1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
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.
5. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
1. Survival
One of the very first battles we'll have to win as Christians, is the fear of survival. The devil will always confront us with the challenge of survival.
How do you feed? Where will you live? How about your daily needs?
This was the first temptation the devil brought to Jesus Christ in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:3-4).
Usually, when the devil is bringing the temptation of survival, he always presents alternative survival strategies that will conflict with your Faith.
He's seeing how tight things are for you now, so he'll use the current happenings around you to tempt you with survival.
Watch carefully to ensure that you don't fall prey to the survival temptation of Satan.
Look up to God completely, and let the devil know that your survival is domiciled in God's Word.
2. Societal norms
Another very common trick of the devil I've noticed over the years, is what I like to call "generally accepted patterns".
This is a situation in which the devil tries to push you into doing something because everybody else is doing it.
You mustn't compromise to succeed.
Imagine the devil telling Jesus to jump from from a high place to tempt God? (Matthew 4:5-7).
This was because everybody else was tempting God, so he wanted Jesus to do the same.
But thank God our Lord Jesus Christ knew better.
The devil will always show you what everybody else is doing, which is wrong, so that you can be consoled in the fact that though it's wrong, everybody's doing it, so it's fine.
The devil will show you how other ladies are going to club every night, and coming back with lots of cash so easily, so that you too can go.
That everybody's doing it, doesn't make it right; if you do everything they do, you'll doubtless end like them.
3. Easy way out
With the devil, there's always an easy way out.
He'll tell you that, instead of suffering to read, just pay the lecturer and get easy good grades. Instead of being sincere, just lie and deceive everyone, so that you can easily get the contract.
Remember what He told Jesus? Bow to me now, and I'll give you the world. (Matthew 4:8-11).
Rediculous indeed!
The devil will always tempt every believer with these 3 things;
Survival,
Societal norms and
Easy way out or shortcuts.
Beware and guide against it.
Your easy defence is knowledge of God's Word and promises;
1. When the devil comes with survival questions, tell him; God is able to supply all your needs and meet all your heart desires.
Philippians 4:19
Luke 18:29-30
2. When he's showing you societal norms, tell him; I'm living my life in absolute confirmation to God's Word and Standard
Jeremiah 6:6
3. And when he comes to show you an easy way out, tell him; I'm prepared to work things out the right way until I reach success.
Hebrews 10:36
Hebrews 6:12
There's no shortcut to success, this is because nothing works over night.
You require patience, persistence and consistency to hit your target.
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