(Luke 4; Va’etchanan (D’varim/Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11) B”H 5783

The Word of God provides for our deliverance from ha-satan’s attacks. Today, we look at how our Savior used Scripture during the wilderness temptation in Luke 4 to cause the enemy to flee!

The enemy’s limited tactics: he waits for us to be weak

Have you ever noticed that the enemy of our souls preys upon us in our weak moments?

David certainly knew it:

“For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.” Psalm 143:3-4, NKJV

When we are at our best, fully confident of our place as children of the Most High God because of what our Savior and Messiah Jesus (Yeshua) has done for us and we are walking in the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) – it is much more difficult for ha-satan (satan) to attack. When we are physically healthy and strong, it is also more difficult for the enemy to attack because our alertness is at a peak – we are prayed-up and fighting off those enemy darts!

So why does the devil have difficulty attacking?

The devil is limited!

Unlike ADONAI Tzva’ot (the LORD of Hosts),

the devil is

not omnipotent

not omnipresent

not omniscient.

Like any mediocre warrior, the devil waits for you to feel weak, and then he strikes.

Trials, tests, and temptation: augmented when hungry!

It was no different when our Savior walked the earth.

Yeshua (Jesus) was led by the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) into the desert wilderness for forty days.

Notice that Luke, a trained physician, mentions the physical hunger that Yeshua (Jesus) was experiencing:

“Now He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.” Luke 4:2b

Our LORD Yeshua (Jesus), fully-God, fully-man was experiencing true physical hunger.

How do you feel when you are hungry?

It often depends on the day or the circumstances, but I observe that hunger can cause all sorts of issues:

tiredness

irritability

inability to think clearly without distraction

generalized weakness

Symptoms of hunger can make a person susceptible to giving into temptation.

Have you ever promised you would fast, and the first thing that happens when you begin is someone offers you the most decadent dessert or invites you out to eat?

Or maybe something less spiritual.

Maybe you simply want to keep a diet.

You commit to eating your salad greens and limiting your consumption of deep-fried deliciousness, but as soon as you get out of your car when you are heading to work or school you smell the most wonderful scent of fried chicken or some other fast food you love.

The devil knows this. As soon as Yeshua (Jesus) had completed his forty day fast in the wilderness, hasatan jumped at the opportunity to tempt Ben-Elohim, the Son of God.

How our LORD responded to temptation using D’varim

Attack/Temptation #1

“And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Luke 4:3

Our LORD Yeshua (Jesus) responded using His knowledge of Torah (Pentateuch) and more precisely, the book of “D’varim,” which translates as the book of “Words.” (We know it as “Deuteronomy”):

“But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Luke 4:4

The LORD Yeshua (Jesus) quoted the Words:

“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” D’varim/Deuteronomy 8:3, emphasis added

Attack/Temptation #2

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 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. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Luke 4:5-7

How did our Wise and Holy Savior Yeshua (Jesus) respond? Again with a passage from Torah, specifically Deuteronomy:

“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.’ ” Luke 4:8, emphasis added

But notice here: before quoting Scripture this time, our Messiah addressed the devil directly, ordering him to “Get thee behind.”

This is important for us today because the devil continues to be a bother.

The devil’s attacks are vicious and he looks for whom he may devour:

“Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.” Luke 4:8, TLV

It is critical to put on the armor of God!

Keep it shined up and ready for battle, not rusting away in a closet somewhere!

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11

Deliverance is dependent upon confessing trust in the Liberator – the God of Israel and His Son Yeshua (Jesus) – and upon knowing the Word and how to use it! Remember, the LORD is your defense and He has provided His Incarnate Word to lead us to victory.

“He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.” Psalm 62:6

Another point of note: during the second temptation, hasatan adds pressure to his demand by citing his own (limited) authority. This tactic is further augmented in the third temptation as we will see.

Attack/Temptation #3

“Then he brought Yeshua to Jerusalem and placed Him on the highest point of the Temple. He said to Him, ‘If You are Ben-Elohim, throw Yourself down from here.'” Luke 4:9

If you noticed that the devil cited his own authority in the second temptation, notice that in the third temptation he goes so far as to cite the LORD’s own authority by using Scripture, specifically Psalm 91:

“For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’ and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Luke 4:10-11

The devil is desperate!

Surely, the devil doesn’t appreciate Scripture because he knows his future is sealed.

Yet hasatan (satan) will do absolutely anything and everything just for the chance to make a person fall into sin and destruction, and ultimately death.

The LORD again cites D’varim. Deuteronomy 6:16:

“And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ” Luke 4:12

You shall not tempt the LORD your God.

Yeshua (Jesus) is reaffirming that the LORD is God and that even the devil must acknowledge that Truth.

The devil was left speechless

Do you notice that after each Scriptural response, the devil had no comeback?

That ugly serpent couldn’t come up with a suitable counterargument.

So he left. Only for the time being, but the point is – the devil had to flee because he is put to shame by the power of the Word of God.

So be sure to study the Word for yourself!

Here is a wonderful song that can help you memorize Psalm 62:

When the devil wants to come against you, stand firm on the Truth of Scripture and he will have to leave you alone.

Let us look to our Almighty Savior for the best example of what to do when the devil wants to confuse us or twist Scripture for his own benefit. Know the Word for yourself and stand firm in your faith!

Too many institutions entice young students to look for “truths” rather than the TRUTH

When I was in middle and high school, I was definitely a “seeker.”

I had grown up immersed in pluralism. I had never heard of the “Full Gospel.”

By junior year of high school, encouraged by “pastors” of the United Church of Christ (UCC), (a sect I now consider heretical), I had read all sorts of books from so-called “Christian” mysticism. I was particularly interested in such works as “The Cloud of Unknowing” and Thomas Merton’s writings recommended to me by the pastors of the church our family attended. I dabbled in Buddhism and other false religions. I was considered “well-rounded.”

In college, I visited a local Hindu temple as well as a mosque outside of Chicago. My friends were also exploring world religions, but the frightening thing is, we were all studying to be “Christian pastors.” We weren’t just learning about world religions so that we could properly share the Gospel with the lost, we were learning because we wanted to participate in their practices.

The UCC “associate ministers,” as they were called, (like bishops) were aware that we were learning about Islam and even sat across the table from us during a Ramadan dinner at that mosque that we had all been invited to by an interfaith council. There was no effort on their part to correct our course: all of us who were theology majors were encouraged to explore the commonalities between different faiths. But believe me, we were never encouraged to visit an evangelical or Full Gospel church.

When I was in grad school, we were required to read many books that were also rooted in mysticism. I remember observing (sadly!) that my Divinity School peers were intrigued and absorbing these ideas, likewise encouraged by the seminary’s professors. It is no secret that many who enter seminary lose their faith: but the true tragedy has to do with the leadership of these institutions who entice young students to look for “truths” rather than the Truth. By this time, I had already met my Savior (to the dismay of many of my theologically liberal professors who wished I had retained my interest in ecumenism and interfaith activities).

If you want to read more about my experiences growing up in a universalist environment, check out my post on Divine Empowerment in an “Inclusive” Age.

Many professors have really gotten into using icons (a form of idolatry). Christian schools and churches now incorporate yoga into their programs despite yoga’s inherent spiritual connection to Hinduism. I have a missionary friend who is a native of India. She is so dismayed by how many American Christians have accepted and incorporated yoga into their “Christian” practices. She shakes her head and says, “if they only knew . . .”

See, you don’t need a whole host of odd rituals or candle lightings or chants. You just need the Full Gospel, brought to you by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I share all this because so many people truly don’t know the Gospel, let alone the Full Gospel.

I feel like Peter writes more succinctly than Paul. He writes in a nutshell, the Gospel is:

“He [Messiah Yeshua/Jesus Christ] Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we, removed from sins, might live for righteousness. ‘By His wounds you were healed.'” 1 Peter 2:24

It is very simple.

You might say Paul was more long-winded:

“For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Messiah accomplished through me, to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem and around even to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the Good News of Messiah.” Romans 15:18-19

In their own ways; however, both Peter and Paul describe what is termed, the “Full Gospel.”

Besides the death and resurrection of our Savior, He also brought healing, signs and wonders. We are saved, and we are healed. We are saved, and we receive the divine infilling of the Holy Spirit, if we will submit to the Holy Spirit’s authority.

“Fully” proclaiming the Good News, as Paul writes, is preaching what Messiah Jesus has accomplished (forgiveness of sin through His death on the cross and resurrection) with power. This is the Full Gospel!

In other words, preaching should be accompanied by signs and wonders – as something normal.

That doesn’t mean a worship service should become an entertainment spectacle.

And certainly none of this has to do with “manufactured miracles.”

But it should be completely commonplace for Gospel preaching to be accompanied by miraculous healings, deliverance, speaking in tongues, etc. The purpose of the spiritual gifts manifesting in power is to essentially give credence to what is preached. That God would heal someone is proof He is living! That God would deliver someone is proof He has power over sin and darkness!

This is the fullness of the Gospel!

A Gospel preached without power isn’t the full Gospel. And do you really want to settle for half?

Paul warned Timothy of those who have an “outward form of godliness but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:5b.

This verse speaks to both sides of an issue.

1. There are some followers of our Savior who care so much about their outward looks they forget they are quite rotten in their speech and other aspects of their lives. They deny the power of the Gospel through their pettiness and gossip.
2. Then there are other followers of our Savior who carefully appear to be very godly in their doctrine and behavior, but literally deny the power when they claim that the Holy Spirit isn’t working and moving among the body of Messiah as He did in the past. This leads to anemic doctrine, lacking the vital nutrition of the full understanding of the Gospel.

The LORD is still working modern miracles today! Don’t be afraid!

This weekend we celebrate Shavu’ot, also known as Pentecost. A special time to celebrate this Full Gospel I am telling you about!

We rejoice knowing that the same God who gave us His Torah is the same God who gave us His Spirit!

If you would like to know more in depth about the Messianic and Pentecostal significance of Shavu’ot/Pentecost, check out my post on the Biblical Spring Feasts!

Now, let’s be realistic.

A lot of people have been trained by our society to be afraid of “Pentecostals.”

I know I used to be!

The only reason anyone should be afraid of a Pentecostal is if they don’t want any deliverance in their lives.

Because when a true Pentecostal believer prays, you better watch out, the demons flee!

Some Pentecostals or Full Gospel folks might dress a certain way or wear their hair a certain way, and I’m not saying any of that is necessarily bad. But your outward appearance isn’t what makes you Pentecostal – its the Holy Spirit within you.

If you have been baptized by the fire from above with the evidence of speaking in tongues, you are Pentecostal. You might attend an Assembly of God church or Church of God (TN), or Pentecostal Holiness, or United Pentecostal. While there are disagreements among Pentecostal people (just as there are disagreements among any group of people!) about things like Trinitarianism or dress codes, we serve the same Mighty God who has this awesome plan to heal you and deliver you.

When you know that you are saved from your sin, you need to know that you weren’t saved just so you’d go to heaven one day.

You were saved so you could start living with the joyous benefits of heaven, starting even now, here on earth.

Life won’t be perfect, but you have access to so much divine opportunity to pray and to witness great miracles occur, even now. Heaven will be wonderful, but we don’t have to sulk while we bear with the sufferings of this life. We can pray in confidence for the LORD to enable us to live in victory, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

You have the opportunity to be saved – and sanctified! Set free to live in abundant joy and peace. Receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit is described in the Scriptures as a deposit, a seal, so you know without a doubt that you are indeed saved!

The Full Gospel is for you!

If your pastor always stops preaching after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you may need to start asking some good questions about the rest of the New Testament.

Starting in the book of Acts, you will discover how the early believers operated, constantly ministering to others in power. Healings and miracles were part and parcel of the Gospel Truth.

Your faith walk will be greatly enhanced by knowing this powerful Truth, that the Fullness of the Gospel is for everyone, and you are invited to live endued with power from on high! Whether you are a student or a seasoned believer, don’t ever pass up the opportunity to live your life yielded to the Presence of God in your life and the Full Gospel Truth!

Why does everyone need the Full Gospel?

Everyone needs the Full Gospel because everyone needs the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) will help you when you need to make important decisions. He will lead you closer to the Father. He will help you discern your next steps in life. The Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) will anoint you and bless you. Your prayer life will improve, your worship will be deeper, and your longings will be much more satisfied.

If you have been a Christian for a really long time, but still feel like you’re missing out on something, don’t turn to mystical and false religions, turn to the Holy Spirit, who will take you to a new level in Him. If you do not yet speak in tongues, don’t think of it as something too strange for you. If Paul spoke in tongues, why can’t you? Our faith is not of this world, so dive in and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way!

A lot of people won’t talk about “speaking in tongues” because our culture has derided people who do as “wackos” and “crazies.”

Don’t let culture define you nor limit your experiences with God.

Follow the Word of God, and He will provide you the Full Gospel experience that you need.

Some great songs for Pentecost/Shavu’ot

I will leave you with some great praise and worship songs that I love! They are perfect for Pentecost/Shavu’ot, and all year round, too. May they benefit you spiritually as you seek the blessings of the Holy Spirit, our Eternal Comforter! I pray He baptizes you with His Holy Fire, even today! It is an experience that will transform your life!

Holy Spirit, How I love You

Send the Fire

Refiner’s Fire

Welcome, Holy Spirit

The Comforter has Come

Bo Ruach Elohim (Come, Spirit of God)

Please leave a comment or send a message to [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you! May you be endued with power from on high!

Parashat B’shalach Shemot/Exodus 13:17-Exodus 17

“After Pharaoh had let the people go . . . ” Ex.13:17a

These words of Scripture are well-known to the children of the LORD because here the Word of God describes what happened “after Pharaoh had let the people go . . .” (Ex.13:17a).

We know this book in English as “Exodus” precisely because of this very central event.

Building a new dream

The oppression was over. No longer would the children of Israel (b’nei Yisra’el) be forced to build up Pharaoh’s dreams of towering monuments and elaborate buildings. Now they could build up the dream that had nearly been buried within them – a dream to live in freedom under the authority of their King, the King of kings, the God of Israel.

Adonai brought them out of Egypt and was wise in the way in which He led them to their next destination.

Leaving Egypt in faith or in fear? Probably a little bit of both!

Undoubtedly, some of the people of Israel would have been walking out of Egypt as though on eggshells, fearful that their previous masters would come and round them up to shackle them back into their previous enslavement. Their trepidation was not unfounded.

Surely the young ones would have tried to run ahead to get away as quickly as their youthfulness could carry them.

The elders who had the wisest of faith could walk with their heads held high – confident that the LORD had been with them all along, and would not fail them.

They would have sang their own songs just as Moshe (Moses) and Miryam (Miriam) sang and danced in the desert after the Red Sea Crossing.

The LORD’s faithfulness to His people to bring them out of Egypt and through tough times has inspired so many expressions of this truth.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come.

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

Amazing Grace, John Newton, 1779

Did you know that the author of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, had been a slavemaster? A pharaoh of his time, it is said that Newton experienced a heart change and wrote that famous hymn.

How great a salvation that can change hearts so dramatically.

Things could have been different for the Pharaoh of Moses’ time, but he refused to repent and found his end at the bottom of the Red Sea.

The LORD has done something wondrous in your life! Be confident therefore that He who promised you is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). As Rabbi Sha’ul (Paul) wrote to the Philippians: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the Day of Messiah Yeshua.”

It is easy to become fearful, especially when you sense the dangers in life.

The enemy wants to paralyze you with fear, but you can fight back.

Allow the Ruach haKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to endue you with His Holy power and help you to walk in the wisdom of faith.

How to handle enemy threats: remember the LORD alone is Sovereign

One road out of Egypt would have led the Israelites straight into the land of one of their enemies: the Philistines.

This passage begins with the concern from the LORD Himself that “. . . .The people might change their minds if they see war . . .” Exodus 13:17

You may be interested to observe that this parasha also ends with talk of war (Ex.17:8ff).

You can be living a very holy life, full of faith, and walking in the freedom granted to you by faith in G-D’s Son, Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), but that doesn’t mean you will not face difficulties.

The enemy will want to surround you, but the LORD Most High decides when He will allow this. The enemy isn’t all-powerful and he must submit to his limitations. Only ADONAI is All-Powerful. Only ADONAI is All-Merciful and All-Knowing, Ever-Present, and Worthy that we put our trust in HIM alone. He will give you the Victory over the enemy!

Are you easily disheartened?

Are you ready for the battles ahead?

The LORD in His Divine Sovereignty knew that many of the people would lose heart and return to their Egyptian taskmasters if they had to face war so soon. “. . . .The people might change their minds if they see war and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17

The people were armed (Ex.13:18) but they would not have to fight the Philistines, not yet. The LORD would help them navigate the Sinai Peninsula at a pace that they could handle (since many of them had a grumbling and quarreling habit). Surely the wandering in the wilderness would give them a stamina they would need once they did engage in future conflicts.

Israel faced attack by the Amalekites

It wasn’t long when the Israelites had to indeed fight. They were attacked at Rephidim by the Amalekites. Amalek was a grandson of Esau, and sadly the Amalekites became known as a defiant and evil people. They were so terrible toward Israel that Jewish tradition today equates Amalek to pure evil and darkness. If you know the story of Hadassah (Esther), Haman the evildoer was, you guessed it, an Amalekite. The Amalekites took advantage of the seeming weakness of the Israelites in the wilderness, but by the lifting of hands – Moshe’s in this case – Yehoshua (Joshua) under Moses’ leadership, led the Israelites to victory.

The Amalekites’ behavior was so wicked that ADONAI told Moshe, “Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven.” Ex.17:14

ADONAI NISSI

It was after this victory that Moshe (Moses) established an altar, naming it “The LORD is my banner:” “ADONAI NISSI.”

You may enjoy this song that speaks to the victories of the Exodus days. I particularly enjoy this song around Passover, but it is perfect for this parasha, and any time of year of course! His victories never fade, and every day, all year, He is worthy of our exaltation and adoration. He has delivered us and brought us a mighty long way!

If you are looking for another beautiful worship song that relates to this parasha, perhaps you will enjoy this lovely song which uses the words of Revelation 15 describing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

And they are singing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and wonderful are Your deeds,  Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who shall not fear and glorify Your name, O Lord? For You alone are Holy. All the nations shall come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed!” Revelation 15:3-4

The LORD promises to deliver you

Perhaps you are going through a difficult time right now. Many of us are weary from the ongoing pandemic. Some have been affected by the economic uncertainties and the rising inflation. Perhaps someone you know or loved succumbed to Covid-19. You are not alone.

What ever Egypt you find yourself bound up in, the LORD has promised to deliver you. If you have placed your trust in Him, He will help you through this and bring you to a promised land in which you will find rest and comfort, and peace. Do not fear when the enemy tries to attack you from your blindspots.

Do not take a step out of Egypt only to go back into it.

Wait on the LORD and He will guide you safely across the seas of doubt, depression, anguish, illness, or financial ruin.

He will guide you safely across even when the winds of change or storms of fury attempt to sink your lifeboat. Have faith!

You might even graduate from walking through the waters to walking on the water!

Meet your Savior, Messiah Yeshua, Jesus, the One who calls us all to have enough faith to walk on the waters, keeping our eyes fixed on Him!

Shalom!

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Hidden on purpose, for a purpose: Yokheved’s son, Moses