Today's Passage - Luke 4:13-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 4:13-15   "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.  Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him."   The devil tempted Jesus in three aspects of human nature:   First is the spirit - The devil wanted Jesus to worship Satan, but not the true God.  Second is the soul - The devil tested His understanding of God and whether He had true faith.  Third is the body - The devil wanted Him to satisfy His own desire for food with a miracle.  Just like what 1 John Chapter 2 says, everything in the world can be used by Satan to tempt us.   Although Jesus had the same human nature as we do, He did not sin like we have; otherwise He could not have become our savior.  Because His human nature was tempted, He could empathize with us when we are tempted.  1 Corinthians 10:13 says that Jesus was tempted so that He could "provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" and come out victorious.  The believers can be victorious against temptation not by our own might, but by the victory of Jesus we can claim victory against the enemy.  Many Christians try to win the battle against the devil by their own life and strength, but they find themselves failing again and again, which can be frustrating.  Don't forget that God can lead us to claim victory in Christ against the enemy everyday!  How do we claim victory against the enemy?  In all three times Jesus was tempted, He responded with "it is written..."  He always used God's Word to defend the devil.  We need to keep God's Word in our hearts in order to face all types of temptation by the devil.  Psalm 119:11 says "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  We need to keep God's Word in our heads and recite it often and pray with God's Word, and Spirit of God will come and teach us.  We can resist the devil, not by our own strength, but rather by the power of the Holy Spirit and by His Word.   When we read God's Word, we must learn to memorize it, so that when we face different circumstances, we can fight the enemy with God's word and power of the Holy Spirit.  James 4:7 says: "Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  Every word from God carries power, so as long as we depend on God daily, the power that was in Jesus Christ will be in us, and we'll be able to resist any action of Satan!  Ask God to affirm our faith now!           Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, may your spirit affirm us again, so that no matter what our circumstance is, we can claim victory against the enemy in Jesus.  With the power of the Spirit and Word of God, we will resist the devil, and as you have promised the devil will flee.  We give you all the glory!  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!