 |
 |
||||
 ave
you ever met a salesperson who openly confessed that he or she was only interested in your money and did not
care if you received a fair price? If you have, I would love to hear about it. Most salesmen promise great
deals at a bargain price. Few admit that they are motivated to encourage you to spend more than you should
because they benefit from your spending. There are also salesmen who are not interested in your money but in
your approval or their ability to control your thinking. They may be politicians, religious people, or lawyers.
Many men and women can deceive us into thinking that they are great, charismatic, loving, and gracious - for
a while. They are friendly on the outside and hide their real inner person. But as we spend time with them,
we discover their real motives, attitudes, and characters. It takes time to discover the real person. After
a while we see their “pattern of life.” Their “pattern of life” is who they really are.Jesus In Action. When we come to the gospels, we are able to see Jesus in action.
We are able to hear His words, see Him heal others, hear Him preach, see Him care for others, watch Him interact
with the disciples, and eventually watch Him die for you and me. We are not able to just hear and see Him on
a few occasions; we are able to hear and see Him for about four years. That is, we see enough to discover His
patterns of life.
When we come to our study which starts in Luke 4:14-15, we discover that Jesus’ pattern
of life included several things.
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and . . . He began teaching in their synagogues . . . (NASB) Luke 4:14-15 First, we are told that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we look closely at
the gospels and the rest of the New Testament, we discover that Jesus was constantly filled with and guided
by the Holy Spirit throughout His entire ministry, including His crucifixion (Luke 3:22; 4:1, 14, 18; 10:21;
Acts 1:2; 2:22; 10:38; Heb. 9:14; Rom 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18). He was under the control of the Holy Spirit in all
that He did. That is, Jesus’ pattern of life included “being filled with the Holy Spirit.”
|
|||||
|
|||||
| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||
