Luke 4:14
“The Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out throughout all the surrounding region.”
“In” suggests that He was empowered by the H.S. during the 40 day & night experience that He spent in the wilderness
During this experience Jesus passed 3 of the most important tests of His life:
1. Physical Test (lust of the flesh)
- Power Test (lust of the eyes)
- Pride Test (pride of life) What was it that really empowered Him?
His ability to finish the course in-spirit with the H.S.
What Does it Mean to be Empowered by The H.S.
It wasn’t until after Jesus passed all 3 tests that He was empowered by the H.S. (Luke 4:15)
Empowerment comes after we pass the physical, power and pride tests
What does it mean to be empowered?
Greek dynamis (the ability to get results by any divine means necessary)
Power is directly connected to being “in” Spirit
When we live in-spirit we develop the power to get results in our daily lives by divine means
The adult stage of spiritual growth is the time when the H.S. empowers us to receive powerful results in our health, wealth, relationships, career, salvation and ultimately in fulfilling God’s lifelong purpose for our lives (Luke 4:14; John 12:23-27).
The H.S. enables us to experience transformation in our daily lives
If we lack results, it’s because we lack power.
Denying the Power of the H.S.
2 Timothy 3:5…
People can deny the power of the H.S. if they live with a form of godliness
When we deny Him as a person
- Ignore Him
- Reject Him
- Quench Him
- Grieve Him
- Insult Him
- Devoid His power in our livesHebrews 10:29; Jude 19; Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10; I Thessalonians 5:19…
People can deny the power of the H.S. because they do not know how to access His power
Build a beautiful house and don’t know how to turn the power on!
Ephesians 3:20…
Avoid denying the power of the H.S while allowing Him to empower us by staying in-spirit
This enables us “to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or thing according to the power working inside us” Ephesians 3:16-20
How to Be Empowered by the H.S.
If we want to be empowered by the H.S. today, we must pass the same test in the adult stage that Jesus did
Jesus passed by staying in-spirit and avoiding becoming preoccupied with Satan’s temptations
Preoccupied means to be more loyal to or to love something more, than we love God
Ever since “Eden” Stan has tempted us with 3 tests to get us to sabotage our love and loyalty to God
Flesh of our physical bodies
Power money, sex, and possessions
Pride (1 John 2:16)
Becoming preoccupied with any of these tests, results in the H.S. not empowering us
Passing these tests was not Jesus’ main objective, nor did it alone cause Him to be empowered
The real challenge was Him finishing the course in-spirit
What is finishing the course?
Staying in-spirit for 40 days & nights until we are empowered by the H.S., like Jesus
Luke 4:1;4…
The Physical Test
The H.S. led Jesus into the wilderness so that He could deal with personal struggles
How do we handle sins of our flesh?
The Devil said, “If you are ….” (Luke 4:4)
He knew who Jesus was, but temptation was there to sabotage Jesus’s relationship with God
He was trying to see if Jesus trusted his flesh more than God
Satan knows our bodies are temples of the H.S.
In them we glorify God in the earth, so he tries to get us to defile them – I Corinthians 6:19-20…
Preoccupied with physical attraction, athletics, ethnicity, sexual desires, weight, health issues, fleshly sins or any fleshly desires that we love
But we have to remember that we are one with the H.S. – I Corinthians 9:27…
Physical Tests are a battle between our human spirit & the human flesh – I Corinthians 6:17…
Paul is not teaching that the H.S. is at war with our flesh
Paul is teaching that the contest is between our human spirit & our human flesh
The H.S. is the answer to the battle between our spirit & flesh
God empowers our spirit with His H.S
As we are empowered by the H.S. by staying “in-spirit”
Galatians 5:16…
Key to Passing the Test:
Romans 8:1-11…
We are empowered 5 ways to overcome the sins of our flesh
- Forgiven from the penaltyof sins (1)We learn how to stay “in-spirit” daily & REFUSE to be dominated by the flesh
When we mature in the H.S., we know that Christ has made it possible to be totally forgiven from the penalty of the sins of our flesh
Freed from the power of sins (2)
- Law is referring to the law of the H.S.; similar to the meaning of Romans 7:23(laws of the flesh)Inward freedom with the same regularity as the law of sin
Freedom from the bondage of the sins of our flesh as we stay “in-spirit”
Ultimately, we are freed from the law of sin & death
Delivered from the practice of sins (3)
- Doesn’t mean we will not or cannotFact, the more we desire to live right, the more we discover how sinful we are
It is impossible to keep the law without the H.S.
To free us, God sent Jesus who was without sin & made Him sin for us, so we, by staying “in-spirit” would be delivered
Redeemed from the punishment of sins (5)
- When we reach maturity, we begin to realize the implications of our redemptionNow we have life & peace
Jesus redeemed us from our sins through His death & the H.S. enables us to escape punishment of our sins through the process of staying “in-spirit”
Now we are empowered over the problem of the sins of our flesh, forever
Pardoned from the problem of sins (9)
- Romans 6:11-14…We are not required to do anything about sin, except reckon ourselves pardoned & then stop it
Jesus has already handled & resolved the problem of sin when He died
All we have to do is walk “in-spirit”
Romans 8:3-4…
When Christ died, we became a new creation with the H.S. living inside us; pardoned from the sin problem
When we live & walk in the H.S. we can experience full salvation, and therefore, live more powerful & productive lives on earth
Most people live half salvation (not believing in pardon ¬ expecting to be delivered from sin)
The Power Test
Designed to see if we will become preoccupied with external powers of, money, sex, and possessions; instead of the internal powers of God, His H.S., & Jesus and His Word
What is power?
Power comes from living “in-spirit” with God’s Spirit – Luke 4:14…
Satan wants us to think power comes from external things of the world – Luke 4:6-7…
Choose the power of the world (money, sex, possessions) or the power of God (the H.S., Word, and God)
Jesus said, “get behind me… – Luke 4:8
The more we put our trust in money, sex, and possessions, the more we get preoccupied with the power of Satan
Jeremiah 9:23-24…
Warns of the danger of external powers
Jesus stopped Satan with one word “Serve” – Luke 4:8…
He spent the rest of His life serving God after passing the power test
Key to Passing the Test:
The H.S.is God’s answer to the power test in the adult stage of spiritual growth
God’s H.S. helps us to cope with the external powers
“In-spirit” we access the power of the H.S. – Ephesians 3:16-20…
Romans 6:9-11…
“In-spirit” means staying focused on the H.S. inside of us until it becomes a natural part of daily living
“In-spirit” is where our human spirit reunites with the internal power of God’s H.S.
This power leads us & helps us know how to handle he external powers – Romans 8:14…
The Pride Test
Preoccupations with titles, positions, and wisdom
Luke 4:9-11…
Satan wanted Jesus to become preoccupied with His position as Son of God
Jesus said, “You shall not tempt…” – Luke 4:12…
Proverbs 16:18…
Pride caused Satan to be put out of heaven – Isaiah 14:12… He was trying to trick Jesus
We have an uncanny tendency to want positions of power
Pride makes us feel we have to prove something
Pride cause us to sabotage our relationship with God
Satan was challenging Jesus position as heir to God’s throne
By asking if He was the Son, He was suggesting that Jesus was illegitimate (No deity/Divinity)When our pride becomes infused with our need for power, we become dangerous
When pride & power are infused with religion, it becomes evil – Acts 8:9…
Simon openly proclaimed himself to be great
Popular among the people – Acts 8:10…
Simon wanted the same power as Peter & John
Pride connected with desire to gain & keep power, infused with false religion, caused him to have evil in his heart – Acts 8:19…
Key to Passing the Test:
Stay “in-spirit” with the H.S. because God uses His Spirit to give us a spirit of humility – Proverbs 29:23…
Haughty spirit is what causes us to become preoccupied with pride – Proverbs 16:18…
Being preoccupied with pride is a tricky temptation
We focus on getting & keeping our positions at the expense of what is most important
1 Peter 5:5-6…
When we humble ourselves we can stop pride from creeping in
Philippians 2:5-9…
We must develop the humility of the mind of Christ, and then success is guaranteed
Jesus Showed us How to Pall All Three Tests
Luke 4:13…
First, He allowed Himself to be empowered by the H.S. by staying “in-spirit” the entire time He was being tested
Luke 4:1…
Jesus was led by the H.S. to be tested
Jesus returned in the power of the H.S. after being tested
Second, every time Satan tried to tempt Jesus, He said, “It Is Written”
Jesus hit Satan in the head with “It Is Written”
Today, when Satan tempts us, do like Jesus did to pass all three tests
It Is Written – Luke 4:4-8; Matthew 4:1-7…
