W4D3 Know Your Weapons 1

READ THE WORD

Luke 4:1

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’

Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here. For it is written:‘“He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Jesus answered, ‘It is said: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

REFLECT ON WHAT IT MEANS

There is a giant turtle that lives in the freshwater rivers and lakes etc. of the South-Eastern United States. It normally lives on fish but it is so fierce it has even been known to eat small alligators! It is called the “alligator snapping turtle.” When it wants to catch something it doesn’t rely on its big size or strength, though. Instead, it has discovered a much better method; trickery!

This giant turtle lies totally still, like a rock on the river bottom, with its jaws wide open and it sticks out its tongue. On the end is a small, pink extension that looks just like a tasty worm swimming in the water. When an unsuspecting fish comes to ‘feed’ on it, those powerful jaws of the turtle snap shut in a moment. End of the fish! It is such a successful method and they catch so many fish, that these turtles grow to about 100kg! That’s the same size as a heavyweight Olympic judo champion.

Seriously, this thing is so.... ominous looking .... you gotta check out our Life Class Extra post all about it here!!

The alligator snapping turtle’s method of trickery is so effective, that you won’t be at all surprised to learn that our enemy, the Devil, also uses it. But this time to trap people!

The Bible calls it “temptation,” and it usually starts as a simple thought in our minds or feeling in our hearts. In our reading today we find out that Jesus, too, was tempted by the Devil. Three times, we read about how the Devil dangled a tasty, attractive “worm” in front of Jesus. And notice when the Devil does it; not when Jesus is at his best, but when Jesus is at his weakest and most vulnerable; hungry, tired and alone in the desert. (He is just the same with us too!) In those moments, the Devil offers Jesus something he would really want and need, and could easily persuade himself that it was alright to do or to have. How does Jesus spot the “tasty worm” and refuse to take it?

The answer is a brilliant lesson and example that we can all easily copy from Jesus and get the same results he did. Jesus knew the Bible so well he could compare what was on offer, (the temptation), to what the Bible said.

Each time Jesus was able to spot the “worm,” the bait, the temptation and push it away. He does this by speaking out, (either in his head or out loud), what the Bible says about why he shouldn’t do it. It’s amazing that Jesus was tempted in the first place. Many people may feel it’s a sin to be tempted, but it isn’t because Jesus was perfect, yet he was still able to be tempted.

As someone once said, “You can’t stop the birds flying over your house, but you can stop them nesting there!”

We can all be tempted like Jesus was, with thoughts, ideas and feelings flashing through us. The secret is to use our first weapon, the Bible, to expose the trickery behind this and send it right back to where it came from! That’s why we emphasise the importance of knowing the Bible really well. It’s our no. 1 weapon against our enemy - and it works!

RELATE IT TO YOUR LIFE

Learn this verse of the Bible and use it like Jesus did when you are feeling tempted. Speak it to yourself in your head or even out loud for full effect. Repeat it as many times as you need for it to take effect. 1 John 4:14 “Greater is he that is in you, (Jesus) than he that is in the world.” (Devil)

RESPOND WITH A DECLARATION

“Greater is he that is in ME, than he that is in the world.”