The Blessing After the Testing

The Blessing After the Testing

Luke 4:1,2a; 4:13-19

Intro: Every life has trouble; sinners have trouble; Christians have trouble; sinners have problems and Christians have problems.

The Great Advantage for the Christian is This: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the precious Holy Ghost give their strength and comfort to the Christian in his time of trouble.

I. Seasons of Testing

Every Christian has times of testing; times of trying; times where Trials come upon our lives.

In the our text we read that Jesus Christ himself was led “by the Spirit into the wilderness, being 40 days tempted (tested) of the devil.”

Jesus was Led by the Spirit but He was still Tested by the devil.

For 40 days the devil worked on Jesus; Jesus fasted and prayed; struggled to gain spiritual victory; when his body was weak from hunger the devil tried to get him to use his divine power to satisfy his own physical needs by turning stones into bread. (Tried him physically)

The devil tried him in his soul too; tempted him to leap from the pinnacle of the Temple to prove to everyone that he really was the Son of God; that would boost his ego; make him a celebrity so to speak.

The devil got to the core of the matter and tested Jesus in his spirit; the devil pressured him to submit to his authority and worship him.

Talk about Testing! His entire being was tested and tried.

In 2 Cor 8:2 Paul spoke of the Christians in Macedonia and how they had endured a “great trial of affliction.”

Heb 11:36 mentions some who had “trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.”

1 Pet 1:7 talks about the trial of your faith and listen to this verse:

1 Pet 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Clearly, we have been informed that Testing is a NORMAL part of the Christian life; trials are not to be considered “some strange thing.”

That doesn’t make them easy to bear but it does help to know that everyone is tested and that God KNOWS about the tests and trials you go through.

They do not come upon you without his knowledge and they do not come upon you without his Concern!

Don’t faint in a season of testing; don’t give up on the Lord in a season of testing; don’t lose your faith in a season of testing; HOLD ON to the LORD; Keep the Faith;

After all- it is a SEASON of testing- it will not continue forever. After the Season of Testing there will be Showers of Blessing!

II. Showers of Blessing

Peter spoke of “times of refreshing that shall come from the presence of the Lord” in Acts 3:19.

In our text passage we read where Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and was tempted or tested by the devil.

In vs. 13 the devil ended this round of testing and “departed from him for a season.” Then Luke says that Jesus “returned IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT...”

He came out of his testing with the Power of the HG; he came out of his testing with the Blessing of the Spirit of God evident in his life.

He went into the synagogue at Nazareth and they handed him the scroll of Scripture and asked him to read. He turned to Is. 61 and read, The Spirit of the Lord is Upon me for he hath anointed me: to preach, to heal, to deliver, to recover the sight of the blind and to set at liberty them that are bound and bruised.

Jesus knew what it was to have seasons of testing; this test was not his only one by any means. He knew what it was to have seasons of testing. BUT he also knew what it was to have Showers of Blessing. He knew what it was to come out of the testing with the Presence of the Holy Ghost is his life; with the Power of the Holy Ghost in his life.

God told Ezekiel that there would be a day when Israel would be regathered into her land and would have peace and safety instead of captivity and war; in that day God said, “I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there Shall be SHOWERS of blessing.”

Showers- not just one but many; not just physically but spiritually- Blessing!

1 Pet 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

Perfect- restored; used in Gospels for the mending of torn nets; part of God’s blessing is that when you have been torn or broken by testing; he will mend you and restore you and make you complete and fit.

Established- made Strong; strengthened; when the testing makes you weak; God’s blessing makes you strong.

Settled- set upon a firm foundation; not to be moved by the winds of adversity or the waves of affliction.

Through life there will continue to be seasons of testing; but there will also continue to be showers of blessing. Finally however, the Showers of Blessing will Win Out for ever.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.