Jesus Christ is our ultimate example. His life provides us with many examples we should expect to walk in as well:
John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”
Jesus Himself spoke these words to us. “He who believes in Me” is the key to these greater works. We should carefully follow His pattern of growth to maturity. Jesus didn’t start out His ministry to the masses at birth, He spent time maturing and preparing for His calling. Not much is said about this period, but Luke provides a few details:
Luke 2:40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
It is critical for us to also be filled with wisdom for it is the foundation of our house. We will spend significant time on this particular aspect of maturing as we study “Raising the Remnant” in our weekly Bible Study broadcast. You can purchase a copy of the book at www.unity153.net.
Luke 2:42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
Before reaching full maturity and before walking in the fullness of His calling, Jesus observed the three annual Jewish feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Luke 2: 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
At the age of 12, Jesus had studied and understood Scripture well enough to amaze the teachers. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The Word was in His heart. He was not only filled with wisdom, but also understanding, knowledge, and skill, yet He spent another 18 years in preparation before He would fulfill all three feasts. This was a time of letting patience have her perfect work, lacking nothing. During this time, He was fruitful, He didn’t just sit around waiting for His 30th birthday:
Luke 2:. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
When Jesus had come to full maturity according to the Law, He was now to fulfill all three feasts as an example unto us:
Matthew 3:15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water (Passover); and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him (Pentecost). 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
At a personal level, Jesus would go through the process of proceeding through all three feasts. He had observed the feasts from His boyhood and understood the need to experience each feast to provide us a pattern or process we must walk through as well. During the Pentecost period, it was necessary for Him to go through His wilderness experience just as the children of Israel had experienced in the time of Moses. Instead of 40 years, He was to spend 40 days in the wilderness. After His Pentecost experience of “receiving the Spirit” at the Jordan, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to fulfill Pentecost:
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
This is the appointed time to bring our bodies into submission. We must die to the flesh and not feed the ego. As a requirement of the maturing process, we must be tested in the area of our greatest weaknesses. We will not be fully mature without being severely tested. How else can we be found worthy to walk in the fullness of the Tabernacles calling? Jesus had fasted for 40 days. What better initial test than to tempt Jesus with food:
:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
How did Jesus respond? By the Word written in His heart and in His mind:
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Next, Jesus was tempted with use of power:
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
The devil used the phrase “if You are the Son of God” to test Jesus and see if pride would be found in Jesus in His response. Jesus did not need to defend His calling for He knew His relationship with Our Heavenly Father. Instead, Jesus responded with The Word:
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ”
The third temptation focused on authority:
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Once again, Jesus responded with The Word. He was not intimidated by the devil and would not be moved by the offers of surrogate power and authority. He knew that power and authority originated with Our Heavenly Father and that usurped authority was not an option. His calling would have sufficient power and authority given by His Heavenly Father to operate in its fullness at the appointed time.
After Jesus had completed His Pentecostal time of testing:
Luke4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit (Tabernacles) to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Once the Pentecostal phase was completed, Jesus walked in the power of the Spirit, being glorified by all. He was now walking in the fullness of His calling. He was able to heal, raise people from the dead, walk on water, teleport himself in an instant from one location to another, and become invisible to the crowds. And what did He preach? “Now is the time!”
Matthew 4:17 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This Sunday, we will begin our Study following Kemper’s book “Raising the Remnant”. The essence of this book is to focus on maturing the sons and daughters to the fullness of their calling. I strongly urge those who are seeking to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, the 3rd Baptism of Love, to join us for this study. The study is on Sunday’s at 3PM CST at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-baptism-of-love
