Let's Follow The King
by PJ
Temptation - something that seduces or has the quality to seduce; the desire to have or do something that you know you should avoid; "he felt the temptation and his will power weakened"; the act of influencing by exciting hope or desire; "his enticements were shameless"
Everyone is subject to temptation and so long as we are in this world we are exposed to temptations, and need ever to be on our watch against them. The main way to overcome temptation is with the Word of G-d with scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NKJV), "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
Another scripture is Mashiakim Yehudim/Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV), "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." And it is in this passage that we find a great key to overcoming temptation, which is, Yeshua's/Jesus' temptations.
The temptation Yeshua/Jesus was presented by ha'satan/satan prophetically present you and me with victory. The entire temptation of Yeshua/Jesus shows HaShem, the L-rd, so thoroughly defeating ha'satan/satan, that if we truly understand what occurred prophetically, we can walk totally free. So let's take a look at what Yeshua/Jesus did for us.
Matit'yah ha-Levi/Matthew 4:1-2 (AMP) says, "1THEN JESUS was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil. 2And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry." Here we see Yeshua/Jesus being lead by the Ruach Ha'Kodesh/Holy Spirit into the desert wilderness which is the opposite of Gan Eden/the garden of Eden. The desert wilderness represents the cursed land separated from the goodness of G-d as existed in the garden. It is the physical realm of the earth where ha'satan/satan strikes Yeshua/Jesus with temptation first.
Verse 3 says, "3And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God's Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread." The first thing ha'satan/satan did was question Yeshua's/Jesus' deity. He did the same thing to G-d's son, Adahm, Adam and Eve. Basically ha'satan/satan said, "If You are really G-d, command these dead ones (separated from You) to be made live ones (by resurrection)." Immediately we learn that ha'satan/satan KNEW PRECISELY that he had separated man from the life of G-d into death. How does it make you feel to know there's a dark and rebellious angel who has purposely separated you from the life of G-d? So why do you follow him?
How did Yeshua/Jesus respond to this? Verse 4 says, "4But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." Yeshua/Jesus told ha'satan/satan "My creation shall not be made alive in the physical realm by just earthly bread but by My integrity."
ha'satan/satan really isn't too bright. We know this because he just doesn't give it up. Here he is, defeated totally in the physical level by the King of the Universe, but his evil has dulled him to the point he cannot grasp that he's defeated. So he moves to the soulish realm
As triune beings, made in G-d's image, we are souls and spirits housed in bodies. The soul is our mind/will/emotions and intellect. It connects the spirit which is alive to G-d to our earthly shells, our mortal bodies. The soul never leads. Only the body and the spirit war over who shall lead the soul. The fleshly body fights and fights the spirit to lead the soul. This is why fasting is such a great tool for our spirits to gain and keep control of our souls. The flesh is subject to food and when food is withdrawn, it loses it's power over the soul. On the other hand, people who never feed their spirits with the food of G-d, the Word, have emaciated spirits that are weak. You can starve the spirit just like you can the physical flesh body, depending upon whether you feed it or not.
Just as a small side note here: If you are having an area in your mind/will/emotions/intellect that is not conforming itself to the Word, fasting is the way to get your spirit in charge. When your spirit is in charge and leading, your spirit touches G-d's spirit and this is how G-d moves in to heal and restore these areas. As long as the flesh leads this area, you will not sustain victory in the soulish realm.
Verses 5-6, "5Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary.6And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone." From this view, ha'satan/satan seems to have the power over religion. He offers Yeshua/Jesus the gift of religion, appealing to His soul, lifting Him up high, inviting Him to display all His power. ha'satan/satan seems to have the goal of trying to emotionally push Yeshua/Jesus into demonstrating His power. Pushing His buttons so-to-speak to evoke the mind/will/emotions/intellect of Yeshua/Jesus. And ha'satan/satan uses the scripture out of context to further try to push more of Yeshua's/Jesus' buttons to provoke Him to demonstration.
I love Yeshua's/Jesus' response in Verse 7. "7Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God." With this one, magnificent response, being lead by the Spirit of G-d, Yeshua/Jesus simply says to ha'satan/satan "I am still G-d to you and I am not going to sink to your level." Aren't you happy to know that Yeshua/Jesus is still G-d to ha'satan/satan? He's STILL L-rd over ha'satan/satan. This in itself is enough reason to follow Him. But ha'satan/satan still doesn't grasp it. So he moves to a temptation in the spirit realm.
When I read about the 3rd temptation, I just shake my head at the level of poverty of good sense ha'satan/satan displays. It makes about as much sense as a penguin at the South Pole declaring War on the United States of America. Verses 8-9, "8Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. 9And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me." Here ha'satan/satan is talking to the CREATOR of all these things he is showing Him and offering them to Him if He will pay homage to ha'satan/satan.
ha'satan/satan was directly attacking G-d's Universal Authority by declaring that he owns it all. What he fails to grasp is that G-d only temporarily gave the earth to Adahm for six days. An earth lease, if you will. But hey, that's G-d's private business affairs. G-d was concerned about something much greater than the temporary lease ha'satan/satan had stolen illegally. He was concerned about you and me being enslaved to this monstrous evil forever.
The price to set us free cost the King of the Universe EVERYTHING. He laid EVERYTHING on the table to buy us back from the eternal enslavement to this rebellious angel. It's called REDEMPTION. It was no half shekel He paid. It was all He had.
I believe this is precisely why Yeshua/Jesus responded to the third temptation the way He did. ha'satan/satan wasn't even in the ballpark of G-d's concern with it. Verse 10, "10Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve."
Yeshua/Jesus has so thoroughly defeated ha'satan/satan that today every human has the choice to walk free. ha'satan/satan has been defeated on the spirit level, the soul level, the flesh level, by the Word, by the Spirit and by the Blood. Let's follow the KING!
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
“Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible."
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