Given a chance to visit the Promised Land, I have many things to share with you; I wanted to keep them a secret for a while, so that my sermons will last longer with the experience, but I just can't help talking about some of them.

Before leaving Oita for Israel, I had a dream in which I was told that I would suffer hardships. It depends, but personally, I believe in these kinds of dreams. I didn't tell anyone about it because I didn't want anyone to worry about me.

On the first night in Egypt, I was sleeping in a hotel. Then, it happened; a terrible feeling came over me, and I believe and know that it was Satan, approaching me. I could tell immediately. Since I was with another pastor, I shouted against this feeling using my mind instead of my voice. I ordered the evil to go away using the mighty name of Christ. It disappeared quietly.

The next day, we had a chance to climb Mt. Sinai. Lots of us rode on camels while going up. However, going down the mountain, most of us did not. For myself, I longed to experience the same feelings that Moses must have on foot. Gradually, I started to feel fatigued. Though many of us didn't take camels, lots of camels were following us, attempting to tempt us into giving up on our walk down the mountain. But I refused, and refused, so that I could complete the trek on foot. Later, after we had reached the foot of the mountain, our group leader confessed that he had been testing our resolve. Since we had become tired in climbing the mountain, it was certainly easier to return by camel. The camels were our temptation. The leader tested us to see how firm we were in our minds (he could readily see the conditions of our bodies)! In fact, he suggested that we use the camels several times during our trip down. I was glad that I had persevered! Jesus, Himself, had been tempted much worse than this. In today's passage, and also in Luke 4:13, we see that Jesus was successful, even after having been tempted by Satan personally. He drove Satan away. And, Satan left. But, we know that Satan did not give up his tempting. Once Satan knew that he could not tempt Christ perfectly, he went on to others; Peter and Judas - see Matt. 16.

There is simply no telling whether this person will be alright, simply because he is a person of prayer, or that this Christian family will last and be spiritually strong just because they are firm Christians. Satan tries to do everything! He knows our weak points! He has such sharp eyes! He attacks us through our faults. When Jesus was tempted, He was exceedingly hungry; hunger is perhaps an understatement, He had just come out of a forty day fast. Being hungry was naturally His weakness, but He was not successfully tempted! When Jesus drove away Satan, He referred to the Holy verses from Deut.8:16-20.

In wandering the wilderness, the Israelites started to grumble, forgetting how gracious God had been to them. In the desert, they knew what it was to live and to die. Without food and water, they would die. Without the protection of the cloud and fire from God, they would die. They experienced God, Himself, in their deepest need. Everything was in His Hands. Whether they would live or die was all up to God. In spite of knowing all of these facts, once we start to earn our living using our own strengths, we easily forget about God. He warns us not to forget Him, as we pursue our lives, but we so often do. The fact is that everything that we have, and everything that has led up to us having what we have, is in God's hands. It is not by our own strengths that we have managed to become what we are presently. It is God who has made us what we are. We are to love, serve and remember God all of the time.

In temptation, Jesus saw the prosperity of the world. But, it was a prosperity without God. It would surely fade away. True, some people are wealthy for a time without God, but it will certainly be taken away, and eternity is a long time!

The next day after the mountain climbing adventure, I was awakened very early to travel over to Lake Galilee. Naturally, I was still suffering from the fatigue of having walked for so long. Upon reaching the lake, I just had to put my hand in its waters. I couldn't help it, I just started crying and letting the tears run from my eyes like a child. I knew that God touched me. I prayed for the healing of my legs, and then I was perfectly OK. I could no longer feel any tiredness at all. How I praised the Lord for this miracle! Afterwards, we get together and worshipped the Lord together.

On the very last day, when we were about to leave the country, I was suddenly called over by an airport official. I didn't have a certain paper that I was supposed to keep together with my passport. She was furious! But, I couldn't understand why. Our group leader came over to us, and had a talk with her. I was completely puzzled but finally the problem was worked out, and I could leave the country safely. Now, I know the dream that I had had had come true. I had had some terrible experiences during the trip, but with the presence of the Lord, everything had been turned into grace!

Translated by Junko Okamoto - Edited for the Net by Shido
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