CHECK POINT

A Leadership and Intercessory Letter written to those who desire Integrity in the Inward Parts  (Psalm 51:6)

 

 

“Spirit-Led to - Where?”

 

Part 2 of 3

 

“The devil is so close – so similar - but so wrong!”

 

19^th Edition, Cont…

Written by Esther Dummer

November 17, 2004

Posted December 2, 2004

 

 

There were three specific parts to the temptation of Jesus as recorded in Scripture, sent to test three places of significance in Jesus life.

 

• The first dealt with his hunger
• The second dealt with his destiny
• The third dealt with the focus of his worship

 

Matt 4:3 - HUNGER

And when the tempter came to him, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”

 

Spiritual trials create hunger.  It is during these times of great need and restlessness that we will often excuse ourselves in a little indulgence to satisfy our hunger with “other things.”  Some will fall into immorality; others will turn the television on and go on a binge; some will pick up other books and ignore the Word of God; some will turn to natural food to satisfy the spiritual hunger;

 

Trials are no excuse for allowing ourselves to sin and yet many do that when they are thrust into a time of wilderness walking.

 

There is that gnawing hunger for “something to satisfy” the empty hole that seems to have been made by “the seeming absence of God.” We often take His silence for abandonment and move onto other things to fill the God-space. 

 

This is probably one of the most dangerous pits to fall into in the wilderness – to take the devils offer of food when we are hungry.

 

It was Eve’s hunger that was fed by the serpent in the Garden of Eden and her demise of innocence should forewarn us that we cannot partake of “Devil’s food” and survive. 

 

This kind of temptation in the wilderness comes to try to get us to satisfy our appetites in anyway but with the Bread that came down from Heaven – Jesus.  If the enemy can get us to compromise and settle for less that the best, we will fill our bellies with the "wrong thing.” 

 

Satan was tempting Jesus who is, “The Rock” and who is “The Bread” to do it his way - to circumvent “The Way.”

 

Our hunger will create new paths that are close but any slight adjustment in God’s plan will destroy “The Way.”

 

I don't know why we are so prone to lay the Word of God aside when we are struggling through a dark time.  We look at our Bible and feel an emptiness and wander around in some spiritual void searching elsewhere because the Word is not "jumping out at us." 

 

The spiritual highs are great, when they happen, but ours is to have a life of spiritual disciplines that should increase when all is not well.

We have to reach for the least tempting thing, which is usually the Word of God, and ignore the things, which is everything else that will drain us spiritually, that call our name when we are hungry for something to fill our lives. 

 

It is the time when we need the Word of God as an anchor of truth for our soul when all is shaking around us. If we are not effective with the Word of God when we are in a wilderness time, we will fall for temptations and come out of that time feeling like a loser. That is not God's plan for us.  He wants us to strengthen our inner man when the outer man is stretched so far that we wonder if things will ever be "normal" again. 

 

Matt 4:4 – JESUS ANSWER TO HUNGER!

4 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.”

 

Jesus’ answer is reminding Satan of the Truth, which is what we must do when tempted to dine at the table of devils to fill our hunger when we are surrounded by satanic temptations.

 

Matt 4:5-6 - DESTINY

Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

 

It is said that when someone falls, they try to take as many as they can with them.  I have found this to be true, that when repentance is not working, the unrepentant will try to empty the house to assure themselves of their “innocence.” 

 

With Satan it is no different.

He will NEVER admit he was wrong!

 

All we have to do is look at all his “failure to thrive in the presence of God” to discover all the ways that he will tempt us to fall.

 

Remember the angels - one-third?  They are the product of a split from heaven. They “fell” for the fallen angel’s temptation to join him.

 

The “Cast down” is attempting to lure Jesus to the same kind of fall that Lucifer had when he was cast out of heaven “like lightening.” 

 

People may like promotion – a high place of honor in the “Temple” but at the price of “falling into the wrong hands?”

 

This clever devil tries to also tempt us at the very place of our destiny.  He took Jesus to the exact place that Jesus will rule and reign the whole earth and tried to lure him into playing, “Angelic roulette.”

 

One must never gamble on their destiny and “take a chance on the angels being there when you fall.”

No one can save you but Jesus and when you take your eyes off Him, the fall is great!

 

If Jesus would have succumbed to the temptation of the devil, there would have been angels alright, “fallen angels” mocking the fall of their own creator in the very place he was called to fulfill “Kingdom rule.”  What was the point of this temptation? – To destroy the God-called place of Jesus Christ as King of the earth from that seat in Jerusalem – the Throne of David. 

 

Satan has always been a “throne stealer,” and will continue to attempt to defeat Jesus at this very place, right up to his bitter end when he is once again cast down.

 

It is written that he will be “cast down into a bottomless pit.”  This is the greatest fall of all. Consider with me for a moment something that my mother ministered to me. 

 

She said, “This is a bottomless pit – a place of falling and never reaching bottom!”

 

Think of what Satan is trying to accomplish with this level of temptation – trying to get Jesus to “cast Himself down into the hands of the angels.” 

 

Think of what the devil is trying to do with you.

His plan is to ruin the Kingdom of God by destroying the servants of God.

 

While it is true we have been led “up” by the Spirit of God to the wilderness to go through some testing, we also must be armed with the Word of God and the absolute knowledge of our Divine Destiny in Christ Jesus.  When you are “up” in the wilderness, the devil will try to “get you down.” But if you will release the dove to soar, the man/woman that you are called to be, will be an overcomer.

 

Matt 4:7 – JESUS’ ANSWER TO INSURE DESTINY:

7 Jesus said unto him, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

 

Jesus used the "Sharp Sword of Truth" to defeat the dark, slurred words of the devil as he thrust the Word into the heart of the lies of his enemy.

 

The Word of Truth has to come out of your mouth to defeat the enemy’s erroneous release of slanted scripture.  It is not enough to quote the scripture – the words have to be your sword against the devil who only knows how to quote scripture out of context – and always to his advantage.

 

Matt 4:8-9 - WORSHIP

Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

And saith unto him, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

 

Well, the truth of the whole temptation is finally out – Satan is revealing his whole plan and strategy right here in these words.

 

It is all about who will receive our worship.

 

Let’s look at this very closely so we can be spared this kind of fall:

 

• The devil takes him “up.”
• The devil is attempting to place Jesus, by superficial means, in a physical placement, in order to overshadow the truth.

What truth? 

 

Eph 1:20-22 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

 

Though the crucifixion and resurrection had not yet happened, the fact was imprinted in the devil’s mind – Jesus had always held a place “higher than” he had. 

 

Jesus was there when Lucifer was cast like lightening from heaven.

 

The false sense of importance that the devil had about his “mountain” and his “view of the world” was being pushed on Jesus to try to get him to buy into the scheme to get Him to “elevate Himself”- which would be “Pride.”

 

The truth is this – Jesus was already higher than Satan and we as the servant’s of the Lord God, are also “seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principalities, powers...and that all things, because they are under the feet of Jesus, are also under our feet.

 

The devil is trying to get our feet off his head so that he can get us to get our eyes off of Jesus so that we will fall for his deceptions about the Kingdom of God and worship and service – elevating and promoting ourselves. 

He will gladly receive this as worship to himself.

 

We must not be deceived, in any time of wilderness walking, into thinking that there is a short-cut to the Kingdom of God – one that will promise us the world and all it’s glory.  This mountain-top-view was a warped place that the devil visited often to view “his kingdom” – the earthly one – which is all he had left.  This is a place where he can “see” all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

 

Isaiah 37:16 – THE DEVIL NEEDS A REMINDER

16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

  

It is easy to be misled when we visit, even for a moment, the mountain from which the enemy views the earth and its glory. The enemy will try, even as he did our Lord, to get us to accept “placement and promotion on an earthly plain” in order to destroy the destiny of “being seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above...” 

 

The devil will attempt to “take you up,” so he can “take you down.”

 

This is the devil’s reversal theology – the juxtaposition.

 

The devil is so close – so similar, but so wrong!

 

The devil will show you “your ministry” from this place, from his viewpoint – from his stronghold of deception and error – and offer you the world – the opportunity to “have it all.”  He will serve it up on a silver platter and you won’t even have to work for it, if you will just “fall down and worship him.” 

 

But there is a terrible price to pay – for to turn your eyes from Jesus and to behold the offer of the enemy is an offer to worship the devil and serve his kingdom – the fallen one.  Satan offers quick, but deadly promotion – if we will just worship him.

 

What was he really asking Jesus to do and what is he asking us now to do? 

 

He is inviting us to “fall down” and not get back.

 

Notice the hidden and desperate plea of the enemy – offered casually but with everything hinging on what we will do. 

 

Worship him or worship God?

 

There is always a “fall” attached to every offer that comes from the enemy.  Though it sounds good, it is to our demise that we ever take anything from his hand.

 

When is the last time that you reminded the enemy that your worship belongs to Jesus when you were in the middle of a big trial?

 

• Could it be that our complaining is actually music to the devil’s ears?
• Could it be that our talk about just giving up and ‘leaving is causing a rejoicing in the enemy’s camp?
• Could it be that we actually send worshipful sounds into the enemy’s ears that he receives with gladness when we blame and question God?

 

He not only desires the throne – he actually wants the worship that surrounds the one who sits upon the throne.

 

The enemy, who was created as a worshipping instrument, understands sound and what projects from a vessel.  He is well-practiced from both sides of the field of worship.  He was so excellent in heaven with his worship that he can now get really close to the genuine and still have it be slanted his direction. Any devil that would request that his creator worship him - and you can count on this – will manipulate your worship – and use the greatest skill to pervert any form of worship that you offer to God, if possible. 

 

He will lace it with criticism, complaints, unbelief, doubt and fear – so that it dribbles off your lips instead of rising from your heart.

 

The enemy understands the value of the songs that we sing when it’s dark and difficult.

 

The sounds that came from the prison where Paul and Silas sang their praise is what the devil needs to hear when we are faced with “wilderness walking times” and yet it may be that he does receive more from us than God does in these times of testing.  Believe me, God is there to receive all the praise of our hearts in those difficult times, but the devil will get in your face to steal it from the only One who is worthy to receive it.

 

Matt 4:10 – JESUS’ ANSWER TO WORSHIP

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

 

Jesus’ reminder was quick and sharp as a sword slicing through the age-old Luciferian call to worship…and our answer should be just as swift – even when we don’t feel anything – our worship belongs to the Lord our God.

 

 

God Bless the Faithful Watchman on the Walls of the Church!

This newsletter is dedicated and written as an instruction and encouragement to a powerful and focused group of people who have devoted their life to a life of prayer for the Church.  It is written to incite them to move forward with decisiveness and purity.  It is written to stabilize and align the errant things that are occurring in intercessory and church circles.  It is written to break new ground in understanding our own hearts.

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