In the last few posts/episodes, we’ve been talking about finding your purpose in God and using Jesus’ life as a pattern for finding our purpose.
As I said in my last post when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the Scriptures clearly state that Heaven was opened, and the Spirit came down like a dove. What is important to realize is that Heaven was open because the Holy Spirit came down. In Jesus’s case, the Holy Spirit came down upon him. In our case, when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. This means that we live under an open heaven just as Jesus did! By the phrase “open heaven,” I mean we have access to the Lord, and fellowship and communication is available to us.
Unfortunately, many Christians live under the impression that Heaven is closed. Nothing could be further from the truth. We may be unaware that Heaven is open, but nevertheless, Heaven is available to us because of the Holy Spirit in us. There is a direct connection between the Lord in Heaven and the Holy Spirit living in us, for they are One.
Jesus makes this “open heaven” clear when He encountered Nathaniel in John 1:51, He said the following, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” The word angel means messenger; communications were open between the Father and Jesus. In the same way, communication is open between the Father and the Believer.Show More
Because Heaven was open, Jesus could hear and see what the Father was doing.
- John 5:19 “Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
- John 8:28 “Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”
- John 12:49 “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Even in the Lord’s prayer – we say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How do we know what is done in Heaven unless it is revealed to us through the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit?
Now we are ready to look at the second event that Jesus encountered before entering into his ministry and purpose. THE RECEPTION OF THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Jesus went from His Baptism, where He was filled with the Spirit to the wilderness where He received the Holy Spirit’s power and authority. Now, the question is what happened in the wilderness that was key to Jesus’ preparation for starting His ministry?
Heaven was open, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him, but now Jesus had to show that He was totally committed to doing the Father’s will. The three temptations in the wilderness were the universal temptations that all of humanity must resist. Jesus shows us how to resist the Devil by standing upon the Word of God! 1 John 2:16 describes these temptations best, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
- The lust of the flesh – lust in this sense means a desire for that which is forbidden. The lust of the flesh then is a desire for forbidden physical pleasure.
- The lust of the eyes – is the forbidden desire for those things that appeal to our sight or mind.
- The pride of life – is the arrogant desire for money, power, and influence.
I have heard these three temptations described as the “3 G’s – Guys/girls (sex), Glitter, and Gold.”
These three temptations were there in the Garden of Eden when Eve and Adam were tempted. In Genesis 3:6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (physical pleasure), that it was pleasant to the eyes (appealing to the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise (pride of life), she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Let us take a look at Jesus’ temptations by Satan in the wilderness, Luke 4:1-15.
Luke 14:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the Devil. And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
I want to remind you to notice that each time Satan attacked Jesus, Jesus responded with the truth- the truth of Scripture.
The lust of the flesh! (Jesus was hungry)
3 And the Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.( Deuteronomy 8:3)’”
The lust of the eyes!
5 Then the Devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the Devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve. (Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:10)’”
The Pride of Life!
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you, 11 and, in their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (notice that Satan can use Scripture too (Psalms 9:11-12), but he uses it to create doubt in your mind)” 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, You shall not tempt the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 6:16)”
13 Now, when the Devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (The Garden of Gethsemane.)
Jesus did not lose sight of who He was as a Son. He was called to serve the Father; He was sealed by the Holy Spirit and Heaven was open to Him! (Mark 1:12 account of the Temptations states that the Angels of the Lord ministered to Jesus while in the wilderness, in other words, Jesus was not cut off from the Father).
Luke 4:14 “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” The signs of the Spirit’s power was in the preaching and teaching of the truths of the Kingdom and in the notable signs and wonders He performed.
In the Gospel of John, seven supernatural miracles are attributed to Jesus:
- Turning water into wine in Cana (2:1-11)
- Healing an official’s son in Capernaum (4:46-54)
- Healing an invalid at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (5:1-18)
- Feeding the 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee (6:5-14)
- Walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee (6:16-21)
- Healing a blind man in Jerusalem (9:1-7)
- Raising dead Lazarus in Bethany (11:1-45)
AS A BELIEVER YOU HAVE POWER AND AUTHORITY AVAILABLE TO YOU – DYNAMIS AND EXOUSIA
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
2Tim 1: 5 “…when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, which was the Seal of the Father at His Baptism. Jesus then received the Power and Authority of the Holy Spirit during His Wilderness experience and temptations. Now Jesus was ready to receive His mission statement or the purpose for which He was called.
Jesus gave us the pattern of His life as the path of discipleship.
As a Believer in Jesus Christ, the Lord has placed His seal upon you, which is the Holy Spirit, which shows that you are His. The seal of the Holy Spirit means that you are “filled with the Holy Spirit” this in turn, means that you can be led or directed, if you choose, by the Spirit to do the Father’s will. The release of power and authority comes through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This means that you have received the power and authority, or the anointing, to fulfill the Lord’s mission or the purpose for your life.
More about that purpose next time.
Remember to download the notes of this message go to www.PastorVic.com.
