Something I had to learn the hard way


The Tempter

In Ezekeil 28:1-10 judgement is pronounced against the man who is identified as the "leader of Tyre," but beginning at v. 11, the focus shifts to the spiritual power who controlled the physical leader. This spiritual entity is identified as the "king of Tyre." and is none other than Satan.

The Position of Satan

• He was created by God (v. 13).
• He was created as "the annointed cherub who covers" (v. 14).

The Perfection of Satan

• "Seal of perfection full of wisdom and beauty" (v. 12).
• "Every precious stone was your covering" (v. 13).
• "The workmanship of your settings and sockets" (v. 13).
• "You were blameless in your ways" (v. 15).
• Original name: Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) which means "shining one."

Compare with 2 Cor. 11:13-15.

The Perversion of Satan

• "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor" (v. 17). Note: pride was the original sin.
• Satan rebelled against God attempting to establish himself as the supreme authority of the universe. One third of the angelic realm sided with Satan (Rev. 12:4). They were defeated by God, cast out of heaven, and thrown down to the earth.

The Plan of Satan

(Isaiah 14:12-17 contains the five "I will" statements of Satan, his declaration of war against God.)

• "I will ascend to heaven. . ." Objective: To expel God from heaven and capture the throne.
• "I will raise my throne above the stars of heaven. . ." Objective: To gain authority over the entire angelic realm.
• "I will sit on the mount of the assembly. . ." Objective: To rule the earth.
• "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. . ." Objective: To obtain a greater glory than God.
• "I will make myself like the most High." Objective: To become independent of any authority.

The Timing of Temptation

Mark tells us in his Gospel that after the baptism of Jesus, "immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness." The baptism of Jesus was a moment of great victory, but Jesus did not even have time to get His hair dry before He was thrust into the wilderness to confront the devil. Jesus went from victory to conflict.

The Lesson: Times of spiritual victory will be immediately follow by Satanic attack. The Bible warns, "So let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12 MKJV)" When we feel the most secure we become the most vulnerable. Therefore, watch for temptation at times of spritual highs, or as you embark on a new minsitry endeavor.

The First Temptation of Christ

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2 MKJV)

On an extended fast you lose your craving for food. When hunger pains do return this is a warning that the body is beginning to starve. Jesus' life was literally at risk and the completion of His mission in jeopardy. It was at this point of acute need and pain that the devil came to Him.

And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (Matthew 4:3 MKJV)

The temptation was not in feeding His hunger, but in the suggestion that His hunger was incompatible with His being the Son of God. In a moment of acute need the devil was trying to cause Jesus to doubt the love and providential care of His Father. The devil was suggesting that God the Father had let His Son down, therefore Jesus needed to meet His need independent of the Father. Satan will do the same in our lives, suggesting that our adversity or pain is God's failure thus tempting us to act independent of God.

The Triumph of Christ

But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
(Matthew 4:4 MKJV)

The Son of God, full of the Holy Spirit spoke the first words of His ministry and what were they? . . .mark it well,

"It is written." Jesus quoted Deut. 8:3 which is a reference to Israel's 40 year wilderness experience. Jesus placed His confidence in the decree of God. In essence, Jesus was saying to the devil, "my hunger in this wilderness is not God's failure, but God's opportunity to demonstrate His reality and faithfulness, therefore, I wait on Him alone.

Application: You can believe the devil's lie that your need or hurt is God's failure and allow disappointment to extinguish your faith. Or you can believe your need or adversity is God's opportunity to demonstrate His reality and faithfulness.

The Truth: "It is Written"

There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary--we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
(Romans 5:3-5 MSG)

and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size--abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10 MSG)

That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
(Romans 8:28 MSG)

I'm absolutely convinced that nothing--nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable--absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
(Romans 8:38-39 MSG)

man thas good stuff but i thought my eyes wuz gunna fall out "o" my head trying to read that
much stuff

I think you can add machines to the "Satanic" list as well... you never can trust machines, just like Satan...

true dat true dat