SCRIPTURE:
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Matthew 4:2-3
OBSERVATION:
How do you deal with spiritual attacks? At Sunday’s baptism, a recurring theme that was shared was people were facing spiritual attacks and struggling to overcome the lies and discouragement of the enemy. Each person that shared felt weak and ill-equipped to continue to fight, so the question remains, “How do you deal with spiritual attacks?” Today the book of Matthew revealed how Jesus was able to handle the attack of the enemy and sets the example for our path to victory.
APPLICATION:
We find Jesus in the wilderness having fasted for forty days. It’s safe to say He was tired, hungry, and weak, and that’s the opportunity the devil seized to tempt Him. Have you ever noticed that temptation, that the attacks, that the enemy strikes when we are at our most vulnerable? Be on guard when you’re tired, hungry, and weak, and leave no room for the devil to speak! Matthew 4 continues on and tells us that the devil approached Jesus with temptations founded in lies multiple times. Each time Jesus didn’t argue, or debate, or fight. Rather, He spoke God’s promises and overcame the enemy with the Truth. He set the example, He showed us the answer to the test, and now we just need to walk it out.
1. The first key is knowing the Truth. If we don’t know the Truth it’s impossible to lean on it in times of temptation and hardship. I need to revisit memorizing passages of scripture that I might be ready and equipped for the attacks.
2. The second key is speaking the Truth. Jesus combated the lies of the enemy with the Truth of God. Don’t let the lies linger, don’t let the thoughts remain, because the longer you think on them the more they seem like reality. I am chosen, I am loved, I am His…this is the Truth!
PRAYER:
Jesus, I rejoice in the fact that my victory is in You! I’m well aware that I’m insufficient to battle the enemy and his lies on my own, but in You I can overcome. So I ask that as I memorize more of Your Word and promises may You equip me to stand on Your Truth and overcome the enemy.
