But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:28 (ESV)

Greetings Everyone!

Last month, we started learning how to defeat our true enemy, Satan, with the word of God. This month, we will continue to learn to defeat him with obedience. According to Matt 4:1-11, Christ was being tempted by Satan. Satan wanted Christ to worship and honor him. However, That did not impede Satan from trying again. This time, Satan took Christ to the holy city, Jerusalem (Matt. 4:5; Neh. 11:1; Isa. 52:1).

So why did Satan take Christ to Jerusalem? In Rev. 21:2 (ESV), John describes Jerusalem, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Verse 10 (ESV), “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,” The reason is that the spirit of God dwells there, and that is where Satan wants to be. After arriving there, Satan took Christ to the pinnacle of the temple.

According to author Taylor Halverson, Ph.D., the pinnacle was a platform at the top of the southwestern corner of the temple mount. This is the location where, at regular intervals each day, a Jewish priest would blow a loud horn to capture everyone’s attention in the city to remind them to engage in worshipful prayer. From where the Jewish priest stood to blow his horn, the plaza below may have been a drop of more than 164 feet, more than 15 stories tall (Learning at the Feet of the Savior, 2018). Satan said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands, so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone” (Matt. 4:6, NLT). Satan misquoted the scripture (Ps. 91:11-12) and was anticipating manipulating Christ into sinning against God.

That is how the enemy operates, through manipulation to cause a believer to not only sin against God but to “experiment” to see if God truly protects them. 1 John 4:1 (ESV) says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We are encouraged to test the spirits to see if it is from God. We are not supposed to test God (Deut. 6:16). God promised that He is with us (Is. 41:10), and He has plans for us (Jer. 29:11), and God does not withhold from those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11). Christ defended Satan again with the Word of God while remaining obedient, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matt 4:12, ESV). Christ is illustrating again that we can defeat Satan with the Word of God with obedience. Stay encouraged!

Satan knows that believers tend to get anxious and may even doubt God’s intentions in their lives because of so many things that are happening, and they feel that they cannot get a break. Satan is hoping that you give up, sin, and abandon your relationship with God. Well, Saints, that will not happen because the God of hope fills you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope (Rom. 15:13, ESV). Satan has been defeated (Rev. 20:10), you have the power to defeat the enemy through your obedience to God. Trust God’s process for your life, and you will not fail (Joshua 23:14).

Next month, we will learn to defeat Satan with worship, and this will be your last Overt Operation mission.

The Pinnacle of the Temple