FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

wilderness by the Spirit of God to be tested by the devil (Matthew 4:1). There is much that can be gleaned from this testing of Jesus by the minister or disciple of the Lord. First we must consider if Jesus, the perfect man, was first tested and proven before He was set into His full-time and prophesied ministry, do any of us think that we can bypass this portion of ministry calling? The scripture speaks of the danger of coming by good and Godly things too easily - Proverbs 20:21. “ An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning Will not be blessed at the end .” Gifts may be freely given, but if they are received too cheaply or easily then they are likely to be disregarded. Like Esau and his birthright, which he exchanged for a quick lunch, we cannot truly honor what we received too inexpensively. David spoke to this principle when he refused to receive the threshing floor where the Temple of God was to be built without it costing him something. 2 Samuel 24:24 “ Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ” Likewise, those who want to see the gift of God which has been freely given to them manifested in a timely and spiritually proven fashion, they must be willing to pay a dear price to have it at a higher level. This is not unlike salvation, which is freely given, yet if it is to be truly received and manifested it will likely be quite costly. This cost is not in earning salvation, but in manifesting it or proving it in your life (Philippians 2:12). Testing is not to be seen as a test of failure or success, but as with silver, a test of purity of content. When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan the Spirit came upon Him like a dove. Before this Jesus did not have the Spirit, and therefore did not do any miraculous work which required the working of the Spirit. While He was in the wilderness He was proving the working of the Holy Spirit for His own life and ministry. But there was even more going on. First of all, He was not left alone to deal with the devil, he had the Word of God, which He had put into His heart and mind since He was a boy through the study of the Tora. But God also did not leave Him to fend for Himself. Mark 1:13 “ And He was

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