Luke – Page 69 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And wfhen he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Saturday, October 03, 2020
Chapters: Matthew 2, Luke 2:39-52
Message: Satan’s Attempts

Hello My Friend,

The other day I made a vow to God that I would use the rest of this year putting Him first, and doing my very best to follow wherever He leads me. Of course, I knew that the second I did that that the devil would be on my back. Well, the devil did come at me with full force, the devil hates it anytime we prove to him that we are faithful to God, he will use any means, even death, to get Christians to turn away from God. Let me tell you, he is not after the unbelievers, he is after the faithful, if he can get us to lose our faith, then he has done his job. The thing that the devil fails to understand that even if we did mess up, we belong to Jesus, and no even he can remove our salvation from us. God may allow him to afflict us, He will never allow him to take our soul, [John 10:28-30 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.]

Now, the devil has always messed with God’s people in an attempt to get them to turn away from God, but he came at them with a vengeance the second the prophecies were fulfilled of Jesus being born in the flesh. You see, while the devil knows the Scriptures, he does not know God’s timing, so whenever he sees prophecies come to pass he scrambles to try and alter it. The news of Christ’s birth spread quickly, in fact, there was even a star that stood directly where he was. Many kings and wise men that knew the Scriptures headed out to find their long awaited King and Saviour, they ended up going into Jerusalem in search of Jesus.

[Matthew 2:1-8 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.]

[for thus it is written by the prophet,] Do you think that the the devil does not know the Scriptures? Satan will attempt anything to have them altered. However, whatever God says will come to pass, and it does not matter how long it takes, He will fulfill every prophecy, and no one can alter that. Satan’s biggest success in this world is religion. Religion is all the work of the devil, if he can get people to trust in their religion to save them, then he can take multitudes of souls to hell with him. Works guide us in the ways of Christ after we are saved, they are not what saves or keeps us saved, [Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.]

Remember what I said earlier about the devil using any means, even death to turn people away from God? I was not kidding. Now, for the first time ever all these stories written in the Scriptures from the prophets concerning Jesus are coming to pass and these people are horrified at the thought. Their first thought, get rid of this child before God has a chance to fulfill any more of it. Knowing that Herod was out to kill Jesus, God told the wise me to return back to their countries another way, and also told Joseph and Mary to go to Egypt. When Herod discovered that the wise men were not returning to tell him where Jesus was, he did the unspeakable, he ordered all the children under the age of two to be killed.

[Mat 2:9-10,12-13,16 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.]

[and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem] The devil is pure evil, and everything he stands for, he will do anything to try and stop Jesus, then he would kill all of the children if he had the chance. The devil has always attacked God’s children for the simple fact that God cast him out of heaven and stopped him from trying to take over heaven and destroy it. Why God allows the devil to kill and maim people is something we will never fully understand, what we can understand is that we have a choice in what we believe and do, there are some people who really are reprobates, so evil that they are beyond the hope of salvation. When Jesus came here in the flesh, He came for all, and He died for all and He resurrected for all, even the reprobates, but He will only save those who believe, [I John 5:4-6 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.]

The entire Bible has been given to us so we can learn the Scriptures, and how He dealt with man over the years. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He never changes, but that does not mean we are not to respect what He believes and how He wants us all to be. Each year Joseph would bring Mary and his family into Jerusalem for the Passover, they would travel together by group, although Jesus was the Son of God He still respected them, one time as they headed home he stayed back, Mary discovered he was missing and returned to Jerusalem only to discover that Jesus was in the temple with the elders discussing the Scriptures.

[Luke 2:41-42,45-46,48-49 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?]

[wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?] We should all be so inclined to be about our Father’s business, to have a deep desire to learn His Word and understand His ways and what He expects of us. We do not know what Jesus was talking to the elders about, perhaps He was showing them the Scriptures regarding the prophecies leading to His death and resurrection, but even Mary and Joseph somehow lost sight of what Jesus was brought here for and did not understand what he was saying to them. Salvation is never something we are to forget, but it can be something we lose sight of, even when we are about our Father’s business. God often has to remind us that this life we are living is not about the works we in remembrance of the Law, it is about bringing all to the understanding of the Gospel, [Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son to set me free from the works I tried to do to be saved, I know I am saved simply by trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross when He died a sinless death to save me from hell and the lake of fire. Lord, You have given me a choice on who and what to follow and I chose Your Son. Lord, I want to walk in the wisdom of Your Word in the choices I make today, You have given me the freedom to choose how to live my life and I choose to live it to please You. I know I will not always be obedient, but also know that Your grace is sufficient enough to get me back of track every time and as I live in subjection to Your Word , earn to be more like Your Son, and less like myself. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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