Appetites

Here at the Outposts cafe, lately, we’ve been on a tangent of discussing appetites, what are our appetites which need to come under our personal authority, and who or what governs those appetites? Of course this too could be another immense topic, but let’s narrow it to Matthew 4:1-11.

i hope all the words of these programs reach and stick to those who want more from their spiritual life than they’ve been getting. It is brave for many to adventure with God and the Bible in these brief monologue of topics which, often, maybe politically incorrect for some, uncomfortable for particularly religious folks to think about, or, most times, i’m simply taking aim at more clarity…..all in an effort to better understand what Jesus, the Lord our God is saying. Personally, i’m VERY interested in everything God has to say. How about you?

It is evident most of us don’t relate well to many King James words, at least in the sense of how God means them, like “licentiousness”, “reveling”, “debauchery”, or “lascivious”, neither do i believe many relate well to words like “favor”, “love”, “sin”, “redemption”, “circumspection” or “rampart”. When’s the last time you heard someone use the word “rampart” in a sentence? Even though we use words like “purpose” and “provision” with some authority in our voice, i have a sneaking suspicion what we think we mean by the use of those words, and what God means are anywhere from slightly divergent to widely at variance.

The word, “appetite” isn’t used, per se, in scripture, but it is an issue most directly addressed on many levels. It is high time we started to move with a greater determination towards understanding what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us about.

Besides, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is time for you to rouse yourself from sleep… The night is almost over, the day is almost here. Let’s put aside our self-centered lives and arm ourselves with the weapons of light. Let us live well, as people do in the daytime — not partying and getting loaded, not engaging in the abundance of immorality and other excesses we are constantly bombarded with and so easily swept away by. i think i’ll add to that by saying we should seriously think about leaving behind our quarrelling, one-up man-ship, and being jealous also.

I’m Social Porter and thank you for joining me this evening…it’s a little bit of your time spent listening in on late evening cool jazz and contemplative conversation. i’ll be right back.

In Matt 4:1-11, there were 3 elements of Jesus which were attacked by satan: in His flesh, His mental facilities, and in His Spirit. The first was a physical hunger, and no, it wasn’t sex, that’s absurd. In fact, if anyone thinks sex is an all powerful appetite, they’ve never been hungry. i can’t say i’ve fasted for 40 days, but i can say i’ve fasted for 20 days, and i’m here to confess, it is the truth, after about the 15 to 18 day mark, the drive for food was truly overwhelming. And yes, as silly as it sounds, everything started looking like food…in fact, the very idea of food filled my mind in virtually every waking moment.

The scenario is first viewed in the opening scenes of Matt 4:1-4, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 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.’ “

Right off the bat, the identity of Jesus was struck at by the adversary in saying, “If you’re the Son of God”. Don’t misunderstand, the devil knew exactly who Jesus was. The idea wasn’t proposed as in, the devil didn’t believe, it was posed in order that Christ would doubt Himself, banking on His flesh being more powerful than His spirit. Also, i think  it important to point out that Jesus was hungry and weak after fasting for forty days, but he chose not to use his divine power to satisfy his natural appetite for food. Food, and eating are good, but the timing was wrong. Jesus was in the desert to fast, not to eat. And because Jesus had given up the  unlimited, independent use of his divine power in order to experience humanity fully, he wouldn’t use his power to change the stones to bread. We, too, might be tempted to satisfy a perfectly normal appetite in a wrong way or at the wrong time. i understand many of our desires are normal and good, but God wants us to satisfy them in the right way and at the right time. Jesus was able to resist all of the devil’s temptations because He not only knew Scripture, he also obeyed it. satan, yea, he knew some scripture too, but he didn’t obey. Because Jesus faced temptation and didn’t give in, we too can overcome in and through Christ. Really, really….we can truly win against temptation through the blood of Jesus.

In Matthew 4:5-6, The identity of Jesus was struck at by the adversary once again in saying, “If you’re the Son of God”. The same adversary is constantly asking us “Who do you think you are, a child of God or something?”, hammering at our identity. If the adversary thought he could get Jesus on an identity issue, how much more does he hammer at us? i am confident the devil believes he’s a hammer and we all look like nails. i say, i don’t think so! We need to be sure of our identity and not doubt, and oh, don’t i know from personal experience, just how easy that is to say. The very word, “doubt”, in it’s Hebrew form, means to tear off in pieces from a secure place, like a wild animal would tear chunks off of its prey. Pretty graphic, but quite an appropriate picture concerning why we need to do something about our doubts and not allow them to continue like we do. Slander, or casting shadows on your neighbor, inspires doubt, slowly ripping their character and reputation to pieces. It is subtle, yet very real violence.

We, as the people of God need to realize doubts can weaken our trust in God. There is nothing wrong with a healthy dose of skepticism about some things, and there are times when we should take our rising doubts seriously, but to doubt God and His Word, well, that’s an entirely different story. The serpent tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness. In Matt 4:5-7, not only did satan try to influence Jesus to think He was not who His Heavenly Father said He was, Jesus was attacked from another angle: To doubt that His Father’s promise was sincere; to doubt that the Lord really meant what He said. The Lord replied, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ “  BAM! He hit the devil right between the eyes with that one, leaving His knuckle prints in his forehead!

We all have occasional doubts, but on the other hand, we especially need to be aware of the outcome when our doubts are left to stand, unresolved. Doubt must not be allowed to erode our trust in God, especially in a day when trust in anyone or anything is difficult. Remember if our enemy knows that once we begin to question whether or not Jesus was God, it’s far easier to get us to do what he wants.

James 1:6-8, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

William Shakespeare said, in his play, “Measure for Measure”, Act 1 scene 4, “Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.” To date, the serpent is still practicing identity theft and influencing us to doubt God, and the sad part is, we often play along and blindly go with him like sheep to the slaughter. i mean, when pressed, we know better, so why do we go along with stuff we know is a lie? Is it laziness, and complacency. Or maybe we’ve gained an appetite for indifference as long as it doesn’t directly affect us?

Other than blaming Adam and Eve and our general propensity for the unsavory, where do we get our appetite for lying? Not just what or how, but why are we ok with it? Oh, i know we say we’re not ok with it, yet we allow the practice to persist when it’s to our advantage. Among other definitions, a lie is the truth with chunks torn out of it by doubt, slander or shadow casting, and suspicion, with suspicion as acting out judgment without having all the facts. Thankfully, not everyone seems to have a twisted appreciation for lying, but we can say many have developed an appetite for it by our buying into a false narative which is intended to be false, and although we’re not ok with it, we take no action against it, thereby passively agreeing by our letting it stand without rebuttal. Why? ?Have we been fed on lies and doubt so much we’ve gained an appetite for disappointment and wormwood which comes with deceit? Friends, don’t let your eyes get used to the dark.

Have we gained an appetite for rotten fruit because that’s what we’ve been fed, so often, we’ve taught ourselves to believe it’s not so bad? i call that “learned ignorance”. How do we overcome poor identity and doubt? It’s easy to say, “Just go read all the scriptures about who God says you are.” Well….that is true, knowing who God says we are is indeed important, but just because we read about it doesn’t mean we’ve entered into being it. Wrong identity starts with wrong definitions, wrong perceptions, and wrong counsel. For example, if you are a child of God, i believe honesty is an attribute. If you are not honest, start walking in being honest, and the more you walk in it the more your actions influence your character, just like our character influences our actions. Ask the Lord to show you how to BE who He says you are…. Doubt is overcome in a similar fashion, with the help of God of course. We resist doubts by practicing trust in God.

Moving along, Luke 4:5-8 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”  The identity of Jesus is still being hammered at, and the enemy of the Lord was hoping Jesus had an untamed appetite for self-promotion, and self-advancement. What Jesus was being offered was worldly power, but Jesus knew worldly power can turn us away from God, worldly power is temporary. Friends, worldly power is still subject to the sovereignty of God whether we like it or believe it, and was offered to Christ in hopes He would violate Kingdom values.  We seem to be so easily impressed by worldly power, or the three P’s, power, position, and prestige. Our unfettered appetites for the three P’s take us far from the Lord and into an ever increasing gloom of unhealthy competition, manipulative criminal thinking, and arrogance. The Lord says, repeatedly in scripture, He has a better way.

In all of this, scripture is the final authority, the Logos and the Rhema of God. In Luke 4:4, when Jesus said “but by every word of God”, the Greek word for “word” there is Rhema, meaning the “now word of God”. Not only did Jesus quote Logos, but He’s also saying to act on the “now word of God”, in conjuction with logos. Not just the scripture word, but the now word.

Jesus was tempted in His flesh, in His soul, and in His spirit, and yet our Savior overcame, He overcame the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. If Jesus over came, we can overcome the temptations of our adversary also. It is no walk in the park that happens overnight, but our overcoming is a thing of practice. Yes, we will fail at times, maybe more often than not, but think…. God wouldn’t have called us overcomers, and more than conquerors if it were not possible. i think back to the times i’ve simply gone along with really bad ideas, and yes, i remember considering the word of the Lord, but it was easier to be “Mr. Go-along-to-get-along”. i remember being exhausted in all my resisting, disappointed at my constant capitulation, and when i thought issues were resolved they continued to raise their ugly heads to taunt me over and over until i gave up and gave in.

For those who believe on Jesus as Messiah and Savior, God has extended us identity with Himself, and by the blood of Jesus, we are able to take on God’s attributes, for we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. What do you say when the devil tempts you? Do you think to yourself, “Nobody is actually getting hurt?” Friend, aren’t you a somebody and what is your idea of hurt? Actually, declaring “nobody is actually getting hurt” lets us out of the responsibility for our poor choices born from our “out of control” appetites. How often, in my own life, when tempted, how often have my appetites driven my choices? i know, i KNOW i ought not to eat that triple cheese burger with double cheese and extra bacon, but because i want it, really really want it, staring at the picture, imagining, nearly drooling on myself thinking about it…. i reason, “Well…it’s only this one time, and i’ll go back to losing weight tomorrow.”??? Do you agree with temptation, being complicit in the plans of darkness as your conscience screams at you “Don’t do that!”, or do you speak scripture back to the devil, using the word of God as your shield? Falling down is easy, getting back up though, that takes character and determination. Hmmm…that’s a lot to think about.

i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening cascading banks of the Ockluwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant.

This production was brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, and Area 22 Guitars where everyone can find a chord of divine reality, Gentle Bruster at the Bruster Hotel, Eddie Youngblood, our local home delivery man for Beck Brothers Pharmacy, Mrs. Margaret Whitmire, a true southern bell of the finest design, J.B. Metcalf, and Bill and Nell Yopp on Highland Avenue. A special appreciation goes out to our good friends, Jeff and Karen at Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.”

John 16:33 “…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Jesus over came all that is in the world, and according to John 16:33, rest assured if Jesus over came it, we can overcome also. Who or what drives or controls your strong desires or liking for this thing or that, otherwise known as “appetites”? Do you have authority over them, or do they have control over you?

Don’t let the world obscure your view of God nor wound your conscience. Go this week knowing there is the heart of a champion in every listener out there. As much as possible, be at peace within yourselves and with each other. Peace my friends, peace in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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