Jesus was Tempted but Always Overcame
Zac Poonen | 25 October 2020

Jesus faced exactly the same temptations that we all face every day (Heb.4:15). He had all our limitations, and yet He overcame - because He loved righteousness and hated sin and cried out to the Father for help whenever He was tempted (Heb.1:9; 5:7). The Holy Spirit helped Jesus as a Man - and the Holy Spirit will help you also in the same way.

Think often of how Jesus faced temptation as a young man. He felt the pull of the same temptations that all young men face. Overcoming temptation was not any easier for Him. In fact, it must have been more difficult, for His nature was totally pure and so temptation was more repulsive to Him - and so its pull must have been stronger than it is for us. And yet He overcame.

And now Jesus is on your side of the rope in the tug of war against temptation - and He stands ready to help you. The anchor-man on the enemy's side is the big heavyweight called Pride. Next to him is another heavyweight called Selfishness. But God will help you to pull them both over, along with all the other sins - and you will overcome. Praise the Lord!

Here is a promise that you can hold on to in faith: " Jesus is able to keep you from falling (stumbling)" (Jude 24). Walking by faith has to be learnt just like physical walking. There will be a number of falls initially, as for a baby. But the falls will become less and less as you press on. Finally, falling will become rare, although a time will never come, when even the greatest saint can say that he will never fall.

When you fall, you may be tempted to call your fall by some other name than ' sin'. That is dangerous. There are many who call their sins as 'mistakes', 'blunders', etc., in order to evade personal responsibility for their sins. They even misquote Romans 7:17, " It is no longer I doing it, but sin that dwells in me....", in order to excuse their obvious sins. This is a dangerous way to go. Avoid it - because you will then live in self-deception, as those other people are living. If we confess our sins God will be faithful to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). But there is no promise of cleansing if we call our sins "mistakes". The blood of Jesus cleanses only sins. So, always be honest whenever you fall into sin. Call it " sin", turn from it, hate it, forsake it, confess it to God - and then forget about it, for it has been blotted out.

Sins of attitude are more serious than sins of action, because they are less easily recognized. Here are some sins of attitude: pride, critical attitudes, bitterness, jealousy, inward judgment of others (by what you have heard or seen - Isa.11:3), seeking your own, selfishness, Phariseeism, etc.

If a believer who preaches victory over sin, looks down on others, he doesn't realize that he does not have victory over the greatest sin of all - spiritual pride. To despise others is the equivalent of constantly committing adultery. And for such a believer to be talking about victory over sin is ridiculous! The more you grow spiritually, the more holy you become, and the more victory over sin you get, the more humble you will become. This is the primary proof of genuine holiness. In a fruit tree, the branches with the most fruit bow down the most!

Many confuse human self-control for 'partaking of the Divine nature'. Human self-control can produce an outward reformation. But it will leave the inner man haughty and proud and Pharisaical in its attitude. We are called to receive grace from God to overcome sin - and we can never be proud of what we received freely. We can be proud only of what we produced ourselves - and the holiness we produce by our own efforts will always be a false holiness.

The Divine nature that you are called to partake of is love. God is kind and good to unthankful and evil people, and makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good alike (Matt.5:44-48). This is the example that you must follow too. Love everyone - whether they agree with you or not. Avoid all controversial discussions and arguments - like you would avoid a deadly disease. If others around you want to argue about something, tell them lovingly that you would like to avoid all controversy. Pursue after being made perfect in love with all your heart.

परमेश्वर द्वारा आशीषित
जैक पूनन | 18 October 2020

हम उत्पत्ति 32:29 में पढ़ते हैं कि, "परमेश्वर ने याकूब को आशीष दी"। चार कारण हैं कि परमेश्वर ने याकूब को वहाँ पर - पनीएल में आशीर्वाद दिया।

1 परमेश्वर के साथ अकेले

याकूब को उस जगह पर आशीष मिली जहाँ वह परमेश्वर के साथ अकेला था। उसने सभी को दूर भेज दिया और वहाँ वह अकेला था (उत्पत्ति 32:24)। 20 वीं सदी के विश्वासियों को परमेश्वर के साथ अकेले ज्यादा समय बिताना मुश्किल लगता है। जेट-युग (हवाई जहाज़) की भावना हम में से अधिकांश में आ गई गई है और हम निरंतर व्यस्तता की स्थिति में रहते हैं। परेशानी हमारे स्वभाव या हमारी संस्कृति के साथ नहीं है। हमारी प्राथमिकताएँ सही नहीं हैं - बस इतना ही। यीशु ने एक बार कहा था कि विश्वासी के लिए एक बात की आवश्यकता है कि वह उसके चरणों में बैठें और उसकी बात सुनें (लूका 10:42)। लेकिन हम इस पर विश्वास नहीं करते है और इसलिए यीशु के वचनों को अनदेखा करने के भयानक परिणाम भुगतते है। अगर हम हमेशा अपनी विभिन्न गतिविधियों में व्यस्त रहते हैं और यह नहीं जानते कि उपवास और प्रार्थना में परमेश्वर के साथ अकेले रहना क्या होता है तो हम निश्चित रूप से परमेश्वर की सामर्थ्य या आशीष को नहीं जान पाएंगे – मेरे कहने का अर्थ उसकी वास्तविक शक्ति से है (सस्ती और नकली सामर्थ्य नहीं जिन पर बहुत से घमंड करते है)।
2 परमेश्वर द्वारा तोड़ा गया

याकूब उस जगह पर आशीषित हुआ जहां वह पूरी तरह से टूट गया था। पनीएल में एक व्यक्ति ने याकूब के साथ मल्लयुद्ध किया। परमेश्वर याकूब के साथ बीस साल से मल्लयुद्ध कर रहा था लेकिन याकूब ने समर्पण करने से इनकार कर दिया था। परमेश्‍वर ने याकूब को यह दिखाने की कोशिश की कि कैसे उसने अपनी चालाकी और योजना के बावजूद भी सब कुछ गलत कर दिया था। लेकिन याकूब अभी भी ज़िद्दी था। अंत में परमेश्वर ने याकूब के जाँघ की नस को छुआ जिससे उसकी जांघ उखड़ गई (उत्पत्ति 32: 25)। जांघ शरीर का सबसे मजबूत हिस्सा है और यही वह हिस्सा था जिसे परमेश्वर ने तोड़ा था।

3 परमेश्वर के लिए भूखा

याकूब को उस जगह पर आशीष मिली जहाँ वह परमेश्‍वर के लिए सच्चा और भूखा था। "मैं तुझे नहीं छोड़ूंगा" उसने पुकारा, "जब तक तू मुझे आशीष न दे" (उत्पत्ति 32: 26)। कैसे परमेश्वर ने बीस सालों तक इन शब्दों को याकूब से सुनने के लिए इंतजार किया था। वह जिसने अपना सारा जीवन - जन्मसिद्ध अधिकार, स्त्रियों, धन और संपत्ति को हड़पने में व्यतीत किया, अब उन सब चीजों को जाने देता है और परमेश्वर को पकड़ लेता है। यह वह क्षण था जिसके लिए परमेश्वर याकूब के पूरे जीवन में काम कर रहा था। परमेश्वर का हृदय अवश्य इस बात से प्रसन्न हुआ होगा जब याकूब ने धरती की अस्थायी चीजों के लिए अपनी दृष्टि खो दी और परमेश्वर के लिए और उसके आशीर्वाद के लिए वह अभिलाषी और प्यासा हुआ। हमें होशे 12: 4 में बताया गया है कि याकूब रोया और पनीएल में उस रात एक आशीष के लिए विनती की। वह उस रात उसके पहले के वर्षों की तुलना में कितना अलग व्यक्ति था जो पहले केवल इस दुनिया की चीजों को चाहता था। अंत में परमेश्वर द्वारा किए गए व्यवहार ने याकूब के जीवन में फल को उत्पन्न किया!

4 परमेश्वर के साथ ईमानदार

याकूब को उस जगह पर आशीष मिली जहाँ वह परमेश्वर के साथ ईमानदार था। परमेश्वर ने उससे पूछा, "तेरा नाम क्या है?" बीस साल पहले, जब उसके पिता ने उससे वही सवाल पूछा था तो उसने झूठ बोला था और कहा था "मैं एसाव हूं" (उत्पत्ति 27:19)। लेकिन अब वह ईमानदार है। वह कहता है "परमेश्वर मैं याकूब हूं" - या दूसरे शब्दों में "परमेश्वर मैं एक हड़पने वाला, धोखेबाज और सौदेबाज हूं”। याकूब में अब कोई छल नहीं था। और इसलिए परमेश्वर उसे आशीष दे सका। परमेश्वर ने याकूब को आशीर्वाद दिया - जब वह ईमानदार था, जब वह कोई और दिखावा नहीं करना चाहता था, जब उसने कबूल किया, "परमेश्वर मैं पाखंडी हूँ। मेरे जीवन में शर्मिंदगी और दिखावा है”। मैं आपको बताना चाहता हूँ कि एक व्यक्ति को अपने हृदय की गहराई से यह स्वीकार करने के लिए उसे वास्तविक रूप में टूटना पड़ता है। कई मसीही अगुवे नम्र होने की प्रतिष्ठा हासिल करने के लिए झूठी विनम्रता के साथ इस तरह के शब्द कहते हैं। मैं उस प्रकार के घृणित काम की बात नहीं कर रहा हूं। मेरा मतलब उस ईमानदारी से है जो वास्तव में टूटे और पिसे हुए हृदय से निकलती है। वह महँगी है। हम सभी में बहुत अधिक छल है। परमेश्वर हम पर दया करें जब हम पवित्र होने का नाटक करते है जबकि हम वास्तव में पवित्र नहीं होते। आइए हम अपने सारे हृदय से सच्चाई और ईमानदारी और खुलेपन की लालसा करे और फिर हमारे जीवन में परमेश्वर के आशीषों की कोई सीमा नहीं होगी।

Blessed by God
Zac Poonen | 18 October 2020

We read in Genesis 32:29 that, "God blessed Jacob there”. There are four reasons why God blessed Jacob there - at Peniel.

1 Alone with God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was alone with God. He sent everyone else away and was alone (Gen. 32:24). 21st century believers find it difficult to spend much time alone with God. The spirit of the jet-age has got into most of us, and we are in a perpetual state of busyness. The trouble is not with our temperament or our culture. We just don't have our priorities right - that's all. Jesus once said that the one thing needful for a believer was to sit at His feet and listen to Him (Luke 10:42). But we don't believe that any longer and so suffer the disastrous consequences of disregarding Jesus' words. If we are always busy with our various activities and do not know what it is to get alone with God in fasting and prayer, we shall certainly not know God's power or blessing - His real power, I mean (not the cheap counterfeits that many are boasting of).

2 Broken by God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was broken completely. At Peniel, a Man wrestled with Jacob. God had been wrestling with Jacob for twenty years, but Jacob had refused to yield. God had tried to show him how everything he had put his hand to had gone wrong, despite his cleverness and his planning. But Jacob was still stubborn. Finally, God struck Jacob's hip-socket so that his thigh was dislocated (Genesis 32:25). The thigh is the strongest part of the body, and that was the part that God struck.

3 Hungry for God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was earnest and hungry for God. "I will not leave you", he cries out, "until you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). How God had waited for twenty long years to hear those words from Jacob. He, who had spent his life grabbing the birthright, women, money and property, now lets go of them all and grabs hold of God. This was the point towards which God had been working in Jacob's life all along. It must have delighted God's heart when Jacob at last lost sight of the temporal things of earth and longed and thirsted for God Himself and for His blessing. We are told in Hosea 12:4, that Jacob wept and pleaded for a blessing that night at Peniel. What a different man he was that night compared with his earlier years when he desired only the things of this world. God's dealings with him at last bore fruit!

4 Honest with God
Jacob was blessed in the place where he was honest with God. God asks him, "What is your name?" Twenty years earlier, when his father had asked him the same question, he had lied and said, "I am Esau" (Gen. 27:19). But now he is honest. He says, "Lord, I am Jacob" - or in other words, "Lord, I am a grabber, a deceiver and a bargainer." There was no guile in Jacob now. And so, God could bless him. God blessed Jacob there - when he was honest, when he did not want to pretend any more, when he confessed, "Lord I'm a hypocrite. There is shame and pretense in my life." I tell you, it takes real brokenness for a man to acknowledge that from the depths of his heart. Many Christian leaders say words like that with false humility - to gain a reputation for being humble. I am not referring to that type of abomination. What I mean is an honesty that comes out of a truly broken and contrite heart. That is costly. There is so much guile in all of us. May God have mercy on us for pretending to be so sanctified when we are not. Let us covet sincerity and honesty and openness with all of our hearts, and then there will be no limit to God's blessing upon our lives.

Rivers of Living Water

The Holy Spirit is pictured in the New Testament as a river flowing from the throne of God and falling to earth (Revelation 22:1; Acts 2:33). To be baptised in the Holy Spirit is to be immersed under this waterfall. Jesus said that all those who thirsted could come to Him and receive the Holy Spirit so that rivers of living water could flow out from their innermost being (John 7:37).

The experience of the average believer, however, is more akin to the hand-pump - a life of struggling and pumping up a few drops of blessing from a dry heart. Yet it need not be like that. If our dryness would only drive us to the Lord, things could be different. To have rivers of blessing flowing out from us to all who come in touch with us is the will of God for our lives.

The first step towards this is to acknowledge our need. Many believers are caught up in foolish arguments about words. But it is power that we need, not correct terminology. What is the use having our terminology right, if we are as dry as a bone? It's far better to be honest and to come to God, confessing that rivers of blessing are not flowing out through us. Having taken that first step, we can then trust God to grant us what we ask for.

All we need in order to be baptized in the Holy Spirit are thirst (an intense desire, born out of a great longing to glorify God) and faith (the absolute confidence that God will give us what He has promised). Let us ask then, with thirst and with faith, for this power, and God will not deny us our request.