(July 18, 2023) Richard Winter shares great encouragements with us…

I sense to begin this article with an important prayer…

‘Father, you know the needs, you know the hearts,
You know the deepest thoughts of every one of us. 
Father, we acknowledge your lordship over us,
And we believe you desire to do a work in us.
We want to learn; we want to be challenged!
I pray for my Christian brothers and sisters that you will lift their spirits.
Encourage them wherever they are worldwide, whatever their needs!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.’

Temptation!
Ever been tempted by the devil? Jesus was!

Luke 3:21-22 records Jesus being baptised in the Jordan River and chapter 4:1 tells that, filled with the Holy Spirit, He’s Spirit-led to start out on a walk. R&R time? Thinking time? Prayer time?

Far from it! Jesus is walking right into oppression, affliction and conflict! He’s going out into the lonely desert – the lonely wilderness – and for forty days will be tempted by the devil (v2)!

In fact this ‘walk’ leads to His great battle with Satan, the source of all conflict… one that is a warning to us about our own battles with the devil! So –

• Never think that because you’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you won’t be afflicted by Satan!
• Never think that if you are ‘led by the Spirit,’ you won’t be lambasted by the devil!
• If you are led by the Spirit, you will experience the enemy’s  attacks!
• Walking with God, as every believer should be, makes us a walking living target for Satan!
• But don’t be discouraged, and fearful because the devil is walking you!
• Jesus won His battle over Satan! So can you!

Let’s learn some lessons from Jesus’ victory…

Jesus’ first temptation
This 40 days of temptation was a time of fasting for Jesus! No wonder that after being tempted for 40 days, He was ‘very hungry’… peinaō indicating pining for food (Luke 4:2bNLT).

Most of us are good for a four hours’ fast, some for four days… but 40 days? My experience with fasting is that we start out well but soon we’re thinking only of food. If you make it for a couple of days your stomach shrinks and so does your physical stamina.

But soon you get into real prayer because the body and its appetites are being subdued. This is not a spiritual diet, but you might lose some pounds! Real fasting is a time where you desire to know God’s will for this situation or time. A time to be challenged.

So Satan, capitalising on Jesus’ physical weakness, and hopefully His emotional vulnerability, offers this first temptation… tempting Jesus by questioning God’s provision in suggesting, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread’ (V3).

Think of this way: ‘Jesus… since you’re the Promised One, you’re the Son of God, why isn’t your Father providing for you out here? Why would He let His own Son, the Messiah, starve to death? Use your power to satiate yourself.’ Sneaky. Huh? Satan is questioning God’s ability to provide simple daily bakery items.

Jesus response? Ignoring His own needs He quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”’ The Message puts it strongly:  ‘Men and women don’t live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God’s mouth.’’ 

Round one to Jesus!

• But what about you?
• Have you ever had that whispered thought? Hmm.
• Have you queried ‘How come you aren’t taking better care of me, God?
• How many times have you had the feeling inside your little head: ‘Hey, I’m a child of God. I’m a Christian. I believe in Christ. I’ve devoted my life to him. Why isn’t He looking after me?’

Jesus’ second temptation
Satan now questions God’s promise… again it’s in a slinky way of ‘Come on Jesus, come with me and have a look at this…’

Verses 5-7 tell this: ‘The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”’

• Folks, nothing has changed… this is still the devil’s strategy! Humankind will worship something – often it’s money, position, power and sex… worshipping God is off many peoples’ lists.

The Bible says that one day Jesus will rule and reign over the whole earth. But… He first came to redeem it by His painful death on Calvary’s cross. He came to save all people because He loves us all.

Even the devil knew this! Let me paraphrase Satan’s cunning trickery here… ‘Jesus, I know why you’ve come. You’ve come for the whole world.’ And so he suggests an easy way out for Jesus… ‘Why go it the hard way, the painful way? You came for the earth to redeem it back. I know what that Genesis 3 and Isaiah 53 promise is all about.’

Then the subtle teasing temptation… ‘Let’s strike a deal – I’ll give it to you. No fight or cross with all its pain involved. Just indulge me. If you’ll just worship me now, you can have immediate gratification.’

Notice how Jesus responds – ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve”’ (v8NKJV).

Round two to Bible-quoting Jesus!

• But what about you?
• Heard tempting words about something that isn’t Christian, God-honouring, God-first?
• Whispers such as… ‘Just do something for yourself.’
• ‘You know that if you only did this, you’d be happy.’
• ‘Do something to be immediately gratified.’

May your response be like Jesus’ response! God wants us to worship Him, honour Him, serve Him in however He calls us to do.

Jesus’ third temptation
This time Satan is questioning God’s protection. Verses 9-11 tell that he promptly changes location and ‘led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple.’ Then he craftily challenges Jesus, again quoting scripture – ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here’ he said, ‘For it is written: “He will command His angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone”’ (See Psalm 91:11-12).

Satan knows the Bible better than we do!

• He was trained in the best seminary in the universe – heaven!
• He knows what to bring in – and what to leave out.
• What he was suggesting to Jesus was not the way of God.
• At that time from the top of the temple to the floor of the Kidron valley was some 450 feet (137 metres) and if Jesus had jumped down – splat!

Jesus quickly pointed out that self-determinism and potential self-harm is not the way God works… in verse 12 He answered Satan, ‘It is said: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”’ (Deuteronomy 6:16).

Round three to Jesus!

• And you?
• Don’t deliberately test your God, don’t place yourself in that kind of a position.
• Don’t presume that God will send angels to protect you in your foolishness!
• Don’t go jumping off buildings believing angels will prevent you from hurting yourself!
• Or anything else as stupid!

No one is exempt from temptation! The devil wants us to worship him so expect his wrath if you do not – Jesus was whipped, beaten and crucified.

Two ways that Jesus handled temptation
These are for us are for us too! James 4:7 encourages us to ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ And 1 Peter 5:9 echoes James: ‘Resist him, standing firm in the faith.’ So –

1) Stand your ground –
Don’t run away… firmly!

2) Stand up to the devil –
Study and use God’s word!

Face temptation head-on knowing the scriptures! When you know God’s word you have an advantage. (That’s one of the blessings of being in church… hearing and learning God’s word).

• These two methods will help you in overcoming temptation.
• Biblically illiterate folk will have no reference point in times of temptation, no source of authority.
• God is our Father, our source of authority, and His word controls everything.

In the wilderness Jesus won the battle over the devil’s temptations – He succeeded victoriously! Then He ‘…returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all’ (Luke 4:14-15). It was the beginning of His ministry!

I’ve shared about the temptations Jesus dealt with Satan’s cunning temptations, and that He overcame them. We too must overcome the devil’s trickery! Paul encourages, ‘We are not ignorant of his devices’ (2 Corinthians 2:11NKJV).

Know, as Jesus did, that God will not fail you regarding…

• Provisions.
• Promises.
• Protection.

Let our attitude be ‘God you have promised, provide and protect as we stand our ground in a world that needs your truth.’

Closing prayer of encouragement:
‘John 8:33 declares, ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’
Father, we believe this is your word.
We thank you, Lord, that in the hearing of your truth there is freedom!
And not only are we freed by it, but our faith grows because of it.
Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says ‘Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes through the word of God.’
We have heard your word. We have heard these Bible truths and imagined them in our mind’s eye.
Lord, along with these principles, we have the information received the inspiration by your Spirit.
As we deal with our temptations, our struggles… we will stand our ground and study our Bibles.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.’

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Dr Richard Winter pastors The Connection Church, Huntington Beach, California. Link: OnlinerConnect@lifefocus1
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