Matthew 4:1

 Matthew 4:1 says, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  After Jesus was baptized and God had declared Him to be His beloved Son, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.  After we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can be certain that we will be tempted, and when we are, we also need to be certain that we are being led by the Holy Spirit when we respond to that temptation.  Verse two adds, And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.  While in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights and afterward He was hungry.  If we fast, I believe that we should not publicize it to the world, but it should be a personal act of worship, but everyone may not agree.  Verse three declares, And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.  Satan, the tempter came to Jesus and first attempted to raise the question of whether or not Jesus was the Son of God, and the appealed to Jesus' physical need.  Satan will always attempt to get us to question our relationship with God, and he will appeal to us where we are weakest.  Though Jesus could have turned the stones to bread, this was not what the heavenly Father had called Him to do.  Verse four proclaims, 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.  Jesus answered Satan by quoting scripture, and this is always our best defense.  This means that we must first know the scripture, God's word, and not just the words them self, but the meaning as well.  Jesus said that people were not to live by bread alone, the meeting physical needs, but by the word of God, which meets spiritual needs, which must come first.  Verse five declares, Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,  Then verse six adds, 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.  The Devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and then quoted scripture to Jesus.  Again, it is not enough to know scripture, but we must know its meaning and never use it to justify what we desire to do.  It was not a question of whether Jesus could do this, but whether or not it was the heavenly Father's will that He do so.  Verse seven proclaims, Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.  Jesus again answered by quoting scripture, saying that we are not to tempt God.  I don't believe that God will ever lead us to take an action simply to prove that He can protect us.  Verse eight declares, 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;  Verse nine adds, And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  Satan next appealed to Jesus' greed, and this is where many people are led astray today.  God never promised us all the material blessings that we might desire, and sometimes they may even lead us away from Him.  Verse ten proclaims, 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.  Jesus told Satan to go away, and again He quoted scripture.  We are to serve God alone.  Verse eleven adds, Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.  Satan had no choice but to depart when Jesus told him to do so.  When we stand firm in our belief in God, Satan has no power over us.  The angels came to minister to the needs of Jesus.  Whether by angels or otherwise, God will always minister to our needs if we remain faithful to Him.