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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 24, 2009
“A Word for Every Temptation”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
What we need is a Word for every temptation.
That’s Word with a capital w, as in God’s Word.
That’s what Jesus had when He was tempted by the devil in Matthew chapter four. He had a Word for every temptation.
When Jesus was hungry, the devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus could have said or done anything at that point. He could have waved His hand and whisked the devil off into the Lake of Fire, or at least just slammed him up against a tree a few times.
But instead He simply responded with a Word. In response to the temptation He told the devil, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
So not only did Jesus respond to temptation with a Word, it was a Word about the Word.
We live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
At least we are supposed to. The Word of God should be of supreme importance in our lives.
So let me ask you, are studying the Word like you should?
If not, then how do you expect to resist temptation?
Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
This is a key to resisting the temptation to sin. We hide God’s Word in our heart.
We need to be people full of the Word.
When the devil tempted Jesus to hurl Himself off the temple, he dug up his own scripture about the protection of angels and built it right into the temptation.
Do you know the Word well enough to handle that kind of temptation?
Don’t miss this point. A temptation may come wrapped in the Word. We must know the Word of God well enough to see through that.
Jesus responded to that temptation wrapped in the Word by, again, quoting the Word. He said, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Learning the Word is a massive undertaking. I have been studying it intensely for 25 years now, constantly, and I am still learning.
And as I’ve said many times, I am a huge proponent of Bible memorization. Nothing hides the Word in your heart like memorizing it.
By the end of September, I should have the book of Colossians memorized. Before that I memorized the book of Ephesians. Yesterday I told my daughter, “By the time your kids graduate high school I will have giant chunks of scripture memorized.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” she said.
“Not really,” I said. “It’s only one little verse each weekday. Anyone can do it. The power is when you just keep doing it and don’t quit.”
Paul told Timothy to correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). It’s hard to do that when you don’t know it.
This is part of discipleship. It’s part of the church’s job of making disciples. We need to be teaching the Word of God, including how to use it to overcome temptation.
What that means is we pull out the Word as a light. The Word is truth, and it dispels deceit and darkness.
Temptation has its greatest power in the darkness, but the Word is a light which blows it away. That’s why when we use the Word in times of temptation, the temptation loses its grip on us.
In Matthew 4:9 the devil tempted Jesus with “all the kingdoms of the world” if He would bow down and worship him. And again Jesus answered with the Word. “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
A real battle of temptation takes place in our mind; but when we can call up the Word of God for a particular temptation, it’s a battle we can easily win.
For example, when we are tempted to look at something we shouldn’t, we can quote Psalm 101:3, “I will set before my eyes no vile thing.”
When we are tempted to go hang out with people we shouldn’t, we can quote verse four, “Men of perverse heart shall be far from me…”
When we are tempted to join the little gossip circle, we can quote verse five, “Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence…”
When we are tempted to partake in deception, we can quote verse seven, “…no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.”
So remember, temptation has its greatest power in the darkness, but the Word of God is a light that dispels the darkness.
Temptation involves deceit, but the Word of God is truth that uncovers deceit.
So dive into the Word. Learn it. Hide it in your heart. Memorize it.
And then when the tempter comes calling…no problem!
Because as a person of the Word, you will have a Word for every temptation.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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