Spiritual Warfare
Matthew 4:1-11
4 Then Jesus was
led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He
fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The
tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones
to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the
devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying
to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it
is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8 Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these
I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus
said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
11 Then the devil
left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
THE ENEMY
We have an enemy, the devil, whose primary purposes
are to rob, kill, destroy, devour and deceive.
He and his demonic forces are seeking people whom they can molesta and
oppress. It is a fact in the Christian
life and as believers we are admonished to be aware of his schemes.
The devil is no respecter of persons. He had the audacity to tempt Jesus and he
will also attack and tempt each one of us.
As we look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness we can see some
of the tactics and strategies he used to try to cause Jesus to sin and he will
use them to tempt us as well. One aspect of the temptation of Jesus is that it
was much more intense than what we will probably ever experience. Jesus was tempted just as we are because he
walked on the earth as a man yet did not sin.
He understands what we face when we are tempted.
Heb 4:15 For we
do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
FASTING AND
PRAYER
In preparation for the temptation of the devil, Jesus
spent 40 days in prayer and fasting.
During this time we really do not know what Jesus was doing but we do
know that when we fast with right motives we are expressing a greater hunger
for God and he meets with us in a special way. Fasting when coupled with prayer
is a powerful form of spiritual warfare. I want to talk on fasting before we
look at the temptations of Jesus.
Fasting was and still is a spiritual discipline. There are many examples of when a fast was practiced
by individuals or corporately.
EXAMPLES OF
FASTING
Nehemiah fasted
after hearing the report of the condition of Jerusalem and sought God’s
guidance regarding what he should do. Neh. 1.4
He called the people to fast to lead them into
repentance and confession of sin. Neh. 91-3
Daniel
fasted and prayed to seek God and confessed the sins of Israel. Dan. 9.3,20
The King of
Nineveh called the nation to fast and repent. Jonah 3.8
Anna
fasted a prayed for 44 years while serving in the temple. Luke 2.37
The church in
Antioch fasted and prayed and God spoke to them about sending
Paul and Barnabas out on the missionary journey. Acts 13.2
BENEFITS OF
FASTING
Fasting when combined with prayer and the word is an
act of spiritual warfare. During this
time we can set our hearts on seeking God and receiving instructions from
him.
Isaiah 58 gives specific benefits of fasting.
If we fast like this the darkness in our life will
become light: vs 8,10
If we follow this fasting there will be physical
strengthening. Vs 8, 11
If we follow this fasting God will be in front of us
and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory. Vs 8, 9
If we follow
this fasting, God promises to guide us continually. Vs 11
If we follow
this fasting, He will satisfy your soul. Vs 11
If we follow
this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.
Finally, if we
follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will
restore the ruins of his city—and his people.
Vs 12
Fasting should be a regular discipline in the life of
a believer. It can take on different forms but the idea is to seek the Lord and
have a greater desire to draw near to him than our desire to meet physical
needs. People with medical conditions
need to seek advice from their doctor before they fast from food.
STAGES OF
FASTING
There are 5 stages of fasting that most people
experience depending on the length of the fast. (Curezone.org)
Stage 1 (Day
1-2) The heart
slows and blood pressure is reduced. Glycogen is pulled from the muscle causing
some weakness. The first wave of cleansing is usually the worst.
Headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes
and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger
can be the most intense in this period.
Stage 2 (Day
3-7) The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may
last 40-60 days.
The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is
able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing
organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the
lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume
excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through
periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and
the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and
impacted feces on the intestinal wall start to loosen.
Stage 3 (Day
8-15) On the latter part of an extended fast, you can
experience enhanced energy, clear-mindedness and feel better than you have felt
since childhood, On the downside, old injuries may become irritated and
painful. This is a result of the body’s increased ability to heal during
fasting. During fasting, the body’s healing process is at optimum efficiency.
The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be
the worst affected as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this
stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth.
Stage 4 (Day
16-30) The body is completely adapted to the fasting
process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be
short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue
is pink and the breath is fresh. After day 20, the mind is affected with
heightened clarity and emotional balance. Memory and concentration improve.
Stage 5 (Day
30-?)
·
The Breath, which during all or most of the fast has
been offensive, becomes sweet and clean.
·
The Tongue becomes clean. The thick coating which
remained on it throughout most of the fast vanishes.
·
The Temperature, which may have been sub-normal or
above normal, returns to exactly normal, where it remains.
·
The Pulse becomes normal in time and rhythm.
·
The Skin reactions and other reactions become normal.
·
The Bad Taste in the mouth ceases.
·
Salivary Secretion becomes normal.
·
The Eyes become bright and eye sight improves.
·
The Excreta loses its odor. The Urine becomes light.
The primary indication that the fast is to be broken
is the return of hunger; all the other indications are secondary
After 40 days of fasting Jesus was at the point of hunger
returning and the fast needed to be broken.
Brother Hun recounted in his book, “Heavenly Man”
while in prison fasted for over 75 days which was a miracle, most people would
be dead by this time.
ENDING A FAST
A final note regarding breaking a fast is that it must
be done slowly with small amounts of food, preferably fruits and juices. If you
gorge yourself immediately you will experience stomach pains.
THE
TEMPTATION OF JESUS
The scriptures state that at the end of 40 days of
fasting the devil came to tempt Jesus. This was an opportune time for the devil
to tempt him. He seems to know when we
are at our weakest point or when we leave an opening for him to attack. Peter recognized this strategy when he
advised the believers to be sober and alert to the work of the devil.
The first
temptation Jesus faced was an appeal to his physical hunger for
the purpose of tempting him to use his position as the Son of God for his own
needs and act independent of his father.
Jesus did not have to prove anything to the devil, his identity was not
based on what he could do or ask his father to do for him. Meeting his own physical need for food, which
was a legitimate need after 40 days of fasting had to be subjected to obedience
to his father. Jesus knew there was more
to life than meeting physical needs. His
relationship with his father and his obedience to the will of his father was
the most important thing for him. He
later stated to his disciples
Joh 4:34 Jesus
said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to
accomplish his work.
Jesus always sought to do the will of his father. He did what his father revealed to him to
do. Converting stones into bread was not
on the agenda of his father so he quickly rebuked the devil by quoting the
scripture verse. “Man shall not live by
bread alone.” The devil tries to use
fleshly, physical needs to draw us away from obedience to God.
It is easy for us to want to meet our own needs in our
own way without consulting or depending upon God. We often act of our own initiative and do
what we think is best without consulting the Lord. The flesh is impulsive, it
wants what it wants now. Walking in the
Spirit allows us to wait upon the Lord and seek Him before we make the mistake
of responding in the flesh and giving in to the suggestions of the devil.
I have been
reading a book given to me called, “God Guides.” It contains short stories of Mary Geegh a
missionary to India and her experiences of waiting on God to speak to give
answers and guidance for many different situations. When people came to her with problems her
standard answer was to pray and wait on God to give the answer. When God gave the answer the response was
immediate obedience to his directive.
She has many fascinating stories of non-Christians receiving answers
from God as they learned to wait in silence before him and expect him to speak.
Story of Raj and Bee
Raj and Bee were distant cousins and their parents
arranged their marriage, one that Raj did not want as he wanted to marry his
closer cousin, Kae. Their marriage was
very unhappy and finally Bee left to go live with her mother. One day Raj came to see Mary and told of his
miserable life. He wanted to leave his
job and move to another area. Mary asked
him if this was God’s plan and his reply was, “I don’t know but it is my
plan.” Mary gave her standard response
which was to ask God, write down what he said and then do it. Raj spent Christmas Day in silence and at the
end of the day he received the thought of bringing his wife back home. The next day he took the train to go to get
his wife. Meanwhile his wife Bee had received a letter from Kae asking for
forgiveness for her hatred toward her.
On Christmas Day Bee was in prayer seeking God’s guidance and was
instructed to “Go home to your husband at once.” She obeyed and left the next day on the
train. When she got to the junction to
change trains, she found she would have to wait a few hours. As she was waiting, there came her husband
into the waiting room! He approached her
and asked where she was going to which she replied, “I’m coming home, where are
you going?” He replied, “I’m coming to
get you.” Their marriage was restored
and the plans of the devil were defeated.
The devil is a destroyer and if he can get us to act
on our own will and not listen to the instruction of our Father he can defeat
us. Jesus knew he could not act on his
own, he needed to be obedient to his father above all physical needs or needs
to prove his true identity. He was
secure in who he was, he did not need to do something to convince anyone of who
he was. The key is to hear what God has
to say and then be obedient to what he tells us to do.
The second
temptation involved presumption and misuse of the scriptures.
Definition of Presumption:
1. An act or
instance of taking something to be true or adopting a particular attitude
toward something, esp. at the start of a chain of argument or action. An
attitude adopted in law or as a matter of policy toward an action or proposal
in the absence of acceptable reasons to the contrary.
2. Behavior perceived as arrogant, disrespectful, and
transgressing the limits of what is permitted or appropriate.
Since Jesus used the scriptures in his first response,
the devil tried to use them as well to coerce him into throwing himself down
from the pinnacle of the temple to see if the promise of the scriptures would
be true. If he truly was the Son of God,
he should expect the angels to protect him when he jumped off the temple. The spectacle of jumping from the pinnacle
and being rescued by the angels would surely convince the people that he was a
very special person. People would give
immediate attention to him and he would be venerated among the people if he
carried out this plan. This was the
thought of the devil, to get Jesus to presume that his father would save him
from death and elevate him in the eyes of the people who witnessed this act or
heard the report of it. The temptation
was presented as a short cut to fame and recognition among the people.
Jesus did not give in to the temptation. The devil did not force him to act or push
him off the pinnacle. The devil has limited power, he cannot make us do
anything. If Jesus would have followed the advice of the
devil it would have been his choice.
Temptations will be presented in our lives but we are the ones who make
the decision to give in to the temptation.
The sin of presumption is often the result of wrong interpretation of
the scriptures. We read a verse and take
it out of context to make an application to our life based on presumptions and
not on truth. We presume that God will
bail us out of a situation that we chose for ourselves. It may be a bad financial decision, or
relationship that is forbidden, speaking damaging and condemning words to
others with the thought that they will forgive you, appointing yourself to a
position of importance presuming that it is obvious that you are the most
qualified and deserving,
Jesus knew that his action of throwing himself from
the pinnacle would be testing God, putting God in a situation that he did not
sanction but was expected to respond in Jesus’ favor. We can make our own plans and then expect God
to bless them. If he was not part of the
planning, it is presumptuous to think that he will bless the plan. We may have what we think is a great idea but
if it is not God’s idea we will not be successful. Failed plans are often the result of
presumption on our part.
The third
temptation Satan desired worship from Jesus in exchange for
power and authority. Did Satan even have
the power over the kingdoms that he could give them to Jesus? Some would say no because the earth is the
Lord’s while others would state that in the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan gained
control.
1Jn 5:19 We
know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil
one.
The main issue involves violating the first of the ten
commandments God gave Israel.
Exo 20:3
"You shall have no other gods before me.
By giving Satan worship Jesus would be placing himself
under Satan and the reality of ruling over the kingdoms would be a lie because
Satan would rule over Jesus. The
temptation was an appeal to have power and control over others. This is a temptation that is common in every
era. People like power, authority and
control. It feeds their pride and makes
them feel superior to others.
Satan is also known as Lucifer and his role before
being cast out of heaven was leading the angels in worship of God. It is no wonder that he desired to be
worshipped. What greater way to spite
God than to have his Son worship Satan.
Worship is a form of spiritual warfare and it is hated by Satan. Worship in the spirit and in truth drives the
demonic forces away. It changes the
spiritual atmosphere and invites the presence of God.
Psa 149:6-9 Let
the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their
hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to
bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute
on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the
LORD!
You become what you worship. Substituting anything but
God for our worship diminishes who we are and what we will become. Worship is not just praise and songs but it is
a complete devotion of one’s life to God.
Jesus did not come to establish an earthly kingdom to
have power and control over people. He
came to destroy the works of the evil one through his death and resurrection.
1Jn 3:8 Whoever
makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works
of the devil.
Jesus knew his
purpose, his allegiance to his Father and was obedience to him even unto his
death on the cross. This was the only
way the Kingdom of God would be established among all of mankind. There were no short cuts to gaining victory
over Satan.
In our walk with God we will be faced with temptations
that come from our own desires that draw us away from God.
Jas 1:14 But
each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
We choose whom we will obey.
OVERCOMING THE ENEMY
Practice the spiritual discipline of fasting and
prayer. It will draw you near to God and
produce many spiritual benefits that will prepare you in overcoming the devil’s
attacks.
Be alert to the schemes of the devil and do not give
him an opportunity. Eph 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Be secure in your identity. You belong to Christ, you are bought with a
price. Christ is in you. You do not have to submit to the devil.
Be grounded in the Word of God and use it
properly. Don’t be presumptuous or proud
and make bad decisions.
If you are not sure what to do, go to God in prayer
and be instant in you obedience. Don’t act impulsively.
Worship with your whole heart.
The devil has been defeated and the greater One lives
within us.
1 John 4.4 Little children, you are from God and have
overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
As Paul expressed, 2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always
leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the
knowledge of him everywhere.
We may falter and fail but God will pick us up and put
us back on the pathway if we are willing to confess and repent. God is more
interested in restoring us and putting us back in the battle than having us
wallow in our wounds and allow the enemy to constantly condemn us.
