The Incredible Human Potential PDF - Church of God Faithful Flock

108 THE INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIALThus He was constantly and continually overcoming Satan, in amanner no other human had experienced!Then, turning again to Mark's record, "And it carne to pass inthose days that Jesus carne from Nazareth of Galilee, and wasbaptized of John in Jordan. And straightway, coming up out ofthe water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dovedescending upon him. And there carne a voice from heaven,saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well pleased."And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted ofSatan ..." (Mark 1:9-13).After forty days and forty nights without a morsel of food ora drop of water, Jesus was physically very weak but spirituallystrong. Then ensued the most titanic battle ever fought - for thehighest stakes of all time in the u ni verse!The detailed story of this supreme struggle is recorded inMatthew 4, beginning verse l.Many a doctor of medicine would believe no man could liveforty days without food or water. They are woefully ignorantabout fasting. Jesus was, truly, somewhat close to actual starvation.Words could not describe the desperate HUNGER thatgripped Him.Satan struck directly at Jesus' weakest state at the moment.He hurled his first blow in this contest for the greatest stakes everfought for, at what he well knew to be humanity's weakest pointboth spiritually and physically- vanity, and hunger:"IF," Satan must have sneered insultingly, "IF thou be the SonofGod, command that these stones be made bread."A spiritually weaker human would have bristled up, angrilyanswering back, "IF 1 be the Son of God, - what do you mean, 1 F?l'll show you whether l'm the Son of God! l'll show yo u 1 can performmiracles!" And, to satisfy His desperate hunger, He wouldhave fallen into Satan's subtile trap!But Jesus held fast His OBEDIENCE to Goo! He answered, "ltis written," going immediately to God's Scripture, "Man shall notlive by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of themouth ofGod!"Satan had lost out on his most masterful thrust of temptation.