Psalm 135:1; and I’ll include Psalm 31:1-4

My Shepherd met me in His green pastures, contemplating something He said that is recorded in John 14:30:

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Jesus prepared His disciples for what was coming. His departure from them was imminent and uppermost on his mind. He encouraged them with His promise to return for them (John 14:1-4). He bookended His warning that He would depart with a promise of His return and this exhortation: “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1), and “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:26). After giving them the promise of the coming of His Spirit, and reminding them of this promise, he said something that I’ve read hundreds of times but never before saw the insight I’m sharing with you.

From this moment forward (Tuesday, April 11, AD 29),* Jesus said, He would not talk much with His disciples because the prince of this world was coming.

About a week earlier, “six days before Passover” (John 12:1), Friday, April 7, AD 29, Jesus had announced that the prince of this world would be cast out: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31).**

What intrigued me about what Jesus said was not so much that Satan was en route to assault Him in Gethsemane. It’s that He said when Satan came, he would find “nothing in me.”

Along the still waters, I pondered what Jesus said to His disciples the day before He would wrestle Satan in “the oil press.”

Jesus warned them that He would be quieter than usual; He would not “talk much with them.” He explained this was because (“for”) Satan was coming, and he would find “nothing” in Him.

Satan explored what was “in” Christ during the first temptation (Matthew 4; Luke 4) when he offered to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them if He would kneel to Satan. At that time, Satan found nothing in Jesus he could use to bring him into his power. Jesus said, effectively, when he comes to assault Him in the second temptation (Gethsemane), nothing has changed: Satan would find nothing in Jesus. What this means is that Satan’s only recourse will be to make every attempt to destroy Jesus, to tempt Him to drop “the cup,” or choose not to drink it. It would appear Satan got near to succeeding except that what was in Christ was a firm resolve to obey the will of His Father: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Jesus defeated Satan, and on the Cross, spoiled his principality and demoted him, so Satan is no longer the prince of this world (Colossians 2:15). Satan held the principality via the Law of GOD, having tempted men into sin, and so under the power of death, which Satan held (Hebrews 2:12).

From that time until now, Satan is the prince of the power of the air. Yet he works in this world as “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Notice that this declaration concerning Satan immediately follows Paul’s Holy Spirit inspired prayer that the saints understand Who Jesus is and the significance of His role in the earth today as Head of the Church (Ephesians 1:15-21). Consider also that Jesus’ statements regarding the casting out of Satan, and the truth that the prince of this world “is judged,” are connected to His promise of the Holy Spirit, Who would come into the world to Comfort us and through us (John 7:38-39) reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Regarding the Spirit’s reproof against the world “of judgment,” He said, “because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:11).

Consider what this means. The Spirit in us is the Spirit of Jesus Christ moving through us, reproving the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, restraining the spirit of antichrist (2 John 7; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7).

Everything depends on us being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-21), and that cannot happen if we are grieving Him (Ephesians 4:30), or quenching Him (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Satan works to find some fleshly lust in us he can use to draw us into his power to grieve and/or quench the Spirit.

Satan cannot take anyone under his power unless there is something in them he can use to gain control. The works of the flesh are manifest and identified in Galatians 5:19-21:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.”

These are the things the prowling lion watches for (1 Peter 5:8). If we allow any of these things to take hold in our affections, he can use this to control the thoughts of our hearts. He will sink fiery darts that will bypass the shield of faith and sink his hooks deep into our hearts. Satan will exploit it to grieve the Spirit, and, he hopes, finally quench Him.

Will Satan find anything in you?

In the valley, I was reminded that Jesus made these statements as He approached the Cross. On the day of His greatest challenge, He spoke of Satan finding nothing in Him and being defeated in judgment (John 14:30; 16:11). When Satan came upon Him, He was struck with astonishment at the force of the attack (Matthew 26:38). He resisted unto blood (Luke 22:44; Hebrews 12:4), as Satan pressed Him to refuse the “cup.” I praised Jesus for withstanding the assault and yielding to the will of His Father, and He spoke to me: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). I walked His path to Calvary in my mind, and noted how He prepared Himself for the upcoming ordeal. His love for the Father was the key to victory. Our love for Him is ours. He taught us how: “Not my will, but thine be done”!

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my “cup” with His grace. He reminded me that we will never be tempted above what we are able to bear: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). He showed us the way to escape: “Not my will, but thine be done.”

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v787auq-shepherds-pasture.html

[*See 20260407.THE DAY OF CRUCIFIXION- FRIDAY OR WEDNESDAY, My argument with the GHATGpt algorithm. If you want to view this document, use the Contact Us tab on the baptistlighthouse.org page. Type The Day Jesus Died Document in the Subject or Your Message fields. You should receive an acknowledgment shortly. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it within a few minutes. Give us 24 hours to respond with the document request.]

[**The expression now shall does not indicate immediate action, as “in that moment.” It indicates the time has come when this event “shall” happen. Strong No. 3568, “νῦν nun, noon; a primary particle of present time; “now” (as adverb of date, a transition or emphasis); also as noun or adjective present or immediate: — henceforth, + hereafter, of late, soon, present, this (time).” That the sense intended here is to declare that the time had come for the prince of this world to be cast out is supported by the fact that on the next day, Jesus said the “prince of this world” was coming. The prince of this world (Satan) was barred from Jesus after His defeat in the wilderness during Jesus’ forty days and nights fast and temptation (Luke 4:13). The Father would soon release Satan to directly assault His Son. Jesus informed His disciples that he was on his way.]