16 April 2017
Two-Minute Features | 23 April 2017 | 09 April 2017

Satan Uses Peter's Weakness to Tempt Jesus (TMF:630)

Friday, April 21, 2017
Peace to Live By: Satan Uses Peter's Weakness to Tempt Jesus (TMF:630) - Daniel Litton
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       Satan would also try to use Peter, Jesus’ chief follower, in order to make Jesus believe he was not going to have to go to the cross. I think we all remember that story. It was that famous conversation that occurred between Jesus and Peter, of which Jesus rebuked Peter. It is found in Matthew chapter 16, among other passages. It is recorded: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:21-23, ESV). So, we can see here that Satan had been filling Peter’s mind, through Peter’s own weakness, to try to convince Jesus that what God had already told him would happen to him in Jerusalem wouldn’t actually in fact happen to him. As an aside, the Holy Spirit told Paul what would happen to him in Acts chapter 21.

The Scribes & Pharisees Question the Power (TMF:629)

Thursday, April 20, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Scribes & Pharisees Question the Power (TMF:629) - Daniel Litton
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       Now, we see that when Satan cannot get to Jesus directly, he then moves his focus to perverting the minds of the Scribes and Pharisees to come against Jesus. He plays off their pride and desire to do things their way, which is really Satan’s way anyway. Satan leads them to constantly test and bother Jesus, be jealous of him, and say things against him, both publicly and privately. We see even in Matthew chapter 12 that the Pharisees were saying that the miracles Jesus did were coming from Beelzebul, the prince of demons, instead of from God himself. But Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he even said to them, ““Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:25-28, ESV). And Jesus warned them that their speaking against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven by God. But the warning did not even seem to phase them at all.

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert, Part 2 (TMF:628)

Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert, Part 2 (TMF:628) - Daniel Litton
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       Finally, Satan tried to get him to bow and worship him, as he promised him he would have given him all the kingdoms of the world if he did. Luke recorded for us that Satan said, ““To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:6-7, ESV). And interestingly enough, Satan probably could have given all of them to him, at that time. So, Satan tried to get Jesus to be impatient. But Jesus didn’t yield of course, and now, we see that he has everything in his hands, not just the kingdoms of the Word. He is God himself. He was God himself and is God himself. And Satan even tempted him with other things, it would appear, which neither Matthew nor Luke actually recorded, but Luke did tells us, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13, ESV).

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert, Part 1 (TMF:627)

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert, Part 1 (TMF:627) - Daniel Litton
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       Now, both Matthew and Luke recorded for us the temptations of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness, or desert. It was part of God’s plan, however, for the Spirit of God led him there. And we see how Satan pressed him hard. Remember, Jesus was at the end of his fasting period, as Matthew tells us. First, Satan tried to appeal to his basic hunger, trying to appeal to the weakness of his flesh. And this is where Satan is most successful with us most of the time. When that didn’t work, Satan tried to get Jesus to show off his power and connection to God by getting him to jump off the Temple in front of everyone, but land on the ground okay. Of course, Jesus wasn’t going to do that, as that would be a misuse of God’s power, among other things. Finally, Satan tried to get him to bow and worship him, as he promised him he would have given him all the kingdoms of the world if he did. Luke recorded for us that Satan said, ““To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:6-7, ESV).

Satan Tried to Kill the Child Jesus, Part 2 (TMF:626)

Monday, April 17, 2017
Peace to Live By: Satan Tried to Kill the Child Jesus, Part 2 (TMF:626) - Daniel Litton
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       We understand that after the wise men had visited with Jesus, giving him their gifts, that they were warned in a dream not to return to King Herod, and they obey the Lord and did not. Then we read in Matthew chapter 2, in verse 16, “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16, ESV). Now, he figured this out by calculating the time from when the star first appeared, as told by the wise men in their visit to Herod before they went to see Jesus. And we can see Satan’s great evil in his murdering of all of these Israeli children. He wanted to kill Jesus. Now, both Matthew and Luke recorded for us the temptations of Jesus by Satan in the wilderness, or desert. It was part of God’s plan, however, for the Spirit of God led him there. And we see how Satan pressed him hard. Remember, Jesus was at the end of his fasting period, as Matthew tells us. First, Satan tried to appeal to his basic hunger, trying to appeal to the weakness of his flesh. And this is where Satan is most successful with us most of the time.