Following The MessiahSample

Tempted in the Wilderness—The Power in Saying NO:

Have you ever felt tempted? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the answer is unequivocally yes… yes you have. We all face temptation on a daily basis. It could be something small like eating that second piece of cake for dessert or something bigger like cheating on a spouse. Whatever the temptation, Jesus can relate. He knows what you’re dealing with and how it feels to have the flesh and spirit at war against each other. Do you know why? Yeah, that’s right… Jesus was HUMAN!

After Jesus was baptized, we’re told He was taken into the wilderness and endured 40 days without food. That’s a long time. Matthew’s account of the temptation tells us AFTER 40 days of fasting, Satan came to Him and began tempting Him.

There are a few interesting takeaways from this encounter that we can learn from:

1. Satan attacks when we are weak and alone. The devil isn’t dumb, he knows we’re at our most vulnerable time when we’re weak and when we don’t have any support. This means we have to seek support from others, friends family, church members. We need to bulk up on the word of God. If we’re spiritually strong and surrounded by people who will encourage us, it becomes a lot harder for Satan to successfully attack.
2. The devil knows God’s power and His word and He will try and weaponize these things. Satan will try and convince us that it’s ok to test God. It’s ok to sin. I mean, doesn’t the Bible say that God’s grace covers our sins? Don’t let that snake twist God’s beautiful, perfect message into a dagger to cut your own throat. He’s a liar and he wants you to fall.
3. Just say NO! If you’re a child of the 80s & 90s you’re likely familiar with the slogan “Just say no to drugs”. It was a popular campaign to help keep kids away from the temptation of using drugs. Jesus told Satan no on three different occasions while in the wilderness. We need to say no when we find ourselves standing face-to-face with temptation.

In the end, we know Jesus endured the temptations successfully and did not give in to Satan. We need to gather strength from our Savior, knowing that we can also tell Satan… NO.

Watch episode 3 of Following the Messiah.