"Satan's Tactics"

Matthew 4:1, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

God has been awfully good to us here at Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church, and we continue to rejoice in the Lord's blessing on our Church. This past Spring (this is being penned Memorial Day, 2026), our Missions Conference and our Spring Revival were unusually blessed by the Lord.  God gave us a significant increase in our Faith Promise giving; we took on two new missionary families (bringing our total to 94); and we saw numerous folks profess faith in Christ.  It certainly is a great joy to be used of God and see Him working in the lives of His people. 

However, we must not rest on our "laurels" but maintain a consistent focus on moving forward with the Gospel.  We can be certain that Satan will not sit idly by but will put up intense opposition. 

Notice some tactics Satan used on our Lord Jesus in Matthew 4.

• Satan Often Strikes Hard Following A Great Victory.  Jesus had just been baptized, and God the Father pronounced that He was well pleased with Jesus Christ.  Satan immediately tries to interfere.  After a great spiritual victory or a time of special blessing, be sure you have the whole armor of God on because that is when the Devil will most likely attack.
  

•  Satan Hits Us Were We Are Weakest/Most Vulnerable. Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and was now very hungry.  Satan seized on his physical "weakness" and tempted Him with Bread.  It is very important that we thoroughly understand our own areas of weakness.  We must study ourselves, determine our vulnerabilities, and be on guard.  Our weaknesses are not all the same; what is a weakness for one person may not be a weakness for another, but one thing is certain: we all have our own unique set of weaknesses.
  

• Satan Is Unrelenting.  Satan comes again, and again, and again. Without a doubt, he is one of the hardest-working beings in existence.  He never takes a vacation.  He takes no "lunch breaks!" We must understand that overcoming one temptation is not the end of temptation.  Satan always comes back with more.  Defeating the Devil on Sunday does not mean you will not have to face him on Monday.
  

• Satan Is A Bible "Scholar" And Uses God's Word to His Advantage.  Jesus overcame Satan's temptation by quoting the Word of God, and lo and behold, Satan comes right back and quotes Scripture himself.  Do not be deceived, Satan knows the Bible.  He can and will use passages out of context and twist their meanings to accomplish his evil plans. We must be diligent students of God's Word so that we can recognize when it is being used out of context or when it's truth is being twisted into a falsehood.
  

The best thing for us to do following spiritual victories is to just keep right on doing what we did that brought about the victory. Read, study, and memorize the Word of God.  Pray consistently and diligently.  Be faithful to church and the ministries God has given us. And when Satan attacks, stand our ground and press forward with the Gospel.