Surrendered to the Word

This past Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent, pastor preached on Jesus's forty days in the wilderness.

Take time to read it now: Matthew 4:1-11. 
[No Bible? Click the Scripture reference above and read it online.]

Led by the Spirit, Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted. There He fasted forty days and forty nights.

Rev. Stephenson told us Jesus's time of fasting, prayer, and meditation on Scripture prepared Him for battle.

Jesus turned the tempter away by the Word of God. 

And I see Jesus as one completely surrendered to the sovereignty of His Father in heaven.

Would you follow the leading of the Spirit into the wilderness for the sole purpose of being tempted by the devil?

It requires a great amount of trust to willingly enter a place of vulnerability. And how much faith does it take to trust God's complete control over all things seen and unseen?

I see Jesus surrendered to the Word. Each temptation countered with a truth from God's Word. And He trusted it. Surrendered to its power to sustain and fend off the enemy.

Surrendered.

surrender ...to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand... to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another... to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner... to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence)... to give oneself up into the power of another: yield...

--- Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Ed.)

Here is where I see the power behind the Word of God.
Surrendered to His Sovereignty.
Surrendered to believing and obeying the Scripture in word and deed.
Surrendered to trusting the leading of the Holy Spirit even into suffering.

Pastor encouraged the congregation:

Immerse yourselves in Scripture... and apply them...

Immerse creates a very similar image to surrender. It means to plunge into something that surrounds or covers... engross... absorb.

The truth is, spiritually speaking, we currently live in a wilderness. We, much like the Israelites during the Exodus, have found ourselves free from the slavery of sin and death journeying to the Promised Land. We are not yet home and the journey is about learning to live in the freedom He has provided.

Let us learn from Jesus about fending off the tempter when he comes. (And he will come.) Immerse yourself in God's Word, beginning today. Obey the leading of the Spirit, even into a wilderness season or a call to suffer through fasting. Apply the Word through obedience to the best of your understanding and faith. Wherever you are right now.

Follow Jesus.

Surrender to the Sovereign Lord.

Surrender to the Word.