Places of Greatness: Desert Sands

Weekend, May 14 & 15 Places of Greatness: Desert Sands Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" Matthew 4:10 Recommended Reading Matthew 4:1-11 We're often told that Jesus quoted Scripture to the devil and thereby defeated him. But it's not quite that easy. In reading through the story of the Temptation in Matthew 4, we notice that Jesus also relied on the Holy Spirit who was leading Him at every point (verse 1). Christ was also maintaining the spiritual discipline of fasting, and we can assume this was a season of prayer for Him (verse 2). Our Lord was also determined to say, "No! No! No!" to Satan's three enticements. We also notice that Jesus outlasted the temptation, for verse 11 says that Satan limped away in defeat having been worn out by our Lord's unflinching righteousness. Within that context, Jesus quoted Scripture three times to Satan and thereby won the victory. To be victorious over sin, we need the Holy Spirit's inner power, the practice of regular spiritual disciplines, a determination to live righteously, tenacity, and a handful of crucial Scriptures to quote in times of temptation. We, too, can resist the devil and he will flee from us. Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue, Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through. Horatio R. Palmer in his hymn "Yield Not to Temptation" Read-Thru-the-Bible Ezra 7:1-9:15 Ezra 10:1-Nehemiah 2:20