Thursday, August 3, 2006
Our family has had the wonderful privilege of spending some unforgettable ministry days on some Indian Reservations in the Southwest and when you're there, you do a lot of driving. The vehicle of choice there is not a car. No, you want a truck. See, the roads there are of, shall we say, uneven quality. Many places are only accessible by roads that are steep and bumpy, and it's a major challenge to the durability of any vehicle - or passenger for that matter. The radio stations in that area have advertised lots of trucks and they've used one phrase to promote the quality of their truck. This macho voice comes on and says, "It's reservation tested!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Reservation Tested."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke 4:1. This is the familiar story of the temptation of Jesus. It says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan." Remember, that's where He has just been baptized. The Spirit had come down from heaven in the form of a dove and He heard the Father's voice saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." For Jesus, that was probably the ultimate spiritual high. Now it says, "Then he was lead by the Spirit in the desert where for 40 days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them He was hungry. And the devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written, man does not live on bread alone.'"
There are two more temptations that come right at the weak spots of Jesus and He again answers with the word of God. And after the devil finally gives up and leaves, it says in verse 14, "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised Him." That was the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ.
There's a cycle in this incident from Jesus' life that is repeated many times in yours and mine. First, there comes the Spirit touch. For Jesus, that was His baptism in the Jordan River. That's when the Lord comes in an evident, almost tangible way. Do you remember a time like that; a season of your life when the Lord was so dramatic in the way He revealed himself when He spoke to you? There's no doubt that He's there. Okay, now that's the beginning.
The end of the cycle comes with the Spirit triumph. We saw at the end of the story that Jesus' life exploded in ministry. Now the ending of that cycle for you is that Spirit touch ultimately ends in your life becoming very powerful and in affecting many other lives. Did you notice though what's in between the Spirit touch and the Spirit triumph? It's a Spirit test. That's your time to be "reservation tested." It's hot, it's bumpy, it's lonely, you're taking a beating, and you ask, "Can we skip that part?" No, Jesus didn't and neither can you and I. There is no dove there. There is no voice from heaven. The devil feels more real than God does. There's doubt and temptation and deprivation; your feelings aren't inspired anymore - just numb. Sound familiar? That's the road to power, but you have to go through the desert to get there. The Lord says of the Old Testament saints that He put them in the desert to test what was in their heart.
It's not the spiritual high that makes the work of God real in your life. It's a time when there's no feeling and no outward evidence of God at work. See, the wilderness isn't the devil's idea. It's his opportunity, but it's the Spirit's idea. It's the wilderness that proves the reality of what God said to you in the high time.
Your Lord leads you into this wilderness to wean you from depending on evidence from Him to depending only on Him. He wants you to test the power of God's Word by facing down the Prince of Darkness with only God's Word in your hand. You feel more powerful after the Spirit touch, but you really are more powerful after the Spirit test. Remember the reason God may be driving you over difficult roads. It's to make you a more powerful vehicle for Him.