More Trials Await Us

Having overcome Trial A, of the Second Big Trial, we move on in faith and trust with our Jesus.

Trial B - The devil set Jesus up on the pinnacle of the temple.   

I don’t know about you, but I need to pause here for a second, to swallow all that will come up to turn me away from what is happening. Here is where I am being as candid as I can. I’m hearing and seeing, but I don’t know if I want to believe it all. Here is my Lord and Saviour, the One to whom God gave a Name above all Names. Here is my Hero, my one and only Teacher and Master, the Person I have seen, amazing people with His works and words, having Satan take Him to stand on the highest point of the temple. On one hand, the Holy Spirit takes Him to the lowest place, the wilds, while on the other hand the evil spirit – also known as Beelzebub, takes Him to the highest place on the temple. It’s as if the Holy Ghost led Him to the lowest on earth and the devil led Him to the highest on earth. O how the ways of God are never our ways and His thoughts far from finding out!

So where are we? This trial is very self-blood drawing, for it draws from our self-righteous veins and our sullied human mindsets, all that is erroneous and frankly, deadly when it comes to the things of God. Which one of you, in your right, carnal minds, will perceive the wilderness experiences as of God and the high and lifted temple experiences as of the devil? Not the carnal mind, for we are so prone and programmed to see wrong and right according to us that we fail to have eyes to see and ears to hear. To you, this may be simple, but it is treasure to me, precious treasure. I thank God for this enlightenment.

Where are you personally? As you stand with your Lord, in whatever the trial of the mind, know that the evil one can escort you to the best and loftiest religious experiences, making you feel comfortable and relaxed, but do not be taken in by any of it. Let him take you to the highest religious peak even, but never take your spiritual eyes off Jesus. Go willingly, for it’s all in God’s plan, and when you are there, let Jesus have the resounding victory in your life. You will not yield to the devil. Hallelujah!

Trial C - The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God…”    

What a showing! What a revealing! We are looking at the devil, as the deceiver with his cunning, crafty, wily ways. This trial is one over which many a child of God falls and falls hard too. This is due to uncontrolled pride, unbridled egotism and untamed self-righteousness. Let’s follow resolutely and undoubtingly, as we are led.

The deceiver puts this condition to try to make Jesus become full of self and lose His composure. Remember, he is tempting Jesus the human being, Jesus, flesh Man, who is at the moment most physically weak and vulnerable with a mind that pleases the devil. He is able to tempt Jesus in this way also. If you are God’s Son! The first thing to recognize is that the devil knows beyond any doubt that the Person he is tempting is God’s Son. The second thing to recognize and visualize is that the devil only wants to poke and stroke Jesus’ human ego. He is trying to get Jesus to question Himself, in His weak human state. O, there is much here. Just think of it! This is rough I tell you, for to know you are God’s Child, His Beloved Child at that, and have to suffer in this way, is most trying, to say the least.

I pause here, in a most unusual and unexpected place, for time needs to be given to identify and testify to the ways whereby we are being targeted by the evil trickster, who is using this particular strategy on us. If we are honest, when we face similar trials and people tell us things such as:-

If you are a servant of Jesus, then…

If you are a child of God, then …

If you are an abider in the Holy Ghost, then …

What do you do? How do you respond?

We return tomorrow.