Day: February 11, 2024

TEMPTATION BY THE WORLD

I John 2:15 – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The term world does not always refer to the universe as created by God. It often is used to describe the community of sinful humanity that possesses a spirit of rebellion against God. “We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19).

Because of its opposition to God, the world values those things that are contrary to God’s will: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Its temptations to the believer are thus twofold: lust for the sensual and pride in the mastery of one’s own life.

The attraction of the world is amplified by Satan who is head of its system. He is called the “ruler of this world” “Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” (John 12:31).

“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

(John 14:30) “Of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged,” (John 16:11).

“And the whole world is said to be under his power. (I John 5:19), where “wickedness” can also be translated as “wicked one”).

Some of the tragic effects that love of the world will produce in the believer’s life are:

a) A turning away from the Lord’s work and other believers.

“For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and had departed from Thessalonica – Crescens from Galatia, Titus from Dalmatia.” (2 Timothy 4:10);

b) Alienation from God.

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).

c) Corrupting sins.

“by which we have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4);

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not him. 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.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (I John 2:15-17);

d) Deception by false teachers.

Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (I John 4:1)

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)
The solution to the love of the world is to have greater love for the Father (I John 2:15).

The Christian who seeks daily to please God in everything and who strives for spiritual growth through prayer, study of God’s Word and witnessing need not fall prey to the temptations of the world.


Sol.Gerardo J. Fernandes

How We Fight Our Battles – the Kingdom way are you fighting a battle right now?

The interesting word “fight” is that it is not the word used when the Bible talks about the ‘Lord fighting for us’. Yet this is so often how we approach our battles. We exert a lot of energy, we attempt to gain power over the attacks, and we argue with the enemy. In this way, we are tricked into a power struggle that actually doesn’t even exist.

Luke 10:19 reminds us of this: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

All power means all! In our battles, the enemy has already been defeated. Our circumstances are nothing more than external pressures through which the enemy attempts to bait us into battles that we were never meant to fight in this way.

Psalm 23:5 promises that the Lord will set a table for us in the presence of our enemies. This beautiful picture illustrates what it is to be the dinner guest of the Lord while the external circumstances rage on. While we are seated as guests at the table of The Lord, the enemy’s tactics pose no threat. *Eating at the Lord’s Table* It takes both peace and stillness to eat. In other words, we can’t eat and be battling in the effort-exerting and mentally exhausting way the world fights.

Because of this, peace and stillness are the two areas the enemy wants to attack, and both are mental postures. Peace doesn’t profess that battles aren’t happening, but peace draws quiet confidence from the fact that they are already won. Like watching a movie we’ve already seen the end of, we can know, even in times of “conflict,” that the outcome is assured. God is pursuing us in every area where we’ve “lost our appetite” for pursuing what He has made us for. Be it because of fear, worry, a sick heart, chaos, a busy lifestyle, or a performance mentality, God wants to break off what made us lose our appetite so that He can prepare our plate.

If you had me over to your house as a dinner guest, and I came in and immediately raided your fridge as you were cooking, it would probably be off-putting. As a guest, you expect me to come, enjoy and receive what you have prepared without feeling the need to serve myself, fix the meal or plan the evening.God struck my heart with this modern-day parable, saying, “You so often want to fix it yourself, when I am already preparing something. You need only to listen and receive.” Just like a dinner guest, He will invite us to help in areas that bless His efforts. If He hasn’t given us an action directive, our well-intentioned efforts may actually be “getting in the way in the kitchen.” *Trust Him with Your Battles* So what does it look like to battle in the Kingdom of Heaven? Eat at the table the Lord sets. And what does it look like to eat? “‘My food,’ said Jesus,

‘is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work'” (Luke 4:34).

Jesus prayed for our daily bread – a beautiful echoing of the daily manna received in the wilderness.How we posture ourselves in seasons of battle is this: We receive each day what the Lord would put on our plate. We have the delight and joy of partnering in continuing the work of Jesus and in bringing God’s love, Gospel and Kingdom to this earth. Each day there is a “portion” we can delightfully consume that involves doing God’s will by partnering with Him on His adventures and missions. When we are delightfully digesting what the Lord is doing in and through us, we are warring in a way that is a thousand times more effective than any “battling” we could do in our own strength.There is a “table” the Lord wants to seat you at in this season, but in order to do so, you must lay down your “battling” in the hands of the Lord. As we trust Him with our battles and receive from Him our daily feast, we will find that in seeking His Kingdom first (before the solutions to our battles), He will take care of all the rest encounter.

Questions Here are some questions to ask the Lord in your prayer time, and then wait for His answers:

1. What battle do I need to stop fighting and realize that You have already won?

2. What does it look like to eat instead of fight in my season?

3. What delightful things are You putting on my “plate” today that the enemy wants to distract me from?

Sol. Joan