By
Pastor Adeboye
Memorize “And when the temper came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (matt. 4:3)
Read: Mathew 4:1-11
One challenges our Lord Jesus Christ faced immediately after his baptism was that of legitimacy. Satan told Him, if you are the son of God; prove it by turning stones into bread”.
In other words, the tempter was refuting God’s public declaration concerning Him, as well as Jesus’ claim of divine son ship. The challenge of legitimacy is one believer still have to face today. Satan will refuse to accept that you are what God’s word says you are until you prove it by obeying him.
You are everything God says you are. Everything in God’s Word concerning you is true. You do not need to obey Satan to prove it unfortunately, many believers today are trying to impress the devil-to prove him wrong but in the process, they forfeit the salvation they thought they had.
Whenever someone tells you to violate God’s Word as proof of being a child of God, tell the fellow you will not.
Another lesson from the temptation of Jesus is that Satan issues his commands in very subtle ways. If you do not look close enough, you might have affected the command before realizing it. In addition, Satan takes people up, but whenever he does this, it is so that when they fall from that height, they will be unable to recover from the fail.
He never takes anyone set up for a fall. In Satan taking you up through pride or getting you material wealth through unwholesome means and give you the impression that you are rising? Sorry, he is setting you up!
A further lesson has to do with Satan’s reward. He may promise you the whole world but its only a lie. Tell me, who has ever gotten the whole before? The Satan’s gifts are mirage. They have no substance, hence cannot last. His reward is limited to the earth.
Any promise to reward his follower after death in his kingdom is false. He knows after death, that individual will go to meet God in judgment. Do you believe the lies of Satan?
The only one you can trust without regret or disappointment is the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot fail you.
