“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”

Matthew 4:10

Just like a poisonous snake, the adversary waits for the right moment to strike. He already had success with the first couple, and this gave him a certain grade of self-confidence. Although the enemy foreknew the reason why Jesus came to this world, he patiently waited for the right moment to attack him. The scenario of this attack was different from the one where he attacked the first couple. There were no beautiful trees for him to drape himself from. The sound of the birds singing or waters trickling was not heard. What would the enemy do to present himself as something beautiful and attractive to Jesus? Wait to act until He was hungry. Therefore, when Jesus had finished His 40-day fast, “The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread’” (Matthew 4:3).

The adversary was using the same strategy he employed with the first couple; he sowed the seed of doubt. The enemy wanted to instill doubt in Jesus about His own nature and for Jesus to think that a supernatural act was necessary to prove that He was the Son of God.
But Jesus was well prepared and told him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

Then, the adversary got a hold of one of the verses from the book of Psalms as if to say that he knew the Bible, as well. “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘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’” (Matthew 4:5-6). What would have happened if Jesus had used His divine powers? I believe that this would have disqualified Him from this competition and that’s what the adversary was going after.

Jesus didn’t fall into this trap, but He said, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7).

The devil only had one more chance to take Jesus out of the running, so he decided to give it all he could to accomplish his purpose. ‘Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me,” (Matthew 4:8-9). Naively, the devil tried to dazzle Jesus with everything that had worked for him previously, when he had tricked the human race but he forgot something. Although Jesus was in a human body, the fullness of God was inside of Him, and the Creator of the universe isn’t seduced by material things.

Jesus answered, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’” (Matthew 4:10). When Jesus obtained the victory over the devil’s temptations, the angels came to serve Him. Jesus never lost sight of the Word of God. If the confession of God’s Word worked for Jesus, it will also work for us.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
When we were still living in our seventeenth floor apartment in Miami, my wife started to feel homesick. It was as if the voice of the enemy craftily whispered at her mind that what God had asked of her was not right because it implied leaving everything; family, friends, church, etc. She had left everything to come and explore a city where she felt lonely, and the church was very small. My wife rejected those thoughts and declared, “No, for it is written that God’s blessing is the one that enriches and doesn’t bring sorrow with it,” (Proverbs 10:22).

Right after my wife made this declaration, she started to feel an intense headache, of a kind and intensity that she had never experienced before. Ten minutes later, I arrived home, but my wife couldn’t greet me as she normally did. She was laid up in bed due to this terrible headache. Immediately, I took authority over this issue, and I rebuked any demonic oppression. Then, everything was fine. The next day, while I was taking a walk along the beach with my wife, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, “What your wife lived through yesterday was very similar to what Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden. Eve heeded the doubts the devil put in her mind, and she was cast out of Paradise. If your wife had accepted the voice that the devil was bringing to her mind, this would have taken you out of My purpose because being in My will and My purpose is to remain in Paradise.” What is important is not so much what we do for God, but the way in which we obey Him.

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I’ve been transformed by the Word of God, and I feel totally fulfilled in You because I obey it.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Three.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

• Old Testament: Esther 2; Proverbs 15:18-33
• New Testament: Luke 19:28-38; Titus 2:11-15