We Win!

We Win!

Matthew 4:1-3

Bishop Fulton Sheen said, “Rivers follow the course of least resistance. That's why they are so crooked.”

This I'm sure of, “We cannot afford to take the course of least resistance when it comes to temptation.”

We have to follow the truth of scripture and our convictions as guided by the Holy Spirit.

When temptation comes, we need a sure defense if we expect to win the war against the tempter.

Satan, the tempter, the accuser, the lier, a thief, For temptation, primarily, satan uses 3 areas of the flesh: 1. The lust of the flesh. 2. The lust of the eye. 3. The pride of life.

In Matthew 4, right before Jesus would teach the beatitudes, in Matthew chapters 5-7, He would be tempted.

Matthew 4:1-4NKJV Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” (Lust of the flesh).

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

You lusting in the flesh? Try full surrender to God and God’s word.

Matthew 4:5-11NIV Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” -(Pride of life). 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” -(Lust of the eyes) 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

I can hear the devil saying, “If you’re really the Son of God, turn that stone into bread. -Do it for me now!” -Show me that bread! -Lust of the flesh.

CS Lewis said, the devil doesn't want you to believe he exist, so he is always publishing the news of his death.

Do you believe in the devil? Jesus certainly did. On one occasion Jesus told his disciples, Luke 10:18 I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…

Clark Commentary states, satan was cast down out of heaven just as fast as a lighten bolt comes down from the sky.

The caption in my Bible reads:  The Joyous Results:

Luke 10:17-19AMP The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like [a flash of] lightning. 19 Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.

Temptation comes from within and from without. -You Agree?

1 John 3:8NKJV He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was manifested to destroy the devils work.

The source of temptation is the devil. Who is he? Where did he come from? How does he work?

In Matthew 4, Jesus’ temptation experiences uses the title, the devil, Satan and the tempter.

3 important truths about the devil:

The devil is real.

The Bible asserts over and over to reality of evil. He does not tell us everything about the origin of evil except to say that the angel Lucifer, meaning son of the morning, rebelled against God, (Isaiah 14).

He fell to the earth along with those angels who rebelled against God:

Revelation 20:1-15NIV And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.