JESUS RESISTS TEMPTATION

AIM FOR CHANGE

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

EXPLAIN the significance of using Scripture to fight and overcome temptation; REFLECT on the awesome power of the written Word of God; and DEVELOP a workable, realistic, desirable, and systematic plan for studying the Bible. 

FOCAL VERSES Deuteronomy 6:13-16; Matthew 4:4-11

KEEP IN MIND

"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" (Matthew 4:10). 

AT-A-GLANCE

1. The Commandment (Deuteronomy 6:13-16)

2. The Temptation (Matthew 4:4-11)

IN FOCUS STORY

Mother Lawson was a wonderful saint of God. She not only raised her own children, but she was often a mom to the children in her neighborhood. At her Church, she was more than faithful; she was a stalwart prayer warrior and worker. If she could lend a hand or give an encouraging word, she would. And she knew the Word. She had taught Sunday School and served for several years as the superintendent. Even at 80, she wasn't slowing down very much. She was as vibrant as she had ever been. 

That started to end, however, when the family noticed that her forgetfulness was a bit more than the "old timers" she wanted admit. She got lost on her own block. She left the stove on and forgot to close the doors. Medical test confirmed Alzheimer's. The disease robbed her ability to recognize friends and most family. Though the disease progressed, everyone was amazed at what she did remember. When the saints visited and sang the old songs of Zion, Mother Lawson would chime in. When anyone read the Bible to her, she could be heard quoting one or more of the Scriptures form the book they were reading. 

Today's lesson show us how we should take delight in God's Word and meditate on it day and night. 

THE PEOPLE, PLACES, and TIMES

Oaths. Yahweh's name was considered powerful and effective; the utterance of oaths would demonstrate which deity was truly considered powerful. Though inheriting the cities, homes, and farms of the Canaanites, the Israelites were not to inherit the gods that had been associated with protecting those cities and providing fertility to the land. One of the ways to demonstrate their rejection of those gods was to refuse to attribute power to them through oaths. 

Massah. The name given to the place at Rephidim near Sinai where water came out of the rock. As the Israelites traveled in the wilderness after their liberation for slavery in Egypt, they complained to Moses about a lack of drinking water (Exodus 14:1-7). Moses accused them of putting the Lord to the test. The Lord told him that he would smite a rock in that place, and water would emerge for the Israelites to drink. 

Pinnacle. The NLT and NIV translate "pinnacle" as "highest point." It is impossible to decide definitely what portion of the temple was referred to as the pinnacle. The use of the definite article make plain that it was not a pinnacle but the pinnacle. Much difference of opinion exists respecting it. but it may be that it was the battlement ordered by law to be added to every roof. 

BACKGROUND

The Lord was about to give the Israelites "instant prosperity" in their new land. But there is an inherent danger in prosperity, because when a person prospers, he could forget God. It was at the height of David's own prosperity that he committed his greatest acts of unfaithfulness. When the Israelites would come into this prosperity, they were to be all the more careful to fear God and serve Him. The command to "swear" (take oaths) by the name of the Lord reinforces the instruction to fear Him, because one swears by the God he fears, and under whom he is responsible to fulfill hi oaths. If they would forget God, they would almost certainly follow other gods, for God created people not only with the capacity but the need to worship. And this act of unfaithfulness would result in judgement, since the Lord "is a jealous God." This means He zealously protects what belongs to Him alone. Jealousy in this sense is ethically right; jealousy in the sense of envy for another's possessions or privileges is, of course wrong.

Moses envisioned another sin the Israelites might be tempted to in the new land-that of testing the Lord. This implies that at times the people would face hardship as they did at Massah, where that lacked water and thought they would die of thirst. Rather than trusting God in this trial, they tested Him by complaining and quarreling. In the future, the Israelites would remember this embarrassing incident. They would know that if they obeyed His commands, doing what is right and good, then no matter what hardship they might encounter, God would take care of them. 

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. Who should you fear, serve, and maintain faith in at all times (Deuteronomy 6:13)?

2. What should you not do to God and why (vv. 14-16)?

3. What about the devil's attacks indicates the necessity of knowing the Scriptures (Matthew 4:6)?

4. What was Satan's ultimate goal (v. 10)?

5. Who ministered to Jesus after the Devil left Him (v. 11)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. Deuteronomy 6:13 gives explicit directions. How do verses 14-16 more clearly explain the command in verse 13?

2. In Matthew 4:4, does the mandate to live by the words of God negate the importance of addressing our physical needs?

3. Why doe you think the temptation occurred at the top of the temple rather that just on a high mountain? What does this tell us about what Satan tries to do to the saints of God?

4. Why do you think Mother Lawson in the In Focus story did not lose her memory of the Word of God? What does this say about the power of the Word? What does it say about Mother Lawson's discipline?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

The media and our culture make it seem so much easier to do wrong than right. In film, politics, business, and other areas, wrong is not only appealing, but it appears that people can get away with it. Sin has become so common that it masquerades as normal. God has laid out very specific guidelines for those of us who trust Him. It is our responsibility to know those guidelines and to apply them to every aspect of our lives. 

1. What can you do to better memorize Scripture?

2. There are people around the world-and in our communities- who do not have Bibles. As an Apostolic congregation, is there anything your church family can do to alleviate that problem? Should you?

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Jesus is Himself God, yet He was tempted by Satan. How much more will Satan tempt us who struggle in our own sinful lusts? In the fight against evil and temptation, is it sufficient to be able to recite Scripture without giving evidence that you are living it?

(Except from the Apostolic Light Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc.)