Jesus was aware of how dangerous his mission was going to be. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been preaching and saying; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2) After he baptized Jesus he was then arrested and was soon to be beheaded.

Yet, here are the words of Jesus after he heard that John had been taken into custody: “‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” (Matthew 4:17) Same message. He took up exactly where John left off and then launched a ministry that paled the Baptist’s and changed the world.

The thing is that Jesus had a powerful weapon which emboldened him and prepared him to fully live the life he had been called to. He had just returned from a forty day fast in the wilderness in which he went head to head with Satan and WON.

Afterward he began to heal “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23) His power came out of his authority and his authority came out of his victorious warfare in the desert. He began his ministry the right way; full of the Holy Spirit. This is a good model for any ministry we are also called to.

Deep prayer and fasting may be hard work and very unglamorous but it is a formula for success. Do you want the good stuff to come out of your ministry call? Do you want to be able to announce that the kingdom of heaven is at hand? Then before you begin, visit the desert.