Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." - Matthew 4: 1-3 (ESV)
The Bible says we are not to be ignorant of the schemes of the devil, yet so many of us are. I am sure we all know Christians who lead completely bound lives. Unable to discern what spirit is from God and what is not. While the fourth chapter of Matthew's Gospel has many great stories to learn from the opening is so valuable to understanding how the enemy to our soul operates. This is from the temptation of Christ and we see in just the first three verses some timeless truths to remember in our own spiritual warfare. The first lesson here is that devil is patient. He led Jesus into the wilderness for the express purpose of tempting Him but waited how long? Forty days and forty nights! The devil is not random beloved. He knows exactly what buttons to push and when to push them. He not only knows who reacts to lust, pride or greed for example but also when. He takes advantage of our situations. We see here he waited until Jesus was hungry. Who could blame Jesus? He had not eaten for forty days and while He was always divine, He was still human here as well. That leads us to our second observation. The devil always attacks where we are weakest.
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. - 2Samuel 11: 1 (ESV)
Is this the intro to a famous chapter of David's success at war? Perhaps a chapter about David's glory years reigning over Israel? No. Tmhis is the intro to the story of his greatest failure - Bathsheba. God does not waste anything in His Word beloved so why does the story of Bathsheba start this way? God is showing us that David should never have been in Jerusalem that fateful night. He was supposed to be out to battle but he remained instead in Jerusalem. Walking on his roof he spotted the naked Bathsheba bathing. He sent for her in his coveting and in his lust he committed adultery with her. Not wanting his sin found out he become a murderer. All because he was somewhere he ought not have been. The devil always attacks when we are weakest. When we are vulnerable. When we place ourselves where we ought not be. I have written recently about Christians I see who have completely fallen off in their beliefs because they refused to be around people who share their faith and refused to be accountable to anyone. The devil knows where and when to attack. With Jesus he waited until forty days of fasting had passed and Jesus was hungry and then the devil appealed to His needs. Likewise he will appeal to our needs as well when we are especially feeling those needs. Secondly however, we learn from this story that the enemy always lies in his attacks:
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him 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, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" - Matthew 4: 5-6 (ESV)
The Bible says that the devil is not only the father of lies but lying is his native language! That means he cannot speak anything but lies. He is not bilingual! Yet he is crafty and he knows enough Scripture beloved. He is quoting Psalm 91 here to Jesus. The problem is that he left out the qualifying portion of this scripture:
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. - Psalm 91: 11-12 (ESV)
What did the devil leave out? "To guard you in all your ways." This is the qualifying portion. We do not just get angelic protection like a magic trick. We must be walking in all of His ways. Whose ways? God's ways. It is not within the ways of God to jump off the pinnacle of the temple for showing off or boasting. We can also expect lies and half truths. Look at the Bible and you will see this theme constantly played out. The enemy lied to Eve in the garden. Who knows what lies he fed David as he spied on Bathsheba that night. Who knows what lies he fed Judas. This is why we must remain in the Word and hide it in our heart. Jesus counters every argument of the enemy with Scripture because Scripture proves the enemy is lying! After appealing to His needs and His pride, the final temptation was directed at His greed but the devil found none because Jesus only served God. So the temptation ended and the ministry of Jesus, which would only last three years yet change the world, began. Did it begin with a flourish of His love? Did it begin with a discourse on His magnificent grace? No. His ministry began with the Gospel message of Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Soon however, He would call His first disciples:
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. - Matthew 4: 18-22 (ESV)
We head towards the close of Chapter Four with a look at the response to the call of Christ. There are teachings and logic today that says we must somehow convince people to come to Christ. I have heard it phrased as poorly as "trying Jesus out"; like He is a used car. Literally, some seeker friendly churches will claim if you try Jesus out for a month you will be a satisfied customer. This is all absurd. There is no trying, period. There is saved and unsaved. Wheat and chaff. Period. While we are on the subject, churches are not hospitals for the lost. Read the Book of Acts and you will realize that the church is meant for believers. It is meant for the fellowshipping of the sheep and discipleship. The unsaved come and have a chance of being converted if they hear the Gospel. Only the Gospel can save them. Not the wiles of Rick Warren, the smooth delivery of Joseph Prince, or the slick smile of Joel Osteen. When Jesus asked if the disciples were going to leave Him like everyone else had, Peter said - where would we go? Only You have the Words of eternal life! Hallelujah! Preach the Gospel and let the Holy Spirit draw the lost. They will either respond to the draw or they will not. Look at these verses from Matthew and we see what a positive response looks like. Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him. There is no doubt or hesitation. Jesus once taught about this and the cost of following Him:
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." - Luke 9: 57-62 (ESV)
Part time Christians are going to be very disappointed on the last day to discover there was no part time salvation. We must be all in or nothing. The Gospel is what saves. The Holy Spirit is who draws. Our response must be to leave what is behind us behind and follow Jesus. Chapter Four concludes:
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. - Matthew 4: 23-25 (ESV)
His ministry has three crucial components. Teaching, proclaiming the Gospel, and addressing the needs of the lost (healing). It can be dangerous to overly focus on one and ignore the others. We have seen ministries focus solely on proclaiming the Gospel while ignoring the real needs of the individual. There is a social component to the Gospel. Jesus did not leave people where He found them. People were healed. People were fed. Conversely, we cannot have a social ministry and abandon the true problem of the lost, which is their eternal state before God. Many of the large mega churches today do great and redeemable work in their communities and around the world but do not preach the Gospel that saves people. Teaching, preaching, and meeting people's needs. The ministry of Jesus begins. The world will never be the same.
Rev. Anthony.
1
1
1
