Confidence in the Right Way (Luke 4:14-30)

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

   because he has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

   and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Why does the Scripture consistently say that salvation is for the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed? Why does the Scripture consistently say that salvation is for the humble not for the proud? Does it mean that Christians should not have any confidence at all? Of course not. It’s exactly the opposite that Christians should be confident and assured in life. Yes, Christians can tell what we humans really are because we have the mind of Christ.

“The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

'Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?'

But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16)

The mind of Christ is diabolically against the wisdom of the world. When Paul came to Corinth alone he was in great fear and trembling for he resolved not to know anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

That’s where God wants us to be all the time, complete bankruptcy in spirit or poor in spirit. When we fully and completely surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ, deeply admitting the fact that we have nothing to show off and contribute to the Lord God, God can use our bodies for the advancement of His cause. One of these days, God will destroy all the human boastings, achievements, self-esteem, high and lofty minds, and the philosophies of the world.

“For it is written:

    ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

        the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’” (1 Corinthians 1:19)

Our confidence is not coming from within us, but coming from without in heaven, precisely Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the way, the truth, and the life. In Him, there is no darkness nor confusion at all. In Him, there is full of light, love, joy, peace, life, and hope now and forevermore.

As soon as we pass this boundary in life, we cannot but experience the absence of life, death. We remain to be poor in spirit continually and live, or we die. That’s the good news to all race, class, color, age, and all. Our God is eternally faithful and consistent in keeping His promise to save the poor in spirit.

One thing He requires us to do is to repent and obey Him. We cannot fool Him because He is holy. We can be holy and blameless not by our own merits but by the dependence on the works of another for He is faithful and just to hear our cries of help. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Two Divisions No More (Luke 11:23)

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Luke 11:23)

Life is a battle or war, so we must take a side one or the other. There is no neutral ground in war. However, our war is not against other people, race, or class but against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). It is a spiritual warfare, not a physical one. We are waging this civil war within as Paul says, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” (Romans 7:22-23) 

Our enemy is within us, lurking to attack at any moment through mind and thought. The devil is still allowed to access to human minds and emotions until the end of this waging war, death. Those who are not yet regenerated in Christ are under the rule and control of the powers of this dark world and cannot stand in the side of God. They are the spoils of the devil. But the regenerated people who are born again in Christ Jesus were delivered by the power of God that bound the spiritual forces of evil and took His captives in heaven.

 Christians who have been born again by the Spirit of God are capable of standing with the holy God. But as many a people are experiencing the choice is not easy and never meant to be automatically done. It’s a waging war for each and every believer in Christ. The power of God is available and renders immediately its might and strength with only one condition, faith. When Abraham received the promise, he believed in the promise of God and acted on that basis as Hebrews tells, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)

It’s continual choice between two divisions and no more, ether God or the world. When Jesus came into the world, He preached the good news, saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” Our Lord Jesus says, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:51) Jesus is the measuring rod whether anyone is His side or not. Those who accept and obey Him continually are Christ’s ones. They will be empowered, strengthened, and enlightened by the power of God as long as they obey and act on what they believe in Christ Jesus.

Those who know the words but don’t obey Jesus are not Christ’s until they repent and obey Him in perfection. Christ won the battle by means of His atoning death on the rugged cross in Calvary. So, we may win the victory over the powers of this dark world by means of death on the cross with Christ. The secret of victory doesn’t rely on our stern determination and willpower but on complete surrender in spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35) Which side are you? Which side am I now? 

Worship the Lord Your God Only (Luke 4:1-13)

“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”’” (Luke 4:5-8)

Why must we worship God and serve Him only? The devil tempted Jesus who fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. The devil was a fallen angel who left the place and rebelled against God. He is a tempter, murderer, and liar. He led Jesus up to a high place and show Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus calls the devil the prince of the world (John 14:30). He is the mastermind of the deceitful and dubious world. Since the fall of the race, he has been deceiving the people and holding them into the gridlock and dungeon of darkness and the fear of death. Note that the devil was able to display all the kingdoms of the world instantaneously. All the pompous, glittering, sparkling, gleaming things of the world were displayed to the eyes of Jesus.

The devil continued, saying “I will give you all their authority and splendor. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.” The devil’s temptation is always promising something only in the future tense. Read how he had said to the woman in the Garden. “’You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:4-5) This is the devil’s lie. All authority is from God. Jesus said so to Pontius Pilate who boasted his power either to free Him or to crucify Him. “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” (John 19:11)

Satan is not the authority but a creature made by God. God never gave the devil the authority which he could dispense to anyone he wanted to. It is true that the devil is called the prince of the world but only to those who are not regenerated because sin shall no longer be their master to those who are regenerated in Christ (Romans 6:14). Satan has already been judged and condemned (John 16:11). James urges the saints to resist the devil then he will flee away (James 4:7).

How did Jesus respond to the devil? He quoted the scripture, saying “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Charles Spurgeon said pertinently how to defend lions. “Let loose lions, they will defend themselves.” Jesus didn’t converse with the devil, trying to convince him that he was absolutely wrong. Our Lord Jesus cut to the heart of the temptation by letting the word of God defend itself. Jesus says that no one can serve two masters. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) There is no middle ground or gray area for humanity to stand ever.

Why shall we worship God and serve Him only? It’s because we have been made to worship Him only. We are made to be His eternal dwelling place. Paul says that we the temple of God. Jesus says that we are in Him and He in us. That’s the relationship for the restored humanity with God, a perfect communion. Worship is the expression of being possessed by God who purchased His possessions at the price of the blood of the Son Jesus Christ the Lord. So, it is not true that we have to come to church for worship. We worship God whenever and wherever we are. God is spirit, so His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 12:24).

Our God is a jealous God who cannot tolerate any form of idolatry. The wrath of God is immediately poured out upon those who violate the law of worship. Moses teaches his people, saying “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.” (Deuteronomy 6:13-15)