Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Knowing Our Enemy's Tricks

Satan is nasty guy! He is full of pride and anger and does not like the things of God. This cunning snake only has years of experience under his belt. As a Christian, he has no power over us because of what Christ did for us on the cross and he knows that. The only power he has is the power that we give him when we allow him to dictate our moves and thoughts. Jesus was the only human that could take this guy down. That is what I am going to be sharing with you the next few weeks, the example Christ gave to us to resist Satan.


This post is going to be an introductory of this series where I am going to start when Satan first tempted Jesus in the wilderness. I am going to use the scripture in Luke 4:1-15.

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying,[b] It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’[c]
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him[d] all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan![e] For[f] it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”[g]
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’[h]
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’[i]
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
 
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all
 
Jesus just got baptized by John the Baptist and the Holy Spirit was upon Him. He was controlled by Him as He led Jesus into the wilderness where Jesus was going to fast for 40 days. According to verses 14-15, He was going to start His ministry here on earth. This is why He was going away into the wilderness to prepare for the very reason why He was here on earth.

Satan first tempts Jesus in verse 3 in two ways
1) By challenging Him on who He is and what He can do and
2) Giving Him a quick fix.

Jesus responds back by using scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses is giving the example of how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness by showing them that He was taking care of them but also how if they would live ultimately for Him, He would make them completely satisfied.

Jesus was giving us an example of how Satan can sometimes tempt us when we are feeling tired physically and spiritually to think that quick fixes will make us happy. But in reality those quick fixes can sometimes lead us away from God where we become more satisfied in the things of the world. God is our ultimate fix because every time we continue to draw near to Him, everything else doesn't seem that great anymore.

Satan doesn't give up though because he tempts Jesus again in verses 5-7. He is prideful enough to show all the things of this world to Jesus and "offers" it to Him if only He would bow down and worship him. Just the whole idea that Satan has the balls to even ask Jesus that is mind blowing.

Jesus of course responds back with more scripture from Deuteronomy 6:13 but I also decided to add verse 15 which says

for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth
 
 
Jesus was telling Satan that God demands absolute commitment from everyone including him. There cannot be no other gods. No one should use God's name lightly. When one worships God, they are showing respect and an excessive admiration for Him and Him only.
 
Satan sometimes also tempts us to do the same. Whatever consumes us of our time that prevents us from reading God's word, or drawing near to Him in prayer, or even choosing to invest in someone's else life to reach their hearts is not worshiping God. When we allow Satan to tempt us to give something else more authority other than God, we are not giving God our absolute commitment.
 
 
The last time in the wilderness that Satan tempts Jesus is in verses 9-11 where even he uses scripture against Him. He quotes Psalms 91:11-12 and he actually uses it correctly. But it is how he starts it that is all wrong. He was challenging God's promises. "You say you will do it, then just do it." He was testing God and what He promises.
 
Jesus responds back using Deuteronomy 6:16 where the children of Israel were testing God back in Massah  (Exodus 17) by complaining to Moses about having no water. "If God really cares about us why is He allowing us to thirst." They were doubting what God said that He clearly was going to do, to take care of them.
 
How many times have we entertained the thoughts that Satan plants into our minds that make us question God's promises? Satan twists scripture and can make us doubt God and who and what He says He will do. It is a heart thing. Do we just read God's word and then go on with life? Or do we choose to meditate on it and find ways to make it applicable to our lives in order to have a heart change? Satan doesn't want us to have heart changes and he will tell you all the lies he wants to to stop you from believing God's promises.
 
Satan finally leaves Jesus alone but as it says in verse 13, he is already thinking of ways in the future to mess with Jesus' purpose on earth. Have you ever thought about that? Satan didn't just tempt Jesus this one time. There were many times that Satan used people and situations to try to mess with Jesus and the Father's plan.

Satan is a pretty nasty guy and was going to try everything to stop people from believing in the Father's plan. He was going to make it as miserable for Christ and others as much as possible. He knew what his destiny was and if he could bring people down with him, he would. And this is where I am going to take you these next few weeks; those times of when Satan tries in his own power to prevent others to know the will of God by what Jesus was going to do by dying on the cross.
 
I am super excited to share with you what God is going to show me next.  

 linking up with Jennifer #tellhisstory, Holley Coffee for Your Heart, and Jo Thankful Thursday  

10 comments :

  1. This is a great hooking post! It had me reading and wanting to know more about Satan's tricks. Good job!

    JEN Garrett's Lexical Creations


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    1. Thanks Jen for all your encouragement! I really appreciate it! Also thanks for stopping by : )

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  2. Convicting and encouraging post, Kristina. This especially: "When we allow Satan to tempt us to give something else more authority other than God, we are not giving God our absolute commitment." Thank you for these words.

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    1. It is crazy what God has shown me through this study. I cant wait to share the other parts. : ) I hope you are doing well.

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  3. This looks like a great study. We would do well to review the ways that the enemy tries to steal our faith and cause us to doubt. Spending time studying the Bible will help us be ready to recognize and resist the devil. Thanks for sharing your insights here! Blesings!

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    1. It is! I have so far 3 other ways that Satan tried to mess with Jesus' plan here on earth. It really has challenged me to really think twice on why I do some of the things I do. Thanks for stopping by

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  4. Very insightful. Never have i given it too much thought on how to be prepared or what kind of attack to expect. Thank you. Would like to study more to be well equipped.

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  5. Very insightful. Never have i given it too much thought on how to be prepared or what kind of attack to expect. Thank you. Would like to study more to be well equipped.

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  6. This is such an edifying post, Kristina! So very true. It is amazing to me how satan had the audacity to tempt GOD Himself. Can you imagine? Since we know he did that, it is no surprise at all when we see the awful things he is doing in our world today. I am looking forward to reading the remainder of this. Thank you so much for your faithfulness to share what God has laid upon your heart! Sending you love and hugs.

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  7. Kristina, so lovely to "meet you" today through Holley's linkup! Thanks for this reminder that it's super important to keep my #ArmorOn and stay armed with Truth.

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