Part 1: IS THAT YOU LORD?
Lessons from Jesus’ temptation in the
wilderness
Mathew 4:1-11 reads
Then
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the
devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was
hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son
of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written:
‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth
of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the
holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If
you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will
command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also
written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a
very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will
bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me,
Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and
angels came and attended him.
Let’s think about this for a
minute. Satan did not appear to Jesus as a serpent, a person or a disguised
being. It was a voice that Jesus heard.
When you take time off to seek
the Lord, to pray and fast, you expect to hear God speaking to you through a
voice on the inside of you or through his word or whatever form. Not much thought
is given to the possibility of the devil interrupting this quality time. Jesus had
been praying and fasting forty days and nights.
So how could Jesus have known
that it was the devil tempting him and not a divine intervention from his
father to save him from dropping dead? Is it the fact that he was the son of God
that made him recognize the devils voice? No. I don’t think so. Jesus was a
much human as we are and so there was a possibility of Jesus mistaking the
devils voice for God’s voice. The devil knew that he had a chance with Jesus. So
he gave it his best shot.
What the devil underestimated was
the power plugging into the word, praying and fasting gives to a child of God.
When plugged into God, you can sniff a disguised spirit even before it starts
to speak.
Take out: Not every voice you hear while praying or
fasting is God speaking. Be careful not to be deceived by the evil one. If in
doubt ask the Holy Spirit.
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