We Christians are under spiritual attack every second of every day.
Sometimes it is subtle, sometimes it is not. This spiritual warfare is
addressed in Scripture many times and in the following sermon Carl Willis
provides some "practical steps for standing strong when you are under
attack."
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
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Under Attack!
by Carl Willis
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there
by
the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very
hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of
God,
tell these stones to become loaves of bread."
But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say,
'People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point
of
the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the
Scriptures say,
'He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.'"
Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD
your
God.'"
Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him
the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. 9 "I will give it all to
you," he said, "if you will kneel down and wor****p me."
"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say,
'You must wor****p the LORD your God
and serve only him.'"
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT)
Today we are going to look at practical steps for standing strong when you
are under attack! We will be using Christ's temptation in the wilderness
as
our backdrop.
Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be
tempted
there by the Devil.
Matthew 4:1 (NLT)
The first issue we need to address is "mountaintop experiences." Jesus was
coming from a spiritual high point. He had just been baptized and during
his
baptism the Holy Spirit had descended upon him like a dove. God had
expressed pleasure in His "Beloved Son."
The next thing we see is that Jesus' faith was put to the test. When we
come
from our own mountaintop experiences we often find our faith under fire.
Jesus was led to the place of testing by the Holy Spirit, but it is
im****tant to note that Satan was the tempter. God uses our trials and
temptations to refine our character and strengthen our faith.
For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry.
Matthew 4:2 (NLT)
We see in verse 2 that a vulnerability was exposed, and of course Satan
wasted no time in going after it. Jesus was physically weakened and
therefore Satan had an op****tunity for temptation. Think about the times
when we tend to wrestle with temptation the most. When we're tired,
stressed, sick and alone the temptations seem to be intense at times.
Satan
is always aware of your condition, so it is critical that you be awer of
your condition as well. Know when you are weak.
Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change
these stones into loaves of bread."
Matthew 4:3 (NLT)
Put yourself in Jesus shoes. Tired, weary and haven't eaten for 40
days...it
would have been easy to say "sounds good to me." Temptation often comes as
a
quick fix to our yearnings. Bread sounds awfully good to a hungry
man...companion****p sounds awfully good to a lonely man...escape sounds
awfully good to a man under stress. Satan's temptations are a challenge to
your place in God's kingdom. Satan tells us "If you really believe in
God..." Our place as children of God is always put into question.
But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread
for their life; they must feed on every word of God.'"
Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
Look at Jesus combats this attack. When temptation comes the foundation of
your defense is the Word of God. Jesus stood on the Word and refuted the
enemy with Scripture. Unfortunately many of us do not take the time to
become acquainted with Scripture. It is im****tant that Scripture become a
part of you. Read the Word, Sing the Word, Pray the Word...whatever you do
get into the Word, so that the Word gets into you.
Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple,
and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
'He
orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands
to
keep you from striking your foot on a stone.'"
Matthew 4:5-6 (NLT)
Did you notice something? Satan said, "two can play the Scripture game."
Notice something else? Satan presents Scripture with a little twist.
Realize
that the enemy knows Scripture too! Satan likes to take Scripture and add
a
little twist to it. If you don't know the Word you'll never recognize the
twist. Remember, Satan is the author of confusion.
Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the Lord your
God.'"
Matthew 4:7 (NLT)
It is im****tant that we test the spirit of the Word. Whatever challenge is
thrown at us, we need to line it up with the rest of Scripture. If it is
contrary to the nature of God, it is a lie from the deceiver himself.
Jesus
knew that Satan's use of Scripture was in direct conflict with the very
nature of God.
Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him
the nations of the world and all their glory. "I will give it all to you,"
he said, "if you will only kneel down and wor****p me."
Matthew 4:8-9 (NLT)
Now we see the truth comes out. Satan ultimately desires the glory that is
rightfully God's. In fact his fall came from his desire to be just like
God.
Satan always promises great things with his temptations, but ultimately
they
end in destruction. Satan will steal, kill and destroy to take what is
rightfully God's.
"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You
must
wor****p the Lord your God; serve only him.'"
Matthew 4:10-11 (NLT)
This next point brings out the familiar scripture..."Resist the Devil..."
We
must never forget that Satan must yield to the authority of Christ. Christ
in you, gives you that same authority. Sometimes we forget to just tell
Satan to "scram."
Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
Matthew 4:11 (NLT)
Let's consider that scripture again..."Resist the Devil and He will flee
from you." Resisting the Devil comes from prayer, scripture and rebuke.
The
last thing we see is the angels coming to care for Jesus. It is im****tant
to
remember that God cares for those who stand strong in the face of trials.
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