Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 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.
This passage of scripture tells us of the victory over appetite that was procured for us through Christ, and it also sets the gold standard for all would-be followers of The Lord Jesus in our own personal battles with food. In the instance given in the above passage, we see where Jesus had not eaten anything for forty days and forty nights, and when the devil came to Him, He was at His lowest point, a ploy that is commonly used by satan when trying to get us to sin. But Jesus did not budge one iota, for it was never the will of God for man to obtain daily bread through the use of any miracles. Hard labor with our hands and minds is the only method ordained in the scriptures, and therefore this suggestion of satan to Christ constituted a diabolical assault on the very principle of working for our daily bread, which God Himself has instituted from the earliest times. Let's read:
Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken" ...
The victory of Jesus over the issue of appetite raises serious questions for the Christian who is to walk in His shoes, for we see in the temptation and consequent victory, that Christ was ready to die, rather than compromise on the principles involved in the control of His appetite. The question then for us is whether or not we are willing to do the same when faced with much less severe temptations on the very same point. For instance, If we were to become extremely hungry and starved for food, and the only thing available is pork, will we eat it and live, or will we refuse it, even if it means imminent death? Again, if we become very thirsty, and our lips are parched, and we are in danger of being dehydrated, but the only thing available is an alcoholic beverage, will we then have it to quench our thirst, or will we deliberately choose to refrain, even if dehydration and subsequent rigor mortis may set in? Let's read:
Deuteronomy 14:7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Proverbs 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
In our day there are a whole lot of so-called valid excuses that are often used for departing from the straight and narrow way God has set for our feet, and we often sin on account of the specious reasoning of the tempter when he approaches us, just as he did with Christ. But the fact is that as Christians, we should be prepared to die rather than to go outside the stated parameters of God's will, for a dead saint is always better than a living sinner. Furthermore, if we were to gain the victory over appetite, we would be enabled to gain the victory over every other known sin, for it all began with food, and it will all end with food.
When the mark of the beast is instituted across the land, and our economic privileges are taken away from us, we will not be able to purchase any food, and then it will be that those of us who have not gained the victory over appetite would be severely tempted to buckle under pressure, when severe hunger and thirst come upon us. It is now in our probationary period that we are to gain the victory over appetite by the grace of God, and in cooperation with Him, and therefore in our day to day decisions on this very point, our choices should be in harmony with the truths God has revealed on this issue, for if we excuse ourselves in this matter, we also may be excused from heaven, where only overcomers are granted entrance.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reiterates the serious nature of the battle with appetite that is before us, and it is our hope and prayer, that every true Christian in our day will engage in serious warfare, through the grace and power of God, against the lusts of the flesh, which war against our souls. Let's read:
1st Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!