Temptations Series Part 1 - Aug. 16-20
1-2 Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.
3 The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: “Since you’re God’s Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread.”
4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to really live.”
Luke 4:1-4 NIV
Many times, we will question God because we don’t have what we NEED.
These days, thankfully, it’s pretty difficult to go hungry. Especially in this country, we have a lot of opportunities, resources, friends, etc. So the devil might not tempt us to question God when it comes to eating, but he will tempt you to question God with other things you need.
“Since you’re God’s Son,”
The enemy will find a way to question your legitimacy as a son/daughter of God. We need to know how to respond when this happens, but first notice this:
and when the time was up he was hungry.
3 The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test:
The enemy will always try to tempt you when you feel weakest. It could be physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc. It sounds kinda basic, and it makes sense. But the devil doesn’t bring him bread, he wants to make you find your own bread. How does this apply to our needs?
He wants to make you:
Argue with those closest to you
Question if God is hearing your prayers
Choose porn as a physical outlet instead of feeding yourself spiritually
What should our response be? How do we counter this? Look at what Jesus says:
“It takes more than bread to really live.”
What in the world is he talking about? Let’s look at this quote he gives in a D12 with his leaders.
32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
It takes more than bread to really live. The key word is REALLY.
You can eat bread today and live.
But if you REALLY want to live, it takes Jesus. He is the bread of life. Our nourishment comes from his word, our strength in our time of need comes from him. Is the enemy tempting you today? Are you questioning God lately? Look to Jesus, eat from his word and respond to the enemy using scripture just like Jesus did.