Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God b Kenton Cheek

4 October 2024

Reading From Matthew 4, Luke 4-5

“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

–Matthew 4:8-11

     The temptation of Jesus exposes several of Satan’s primary tactics.  In our present reality, he has genuine power to manifest evil in the world by influencing people and commanding his demons.  I John 5:19 delineates between light and darkness by saying, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”  At the beginning, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over all the earth, but they willingly relinquished that when they gave into temptation and every succeeding generation has followed suit.  This opened the door for Satan and his demons to gain control on Earth. 

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.  But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” –Romans 5:12-15

Before we were born again, we lived in spiritual darkness and death.  But then we chose to accept Jesus as our Savior by grace through faith, we went from darkness to light, death to life.  Satan does not hold power over real followers of Jesus.  Through the blood of Jesus applied to our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the victory.

     This is why I have a real problem with people using the blanket statement of “God is in control.”  While it is certainly true that God is sovereign over all the universe, it is also true that in His infinite wisdom, He gave men and women free will to either choose to follow Him or go their own way.  When anyone chooses to do whatever they want and live life on their terms apart from God and His Word the Bible, they are doing what Satan wants them to do and darkness increases its grip on the world.  But when an individual says “yes” to Jesus and surrenders their will to Him, it invites light and love into society and Earth gets a little brighter.  The borders of the Kingdom of God expand when a man, woman, boy or girl invites Jesus to be the Lord of their life. 

     God has given us control and the way to abundant life on Earth and eternal life in Heaven is to give that control back to Him where it rightfully belongs.  Satan had every legal right to offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world because control had been given to humanity and humanity decided to give it to Satan.  There are countless horrific situations where people use their free moral agency for wickedness and God is not honored or glorified and the sin has a ripple effect that damages many others and leaves destruction and heartache in its wake. 

     Jesus did not take the bait and neither should we.  Adam and Eve did and look what happened.  But just because they gave in, does not mean you have to.  It’s ok and the most healthy thing you will ever do to say no to temptation, no to yourself, and yes to God.  In Him there is light, life, and every good thing.  It is a lie from Satan that God is somehow holding back something wonderful for you if you choose truth and holiness.  The good life cannot be had apart from following Jesus Christ.  Outwardly there may be trappings of success and material wealth, but all around us people are spiritually dying inside without the Lord. 

“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your perfect example of life and godliness.  In You I have the victory over sin and death!  Hallelujah!!  I pray for Your sons and daughters that we would rely on You for the strength and power we need to resist the temptation of the evil one.  We know his destiny is the pit, but our destiny is reigning with You forevermore.  I suppose that’s the irony of it.  We could choose the devil’s way and have some pathetic temporary sham of glory on earth, or we can choose Your path and partake of Your divine glory for all eternity.  Satan wanted to be a god, which we know is an impossibility and it cost him his place in Heaven along with a third of Your angels.  But we know that You have something better for us by far and that is to enjoy Your Presence, be perfectly united with You and to be exalted with You in Your glory.  Thank You Jesus for our marvelous destiny in You.  Amen.”

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ

–I Corinthians 15:51-57

And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

–Matthew 23:12