The Power of Suggestion
Posted by Dion Todd November 20th, 2015 10,981 Views 0 Comments
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry. The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' Luke 4:1 WEB
Jesus heard God speaking to Him right after He was baptized in the Jordon river, and a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased' (Luke 3:22). Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and fasted for forty days.
The devil came to tempt (test) Him. The first temptation was, 'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.' The devil saw that Jesus was hungry and thought it may be an opening. Also, he brought into question whether Jesus was actually the Son of God to instill a little doubt and confusion.
Now Jesus had already heard a voice speaking to Him earlier, but now here is another voice, or is it the same one? Are they from the same source? Should He turn this stone into bread? Jesus needed to know whether this voice was God speaking to Him again, or a counterfeit. He turned to the scriptures and His answer came from Deuteronomy 8:3. Whatever does not agree with scripture does not come from God. The word of God is our anchor.
The next temptation was a chance to set up an earthly kingdom even more powerful than the Roman empire. All of it could be given to Jesus here and now, if Jesus would only worship him. It was a legitimate desire. Jesus could set up a government that truly cared about the people and He could do a lot of good. But it was a compromise and meant using the world's methods. He would have to turn His back on His calling. Once again Jesus turned to scripture and quoted Deuteronomy 6:13, decisively rejecting the offer.
The third suggestion was to perform a miracle by casting Himself off the temple, possibly to make people believe in Him, but also to prove that He is the Son of God. This time satan quotes scripture to Jesus (Psalm 91:11).
In all of this temptation, satan can only 'suggest' that Jesus do something. It was entirely up to Jesus to perform the act. Jesus again refers to scripture and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16. Fresh out of ideas, the devil left Him until a more 'opportune' time.
The devil 'suggested' things to Jesus, but he could not get around the clear word of God when directly confronted with it from a person that would not compromise. Though he would have loved to, satan was unable to make Jesus do anything. He was limited to the power of suggestion.
Jesus was also obeying the scripture as well. Telling the devil to flee when you are friends with him will not work. You have be committed to God first, and then resist the temptation, then he will flee just as He left Jesus. 'Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you' (James 4:7).
If you have something that bothers you and will not go away, or have feelings of worthlessness, shame, or you are being tempted to do wrong, or you are full of fear, find a scripture for it and memorize it. Say it out loud through out the day. We all have our own weaknesses. Find a scripture that addresses it and stand on it. It is amazing what the light of scripture will do to the kingdom of darkness.
Prayer: Father, I pray that You bring me the scriptures that I need to stand on and help me beat this for I put my trust in You. Teach me Your word and help me understand my role in this. Show me the big picture, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
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