Young People's Group

STANDING AGAINST THE TEMPTER

by Pastor Mitch
August 01, 2010

The Testings Of The Tempter

The devil shows no regard for anyone, not even the Son of God. When the Lord Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, he was going to be “tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The name “devil” in the Greek means “false accuser”. He is the one who is known as the accuser of the brethren. The devil is also known as the tempter. He is the one who will test and try the faith of man. In this case, he was going to tempt the Lord Jesus. He was trying to see whether he could cause Jesus to disobey God and His word and to distract Him from His mission. In the text of Matthew 4:1-11, the Lord Jesus was tested in three ways. First, Satan tested Jesus by appealing to his basic human needs. Second, Jesus was tested with reference to the possibility of abusing the power of God. The devil even used Scriptures to tempt Him. Third, the tempter tested Jesus with reference to the glory of owning great kingdoms of the world. The Lord Jesus overcame His testing with flying colours. He was able to stand against the temptations of the evil one.

The Example Of The Lord Jesus In Standing Against The Tempter

How did Jesus go about doing this?

1. Being Spirit Filled

“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.”
Luke 4:1-2

“And when He had fasted forty days and night” 
Matthew. 4:2

The Lord Jesus was filled with the fullness of the Spirit. There was the special filling of the Holy Spirit in His life. He was also led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. It was in the wilderness that the Lord Jesus fasted and prayed much. With this filling of the Spirit of God, there came power and strength for Jesus to stand against the evil one. Young people, let’s also seek to be filled with the Spirit of God.

2. Defending Himself With The Word Of God

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written'” 
Matthew. 4:4

The Lord Jesus was able to defend against the attacks of the devil with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every temptation, He was able to quote Scriptures by heart to ward off the devil. These portions of Scripture were part of Him. He was able to cite them from memory and from His life. When He was tempted to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, the Lord quoted from Deuternomy 8:3. He cited the word of God with absolutely accuracy. Young people, let’s also be committed to the memorising of the word of God. It will come to our rescue whenever we are tempted by the forces of darkness. Let’s seek to know the word of God so well that we would be able to defend ourselves against the tempter.

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