What The Enemy Really Wants

Matthew 4 (Message)

The Test

 ^1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread."

 ⁴Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth."

 ^5-6For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone."

 ⁷Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God."

 ^8-9For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, "They're yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours."

 ¹⁰Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."

 ¹¹The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus needs.

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This passage is one of the most preached from passages in scripture. It is frequented by many a person who seek to understand just how we are supposed to attack this thing called temptation. Since the beginning of time, it has been with us, and will not even be done away with after the rapture. The enemy will be released after 1,000 years to try to rebel against God and anyone who joins in and is tempted to disrupt the Millennial Kingdom will be cast into the lake of fire with Satan, Death, and Hell, and the rebellious angels. As I was reading this time-tested scripture, the Lord showed me three things that the enemy wants from us. They are all tied to the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 

1. The Lust of the Flesh. The enemy wants your belly (appetites) to be more important than your belief in God. If we aren't careful, our appetites, like Esau's can get the best of us, and cause us to lose our inheritance by handing it over to our appetites. The enemy knows what we hunger for. He's been study the nature of sinful man for thousands of years so he has a pretty good idea of what moves us. This is why we have to submit our appetites, our desires to God. We have to taste and see that God and His will is better than anything the enemy can serve up.

2. The Pride of Life. The enemy wants you to turn your purpose, your ministry, into circus entertainment. He wanted Jesus to misuse the miraculous power of God for entertainment rather than redemption. The pride of life causes many to pervert their intended purpose that God created them for. This is played out quite a bit through the professional arts. There have been too many destined for greatness only to end up behind yellow tape, a chalk drawing, their most remembered contribution to society. 

3. The Lust of the Eyes. The enemy wants your personal empire to be more important than the Kingdom of God. Your eyes have to do with your vision, what you allow yourself to entertain and engrave itself in your mind and then your heart after constant meditation. Many are sacrificing their call from God for cash from men. We are encouraged to set our affections on things above, we are challenged to keep our eyes from beholding worthless things. The eyes are the window to the soul. What is your soul setting its sights on? Will it bring eternal life or eternal death. 

We must be watchful and prayerful in order to not enter into temptation. Jesus was in a state of hunger simply because he had starved the carnal man and fed his spirit man heartily. When it came time to resist the attack, the enemy was ready, but Jesus was test-proof. He had submitted himself to God, he knew the Word that would empower his resistance to the devil, and the devil in turn fled for a season. Jesus encountered other temptations in his walk, letting us know, that resisting is not a one time thing. No matter how many times we are tested, if we are submitted to God, he will make a way of escape! 

Know that what the enemy really wants can only come if you say yes. The way to keep saying no to the enemy is to keep a continual yes in action, in mind, and heart to God. Want to have outrageous church? Tell the Lord, Yes!

Dear Young Minister

 I will be the first to admit that I'm not what one would call an "expert" in ministry, but having spent the past twelve years being involved in active ministry (from outreach to in-reach to curriculum planning to teaching to preaching), I would say I have developed a great deal of "in-the-ministry-training" from some of the best preachers, teachers, apostles, evangelists, and prophets the Ecclesiastical Body of Christ has to offer. In spite of this, I find myself coming across more and more young ministers who seem ill equipped to deal with the realities of ministry. Like Paul, I believe that until we leave this life, we all have to some degree a never ending process of growth and development that must occur. So, to encourage the young minister, I want to share 7 truths with you concerning this thing called ministry. There are many more, but I feel these are core truths that no matter what capacity you serve in, they can be applied to any area. 

1. Ministry is not to be entered into lightly. There are souls at stake, including your own. You will give account to God for how you handle the Word of God, whether deceitfully, in truth, out of envy, vain glory, etc. 

2. Ministry is about serving, not being served. This is the wrong field to enter if you are looking for a paycheck, kudos, accolades...you get the point. To be a minister is to be the chief servant. You may come in last quite often in order to lead others to the feet of Jesus.

3. Ministry has great days, bad days, and ordinary days.  There will be times when you fell as if you really made an impact, times you may feel as if they just aren't getting it, and times as if nothing big is happening. Just know we walk by faith not by feelings. Trust God is working the change as you were obedient to deliver the message.

4. Ministry is not a place or a position, but an action. You "minister" beyond the pulpit. When you visit a school, hospital, offer a tissue to someone grieving, write a note of encouragement, you are ministering.

5. Ministry is a team effort, shared by both male and female. Some Jesus' strongest supporters (physically and financially) were women. Though you may bear the greater load as lead, you need a team to impart to and multiply the vision. The vision (which is the Gospel) should not stop if anything should happen to you.

6. Ministry begins with and flows out of relationship. Jesus didn't just perform miracles and lead the disciples with awe. They saw him weep, pray, eat, cast out demons, worship God in a hymn, call out the hypocrites, cook, etc. They saw him at "work" and "play". Ministry first flows out of your relationship with God and with your fellow man. Don't expect much ministry to happen when you don't take time to know those that labor among you.

7. Ministry requires you to do, live, and speak. You are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the earth. You are called to live the Truth. You are called to speak the truth, regardless of who it is. Know in advance that everyone will not receive you, but they are rejecting the message God gave. Jesus was received as a carpenter, Mary's baby, a teacher, the Son of the Living God. One thing about Jesus- he never forced anyone to accept what he KNEW he was. We still have a choice today to receive him as he really is. Isn't that awesome?

I hope you will search the scripture and see what it says concerning ministers and ministry. One last word of caution: Don't allow anyone to put you in a place of authority that you know you don't have the maturity for. Paul said, some ought to be teachers, but were immature and still repeating and re-learning the rudiments of the faith.  Then, there are those who are leading, that have the charisma, but lack the character and the Word of God to sustain the place of authority they have been given. I encourage you to be real with your shortcomings, your strengths, your weaknesses, and build yourself up on your most holy faith. The five-fold ministry is here to equip and mature you, but you have a personal responsibility to seek God and his purpose for yourself. Want to have Outrageous Church? Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus!

Blessings & Church <3