Our Lord Jesus went to the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. He fasted for “forty days and forty nights” (Matt 4:2). On the fortieth day of fasting, Jesus was "an hungred" (Matt 4:2). When Jesus was very hungry, at starvation point, and physically weak Satan came into the scene. He struck when Jesus was at his weakest. Even today, it is not unusual for Satan to strike us when we are at our weakest. Even under these extreme conditions, the Lord did not yield but rebuked Satan three times with quotes from Holy Scripture.

 

There are three things we learn from the Temptations of Jesus:

 

1. The Devil is a mighty and real creature.

2. Temptation by the Devil not to be taken lightly.

3. The Scriptures, the Word of God, is the chief and best weapon to resist the Devil.

 

I have covered the first two points in Part 2. In this final Part, I will discuss about how we can combat the Devil.

 

3. The Scriptures, the Word of God, is the chief and best weapon to resist the Devil.

 

a. Our Lord Jesus overcame temptations by using The Word of God.

 

In the Scripture Text we just read, we noted that our Lord Jesus was tempted three times.

 

First, Satan tempted our Lord to change stones into bread. “3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread”.

 

Second, our Lord was asked to jump down from “a pinnacle of the temple”, “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”.

 

Third, our Lord was taken to a high mountain, and after showing Him the whole world, the Lord was asked to “fall down and worship” Satan. “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”.

 

Three times Our Lord Jesus rejected Satan’s offers or temptations. These offers were rejected with a text of Scripture: “It is written” (verses 4, 7, and 10). These three powerful words “It is written” provide us with an example and great encouragement.

 

In the first temptation, our Lord responded in this manner, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3: “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”.

 

Our Lord countered with this quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 in the Second Temptation: “7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”.

 

With the Third Temptation our Lord responded in verse “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”. This was taken from Deuteronomy 6:13.

 

b. We must know “The Word of God” to use it against temptations.

 

“It is written” – that was how our Lord Jesus countered Satan’s temptations. What do these three words “It is written” mean to us? This tells us a very important lesson. That important lesson is that we must know our Bible, The Word of God! We must be diligent about studying the Word of God. We must take every opportunity to study the Word of God offered by our church and the many fellowship groups.

 

Ephesians 6:17 says The Word of God is the “sword of the Spirit”. The sword is a defensive and offensive weapon against the devil. Only by using this as our principal weapon can we fight a good fight to defeat the devil.

 

The Word of God “is a lamp” for our feet, “and a light unto” our path (Ps 119:105). It is like the car’s beams lighting the streets and roads at night so the drivers can see where they are going. Without this light, The Word of God, in our journey we shall never be secured in the King’s highway to heaven.

 

The more we know Holy Scriptures the less likely for us to sin. See Ps 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

 

Having the Word of God in our hands, and carrying it around is not going to help us. The devil also knows the Word of God. He quoted Scriptures in verse 6, “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.” Satan quoted from Ps 91:11-12. The Devil is a very intelligent creature and he knows the Scriptures better than us but of course he will quote them out of context! We must study the Word of God and pray over it. To know the Bible is not an easy task, and it comes with hard work, regular and attentive reading and study. It takes time and a lot of time! It is a time well spent and you will have no regrets. Knowing the Word of God and knowing it very well is a guard against the temptations of Satan. If we think it is a waste of our time and sweat to study of the Word of God then we are not fit yet for the Kingdom of God. Remember this – we are not fit to be members of God’s Kingdom if we ignore His Word.

 

Conclusion

 

Let us remember that:

 

1. The Devil is a mighty and real creature. Though he is mighty, God is mightier. God is the Almighty, all-powerful One. Even though the Devil is mighty and real he should not be taken lightly and made a joke of by us. Many think that they can manipulate the Devil and his demons. They think, as in some Christian groups, that they can order him around. We do well to take note of Jude 9 “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee”. If the Archangel Michael just said “The Lord rebuke thee” we should be careful about how we handle the Devil and his cohorts.

2. Temptation by the Devil not to be taken lightly. To be tempted is not a sin, but to yield to temptation is. We are tempted regularly and frequently. When we are tempted we must pray to God and use His Word to help us to have the strength not to yield to his temptation. Remember God’s promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “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”. If we cannot handle the Devil’s fiery darts, God will help us!

3. The Scriptures, the Word of God, is the chief and best weapon to resist the Devil. To use the Word of God as an effective weapon against the Devil, we must know it, and that includes reading, studying and praying. The questions are these: Do we read the Bible everyday? Have we used the resources, such as RPG, Daily Manna, and other devotional books, that are available from our church? Have we attended the Sunday School Classes that are available? Do we know more about Holy Scriptures now when compared to one year ago, five years ago or even ten years ago? If the answers to these questions are “no”, then it is time for us to buckle up before it is too late!

 

Remember that our Lord Jesus used Scriptures to counter the temptations of Satan. We should do well to learn from this. We have many Bible Study sessions organised by Pastor, Session members, and leaders of different fellowship groups, and yet only a few people are attending. I appeal to all of you who do not attend any Bible Study groups to make an effort to attend these Bible Study lessons. I know time is a problem. “The management of time is the management of self; therefore, if you manage time with God, he will begin to manage you” (Jill Briscoe). When God manages you, you are blessed. Your family will be blessed.

 

As our Lord Jesus was tempted and had experience with it, He knows how we are like in the face of temptation. Heb 2:18 “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”  He knows our weakness. To Him and His Word, we flee to - knowing that He will help us through this spiritual warfare!

 

God bless.

 

Elder Michael D Lee

 

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