Satans First Temptation: Luke 4:1-4
“1) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2) for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3) And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4) And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ””. Luke 4:1-4
After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus became hungry. His body had used its reserve. It was time to consume food again or starvation would set in.
The first temptation was aimed at His physical body. It related to His appetite for food. The temptation was to use His Divine power and nature to serve Himself.
Jesus responded by quoting Scripture; “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.” Matthew adds, “…, but on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
Always respond to the enemy by standing on God’s Word. It is a higher authority. Jesus demonstrated that walking in the Spirit is walking in the Word. Jesus was the living Word. He modeled this principle. We need to live by His Word.
Ephesians 6:17 says the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.” It was the weapon Jesus used against Satan during every temptation. As soon as He stood on the Word, that battle ended!
We need to increase our appetite for God’s Word above every other human appetites. Come to the place that you hunger and thirst more for the Word than for food or air. This requires spending abundant time in Gods Word daily.
I feed on the Word at least three times a day and snack in between. I snack by listening to audio Scripture and great teaching messages when I’m doing redundant tasks.
I also meditate often on Scriptures I’ve committed to memory. Especially when I’m lying down. This facilitates my listening to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Here is the secret Jesus lived out, “He put the needs of His Spirit above the needs of His body.” He fasted from food, but He never went without the Word! He starved the flesh but always feasted in the Spirit!
This is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 6:13. Listen to this verse; “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.”
At first this verse sounds strange, but it is profound and packs a huge punch. Though our physical body needs food, and food was created to nourish the body, the primary design of God for the human body is spiritual and not physical. We were created for God and worship and not base appetites like sex.
At the moment of salvation, our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit! What was Paul saying? From that point forward, our bodies host the Spirit of God! (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Maturity comes when we begin to focus on spiritual priorities above physical needs and appetites.
The lie of the enemy is that we cannot live without meeting physical needs like food, sex and the pursuit of wealth. Jesus taught that life does not consist of these things! Take control of your basic appetites or they will take control of you and squeeze God out of your life!
Victory over food, sex and hedonism begins the moment you realize these are mere addictions and not necessities. They are like alcohol and drug addictions. They are distractions and counterfeits to the abundant life Jesus promised.
The first step is breaking your psychological dependency and fixation on these base appetites. The notion that you cannot live without them is a lie from the enemy.
According to 1 John 2:15-17, these are values of the world and not of the kingdom of God. If you want to serve God, stop chasing after base appetites and the world’s value system! Do what Jesus modeled, walk in the Spirit and not the flesh.
Pursue God! Renew your mind! Change your thinking! Adopt a biblical world view! Walk in the footprints of Jesus! Feast on the Word daily! Crucify your flesh and its passions! Discover the abundant life!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“1) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness 2) for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3) And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4) And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ””. Luke 4:1-4
After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus became hungry. His body had used its reserve. It was time to consume food again or starvation would set in.
The first temptation was aimed at His physical body. It related to His appetite for food. The temptation was to use His Divine power and nature to serve Himself.
Jesus responded by quoting Scripture; “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.” Matthew adds, “…, but on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
Always respond to the enemy by standing on God’s Word. It is a higher authority. Jesus demonstrated that walking in the Spirit is walking in the Word. Jesus was the living Word. He modeled this principle. We need to live by His Word.
Ephesians 6:17 says the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.” It was the weapon Jesus used against Satan during every temptation. As soon as He stood on the Word, that battle ended!
We need to increase our appetite for God’s Word above every other human appetites. Come to the place that you hunger and thirst more for the Word than for food or air. This requires spending abundant time in Gods Word daily.
I feed on the Word at least three times a day and snack in between. I snack by listening to audio Scripture and great teaching messages when I’m doing redundant tasks.
I also meditate often on Scriptures I’ve committed to memory. Especially when I’m lying down. This facilitates my listening to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Here is the secret Jesus lived out, “He put the needs of His Spirit above the needs of His body.” He fasted from food, but He never went without the Word! He starved the flesh but always feasted in the Spirit!
This is illustrated in 1 Corinthians 6:13. Listen to this verse; “Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.”
At first this verse sounds strange, but it is profound and packs a huge punch. Though our physical body needs food, and food was created to nourish the body, the primary design of God for the human body is spiritual and not physical. We were created for God and worship and not base appetites like sex.
At the moment of salvation, our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit! What was Paul saying? From that point forward, our bodies host the Spirit of God! (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Maturity comes when we begin to focus on spiritual priorities above physical needs and appetites.
The lie of the enemy is that we cannot live without meeting physical needs like food, sex and the pursuit of wealth. Jesus taught that life does not consist of these things! Take control of your basic appetites or they will take control of you and squeeze God out of your life!
Victory over food, sex and hedonism begins the moment you realize these are mere addictions and not necessities. They are like alcohol and drug addictions. They are distractions and counterfeits to the abundant life Jesus promised.
The first step is breaking your psychological dependency and fixation on these base appetites. The notion that you cannot live without them is a lie from the enemy.
According to 1 John 2:15-17, these are values of the world and not of the kingdom of God. If you want to serve God, stop chasing after base appetites and the world’s value system! Do what Jesus modeled, walk in the Spirit and not the flesh.
Pursue God! Renew your mind! Change your thinking! Adopt a biblical world view! Walk in the footprints of Jesus! Feast on the Word daily! Crucify your flesh and its passions! Discover the abundant life!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
