BE READY, HERE COMES THE DEVIL......

WHEN APPROACHED OR TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL…….FIGHT!

When Satan comes after us, God says FIGHT (“Whom resist stedfast in the faith – 1 Peter 1:9).

HOW ARE WE TO RESIST OR FIGHT THE DEVIL?

Answer: We FIGHT him like Jesus fought him, being studied in God’s Word (the sword of the Spirit) and using it to offset him and make him flee.  MATTHEW 4: 1-10:

​¹ THEN Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

     (Satan tempts us at our most vulnerable spot and time. Jesus was hungry after so many days fasting. And, sure enough along comes the Evil One and in effect says, "If you're the great Creator, turn these stones into bread." The imagery projected was that of steaming hot loaves of fresh bread, smothered in butter, and with an aroma to die for. But, Jesus responded perfectly (of course) and said in effect there is more to living than only satisfying the physical yearnings of the flesh.)

⁵ THEN the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE will command His angels concerning You’;
and ‘on their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not strike Your foot against A stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

     (FAITH looks to God trustingly but refuses to lazily use Him to do for us what we need to do for ourselves. Faith believes God knew what He was doing when He gave us brains and brawn. He expects us to use them. Not to do so tests God (strange concept) and unfairly attempts to use Him. This is always wrong. A present day example would be someone who refuses medical and medicinal care and rather puts God to the test saying, "I'm just trusting Jesus to take away my ailment." This is foolishness, as if God didn't equip scientists and medical personel to invent medicines and learn the best ways of diagnosing and caring for the physically needy.)

 
⁸  AGAIN, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

     (Perhaps a man's most vulneable area of temptation is his ego. Egotism can be defined as a person who is his own best friend or as obesity of the head. But, a man all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package. And a foul smelling one at that. The Bible pronounces pride as "abominable" to God. Thomas Manton said, "Pride not only withdraws the heart from God, but lifts it up against God." And, this is exactly what Satan desires in order that man will follow him. As Al Martin descriptively remarks, "Every breathing of pride in its first stirrings, if it had its way, would run and tear the crown off God's head." Satan's cravings to be God are so strong he tries to get God's Son to go against His Father and instead worship him. What desperate self-worship. 

MAN IS A TRIPARTITE OR THREE-FOLD BEING consisting of body, soul and spirit. Scripture says, ^“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete…” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). FORMULA: “I am a soul (self consciousness), I have a body (world consciousness and I have a spirit (God-consciousness).

THE DEVIL’S TEMPTATON WAS THREEFOLD, AIMED AT JESUS' TRIPARTITE BEING: 1. AT HIS SPIRIT, by messing with his relationship with God. In essence, Satan says, test God foolishly. "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down..." Behave presumptuously! Don't believe God knows best. Rather impose your notion upon God. This is a faux faith which in reality is a "no faith." This is an attempt to get man to think he knows better than God. 2. It was aimed AT JESUS' SOUL attempting to get him to behave egotistically or psychotically wierd. Satan promised him the world forgetting that he himself had power only temporarily. Satan said, "All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me." 3. The temptation was also aimed AT HIS BODY, Satan knowing Jesus at not eaten for 40 days. He's hungry. And so Satan challenges Jesus with these words:  “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Jesus could have! He could imagine those round stones to be piping hot loaves of bread with the savory aroma wafting upwards. But Jesus countered that there is much more to our earthly existence than things physical or material. Rather, firstly, we must ever pursue the Kingdom of God and His will. 

In each instance Jesus wins! Amen! "Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him" (Matthew 4:11). 

-       Dr. Dick Christen