Friday, January 30, 2015
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Our family's had the wonderful privilege to spend some unforgettable ministry days on Native American reservations in the southwest. And when you're there you do a lot of driving. Now, the vehicle of choice there is not a car. No, no, no you want a truck. The roads there are, shall we say, of uneven quality. A lot of places are only accessible on roads that are steep and bumpy, and it challenges the durability of any vehicle or passenger for that matter.
Now, I heard the radio stations in that area, advertised some trucks. And they often use one phrase to promote the quality of their trucks and everybody knew what they meant. This macho voice would come on and say, "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, we're in Luke 4, beginning at verse 1. It's the familiar story of the temptation of Jesus. It says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan." Now remember that's when He had 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.'" In essence the Trinity was reconvened at that moment. For Jesus, that was probably the ultimate spiritual high.
And then it says, "Then He was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty 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. 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 the synagogues and everyone praised Him."
See this is the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ. And there is a cycle in this incident in Jesus' life that is repeated many times in yours and mine. First, the Spirit's touch. For Jesus that was His baptism at the Jordan River. That's when the Lord comes in this most evident, almost tangible way. You remember times like that. A feeling in 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.
That's the beginning. At the end of the cycle comes the Spirit's triumph. We saw it at the end of this story that Jesus' life exploded into ministry. Now, the end of that cycle for you is that the Spirit's touch ultimately ends with your life becoming very powerful, affecting many other lives. But did you notice 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've taken a beating. There is no dove there. There's no voice from heaven. The Devil feels more real than God does. There's doubt and temptation and deprivation. Your feelings - they're not inspired any more. You're just numb. Does that sound familiar at all? Well you know what we learn from Jesus' Experience - that's the road to power, but you have to go through the desert.
The Bible says the Old Testament saints were led into 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 the time when there's no feeling, there's no outward evidence of God at work. Notice, 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 times. Your Lord leads you into this wilderness to wean you from depending on evidence of Him to depending only on Him. He wants you to test the power of God's Word by taking down the Prince of Darkness with only God's Word in your hand. Because it's all you've got.
You'll feel more powerful after the Spirit's touch. But you really are more powerful after the Spirit's triumph. Remember, the reason God may be driving you over difficult roads is to make you a powerful vehicle for Him.