Study Three Temptation of Christ 3
1.Read Luke 9:13.
2.Where are we brought for the third test?
3.What does "Jerusalem" symbolize?
4.When are we tested rigorously in the third area?
5. What was the pinnacle of the Temple?
6.What was taking place in the Temple, underneath the gable where Jesus had been placed by the devil?
7.What was true of Jesus' placement on the gable?
8.What happens on occasion to the fervent saint?
9".What could Jesus see from the gable?
10.What else was known to Jesus at this time?
11.What must happen to us before we move forward to God's plan for our life?
12.When may the test of the pinnacle be administered to us?
13.When the fervent saint who is anxious to serve Jesus is placed on the gable of futility, what does Satan attempt to persuade him or her to do?
14.What is the issue of the gable?
15.What must be true each of our moves and decisions?
16.What must we do in order to discover God's will for our life?
17.Are there quick, easy ways to find God's will?
18.What does the world, Satan, and his own self-willed nature challenge the saint to do?
19.Why have the Christian churches through the centuries not faced and overcome the pinnacle temptation?
20.What is the only path to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion?
21.What must the Christian do, who possesses a gift from God?
22.What often is true of us?
23.What are the apostles and prophets of the twentieth century announcing?
24.What is the power of the Spirit ready to do?
25.What must happen to us before God can trust us with the power of the Kingdom?
26.What did Job become?
27.What was Christ willing to do?
28.Where did Christ remain throughout His ministry?
29.Are there instances when the saint must press forward in faith?
30.What is true when God "shuts us up in prison"?
31.What did Abraham do?
32.What happens every time we jump off the gable before God's time?
33.Who alone can perform God's work?
34.To whom is the prophet always subject?
35.Why would God give someone great gifts, and then place him or her in a position of futility?
36.What is God preparing at this time?
37.What does the Book of James instruct us to be?
38.What happened to Joseph in prison?
39.What happened to Joseph when his hour came?
40.What happened to Jesus when His hour came?
41.What is the route to the throne of Christ?
42.What is the cross?
43.How do those to whom we are ministering view the cross?
44.How does God create obedience in our inner being?
45.What is the incorrect response to the trials of our faith?
46.What is the correct response to the trials of our faith?
47.What are being created in us by the heat and pressure that are brought to bear on us?
48.What happens to the saint who faithfully endures God's prison?
49.Should we pray for release when we are in the Lord's prison?
50.Does Christ know the grief and frustration we are experiencing?
51.What is God's promise to you?
52.What is true of the death of obedience to God?
53.What must we keep our eyes fastened on?
54.What will be entrusted to us if we are faithful in small responsibilities and tasks?
55.With what is obedience to God concerned?
56.Are the desires to succeed and to receive recognition sin?
57.Why does Christ interfere with our right to be ourselves?
58.After we have been saved from wrath and delivered from the bondages of sin, what further work of redemption is necessary if the saint would reign in and with Christ?
59.Why was Abraham subjected to the terrible ordeal of having to offer Isaac to the Lord as a sacrifice?
60.What was the purpose for the imprisonment of Joseph; the afflictions of Job; the suffering of Jeremiah; the tribulations of Paul?
61.What is the saint being created?
62.What four questions is the Lord Jesus asking us?
1.Read Luke 4:9-13.
2.Where are we brought for the third test?
To Jerusalem.
3.What does "Jerusalem" symbolize?
The arena of religious activity.
4.When are we tested rigorously in the third area?
After we have had some experience as a Christian.
5. What was the pinnacle of the Temple?
The pinnacle of the Temple was a wing or gable, perhaps on the southeast corner of the Temple overlooking the Kidron Valley.
6.What was taking place in the Temple, underneath the gable where Jesus had been placed by the devil?
The Mosaic ordinances were being conducted beneath Him in the Temple according to the statutes He Himself-the Lord of Glory-had given Moses on Mount Sinai. The priests, scribes, and Pharisees were busily engaged in the daily tasks and responsibilities of the service of God in the Temple, while the Lord whom they were supposed to be worshiping sat up on the gable
7.What was true of Jesus' placement on the gable?
It was a foolish, futile, ridiculous, dangerous place to be.
8.What happens on occasion to the fervent saint?
He is removed from the place of glorious revelation and service and is thrown into the prison of weakness and futility.
9.What could Jesus see from the gable?
The horizon, symbolizing the scope of God's plan for the redemption of the earth-the release from slavery of earth's prisoners.
10.What else was known to Jesus at this time?
That in the Temple below Him were the priests observing sacraments and rituals He understood better than anyone else-He being the Author and the perfect fulfillment of them all.
11.What must happen to us before we move forward to God's plan for our life?
We must have our pinnacle experience. We must be brought to the place of uselessness and helplessness
12.When may the test of the pinnacle be administered to us?
After we have the vision of the needs of the world and God's plan to meet those needs; and have also the understanding of what the Lord will perform in the Church.
13.When the fervent saint who is anxious to serve Jesus is placed on the gable of futility, what does Satan attempt to persuade him or her to do?
To jump off; to move ahead of God.
14.What is the issue of the gable?
Will we remain perched on the pinnacle of futility until God brings us down?
15.What must be true of each of our moves and decisions?
Each must be accompanied by prayerful attention to the mind of the Spirit. Also, we must examine the actual results of what we are doing.
16.What must we do in order to discover God's will for our life?
We must present our body a living sacrifice in consecration in order to prove the will of God.
17.Are there quick, easy ways to find God's will?
No.
18.What does the world, Satan, and his own self-willed nature challenge the saint to do?
To do something, to come down from the pinnacle, down from the cross.
19.Why have the Christian churches through the centuries not faced and overcome the pinnacle temptation?
Perhaps it is because the motivation of each denomination is to get to work and "do something for the Kingdom of God."
20.What is the only path to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion?
By way of the pinnacle.
21.What must the Christian do who possesses a gift from God?
Avoid all pressures that would attempt to ignore the will of the Spirit as to how and when to use the gift.
22.What often is true of us?
We desire to use the Lord Jesus in a manner tailored to our fancies. We are never to use God's eternal love as a means of accomplishing our ends. God loves us and we love Him. We are the expression of His Being. We flow in the /divine will and purposes. To attempt to wrench this relationship so that the Lord is (we think) hopping around to do our bidding, while we are adoring our idols of people and things, is to miss God's will and lose His Presence.
23.What are the apostles and prophets of the twenty-first century announcing?
The coming of the Kingdom of God
24.What is the power of the Spirit ready to do?
To anoint the members of the Body of Christ with power so they may reveal the Kingdom of God and call all people everywhere to repentance in preparation for the Day of the Lord that is at hand.
25.What must happen to us before God can trust us with the power of the Kingdom?
We first must be willing to allow God to bring us down to helplessness and barrenness, weakness and futility.
26.What did Job become?
An object of derision and disgust to all who had once trembled at his presence
27.What was Christ willing to do?
To become nothing, to do nothing. He emptied Himself of His /divine Glory and became a servant. He waited helplessly on God for all things.
28.Where did Christ remain throughout His ministry?
On the cross, on the pinnacle of helplessness, coming down to act only in the perfect timing of the Father.
29.Are there instances when the saint must press forward in faith?
Yes.
30.What is true when God "shuts us up in prison"?
We cannot come out without breaking God's laws.
31.What did Abraham do?
Abraham jumped off the pinnacle, so to speak. Ishmael was the result.
32.What happens every time we jump off the gable before God's time?
"Ishmael," the enemy of God's people, always results from our jumping off the pinnacle before the Lord's time.
33.Who alone can perform God's work?
God Himself.
34.To whom is the prophet always subject?
The Spirit of God.
35.Why would God give someone great gifts, and then place him or her in a position of futility?
Because God is more interested in the spiritual maturity of His servants, in their obedience to Himself, than He is in their works.
36.What is God preparing at this time?
God is preparing kings and priests who will rule and serve God throughout eternity.
37.What does the Book of James instruct us to be?
Charitable and practical.
38.What happened to Joseph in prison?
The Word of the Lord tested him.
39.What happened to Joseph when his hour came?
He was released and placed in charge of the land of Egypt, the land of his imprisonment.
40.What happened to Jesus when His hour came?
He was released from the pinnacle and brought into His ministry in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit.
41.What is the route to the throne of Christ?
The throne of Christ and the glory and joy thereof can be reached only by way of the pinnacle-the cross.
42.What is the cross?
The cross is death to ourselves, to our way of doing, our impulses, our enthusiasms, our timing, our understanding, our eagerness to help God and people.
43.How do those to whom we are ministering view the cross?
The cross is seen as weakness, defeat, shame, disgrace.
44.How does God create obedience in our inner being?
By taking from us many relationships, things and circumstances that we embrace, and by delaying the gratification of our most fervent desires, the answers to our most fervent prayers.
45.What is the incorrect response to the trials of our faith?
We may lapse into bitterness, blaming people or even God!
46.What is the correct response to the trials of our faith?
Praising God, trusting in His Word and giving Him glory for the relief we hope and believe will come our way in His time.
47.What are being created in us by the heat and pressure that are brought to bear on us?
Precious jewels of patience, faith, courage, and obedience.
48.What happens to the saint who faithfully endures God's prison?
He is brought into a larger place with God.
49.Should we pray for release when we are in the Lord's prison?
Yes! Continue praying to God for everything you need and desire. Never, never, never give up. Your answer shall come! The afflicted saint should pray (James 5:13) and keep his future bright with the promises of God. There is an end to your tunnel. Remain faithful to God and you will receive the desires of your heart. The Scripture cannot be broken. If we do not pray for release and fulfillment we will lapse into passivity and may accept many pains that are not necessary. This is not healthy spiritually or mentally. Jesus instructed us to ask so we may receive and possess fullness of joy. Let us pray for the desires of our heart, giving thanks to God continually. Paul had learned to glory in his infirmities. We can do this when the power of Christ is resting on us and we then can observe the relationship between our weaknesses and the abundant fruit being produced. Nevertheless, the afflicted saint should hold his desire for better days fervently before the Lord while he is faithfully and diligently working at the tasks set before him.
50.Does Christ know the grief and frustration we are experiencing?
Yes.
51.What is God's promise to you?
He who upholds the heavens and the earth and all who dwell therein will make certain that you emerge in victory over all your enemies. You will receive the desires of your heart. Your prison doors will open by the Lord's hand. There shall come an end to the refining and testing. Just remember that-there shall come an end to your misery! The experience of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reveal that we will lose nothing in the furnace of affliction except our bonds.
52.What is true of the death of obedience to God?
The deeper the death of obedience the higher will be the ascension into the Glory of the Lord.
53.What must we keep our eyes fastened on?
The reward ahead of us.
54.What will be entrusted to us if we are faithful in small responsibilities and tasks?
Greater responsibilities and tasks.
55.What problem is associated with obedience to God?
Obedience to God in the inner being of the believer is more of a problem with self-will than it is with the bondages of sin. In the process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit leads us to put to death the deeds of the flesh-lust, murder, covetousness, idolatry, occult practices, stealing, lying, and all the other manifestations of the nature of evil, unclean spirits. Obedience, on the other hand, has more to do with our desire to be ourselves, to be noticed, to succeed, to receive honor, to achieve, to have our own way.
56.Are the desires to succeed and to receive recognition sin?
No.
57.Why does Christ interfere with our right to be ourselves?
The children of Adam are not able to perform the high roles to which God has called them. Only children of God can fulfill these callings. Therefore our first, adamic nature must die so the new /divine nature that has been placed in us can come to maturity and participate in the high calling of the Kingdom of God.
58.After we have been saved from wrath and delivered from the bondages of sin, what further work of redemption is necessary if the saint would reign in and with Christ?
The re-creating of his entire personality. All that he is must be broken to powder and pounded into the essence of Christ. We are being made part of God Himself through marriage to God's Son.
59.Why was Abraham subjected to the terrible ordeal of having to offer Isaac to the Lord as a sacrifice?
Because of his incalculable inheritance of fruitfulness and strength.
60.What was the purpose for the imprisonment of Joseph; the afflictions of Job; the suffering of Jeremiah; the tribulations of Paul? That God may build His holy dwelling place, that the resurrection Life of Christ may replace the mind and strength of flesh and blood.
61.What is the saint being created?
The purified expression of single-minded obedience to the Father. He or she is the flesh being made the Word of God, the shining of the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
62.What four questions is the Lord Jesus asking us?
"Will you believe in Me and be saved?" "Will you follow the Holy Spirit in ministry and in holy living?" "Will you be sternly obedient to the Father?" "Will you become nothing so I may become everything in your life?" What are your answers to His questions?