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Have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to sidestep the booby traps that were set for Him? What kept Him from being drawn and lured into Satan's snares? Religious leaders frequently ambushed Jesus with an onslaught of hostile questions, yet He skillfully dodged each one.

At one point Jesus made the crowd so angry that the people led Him to the edge of a cliff with every intention of throwing Him over. But there at the cliff's edge, Jesus just turned around, walked through the midst of the crowd, and went on His way (Luke 4:28-30). He was in complete control of every situation.

If we could identify the secrets that kept Jesus from getting ensnared in the traps set for Him, we could apply those principles and sidestep every trap as successfully as He did. For instance, one thing is certain: Jesus never allowed human opinion to affect Him.

A Spiritual Battle
Proverbs 29:25 warns, "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but to trust the Lord means safety." I like the way The Message Bible says it: "The fear of human opinion disables...." If fear disables, then fearlessness must enable. We see this principle continually operating in Jesus' life. Human opinion didn't affect Him at all. In speaking to a group of powerful leaders, He said, "Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me..." (John 5:41). Now, that's fearlessness!

Because Jesus was always mindful of the spiritual climate and culture present in the world, He was able to look beyond human actions or opinions and identify their source. In other words, He followed the fruit to the root. Jesus understood that although people harassed and attacked Him, they were merely the "fruit" and that He had to deal with the root.

Jesus knew full well that He was in a spiritual battle against spiritual opponents. He recognized the evil author and the dark kingdom that was behind each and every attack. Aware of this unseen conflict with the powers of darkness, Jesus never retaliated when people attacked or insulted Him. He understood that the enemy often used people as bait to ensnare Him.

"Fighting fruit" is a waste of time, yet too often we spend all our time trying to deal with problems at this level. But if we want to permanently affect fruit—such as opposition, criticism, or personal attacks through other people—we must follow Jesus' example and deal with the root. This knowledge equipped Jesus to sidestep every trap the enemy set for Him. And His life wasn't trouble-free, as many suppose.

Jesus was despised and rejected, a man of sorrow and familiar with grief (Isa. 53:3). He faced angry mobs, accusations from powerful leaders, beatings, and ultimately crucifixion. Yet He never defended Himself or retaliated against people. Consequently, when His life was over, Jesus could honestly say that the prince of this world had no claim on Him (John 14:30).

Satan couldn't lay a finger on Jesus unless He said something that gave the devil access into His life. Satan knew he needed words that were contrary to truth with which to hang Jesus. Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Furthermore, Proverbs 6:2 says,
You are taken as in a net by the words of your mouth; the sayings of your lips have overcome you.
That's why every response out of Jesus' mouth agreed with God's Word.

Satan's Hidden Agenda
This is Satan's hidden agenda that's behind every harassing word spoken against us and every hurtful deed done against us. Each of these fiery darts is designed to get us to say something that will hang us.

But once we become aware of how important our words are, we can pray as David did: "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3, NIV). As long as we keep a watch over our mouths, Satan's noose can't tighten around our necks.

Satan will use any opportunity to agitate us, hoping to get a rise out of us emotionally so we'll lose our cool. The moment we allow that to happen, we have stepped out of the realm of the Spirit into the realm of the flesh where Satan rules. This is the legal meaning of entrapment.

It refers to a situation where a person is induced or persuaded to commit an act he had no previous intention of committing. The yeast, or the agitation, is meant to entrap us so we'll yield to the flesh and say something foolish. That's when the trap is sprung as Satan gleefully tries to hang us with our own words.

One characteristic of yeast is that it makes the object appear much larger than it actually is. Just think back to the last time someone agitated you until you lost your cool. Maybe it was something as simple as a car cutting in front of you. Or perhaps the clerk at the grocery store was rude or extremely slow. One thing is certain—when you live in the flesh, it only takes a small amount of yeast to get a big rise!

Yet when you realize that you're in the midst of a conflict between kingdoms, you'll become more skillful at recognizing the traps set for you and simply refuse to take the bait. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you recognize the yeast before it has its agitating effect on you. Then the next time a situation arises that would normally push your button, resist the temptation to get agitated. Instead, lean on the fruit of the spirit, such as long-suffering, patience, and gentleness.

Soon those petty irritants won't be able to agitate you the way they once did. And it won't be long before you'll be able to declare with confidence, "The devil has nothing on me!"

Dennis Burke Ministries
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Author Biography

Vikki Burke
Web site: Dennis Burke Ministries
 
Vikki and Dennis began as youth pastors in 1973 in Southern California where they received tremendous insight into the work of the local church. In 1976, they moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, to work with Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Vikki worked with KCM for three years before entering full-time ministry with her husband. Since that time, their relationship and involvement with Kenneth Copeland Ministries has continued. Vikki and Dennis have had numerous articles published in the Believer's Voice of Victory magazine.
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