(Part 2 of
2)
“The devil said to him, “If you are
the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is
written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”-Luke 4:3-4.
The very
first thing Satan did was attack Jesus when he was weak. Jesus hungered and
Satan, recognizing this, attempted to cause Jesus to mishandle and misuse His
authority and position, as the Son of God, for His own personal gain. Jesus
could have easily produced a loaf of bread to meet the desires of His flesh;
but he would have been doing so outside the will of God.
Satan will
always attack you in your weakest area; whether it’s mishandling money,
pornography, promiscuity, gluttony, lying, laziness, or idol worship. You name
it! Where you are the weakest is where he will test you. He understands our
fleshly nature and will wait for an opportune time to respond. It could be when
you are at your lowest point or when you are full of pride and self-confidence.
How then are
we to respond when tested by the lusts of the flesh? The Word of God! Jesus was
steeped in Scripture. This enabled the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance
Deuteronomy 8:3:
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and
then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to
teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes
from the mouth of the Lord.”
Jesus’ grasp
of God’s Word caused Satan to have to change tactics! He then led Jesus up to a
high place and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Satan told Jesus that
he would give to Him everything He could see if He would simply bow down and
worship him. The lust of the eyes is the desire to possess what we see or to
have those things which have visual appeal including the coveting of money,
possessions, and other physical things. Satan told Jesus worship me and all
this can be yours.
It is
amazing what people will give up to possess something! Satan will dangle it in
front of you like a carrot and it will only cost you your worship! Jesus
recognized this as the lust of the eyes and immediately responded with
Deuteronomy 6:13:
“You shall fear only the Lord your God; and
you shall worship Him, and swear by His name.”
When he saw
that Jesus could not be tempted by the lust of the eyes, he pulled out one more
trick: the pride of life. He led Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and
told him to throw himself down. Surely, as the Son of God, He was too important
for God to allow to plummet to His death. He would surely send his angels to
save Him. Satan attempted to get Jesus to exalt Himself in His own mind. The
pride of life seeks to elevate self above others.
Jesus
responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: “Do
not test the Lord your God.”
In every
instance, Jesus quoted the Word of God to ward off Satan’s attacks. Jesus
modeled for us how to use God’s Word to defeat and overcome temptation.
However, the Holy Spirit can only bring to your remembrance during those times
of trial the Word that you have hidden in your heart. If you are going to win
the battle against temptation, you must daily fill yourself with God’s Word.
Pastor Scott
Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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