DCLM Daily Manna 17 January 2024 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Don’t Tempt The Lord
TOPIC: Don’t Tempt The Lord (DCLM Daily Manna 17 January 2024)
KEY VERSE: “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7).
TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11 (KJV)
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 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.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
MESSAGE:
Bartel Elshout in ‘the Banners of Truth’, listed three ways one can tempt God. One, by challenging Him; two, by putting Him on trial; three, by subjecting Him to one’s way of thinking. The writer went further to say, “To challenge God means to deliberately and consciously defy God and His revealed will, summarised in His holy law. To challenge God is to knowingly and consciously deviate from the pathway of God’s commandments”.
Satan, in today’s passage, came to tempt Jesus. He initiated this attempt against the Lord to make Him deviate from God’s plan and purpose for His life. Here, Satan attempted to put to test God’s attributes – His knowledge, will, power and wisdom. God cannot be tempted; He knows all things right from the beginning to the end. His wisdom is without limitation. Although he tried several times, Jesus never yielded.
When we doubt God’s love and mercy, and fail to realise how much He cares for us, when we disregard His grace and deliberately do what is evil, we are tempting the Lord. Anytime we go against God’s revealed truth, it is tantamount to disagreeing with His terms; this is tempting the Lord.
You must learn to appreciate who God is. He may allow some crises in your life; it is not to destroy you but to know how far you can depend on Him in the face of adversities. There may be no immediate employment after graduation or child after marriage. Yet, you must not tempt God by complaining. If you will believe and trust Him most sincerely, He will bring the best out of your most trying situations.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
We are called to trust God, not tempt Him.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Acts 7-8
Deeper Life Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
