How Jesus Christ Overcame Temptation

INTRODUCTION:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -- John 14: 6

This teaching will cover one extremely important leadership principle of Jesus Christ from the gospel of Matthew chapter 4. Obviating this category of teachings, we will study the book of Matthew which emphasizes Jesus Christ as the King. All three other gospels Mark, Luke, and John will illustrate very similar principles and reiterate the same records in the gospel of Matthew. So it is only prudent from a time management perspective and pure logic that we stay in the book of Matthew where there are surely more than enough leadership principles of Jesus Christ to study. With that foundational understanding, let us begin.

The following verse is referring to Jesus Christ.

For we have not an high Priest which [who] cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. -- Hebrews 4: 15

Jesus Christ handled temptation in a specific manner that we are going to discuss in detail, showing, from the Scriptures, exactly what Jesus Christ did. But first let us go over another Scripture that pertains specifically to temptation.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. -- I Corinthians 10: 13

But you must remember that God expects you to be studying His Word every single day. His Word is the only thing on the face of this earth that defeats the adversary. He cannot stand the light of God's Word. God says He makes a way to escape and that way is very simple if we are dedicated Christians and are renewing our minds. Let us take a look at two more Scriptures that pertain directly to the subject matter that we are now discussing.

I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [rational or logical] service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed [transfigured] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. -- Romans 12: 1, 2

You must renew your mind to God's Word which will allow you to prove the promises written in the Word of God. God says that he beseeches you which means that He beggingly implores you to do so. The renewed mind is your key to power.

Now we are going to go to Matthew chapter 4 and take an in-depth look into the conversation that took place between Jesus Christ and the devil. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing Scriptures by heart. I have learned at least 100 Scriptures that I can say in my mind and I do not have to have my Bible with me. This is the Sword of the Spirit. How could Jesus Christ have reacted to the devil if he did not study God's Word extensively? I know it seems like a lot of work, but it is actually fun. You must find ways to study and to memorize Scriptures. How did I do it? When I used to go on walks with my dog, I used to take Scripture retemory cards with me. I made them on my computer and they were about the size of a business card using heavy paper. It made it easier to walk because my mind was concentrating on something and that something was God's Word. People would see me walking and looking at these little cue cards everywhere I went. They probably thought it was a strange thing, but who cares what the neighbors think? Would you rather obey man or would you rather obey God? Actually, in all those years that I did that, not one person ever questioned what was on those little cue cards.

Then was Jesus led up of [permitted by] the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. – Matthew 4: 1, 2, 3

Now watch and pay close attention to what Jesus Christ did. He knew there was only one way and one way alone to answer the devil. Christ knew there was only one thing that defeated him – and that was the Word of God. The next verse gives you a mighty leadership principle of Jesus Christ.

But he [Jesus Christ] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that [which] proceedeth out of the mouth of God. – Matthew 4: 4

First of all, the devil approached Jesus Christ when he was at a physically and mentally weak point due to the forty day fast. Remember, the devil will attack you when you are tired or weary. Why? Because he’s a coward. He will go after the injured and the weak. That is why it is important to be at your best all the time. Off the subject – not at all! Make sure you get enough rest, eat correctly, exercise and give up bad habits. I walk about 30 miles a week, eat balanced meals, juice raw fruits and vegetables, don’t smoke, and I don’t drink. This allows me not to give place to the devil since we battle each other often.

BUT, what’s my greatest weapon? I learned maybe 100 Scriptures by heart and I say them to myself as the enemy tries to attack my mind. Remember, the battlefield is between the ears. These Scriptures crush his attacks and make them null and void – without power. I simply compliment my study by taking the best of care of my physical body – a vessel through which God can move and work by my own free will.

Let’s go back and study Matthew 4: 4 in more detail. When Christ quoted what he did to Satan, he was quoting what he had learned from Deuteronomy 8: 3. Jesus Christ MUST HAVE studied to know this reference. Notice also how Christ likes to use the words “It is written”. You can surely imitate what Jesus Christ did because it agitates the devil to no end.

So the true account continues. Satan gave up on the stones being turned into bread BECAUSE Christ gave him the Word and the devil can’t stand the rightly divided Word of God. Let us go to the next three (3) verses. Take note how the devil does not give up very easily. He tries again and Christ sticks it to him again.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. – Matthew 4: 5, 6, 7

Take a look first, at how Jesus Christ just completely ignored the subject matter of the temptations. Christ never REACTED to what the devil was trying to get him to think about or to do. Christ always did the Father’s Will so what he was answering the devil was what God was telling him to say. If you tempted Christ, it was just as if you were tempting God since Jesus Christ always did the Father’s Will. We are also Sons of God and God will do the same for us – He will tell us what to say. We must listen – don’t ever argue with God or you will not get revelation from Him.

Now what is the obvious thing that Jesus Christ did for the second time? HE QUOTED THE DEVIL SCRIPTURE. He went back again to Deuteronomy 6: 16 and quoted the gist of that verse. Note how he begins again: “IT IS WRITTEN AGAIN”. Is he afraid of the devil? Not in the least bit. Should you be? Never. I found it interesting that he said “again” as if he were talking to a person that pretends not to be paying attention....... and giving the devil a warning.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them [negatives – devils spirits – their influence]: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. – I John 4: 4

The Christ in you is greater than every devil spirit on earth. You believe it or you don’t. Believing gets results – unbelief gets reverse results.

This second account also adds a new twist – ONE THAT YOU MUST NEVER FORGET! You have to be able to pick up on the fact that the devil himself KNOWS THE WORD OF GOD. He will twist it, manipulate it, and pull it out of context. You must be constantly aware of this in order to be able to recognize the genuine from the counterfeit. Many churches and so-called Bible sites teach a counterfeit Word of God – filled with private interpretation and guesswork. The internet is loaded with them. Of course, they look, oh, so religious, but their doctrine teaches the commandments and doctrines of men. You know we tell it like it is, so here goes.

The Nicene Creed ????????????????????????????? SCIPTURE AND VERSE, PLEASE?

Search engines want a “Statement of Faith”............ SCIPTURE AND VERSE, PLEASE?

(I tell them “The Word of God is the Will of God”.)

This all contributes to my constantly teaching that you must STUDY the Word of God, not what some man says. Work it yourself and make it your own.

Satan took Psalm 91: 11, 12 out of context and had the nerve to quote it to Jesus Christ. Christ ignored him and told the devil “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Let’s go over this major point one more time. Was Jesus Christ God? Not too confusing, is it? NO. Jesus Christ is not God. He worded this in this manner because he, Jesus Christ, ALWAYS did the Father’s Will. So when you tempted Jesus Christ, it was as if you were tempting God. It’s a figure of speech and the Bible is loaded with them. I studied Figures of Speech Used In the Bible for 18 months – 2 to 5 hours per day.

Well, was the devil done yet? Nope. He figured he would try again and this time he offers Jesus Christ about the same as he offers every man and woman some time in his or her life. So watch out for this temptation – it is extremely strong. Let’s study the next three (3) verses and after that, you should have a permanent memory of how to counter one of the enemy’s deadliest tools – temptation. Remember, everything you need is in the toolbox. Don’t just sit on it. Open it up and use the tools that God has given you here and then you will be more than a conqueror.

So now we have two situations where Jesus Christ was clearly tempted by the devil. In both cases, Jesus Christ quoted the devil Scripture. We should know by now that this is the only way to defeat the devil. However, we are going to go over the final part of this record which illustrates the third time that Jesus Christ dealt with the devil and again, quoted him Scripture. You should know by now that numbers in the Bible have great significance. The number three means completeness. Now get this into your heart. The third temptation presented to Jesus Christ is a temptation that will happen to you at some point and time in your life. You need to be prepared for this type of temptation because it is very strong and it can defeat you and keep you from keeping God Almighty first in your life. Let's get back to the Word and let it speak.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. -- Matthew 4: 8, 9

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. -- Matthew 4: 10

If you take a look back once again to the book of Deuteronomy, you will see that in chapter 6, verse 13, Jesus Christ was once again quoting Scripture to the devil from this book in the Old Testament. Now how many times do we need to see this principal operated by Jesus Christ to be convinced? It should be quite obvious to you that the only way to defeat your personal adversary is by quoting him Scripture from the Bible. Remember that light dispels darkness -- the enemy cannot stand the Word of God and yet we so often fight him with our five senses. Believe me, people, I still made that mistake at times until I finally realized that if I run Scriptures through my mind pertaining to the particular situation at hand, I then defeat my personal adversary. If your enemy sees you trying to defeat him by using your five senses, he will make things worse for you. He will inspire people who most often are thorns in your flesh and are trying to hinder you from doing God's Word to make matters even worse for you and to agitate and aggravate you to no end.

Now let's look at and study the last part of this teaching so that we can see the power of the Word of God. After everything that happened, what was the most important thing that took place? We are about to see.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. -- Matthew 4: 11

Do you see what happens when we never quit? Jesus Christ was a man and he felt the emotions that we feel. He must have been tired by now after fasting for so long but yet he just kept going and going and quoting Scripture to the devil. And I want you to take note again that this final temptation that the adversary brought clearly before Jesus Christ is a temptation that happens to many men and many women. Many people accept the temptation because they believe that power will bring them happiness. This is not true -- it is a lie from hell. I must stress again that this is one of the worst and most powerful temptations that a man or a woman will ever face in their lives. It pulls more and more Christians away from their faith. The devil himself will put you on a pedestal and he will show you just how far you can go in this life. He will especially do this to the Christian who has great potential for the true God. I have seen this happen time and time again where a Christian believer will turn to the other side for power, prestige, and of course, money. At one point in my life, I had to make the decision to either go the world's way or God's way. I was one who graduated first in my class at a major university. I pushed it all aside to sit here at this computer and to teach home fellowships pertaining to the principles that are written throughout God’s Word. What is this life compared to all eternity? It is a drop of water in all the oceans of the earth -- it is a grain of sand in all the deserts of the earth. I have never regretted my decision to stand first and foremost with God Almighty.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed [disappointed in his or her expectation]. -- Romans 10: 11

I have proved to myself by experience that this Scripture is, of course, true. The only times that were difficult for me was when I was not renewing my mind to the Word of God. The Word says in I John that we will sin at times and break fellowship with God. Many times, I found myself to be out of fellowship and that's when things were going wrong. It is never God's fault. We need to stay sharp spiritually all of the time and we will live and manifest a more than abundant life that God and Jesus Christ promised us. I have said the following Scriptures many times and I need to say them again because they have such great impact. This is how I will close this teaching because you have learned something great and mighty and something that you will never forget. You defeat the adversary by quoting him Scripture from the Word of God Almighty. This is a mighty leadership principle of Jesus Christ. Now, in conclusion, I want to compare and contrast the difference between walking by the five senses and walking by the Spirit of the true God.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [in conflict] against God: for is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [5 senses] cannot please God. -- Romans 8: 5, 6, 7, 8

Remember, brothers and sisters, we learn by repetition. Learn and apply the following and final Scripture in this teaching, gone over previously, and put it in your heart so that you will carry it with you wherever you go and God guarantees that He will bless you for your efforts and application of His matchless Word.

No matter how tempted you are, God will make a way for you to escape. Take it.

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