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After the training, comes God's power! |
The first thing we see that Jesus had to experience was self-denial. Jesus makes it clear that if we're going to be His disciples we "must" learn to deny ourselves (Matthew 16). Jesus went without food for 40 days. No bread, no water, no nothing. That is self-denial. The opposite of self-denial is self-indulgence. Saints, we have to be sensitive to those areas that God is calling us to deny ourselves in order to create more capacity for Him and what it is He is calling us to do. What we really want to understand with this is that self-denial isn't always about stopping some act of sinful behavior. Yes, if God is calling you to deny yourself in some area of blatant disobedience, by all means, allow the Spirit to circumcise your heart and govern yourself accordingly. But it is not a sin to eat. That's what Jesus was denying Himself of; and I would suspect that for most of us, what God is calling us to deny ourselves of isn't overtly "sinful." Be sensitive and discerning. Remember, it's the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2). Let the Spirit identify for you those areas that you need to give up or at least pull back on, so that you will have the necessary capacity to fulfill what God is calling you to do.
The next area that we're going to have to experience in order to be sufficiently prepared for God's next assignment for our lives is Spiritual Warfare. Once again, this is an area that doesn't get touched on "enough" in terms of Christians truly understanding that Spiritual Warfare is a staple part of the Christian lifestyle. If you're going to be a disciple of Christ you "are" going to experience and go through Spiritual Warfare. So don't act like some "strange phenomenon" has come upon you when you start getting attacked by the Enemy. It's par for the course. But if you allow the Holy Spirit to adequately train you during your Wilderness Experience, you'll know how to come out Victorious when God sends you out on the battle field.
In looking at how Jesus dealt with the Spiritual Warfare that He had to endure during His Wilderness Experience, His strategy was very simple, He stood on the Word. Saints, we've got to understand, if we're going to stand up against the wiles of the devil, the only way we're going to be effective in this area is if we stand on the Word. And we can't stand on the Word if we don't read the Word. We've got to get the Word of God in our spirits. There has to be a steady and significant diet of the Word in order to renew our minds and strengthen our faith. This is not an area that we can afford to be lazy and slothful in. Read the Word. Read the Word. Read the Word!
You need to understand, if you're preparing your heart to be a player in the next move of God and are positioning yourself accordingly, then Satan is coming after you. But be not afraid, nor discouraged, it's all part of the preparation process. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4). We already have the victory; but we have to learn how to "exercise" that victory when fighting against the Enemy. Otherwise he can deceive us and we can lose what God has already procured and ordained (Genesis 2).
When Jesus had completed His 40 days of training, the Scripture says He came out of the wilderness with "power" (Luke 4). Once you've completed your preparation for the assignment, according to the will of the Father, you, too, will be empowered to make the Kingdom of God a reality on earth as it is in Heaven.
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