“The Battle”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Isaiah 54:11‐17
O afflicted one, storm‐tossed, and not comforted, I am about to set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of jewels, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the prosperity of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. See it is I who have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and produces a weapon fit for its purpose; I have also created the ravager to destroy. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, says the Lord.
Theme: The rhythm of the growth process in a Christian is something great is followed by something difficult.
New Testament reading: Matthew 3:13‐4:11
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.
If your life is complete bliss, if there is no conflict, spiritually tranquil, it is because you are not being led by the Spirit. You are not attempting to please God, because if you were, there would be a spiritual reaction. A spiritual blow back from the opposing spiritual favor in this world. ~D. Moore
Real Christianity is a fight. ~D. Moore
If you believe in Jesus as who He said He was, then we need to take Him seriously on what He said about evil. ~D. Moore
If we don’t believe in evil beings, where does all the evil in the world come from? The possible origin is one’s biology or their social conditioning or their psychological make up. ~D. Moore
Jesus says there is an enemy, and it is Satan. ~D. Moore
Every time you make spiritual progress, there will be an opposite counterattack.
~D. Moore
The Suffering Servant Isaiah 52:13‐53:12
Jesus was a man of prayer and depended on His Father during His battles with Satan. (The Spirit was with Him, and God was with Him.)
We are saved because of what Christ did for us, not what I do, He was my substitute. That is the battlefront. When we treat Jesus as our example rather than a Savior, we have lost the battle. ~D. Moore
We fight Satan with two weapons given to us by Jesus: The Word of God and the Holy Spirit. ~D. Moore
Psalm 139 You are a child of God you are wonderfully made, dearly loved, and precious in His sight.
When we are tempted by Satan, we must say, “Go away,” because of what the Scripture says—that I am a child of God. ~D. Moore
When we can say Jesus made me good with God, over time Jesus will heal us during our life’s journey. ~D. Moore
As we think about our spiritual battle, trust God that He will be at your side. The Holy Spirit will give you strength to remember the Word of God, while nourishing your soul during your times of temptation with your battle with Satan.
God bless.