Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.And when the tempter came to him, he said, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
But he answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:1-4 KJV)
The Spirit of God led Christ Jesus into a solitary place to be tempted by the devil. The Word of God states that after Jesus finished with His fasting and prayers, He desired food.
We must understand that the Spirit led Jesus Christ. He did nothing without the influence of the Holy Spirit. This means that we must follow the instructions of the Holy Spirit.
Any Christian who does something without the permission of the Holy Spirit falls into great danger. Sometimes people assume that because someone faces challenges, the person has sinned.
The Spirit of God led Jesus Christ into a lonely place so that Satan could tempt Him. God knows how to deliver us when we face temptation. He knows our spiritual strength, and He will never allow us to be tempted above our spiritual and emotional strength when we are under His influence.
We may go through some challenges because God wants to train us for the future. Demons did not tempt Jesus Christ. It was the devil who tempted Jesus Christ. The master tempter faced Jesus Christ this time. He did not allow any demon, but he tempted Jesus Christ.
The devil can analyze our spiritual strength. He knows the best demons to use in spiritual warfare. If you are strong enough, he comes to tempt you. Jesus Christ felt hunger after fasting.
This means hunger is part of fasting. Most often, I feel hungry when I’m fasting. We need the grace of God to help us in the fasting season because the devil can use our neighbors to break our fasting.
The devil used a powerful strategy to deal with Jesus Christ and I will show you how the devil operates and give you some keys to overcome his strategy. The devil said to Jesus Christ, “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
There is nothing wrong with turning a stone into bread, but the devil knew what he was doing. The revelation behind this temptation is the devil wants us to focus on temporal things.
He wants us to forget the things of God and focus on the perishable things. Most Christians are trapped in this prison. People ignore church activities and focus only on their jobs, family, and ambitions.
There is nothing wrong in creating business and if the Holy Spirit leads you. If you focus only on temporal things and forget the things of God, you will backslide. The devil wants us to focus on fame, vainglory, mansions, properties, and buildings and forget about the kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ did not allow the devil to overcome Him. He said to the devil, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Temporal things are not the way to success and happiness in life. We need the Word.
We must focus on building the kingdom of God with our resources, prayers, and strength. We must focus on the things of God more than the things of this world because the blessings of God are permanent.
There is an inner man in you that needs the life, and the life of the inner man is the Word (See John 6:63). Feeding the body with food and water and ignoring the spiritual food is a trap of the enemy. I know some Christians who focus only on the flesh. All they know is their needs and wants. They don’t have time to win souls for Jesus Christ. They don’t have time to intercede for the church, government, and various fields.
- The devil wants you to sacrifice your church activities and focus only on your job.
- The devil wants you to ignore the position in the church and focus only on your business.
- The devil wants you to separate you from the church and make you backslide.
- The devil wants you to ignore the living Word.
- The devil wants you to invest in the business than to invest in the kingdom of God.
- The devil wants you to divorce the Godfearing partner and marry the wealthy unbeliever.
- The devil wants you to vacate the church and follow the world’s system.
Divine Key: Choose wisely because the devil is a liar!
Pastor Duodu Henry Appiah-korang is an ordained pastor who loves to work with God and serve the church of the living God with all his heart. He loves reading life-transforming and self-help books, especially Christian books. He has completed various Bible schools in Ghana and has served in the leadership of different churches. He completed the University of Professional Studies, Accra, in 2017 where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He has been in the ministry of God since 2009. The Word of God is one of his most exceptional spiritual foods. He loves to teach, preach, prophesy, and help people understand the Word of God, especially those in colleges. Read more inspiring articles of Pastor Duodu Henry Appiahkorang on his website: https://www.rockofheaven.com/ and his books on Amazon.
