Life Capsule for Today Date: 30 May, 2023
Theme: The Temptation of Jesus (3)
Memory Verse:Matt 4:1
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.KJV
Topic: Tempted with lust of the flesh
Memory Verse:Matt 4:4
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.KJV
Words of the Ministry
The first temptation the devil proposed to Jesus was concerning turning stone to bread, as a pattern, we see a replica of what happened in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, the tempter came to the woman tempting her to eat, just as he came to Jesus tempting him to eat, in both scenarios, the temptation is food. Food is a basic necessity of life, one may even say after air and water, the most important thing to mankind is food. It is a basic need that everyman desires. We see that same parallel in our lives, the devils tempt us with life dependent needs, things that appear as though we can’t live without. We are prompted to lust in the flesh and give an excuse that it is not just a want, it’s a need, my life and family depends on it. To obey the devil and act in such a manner is to lust in the flesh and the Lord warns against it (1Jhn 2.15-17). The flesh is the ark enemy of God and our number one enemy, for us to live right; it must be crucified daily by our choices.
The bible says Jesus was hungry and it was natural to be hungry after a 40 days fast, we should note that turning stone to bread in itself wasn’t a bad thing if the Lord wanted it so but what was wrong was that it came from the devil. The demand to perform the miracle was not originating from God but Satan. That was the issue, many times believers like to perform miracles or do many religious activities but the question we need to ask ourselves is who is sending you this service, is it God or the tempter through your flesh. A lot of things appear spiritual but the source is not God. It brings to mind the conversation between Jesus and Peter about Jesus’ crucifixion (Mat 16. 21-23), Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan because his mind was set on the things of men. Saints we must be clear on our decision, what is our motive, why do we want a better life, Church auditorium, marriage, degrees, connection, promotion, money or even clothes, is it to please the flesh or God?
We see from our memory verse how Jesus overcame the tempter. Jesus answered with the word, what was written, He quoted the book of Deuteronomy 8.3, the logo became rhema, he said man shall not live by bread alone, in other words while man needs bread for his body, he doesn’t need only bread for his body but also bread for his spirit. When the tempter comes pointing us to what we would gain and achieve when we lust after the flesh, we must point him to what we would gain when we walk after the Spirit. The bread of the Spirit is the word of God. So when the flesh tells us to eat bread (meet our natural needs against God’s will), we must be sure that it doesn’t conflict with what God says because the natural body is temporal but the Spirit lives forever. Jesus answered the devil as a man, remember he was led by the Spirit and he overcame as a man, meaning we too can overcome if we walk in the Spirit, if we are led by the Spirit, the devil would try in vain. May the Lord grant us light.
Bible In One Year: 2 Chronicles 31-33
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