HOW STRONG ARE YOUR DEFENSES?

July 15, 2016

HOW STRONG ARE YOUR DEFENSES?

Luke 4:1–13

Austin Silva

Central Truth

We should follow Jesus' example and know God's Word to guard against sin in our lives.

And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)

The Temptation of Jesus

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and 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 will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

11 and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

A lot of times it's hard to remember that Jesus wasn't only God, but He was also a man like us. In the passage, it says He was tempted by every temptation. And He never sinned once! Now that's a pretty hard thing to do. It's reassuring to know that Jesus can relate to our struggles, and but at the same time He was able to stand firm against those temptations.

You would think that, after the devil tempted you with everything in the world, he would leave you alone—but no. At the end of verse 13 it says that the devil then waited for an opportune time. Basically, the devil was like,"Hey, I'll give you a break for now, but I'll be back when I see that I might be able to trip you up." The devil is constantly trying to make us sin.

When I am getting ready for a tennis match, I study my opponents' weaknesses and try to exploit them. That is what the devil is doing, and we have to be ready for him and prepared to defend our weaknesses. Jesus gives us a great example of how to combat temptation when He uses Scripture to counter Satan's lies. How well prepared are we to fight against sin? All of us should have verses memorized that we are able to use against temptations in our lives. There is nothing more powerful than to have God's Word in your heart.

1. Can you identify areas in your life in which the devil is tempting you? What are they?

2. What verses are you memorizing to help you guard against sin?

3. Are you sharing your struggles with someone you can trust? If not, who is someone you can share your struggles with and who will help keep you accountable?