SEASON OF PROMOTION

MATTHEW 4:1-4 KJV

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Take heed that the Spirit of God led Lord Jesus into the wilderness, not the devil. Wilderness is that time of our life where God will always take us from time to time to prepare, to shape, to mould and also to get rid of our fleshly nature, or in other words carnality. For it's only in wilderness that we come to the realisation of our true self, how much are we following and obeying the Lord, what carnal characteristics need to be burnt away and how much more do we need God and should depend on Him.

Many of us might be going through the wilderness and will continue to unless those things that are undesirable in us, those weaknesses - be it anger, offence, lust, pride that does not conform to the character of our Lord Jesus Christ has been done away with.

Now God doesn't tempt us, but yes He allows the enemy to tempt us as we read in Matthew 4:1, so that everything and anything in us that is undesirable or could be a hindrance in the purpose of God is burnt out.

OUR TESTING IS A PREPARATION FOR TEMPTING.

Understand one thing beloved even though tests come from God, but still He allows the enemy to be involved to tempt us in order for sin - anger, lust, pride, wickedness, evil offence, hurt, revengeful attitude & unforgiveness to be revealed to us so that we may know what's lurking in our hearts. We might be holding grudges and offences in our hearts that we aren't aware of and God wants us to get rid of them.

The moment we hear the word enemy, we go berserk and talk and meditate about him so much that unconsciously we glorify him; making him seem even more powerful than the Almighty God. But we need to understand one thing that even the devil is a puppet in the hands of God, remember Job. Did it ring anything in your ears? The enemy couldn't touch Job without God's permission.

It's only when God wants to upgrade us and increase us in power and authority, that He allows us to be tested and allows the devil also to tempt. In simple words, the test means REST. For it is when we are tested that we start depending upon God more, start seeking Him more, and start communing with Him more, and as we do this we're automatically pushed from the realm of our efforts to the realm of rest - THE REST OF GOD.

So delight and be excited when you go through a trial or test followed by temptation, for you can be assured that the period of your promotion has come !

Hallelujah!!

Once we have been through the test and next time when the same situations or situations of more or less intensity arise we would be surprised to see how our patience and understanding has increased from what we experienced before. So you see all things work together for the good of those who love God.

It takes maturity to understand that everything that the Lord allows to happen will result in our own goodness bringing Him Glory. Don't be affected by what's happening in the physical. See as God wants us to see, if only we can see through the eyes of spirit, we can hear God even in what's happening around and know what season we are into and what's demanded of us.

PRAYER:

FATHER GOD HELP US TO KNOW WHY WE ARE GOING THROUGH WHATEVER WE ARE GOING THROUGH. PURGE OUT ANY EVIL AND WICKEDNESS FROM US THAT YOU WANT TO THROUGH THIS TIME OF TEST AND GIVE US AN INNER KNOWING TO BE SENSITIVE TO YOUR VOICE AND ALSO BE ABLE TO DISCERN THE VOICE OF DEVIL, SO WE CAN TAKE THE RIGHT STAND AND BE ABLE TO CONFRONT THE ENEMY AND STAND FIRM AND BE PROMOTED TO THE NEXT DIMENSION THAT YOU DESIRE US TO BE IN, IN JESUS MIGHTY NAME WE PRAY.

AMEN!!!