Sermon Tone Analysis

TEMPTATIONS PATH

Author Guardian

Psalm 23,

TEMPTATIONS PATH

Lord Father God in Jesus name don't lead me with your Rod and Staff down the road of

discipline and correction like the prodigal son, Lord don't lead me down the road of

temptation that I might be tested,

Lord don't lead me down the road where I need to be

delivered, but if you do lead me down the road of temptation in your deliverance may

you have the glory and let it strengthen me and compell me to draw nearer to you

Thankyou that in you I have all I need because Jehovah Jireh lives in me and let me want for more of you and less of self.

Help me not to leap ahead before my training and preparation is finished, help me to be patient and to wait for your timing, help me to be completely dependent on you as the sheep are dependent soley on the Shepherd,

We feed from the manger and rather than wanting from you..that which you have already

provided, we bring you gifts of our hearts and give to you In Jesus name amen

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Again we turn to focus and we turn our eyes to The Father,

Firstly lets go to the Manger, or the feeding trough, this may not have been made out

of wood as many depict but of stone, an animal feeding trough and here we have the Lamb of God .

The Son Of God being brought gifts from the magi, here totally dependent on

God, totally dependent on Father, totally dependent and listening to the Great Shepherd.

Jesus's temptations did not start after being baptised and being led into the

wilderness by the Holy Spirit, the temptations were there from the beginning right until the end.

What a temptation to speak out things unknown ?

What a temptation to speak above peoples heads ?

What a temptation to display the wisdom of ages and unravel mysteries untold ?

You say " He did " no , He only displays that which was understood !!

That which He unravelled was only a tiny fraction for us to marvel at, it was the

mystery of salvation.

Think what wonders lie ahead ?

He spoke to people on their level..as they understand...He the greatest mathematician, He the greatest scientist, He the greatest physician, He the greatest inventor, He the greatest theologian, the einstein of Einsteins, kneels down and washes the feet of the disciples !!

What a temptation to wield that power in flesh ?

What a temptation when calling up Lazarus from the dead ..not to call up the entire dead

What a temptation to go ahead and start His Ministry before the allotted time ?

What a temptation to steer away from the Cross ?

What a temptation while on the Cross to call down legions of angels to help ?

But Jesus only walked as His Shepherd Father Instructed

He only said what His Father Shepherd told Him to say

He only moved as His Father Shepherd instructed

Being led by His Father Shepherds Staff and Rod

And we having Jehovah Jireh in us do the same

Jesus was as a Lamb being led to the slaughter by the Father Shepherds Rod and Staff

Jesus was led out into the wilderness to be tempted there by satan

He was led out by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted !!

This is the Fathers Rod and Staff guiding Jesus into temptation to be tested !!

NOW it is time for Jesus to go out and for His ministry on earth to begin

( As if it had ever started or ended )

The Father Son And Holy Spirit minister in eternity and have always been ministers

Administering and ministering from the beginning and before time

What a temptation to launch out before His time ?

what a temptation to avoid THE

Temptations in the wilderness ?

But we know that temptation is not a sin and we know that there is a way back to God

if we fall to temptation although Jesus never did

We know that the Good Shepherd ...for there is ONLY ONE GOOD SHEPHERD, gives

His life for the Sheep, as the Lamb of God and we in turn give our very lifes..

The Rod and Staff in this picture given in Psalm 23 can be seen as many things, again

we see simple pictures, pictures and images that can be understood by all.

We can in fact see the Rod and Staff as Jesus, the rod was used not just for protection but for marking of the sheep....you see a shepherd would often lay accross the doorway to the sheep pen at night thus protecting the sheep from harm, thus Jesus is known as " the door " "The Rod "

Ezekiel 20:37

"I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the

covenant."

And again, "In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the valley,

shall the flocks pass again under the hands of Him that tells them, says the Lord."

And yet once more, "Concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord."

Also Malachi 3:10

The Rod is also for separating ...

Children can understand the picture of a Shepherd and sheep and they can understand

the concept, this does not mean that they understand the deeper meanings of Gods word

or the deeper meanings of Psalm 23, but they can understand a simple picture

Out of the mouths of babes and infants He has ordained praise and we as baby sheep are lambs

And so we see that Jesus is led out into the wilderness to be tempted there by satan in Luke 4:1-13 and we see then that Jesus starts His journey/ministry

YOU SAY " Lord useeee meeeeeeeeeeeee " oops

Maybe you might have a preparation ahead ?

maybe you might be led by the Rod and Staff into temptation to be tested first ?

You see Jesus did'nt go His own way, otherwise He would have sinned, He was led by the Father, by the Holy Spirit into temptation !! this was meant to happen !!

THEN it was time , NOW He was ready,

Do you keep on going back to the same temptation over and over and over ?

Why do you think it keeps on hounding you ?

Is this a temptation that you are going back to like the Prodigal son ?

or is this a

temptation which you are led into to make you stronger ...is it a testing ?

There is no sin in being tempted, we are tempted all our lifes the same as Jesus was

tempted from the moment he was born in flesh, but there is also a temptation of testing when we are led out and tested to prepare us for what lies ahead.

Why are we speaking about temptation here when this message is about the 23rd Psalm ?

Well while thinking about the 23rd Psalm the Lords prayer kept coming back to me over and over and " lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one "

You can see how this message is backed up over and over by discussions on one of our

forums

So lets look at the 23rd Psalm briefly and I'm going put it alongside Matthew 6:9-13

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need...

Matthew 6:9-11

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be

done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread

The Lord already knows our needs before we ask Him, but He wants us to ask Him, because

like the heavenly Father that He is...He wants communication, He wants interaction.

Although we have all we need because He gives us our daily bread, we might want more

of Him even though He is in us ...the great Jehovah Jirah...

Why do you think He makes us thirsty and leads us beside a stream ?

In the same way as Jesus needed the Father...He listened to the Father, He did all that the Father said, He was completely dependent on the Father, even though He was Jehovah Jireh, in His weakness was the Fathers Strength.