City Life Starter

Written by Bebe Thomas

The Word

And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Luke 4:14-15

And you were dead in your offenses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 2:2

Reflection

After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He returned to His physical home, Galilee. Only this time, He was much different. Having resisted the devil’s temptation, He was inwardly transformed and filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. It is unclear how much time passed between Christ’s temptation and His appearance in Nazareth. In his expositional commentary, R.C. Sproul states that a considerable amount of time likely passed—up to a full year—when you review this in the context of the rest of the Gospels.

We should pause here because the Bible gives us a clear example of how we too can be filled with the Holy Spirit when we resist the devil in the way that Jesus resisted.

In Ephesians, Paul calls the devil “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). This denotes that the devil has been given certain powers in this world. Yet, his power is limited and unmatched by God’s true power. The devil’s power comes from convincing believers of a lie. God’s power rests in truth. During Christ’s temptation, the devil repeatedly lies to Jesus. Each time, Jesus rebukes the lie by quoting back God’s truth from Scripture. Jesus was stronger than the devil because He carried the Word not only in His mind, but in His heart. Jesus knew and believed God’s Word. This gives us a few practical things that we can do as believers: (1) meditate on God’s Word, let it rest in our hearts, so we can (2) recognize the truth from a lie, and (3) rebuke the devil’s lie with God’s truth—His Living Word.

Application

The devil isn’t very creative. He attacks us in many of the same ways—he studies us and knows our weaknesses. Given this, we can game plan our resistance. Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you met God recently in the power and fullness of His spirit? If not, have you been participating in church (i.e. worship services, small groups, service teams etc.)?
• Are you reading and meditating on His Word regularly?
• Do you have a few memory versus to combat the lies of the devil when you hear them?

If  you answered no to any of these questions, then it’s time to dig in and start the good work of being His steward. Without self-judgment, pray that God would increase your desire of Him and “get His Word in your mind and heart.”

Prayer

Lord, transform me in the power of the Holy Spirit by resisting the devil like Jesus resisted. Amen!