In Luke 4:4 and Matthew 4:4 we see that Satan is in the desert tempting Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus was led into desert to be tempted by the devil. This lets us know that none of us are exempt from being tempted. Think about the fact that Jesus Christ himself was tempted. This means that he was tried and the devil was trying to get him to do something wrong.
There are some key principals that we can take from this conversation between Jesus and the devil. First of all Jesus knew who he was dealing with. When you are out and about and someone tries to entice you to do something that you know is wrong, know who you are dealing with. You are dealing with the evil spirit of the enemy. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan is as a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. So the devil is trying his best to get as many people to do wrong as he can so that they can join him in hell. So when your buddy tries to get you to do something that you know is wrong, think about the fact that they are under the influence of Satan and that Satan is who is really trying to get you to sin.
Another thing that we see is that Jesus knows his stuff. Jesus is so filled with the word of God that when Satan tries to come at him with these temptations, Jesus knows how to combat him. Jesus knows what the laws and the readings of that day were and he was able to talk his way out of the situation that he was in because of his knowledge. This is something that will help you in your daily walk. Know your word. The word of God is life and it is something that will keep The Bible says that man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This means that it is not enough to eat the natural food that we eat but we must eat the word of God. You may ask how to eat words. The way that we eat words or take in words is by reading the word of God. We also must listen to those who God has placed in front of us who will deliver the word of truth to us.
Another thing that I noticed about this conversation is that although Jesus was tempted with gaining the whole world, he didn’t want it if it meant that he had to bow down to the devil. Jesus would rather starve and hunger than to follow the devil. This is how we need to be. We need to have a mindset that says that we will now bow down to the enemy for any reason. We need to stand for God through the good times in our lives and the bad times in our lives.
Jesus also didn’t abuse his power. Jesus could have turned the stones into bread. He could have also called down angels to protect and save him. He could have quenched his hunger and thirst on his own but he didn’t abuse his power. This lets me know that even though there are situations where I have the power or the ability to do something this doesn’t always mean that I need to do them. For example, just because I can take something from someone doesn’t mean that I should take it. This is a great responsibility that we have as men. As men we must know when to use our power and when not to. We must know when to do things and when not to. The Bible calls this temperance.
In our society today there are so many things that we feed ourselves in the same way that the devil was trying to feed Jesus. There are so many distractions and things that could easily send us down the path to destruction. My plea to you brothers and sisters is that you watch what you eat. Watch what you put into your body. Watch what you listen to, watch who you listen to. Think about the fact that if you eat garbage, you will surely die and in the same manner, if you eat garbage that the world has for you, you will also die. There is so much filth on television and on the radio. Companies spend millions and billions of dollars just to get you to eat the trash that they create. But what they don’t tell you is that the stuff that they sell is not good for you. The stuff that they sell is only benefiting them. This year, make a vow to be careful of what you put into your mind. Be careful not to listen to negative thoughts and people that tell you that you can’t do something or that you are worth nothing. Fill yourself with things that are good and things that are pure. These are the things that will keep you when you are in a tight situation. These are the things that will feed you when you feel that you have nothing left.
I have come not only to feed you physical food but to also feed you spiritual food. This is the food that is the word of God. This is the food that will “stick to your bones”. This is the food that you can depend on to kick in when you need it. If you want an endless supply of this food let me put you on to my supplier. My supplier is Jesus. He is the one who feeds me when I need to be fed and he wants to do the same thing for you. He wants you to come to the dinner table and eat with him. He wants to feed you to a point where you don’t want any of the evil that the devil has for you to eat. Come to him right now.
Profound Man of God!