Preached this yesterday and wanted to share a synopsis here. The quickest way to meet the devil is to take a stand for God. Yet the quickest way to defeat the devil is to stand on the promises of God!
That's what Jesus did... Check out Matthew 3 and 4. In 3, Jesus is baptized and God declares, "This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased." And then immediately after that Jesus is tempted by the devil 3 times. And to refute the tempations and defeat their pull, Jesus stands on the promises of God saying "it is written..."
Interesting how God had just declared the truth that Jesus was his beloved son, and the devil pounces on that truth trying to cast doubt or confusion, even twisting it... when he says "If you are the son of God..." That's how Satan rolls... he tries to twist, confuse, and cast doubt on the truth God speaks about us and who we are in his eyes. But we don't have to let him do that and won't let him do that as we stand on the promises of God!
Two other things about temptation... 1. Most often we are tempted when we are in a weakened state... Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days without food and was famished and wouldn't you know the devil's first attempt was to get him to turn stones into bread. So, we must be regular in our connection with God through engagement with his word and his Spirit. 2. Temptation also often comes when we are by ourselves... Jesus was alone in the wilderness. We must draw on the resources of community that God gives us in the body of Christ -the church. Together we can call the devil's tricks for what they are!
The quickest way to meet the devil is to take a stand for God and the quickest way to defeat the devil is to stand on the promises of God in the community God gives us!
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