JESUS RESISTS TEMPTATION - Lesson for 5/4/2014
“The Devil
DIDN’T Make Me Do It!”
Deuteronomy
6:13-16 | King James Version (KJV)
13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the
people which are round about you;
15 (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest
the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from
off the face of the earth.
16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted
him in Massah.
Matthew 4:4-11 | King James Version (KJV)
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and
setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning
thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash
thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt
not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee,
if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for
it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came
and ministered unto him.
This week’s lesson meets us
all in a common place, that of temptation. No matter who we are or where we
are, temptation is a part of the world we live in, as it was when Jesus roamed
this Earth.
This passage of scripture
hones in on Jesus 40 days and 40 nights after he has been baptized. He spends
time in the wilderness, to gain closeness with His Father through fasting and
prayer. After his body is weakened through lack of food, the devil tries to
step in and ruin the plan of salvation.
Side Note: It’s amazing how the devil times his attacks. He waited until
Jesus’ human strength was low, in order to approach Him with a life-changing
decision/offer. We are no different. Be aware and cautious of making deals with
the devil at your low points in life. They will surely be the cause to your
destruction.
Jesus’ faith and devotion
to God is exemplary during this time. Remember, He is human here. He was our
ultimate example. The devil tried to tempt Him with what seems to be the 3 main
temptations any human can face in this world we live in today: Temptation of
hunger or lust, Temptation of covetousness, and Temptation of power.
Think about it, whenever
you hear of the sad news of someone being overtaken, it stems from one of these
three things.
Jesus responded to the
devil in a way that God could be pleased and honored…with His faith and
confidence in God, and with a Sword (The Word of God).
Side Note: It’s SO important that we study the scriptures and are sure of our
place in God. When the day of adversity comes, the devil knows the scriptures
and will work to turn them upside down for his own purposes. You’ll have to
have enough knowledge to understand and respond according with the true Word of
God! If the devil had the audacity to use the word of God on the Word of God,
don’t be surprised if he tries to trick you too!
God has a plan for each of
our lives. When we trust in His plan, despite the fear of pain and discomfort,
there will be a blessing in the end. As a human, the fear of facing the cross
was on Jesus as well (Luke 22:42) but He allowed His faith to cancel out this
fear.
1 Corinthians 10:13
declares that there hath no temptation
taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
What a blessed assurance!
Never will we be placed in a position where we will fall to certain death, as
relates to a temptation. Breathe in, think about God’s promises for your life,
recall the Word of God, open your eyes and look for the way of escape. It will
always be there.
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