Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
The simple lesson of this passage is that not all bad things are bad if God intends it for good. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness and it did not seem to go well. After 40 days, Matthew says in a classic understatement, Jesus was hungry. Just at that moment, the devil came with an offer that was tough to refuse. It was an opportunity to show the power of God to work in all things.
The key words to remember in a tough spot are the words Jesus responded to Satan with. It is written. The Bible is the key to all our darkest hours. In the shadow of death, we fear no evil because we know the shepherd is with us. Joseph spends years in prison but God intends it for good. There is not a situation you can find yourself in that cannot be answered by the Bible.
The decline of civility in America is directly proportional to the decline in the authority of the Bible in America. Therefore, when people find themselves in trials, they have no one to appeal to. That is where we are different. Show someone that there is another way to live today so the next trial that comes their way, they can respond the same way Jesus did…
It is written.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church