Bible Chapter: Matthew 4
Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.
1. Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
Matthew 4 is very practical, because EVERYONE deals with temptation. When dealing with an issue, it makes sense to look at those who are successful and learn how they did it. No one was more successful in dealing with temptation than Jesus. What did He do? He quoted scriptures. He had studied them and learned how to properly apply them. When the enemy, the adversary, the evil one came to Him trying to cause Him to fail, Jesus quoted the inspired WORD. There is power in the scriptures. Never hesitate to say “The Bible says . . .”. For believers to do that means that they have had to read and study it to get it in their hearts. Jesus understood that any gain He might received in yielding to temptation would be followed up by a major loss and price. It would never be worth it and would destroy eternity. Satan is the adversary, the accuser of all who believe in Jesus. The goal of his evil kingdom is to get people to never believe in Jesus. His goal for believers is to get them to walk away from Jesus. Jesus overcame the power of Satan and we have that same power available to us.
Jesus began calling His disciples. Jesus invited Peter and Andrew to follow Him so they would no longer catch fish, but men. Followers of Jesus are called to reach people for Jesus. Then Jesus recruited James and John. These all left their work on the fishing boats to follow Jesus. This began their lives as disciples of Jesus. A disciple is a learner. They had intense teaching directly from Jesus. They passed it on to the church. Some of them were later used by God to write parts of the New Testament.
2. What can I apply in my life from the reading?
I do not have to yield to temptation. I need to expect to have victory in this. People make all kinds of excuses to give themselves permission to yield to sin. The more the Bible gets in my heart, the more I can kick temptation in the teeth. Jesus gave us the pattern. The psalmist understood this.
Psalm 119:9-11 NKJV
9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!
There is never permission to sin. The reason why God hates it so much is the destruction it does to His highest creation, people. I need to hate sin as much as God does.
I need to work hard on being a disciple, a learner of all that God wants me to learn. The Bible is full of good materials that will make all the difference in life. It is worth the effort to read and get is more and more in my life. I will never learn it all, but I can try.
3. How can I help someone?
I can never be part of temptation to lead someone to commit sin. I can stay far away from sin. I can encourage others that, through the power of God in their lives, they can overcome sin. I can show a life and lifestyle that overcomes sin. I can help believers get the Bible more and more in their lives. I can do this by getting the scriptures more in my life.
Matthew 4 ends with describing the supernatural ministry of Jesus. I can help people by growing spiritually so that I can minister to them. People need the supernatural intervention of God in their lives.
