based on the Love God Greatly Study, Lent – A Season of Drawing Close to God
THE JOURNEY (SCRIPTURE AND OBSERVATION)
Scripture: Luke 4:1-15; and SOAP: 2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 4:17
I can’t help but start with the passage from Luke and the story of Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. This lesson on dealing with temptation has been a huge help to me in my walk of faith through the years. I have benefited greatly from the example of Jesus’ method of dealing with temptation and have put specific verses to memory to use as weapons of warfare when the enemy comes at me. However, this time, as I began reading, what caught my attention were the words: “Then Jesus, full of the Spirit … led by the Spirit … and returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” I love that Luke writes with details like, “Then Jesus,” which is a follow-up statement to the preceding verses that told of Jesus’ baptism and the heavens opening and the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove.
One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Luke 3:21-22
Jesus, or the Word, as John describes Him in John 1:1, was victorious over the devil!
Though His fasting had emptied Him of food, it was clear that Jesus was filled, not only with the Spirit but also with the Word, and that the words He chose and boldly spoke to the devil overcame every temptation hurled at Him by the devil. The Word of God was the victory that empowered Jesus to return from the wilderness and eventually begin His public preaching. 🦋
LIVING THE JOURNEY (APPLICATION)
Like Jesus, we are full of the Spirit and led by the Spirit – and when we choose to keep in step with the Spirit we will be victorious over the enemy. Consider the words Jesus spoke to His disciples about the Holy Spirit before His ascension into Heaven, “But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told You.” When we keep in step with the Spirit, walking in and by the Word of God, the Spirit will help us to use the Word to overcome the enemy just like Jesus did. While we may not ‘fast’ for forty days as Jesus did in this extraordinary event, we can make it a habit to pray – Father empty me of me and of the things of this world and fill me up with You, Your Son abiding in me and I in Him, and Your Spirit leading me, teaching me, and reminding me of everything You have said.
PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY
Father empty me of me and of the things of this world and fill me up with You, Your Son abiding in me and I in Him, and Your Spirit leading me, teaching me, and reminding me of everything You have said. For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom from the power of sin and its pull or hold on me! Thank You, Father, that it isn’t the name “Christian” that makes a believer strong, but rather it is the Spirit, Who is our strength and Who intercedes for us in my weaknesses. I am most blessed to belong to You!
THE MORE WE KNOW
Jesus came to set us free spiritually.
Me From the Inside Out 