, fear of pain, fear, fear, fear…Fear is one of the most paralyzing influences on a person.

Many people struggle with fear. Even those who seem confident in outward appearance are, many times, terribly afraid on the inside. However, people will cover up fear with anything and everything, filling their lives with lots of “noise” to keep themselves from being alone and afraid.

Jesus said that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail from the “fear and expectation of things to come” (Lk 21:26). Basically, men will have heart attacks from the fear of the future—fear of the unknown, uncertainty, insecurity. The world will be rampant with fear in the last days.

However, as sons and daughters of God, fear is not our inheritance. Our inheritance is the spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba! Father!” and breaks the bondage of fear! (Rom. 8:15). Our inheritance is the love of the Father. His perfect love casts out all fear.

I John 3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” Then, I John 4 talks about this love and how it is manifested to us and through us. It is in this context that John speaks of love being made perfect among us, which casts out fear.

When this love is perfected, it also gives us boldness in the Day of Judgment. This is our inheritance, because even though we may not know individual twists and turns such as finances, deaths, disasters…etc, we know the ultimate outcome. We know that Jesus is coming back and He will make the wrong things right. We know what He says in Revelation and other books concerning the things to come. We are instructed in how to carry our hearts during these times—love, humility, abiding in the Spirit, etc.

In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of those who set their mind on earthly things. He says that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, but “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies that it may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil. 3:18-21). Our challenge is to live for heavenly things even while we are still on earth.

We belong to a kingdom which cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28). In the last days, the Lord will shake not only earth, but heaven also (Heb. 12:27-28). He will shake the 2nd heavens where the demonic principalities and powers have their dominion (Eph 6.) Jesus says that this is the time when men’s hearts will fail because of fear—when the heavens are shaken (Lk. 21:26).

Revelation 12 speaks of the time when Michael will throw Satan out of heaven onto the earth. This is comes as a result of the intercession of the saints prevailing over the principalities and powers in the 2nd heavens, because the saints have found their identity not on earth or in the 2nd heavens, but seated with Christ in heavenly places (in the 3rd heavens) (see Eph. 2:6, 6:12-13; II Cor. 12:2).

At this time, Satan will be cast down to earth and this will be the time of the greatest persecution of the saints and Jews that the world has ever known. However, the saints will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the Word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11).

The Lord is preparing our hearts now to be free of fear so that we will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Even if bad things happen to us and around us, we will have the courage and boldness to set our mind on heavenly things instead of things on earth. We will have answers when everyone else has questions, anxiety, and fear.

Don’t count yourself out! The immediate response when I say something like that is to say that this cannot be for you. You cannot have that kind of freedom. That is not true. The enemy wants us to believe that because he wants to keep us in bondage to fear so that we will not realize our inheritance as sons and daughters, and take our place seated with Christ—above Satan! When we truly realize that and make conscious choices to walk in that everyday, we become deadly to Satan, because it is the result of our prayers that will ultimately cast him out of heaven and call forth Jesus to return.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is—there is freedom! (II Cor. 3:17). We do not want to be enemies of the cross by thinking that we cannot be free and therefore setting our minds on earthly things (Phil. 3:18). We must be anxious for nothing, but set our minds on whatever is noble, lovely, true, and pure (Phil. 4:6-8).

This week, meditate on the love of God. Meditate either on Jesus love for us by dying on the cross (Jn 15:13) or on the love of the Father (Rom. 8:15, I John 3:1, I Jn. 4:19). Pray the following kinds of prayers out loud. Ask the Lord to reveal His love to you. Ask Him to prepare your heart to receive His love and ask Him to remove fear or anything that stops you from receiving His love. Ask Him to make you able to comprehend what is the width, length, depth, and height, of the love of Christ which passes all knowledge (Eph. 3:17-18). Ask Him to perfect you in love and to make you bold in the Day of Judgment.

Grace and Peace in the Lord Jesus!

Amanda
 
Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 56: Death, Burial, & Resurrection: The Place of Intercession

"Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life…"

Romans 6:4

Even as it was the place of intercession that Christ died for us, so we also reach enter into the place of intercession through a daily death. As we take up our cross and follow Christ, conflict arises between our natural man and spiritual man. While wrestling in that place, if we choose to “put to death the deeds of the flesh” (Rom. 8:13), and truly walk in the Spirit, we are then able to enter into our calling as sons and daughters and join into intercession with the Father.

In John 17:3, Jesus said that He came to give us eternal life. Then, as if we did not know what that was, Jesus goes on to define eternal life by saying, “And this is eternal life, that they may KNOW YOU, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent…” He defines eternal life as relationship. Life is about knowing God, and eternal life does not start when we die a natural death, but when we die to ourselves and are raised into the newness of a life in Jesus Christ. That is where eternal life begins.

Once we realize that eternal life is about knowing God, it leads us right into abiding in the Spirit (Jn. 15). Abiding in the spirit is all about having that personal relationship with Him—knowing Him. Jesus said that we MUST abide in the Spirit or we will be cut off. Also, we can do nothing apart from Him, but if we abide in Him, we can ask anything we wish, and it will be done for us (Jn 15:5-7). Abiding in the Spirit allows us to walk in the newness of life.

One of the difficulties we all face with walking in this newness of life is the problem of our old man creeping back in. For this reason, Romans 6-8 and Galatians 5-6 both talk about putting to death the deeds of the flesh and walking in the spirit. As Jesus instructed us in Mark 8, we must take up our cross and follow Him, which means that we must face crucifixion everyday.

As we walk the way God tells us to walk, we are faced with decisions daily where we must “put to death the deeds of the flesh” and therefore, our old man is crucified. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

As we are confronted with these situations where we must die to ourselves, we are then able to enter that place of abiding in the Spirit, because we are remaining in Him. He said to His disciples that they were already clean because of the words He had spoken to them. Then He said, “Abide (remain) in me and I will remain in You, as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it remains in the vine.”

When Jesus saves us and we enter a relationship with Him, He speaks to us and says, “You are a new creation, the old has passed away and all things have become new” (II Cor. 5:17). These are the words He speaks to us that make us clean. Then, from looking at John 15:4, we can see that He would say, “Remain in these words…”

When we remain in these words, we bear fruit. Galatians 5 talks about the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, etc…we cannot bear that fruit without remaining in the spirit, remaining in His words. These are not “fruits of our strivings” but “fruits of the spirit.” We cannot make them happen unless we abide in the vine.

But, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and say that we are not a new creation. He comes to tempt us so we walk outside of the Spirit and therefore “prove” that nothing has changed in us and we are not a new creation.

However, if we continue to walk in the Spirit and abide in His words, we will walk in the newness of life—being a new creation. As we look at God and who He is through the word, we become more like Him and are transformed from glory to glory (II Cor 3:18). When we mess up and depart from the vine, we must ask for forgiveness and jump right back in without allowing lies and condemnation to stop us.

But what does this have to do with intercession? Everything. Jesus is the prime example of an intercessor, who laid down His life, but ultimately gained the place of authority by taking up His cross and following the will of the Lord no matter the cost.

Philippians 2:15 lays out God’s divine strategy by saying that Jesus humbled Himself, took up the cross, despising its shame, and therefore, God has highly exalted Him and raised Him to the right hand of the Father.

Every place in our lives where our will and desires conflict with God’s will and desires is a opportunity to take up our cross.

When we daily take up our cross and follow the Lord, we are exalted to the right hand of the Father. Ephesians 2 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Eph. 2:4-6). We are already in that place because of the words He has spoken to us, but we must remain in it and walk in it.

Abiding in the spirit, taking up our cross, walking in the spirit—all allow us to walk in that “newness of life” of being seated with Him in heavenly places, and boldly approach His throne with confidence (Heb. 4:16). Then, we ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us.

I believe this is why so many times there is such turmoil surrounding a time of intense intercession. Things are being brought up in the intercessor that require that person “to die,” and then allow that person to “be raised up.” It is a daily process. I also believe that this is why prayer and fasting go hand in hand, because fasting brings up so much turmoil in the flesh that must be put to death, and then we are raised up before His throne in the place of intercession.

We are all intercessors. God has called every believer to pray. Some are called to make it a lifestyle more than others, but we are all called to “pray without ceasing” and to abide in the spirit. In that place, we will bear much fruit, but without it, we can do nothing.

Grace and Peace,

Amanda
 
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