AN EXPOSITION ON THE BOOK OF MATTHEW CHAPTER FOUR BY @EXCEPTIONAL20
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We live in an era in the Christian faith where we feel that temptation is not part of God's tool in equipping the saints.
In verse 1, we saw it was the Spirit that came upon Jesus in the baptism that led Him to be tempted of the devil.
We need to come to grasp the Dynamics of the kingdom that unless the Spirit leads you, then you are not yet a son. Because.....
Romans 8:14 said "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God".
More also, we need to be acquainted with the dealings of the Immortals that they won't let us be tempted above what we can bear, and even in the temptation can make a way of escape.
That said, it is clear then that anyone that falls into temptation decided to be deluded by the pleasure the temptation presents.
"1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2 Peter 2:9 "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished"
James was the apostle that unveil the purpose in the minds of the Immortals why they allow temptation to come to believers. He first began thus:
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptation. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. James 1:2.
Temptation is not only sexually inclined, God can allow temptations to come through different means and platform. God does not tempt us but test us, but most times allows the devil to tempt us.
The goal of temptation is to make us fall but test comes to uncover how much we have learnt and are convinced in what we believe in.
So we must endure temptation and rely on the grace of God to help us overcome it. James 1:12
Verse 3 - we need to understand that the devil before he tempts a man, always observes the desires in the mind of the man then fashioned the temptation in that wise. This is seen in Jesus' temptation, he the devil knew Jesus was hungry, so he presented the food temptation to sabotage his mission on earth from Zion just as the first man fell. The scripture reveals to us the different system of the devil's temptation of which Food is one.
The next temptation the devil presents to Jesus was to tempt God through the promises of His word. No wonder the devil uses the bible in making believers miss the purpose of their ordination.
The devil right from his fall glamour for worship. This he has gained by offering men the kingdom of this cosmos, the wealth, fame, and supposed Glory of it; which is idolatry. The Bible says "thou shalt have no other god's before me." Exodus 20:3.
The sum and pattern of Jesus' temptation, is also the system of tempting men today. He deceives men through the desire for food, tempting God & worship.
Verse 20 and 22 caught my attention and I began to reason what Jesus said to them that motivated them to leave what they were doing immediately and followed Him, leaving their fathers behind.
Looking at it from the humanistic perspective, we will say it is outright stupidity on the part of the young men who were enjoying their career as Fisher men, to be called to preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The same thought is prevalent in our days, many people that are called of God, hardly take up the mandate because they love money and fame from their career. To others, they see the ministry as a money making venture.
I have a personal view that the reward of yielding to the call is encapsulated in the word Jesus spoke to the disciples "I will make you fishers of men"
When God places a call upon a man from Zion, the beginning and the ending of that call is embedded in the assignment and ordination.
As Jesus spoke to them, the quickening Spirit unveiled to them about the kingdom, that was the reason they responded immediately. We all are called to preach the gospel of the kingdom.
This call is beyond the office of the Pastor, Evangelist or Apostle. It's a mandate to every believer. On the premise of this call shall the Immortals reward us.
The investment we make in time is in alignment to the adherence to this call upon us from Zion. What have you been doing with this call?.
Don't forget, every blessings God gives you is to facilitate this divine calling upon you. For God blesses men in time but rewards in eternity to the degree of our consistent to the call upon our life from Zion.