WHO IS JESUS?
The Bible says in Hebrews 4:14-16 that Jesus is a high priest who can relate to all of the temptations we face as human beings.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrew 4:14-16
WHAT ARE MY TEMPTATIONS IN SOCIAL SETTINGS?
To be isolated
To be silent
To dislike myself and others
WHAT LIES HAVE I ACCEPTED AS TRUTH?
I am unloveable; no one can have love for me, not even myself or God
My Example Scripture:
Matthew 4:1-11 – Satan tempts Jesus in three different ways. His ultimate goal was to get Him from dying on The Cross so He could not be The Savior of all human beings. Jesus relies on God’s promises to overcome temptation.
In my case Satan wants me to continually believe lies so that I will not be able to grow in my relationship with God or others.
WHO: Jesus and the devil
WHAT: Satan tempts Jesus in three different ways before He starts His ministry on earth.
WHEN: Temptation after having fasted for 40 days. He was also socially isolated from people.
WHERE: Jesus is in the wilderness
WHY: So The devil can stop Jesus from becoming The ultimate sacrifice for our sins for all of time.
Satan’s Temptation 1:
The first way Satan tempts Jesus is through direct disobedience by suggesting to Jesus that He ends His fast before the appointed time.
Jesus Response 1:
Jesus reminds me that I am to protect myself from Satan, the father of lies with the very Words of God, The Bible, also known as The Truth!
Yeisa’s Relatability 1:
Satan tempts blame by trying to get me to be silent. This is direct disobedience. God gave me the ability to speak and I must use it to help encourage and teach others.
Satan’s Temptation 2:
Satan tries to get Jesus to doubt His identity and love before God by testing Him through means of suicide. In other words, He tries to empty Jesus of faith in God. A lack of faith leads to immediate death. Without faith in God one cannot have eternal life. This type of temptation also counts as disobedience.
Jesus Response 2:
Jesus then proceeds to defend Himself with carefully chosen scripture for this specific type of temptation. He reminds me that God should not be tested in this way! If God says something is true, it is!
Yeisa’s Relatability 2:
Satan repeatedly tries to get me to doubt my self-worth before God. Oftentimes I can feel that no matter what I do I am not good enough, and especially when it comes to public speaking and having conversations with different groups of people. However, the truth is that God loves me and believes that I am able to speak to others with confidence.
Satan’s Temptation 3:
Satan tries to bribe Jesus with false hope by promising to give away possessions that don’t belong to him in the first place, in exchange for Jesus’ devotion. No one can have a relationship with God if they aren’t willing to be devoted to Him.
Jesus Response 3:
At this point Jesus tells the devil to depart for Him and that God commands all who follow Him to worship Him only.
Yeisa’s Relatability 3:
Satan tends to give me false hope that if I remain silent, above all else I will be able to do a better job at protecting my own heart versus relying on God to protect me when I make myself vulnerable to others when speaking. If I have learned anything, silence is deadly. And it is God that protects through my faith and obedience to His Word! I have had to tell Satan to flee a number of times, but it’s high time I started doing so in this area.