TEMPTATION
Wednesday – Aug 16, 2017
Greetings and welcome back to our wonderful Bible Study from the Book of Hebrews. God is so good. God is nothing but good, if what is going on in each of our lives is not good it is not God, period. A short time ago the Lord reminded me of the mission, the focus of this Ministry and that I needed to bring that back into a sharper focus. This Ministry is called and ordained of God to Teach the Word of God, speak the Prophetic Word of God, honor and bless Israel, and illuminate the spiritual condition of America. So, to be obedient to that direction from the Lord Wednesdays will have imagery and brief teachings concerning Israel without which the Church could not and would not exist. Israel is a Covenant nation with God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The reason I list all three patriarchs is that Islam also claims Abraham as a father of their religion. All the children of God are called to pray for Jerusalem, the Jews, and Israel.
Psalm 122:6-9 (KJV)
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
Before I move back to our study in Hebrews remember that when we pray it is not a crying beg fest. We determine the will of God then we are either interceding or decreeing a thing. So, let’s take verse six above. Our decree would be like the following: I decree (or declare) the peace of Jerusalem and the prosperity of those who love Jerusalem in Jesus name. Thank you, Father, for the peace of Jerusalem and the prosperity of those who love Jerusalem.
Now let’s move to our Bible Study, receive and walk out the goodness of God.
Hebrews 2:16-18 (AMP)
16 For, as we all know, He [Christ] did not take hold of angels [the fallen angels, to give them a helping and delivering hand], but He did take hold of [the fallen] descendants of Abraham [to reach out to them a helping and delivering hand].
17 So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people’s sins.
18 For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering].
I have presented our text in the Amplified Translation and want to take this opportunity to point out what I hope are a couple of useful things to assist in our Bible Study and interpretation. Words in italics in the King James Version are not fully supported by the manuscripts and added by the translators for ease of reading. Words in parentheses ( ) in the Amplified Version indicated words or phrases that are supported by the manuscript. Words in brackets [ ] are words and phrases added by the translators which are not supported in the immediate text of the manuscript. Remember the translators are human and come to their work with beliefs which may or may not be Truth. Yesterday the teaching was devoted to the Bible concept of suffering as well as the current perversions of the concept common among Christians. I think as we consider suffering in the body of Christ we can recognize that the common theology makes the Christian a victim, having no fault, and pointing the blame and solution as coming from elsewhere. It is common to hear that our poverty, our sicknesses, and so on are just the way it is. We just have to deal with it the best we can. This twisted doctrine goes on to tell us that we may not understand but the Lord is working things out, it will all be for His glory, and He is in control. That is all baloney.
The curse enters and is manifest in our lives the same as at the onset in the garden, sin
(adultery and fornication with other gods). Speaking of turning aside to other gods let’s turn our attention back to temptation. Let me remind you that I have a very good book available on Amazon.com/Books titled Temptation, the Battle for our Thoughts. Throw out the idea that you know everything about temptation and you are effectively dealing with temptation and get the book.
As we look at our text please know that the words tempted, tested, and tried are pretty much interchangeable words and ideas. Remember one very simple rule, God will never tempt us to do bad, however He will ask us (we sometimes refer to this as a test) to do good, His will.
James 1:12-16 (KJV)
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.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Do you suppose brother James could be referring to the common prevailing theology with verse sixteen above? If we expect poverty, sickness, and other hardships in our lives then the devil is all too eager to bring it on. God will not and cannot stand in the way of our self-determination, freewill. We will return to this tomorrow Lord willing. Remember God is good, and He is nothing but good.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
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