Roche Coleman Ministries: The Infusion Broadcast

Guest (Male): Welcome to this edition of the Infusion Broadcast, brought to you by Dr. Roche Coleman, president of the Roche Coleman Ministries. The Dark Side of Faith is our current series in which Dr. Coleman is bringing an in-depth teaching about spiritual warfare and how we as believers can truly be overcomers through God's Word.

He shows us how throughout Scripture, the enemy has tested and tempted God's people to succumb to his schemes and even reject God. How can we stand strong with such an evil destructive force against us? Challenging us to do just that, here is Dr. Coleman with today's message: Victory Through God's Word. Let's listen.

Dr. Roche Coleman: In Matthew Chapter 4, it is quoting Deuteronomy 8:2, 3, and 4. He says, testing you to know what was in your heart. I'm in Deuteronomy 8, verse 2, whether you will keep his commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives on everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

It's not bread that you live by. I know you need the physical bread. But if you can get to the spiritual bread, you would have an unlimited supply of the physical bread. You need the spiritual bread. It is intriguing how Jesus quotes and he said, "What do we need?" The Word of God.

The Apostle Paul picks up on the same. I love how Paul does this in 2 Timothy, in the pastoral epistle. He's writing to young Timothy. Timothy, you recall, is a pastor. And he tells Timothy in 2nd Timothy, Chapter 3, verse 16, that all Scripture is God-breathed, theopneustos. I like how he says that. He said it is breathed out. Literally, it comes from the mouth of God.

The Bible, the words of Scripture, come from the mouth of God, and these are the things that are going to sustain us in our time of testing and our time of temptation when we have legitimate offers that are there. You have to stay with what God is going to give you and wait for God to provide for you in his timing.

Satan presents to Jesus a counterfeit offer. Could Jesus turn the stones to bread? No doubt about it. In an instance, he could do it. But if he does that, now Jesus would be operating in his flesh, in his human humanity. God wanted Christ to demonstrate what the first Adam couldn't do. As Paul writes about in Romans, Adam and Eve.

He wanted to demonstrate what Israel couldn't do under the law in the wilderness. So Jesus Christ comes, and he says, "I'm going to show you, first Adam, how to obey the Lord. I'm going to show you, Israel, how to obey and follow the Word." He said, "I am going to pass the test." How does he pass it? By everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord—the Bible, God's Word.

You and I must understand if we're going to be successful and victorious in this battle, we don't hide the Word. We don't conceal the Word, but we study and meditate upon it, and we use the Word as our weapon against the enemy. In this text, you have to remember this was real. Fact number one: the devil visited Jesus Christ in a moment of need.

You and I must understand the enemy comes in your moment of need. You're trying to get that business, and you just need about $25,000 more. That's all I need to get this thing going. You're in a moment of need, and it doesn't seem like it's coming. You've been praying, asking God to provide it, and you say, "All I need is $25k. That's it." And someone slides up next to you and says, "I can show you how to get it." Help me, Holy Ghost.

You can tell in their tone this is not good. I need to walk. I need to hang it up now. You see, your spirit, the spirit of God, lets you know that's a counterfeit offer. This is temptation, and if I go down this path, I may never return. Are you with me? The spirit of God now is speaking to some of us while you're listening. You know, you're agreeing with me because you know the spirit is revealing to you because many of us have taken some counterfeit offers—monopoly money, fool's gold.

But when the Lord restores, when the Lord puts us back on the path of righteousness, when we start using the Word of God as our weapon against the enemy, we can thank God and give him praise because what we have to understand is the enemy, Satan, is in darkness and he wants to keep us in darkness. When you're in darkness, you don't know that you're in the dark. It's not until the light comes on, and you go, "Boy, I didn't realize all of that was around me." Why? Because you were in the dark.

Satan wants to keep you in darkness. He wants to keep your eyes closed and veiled. But when God reveals and opens up the light to you, you understand what the enemy was trying to do to you. Here it is. This is beautiful. Jesus passed this test, and then Satan says, "I've got another for you." Satan wants Jesus to just cast himself down.

He says, "Let's go up to this pinnacle, and I want you to cast yourself down." As you read this text, I hope your mind is like mine when I'm reading it because I'm just visualizing how is all this transpiring. Jesus in the wilderness, now how does he get to this pinnacle? You have to remember as we looked at last week, Satan has power. Stay with me.

Culture wants you to think that Satan is just this harmless little myth. But Satan has power in this realm. 2nd Corinthians 4:4, what does he say? He said the gods of this world have blinded your eyes. Let me give you another verse. Ephesians Chapter 2, verse 2, he talks about there where he is the prince of this domain. So Satan has power in this earthly realm.

God has leased, as it were, the earth, the universe to Satan for a temporal period of time. And so, yes, he can take Jesus from the wilderness in an instance and put him on the pinnacle and let him see. Don't you think for a second that Satan is this entity limited in scope and abilities. He has all power in this realm right now. But what we say? Our God is eternal. Our God is sovereign. Our God is transcendent, and he is high and above Satan.

Satan is limited in what he can do. So he takes him there and he says, "Jesus, this is something I need for you to do." And it's so crafty how he comes to Christ quoting Scripture. How can he quote it? Because Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Satan is sitting in your sanctuaries. He's watching via livestream. Satan is present because he wants to distract and distort all of us.

He said, "Throw yourself down, Jesus." Verse 6, "Surely he will command his angels concerning you. Their hands will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot." Satan is quoting the Scripture. And that's why just because someone knows the Scripture, don't think that they are a person of God. It goes deeper than just quoting Scripture. It goes deeper than just carrying a Bible. It goes deeper than just being ordained. It goes deeper than just going to church. You want to see the fruit of your faith. There should be some fruit somewhere.

He says, "Just throw yourself down." We saw in the first part of this text where Jesus was challenged to operate in the flesh. Now he's trying to get Jesus to operate foolishly. For Jesus to cast himself down and put himself in a harmful, precarious situation would suggest a foolish act. We expect children to be foolish. We expect those who don't know God to behave in a foolish manner, but not our Lord Jesus Christ.

What does the Bible say in Proverbs 22:15? It says foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him. Foolishness is in us when we are born. We are born with foolishness in us, and we behave in foolish ways. That's why the sage tells the young man in Proverbs 2, "Follow lady wisdom. Seek her. Get understanding." He says, "Get wisdom." Wisdom is personified as this female entity that a man must go after so that he can understand how to stay on the path of morality, how to act ethically, how to behave himself. Wisdom is personified as Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For him to act foolishly by testing the Lord would mean that he's a fool, and that's what Satan wanted him to do—to act the fool. I hope you understand. See, Satan is always coming. He's always offering these counterfeit offers to us, and I hope you don't fall prey to them. The third option he comes down here and he says to him, after he says, "Cast yourself down," he takes him on a high mountain. Verse 8, he shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Look, the splendor, the majesty, all the pomp and circumstance that come with them.

He says, "Bow down and worship me. I'll give them to you." Let me tell you something. Don't believe every time you receive something that it came from God. So often we think, "Oh, that's a blessing of God." Sometimes the enemy will place things in your possession to take you away from doing and being devoted to the Lord. I'm one for prosperity. I believe people should strive to be the best, top. I believe you should want to receive all that God has for you. But in all your getting, you better get some understanding.

In all your getting, you had better make certain that you are applying the wisdom of God and you stay in the will and the Word of God in all of your getting. He says, "All of this is yours. All of it." This is the financial realm. He dealt with the flesh. He dealt with foolishness, folly, and now he's dealing in the finances. He said, "I'll give it all to you. It's yours."

But it comes with a cost. You see, nothing in life is free. Do you hear me? Young people, while you're sitting here, I want you to hear me. If you're young online, listen to my words. There is nothing in life that is free. Everything has a price tag. I mean everything. You might not have to pay for it, but somebody is paying for it. Everything in life has a cost. There's an expense associated with it. And so often, what we don't understand, "Oh, it's free." No, it's not free. Somebody is going to have to pay.

I'm one of them because my taxes—I'm so tired of taxes. I know you're saying Roche, you always talk about taxes. Taxes are too high. Help me, Holy Ghost. I'm not going to get on that. I'm sorry. I digress. Y'all forgive me. Let's get back to the text. The enemy is real here. Satan is real. He says, "I would give it all to you. It's yours." And I love how Jesus responds. "Go, Satan." He said, "Get out of here." He said, "It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only." Bless his holy name. We thank God for his Word.

Saints of God, for those of you viewing livestream, listen to me. You cannot duel with the devil in your flesh. Don't try it. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are spiritual, tearing down strongholds. It's the Word of God. If you are going to be victorious and understand this dark side of our faith, you have to understand that the victory that we gain over the dark side of faith is only found through the words of God. This year, like every year, we ask you read through the Bible with us. I hope you've been reading with us.

Why do we ask you to read through the Word of God? Because we know that you are placing in your arsenal, when you read the Word of God, the weapons that are necessary for you to fight spiritual battles. Why do we ask you to get into the Word of God? Because we know that the Word of God is the only thing that's going to sustain you. It is infallible and inerrant. It is the Word of God. It will give you the victory in your times of struggle. Plato and Aristotle won't do it. Confucianism won't do it. The philosophies of the world, they lack it. The Egyptian philosophers, the Babylonian, no, no. It's the Word of God.

Only the Word of God is going to sustain us and keep us. Only the Word of God is there to guide us. It's imperative that we understand that, and that is why we don't hide the Word of God. We go to the Word of God, and we seek the wisdom that comes from the Word of God. I was reading an article that's very interesting, and I thought it was fascinating to me. It was an excerpt from the book autobiography of George Washington Carver. It talked about in 1921, George Washington Carver was summoned to speak to the House Ways and Means Committee in DC.

He was there to speak because of some of the tariffs that were potentially going to be levied, and they wanted him to speak about his experience because he was a chemist and agricultural scientist. He was only given 10 minutes to speak. But after he began to speak, they were so enthralled with his insight, his countless uses for not only for soybeans, peanuts, and it was after this speech where he got the title of Mr. Peanut because of his uses and they were just captivated by his speech.

And as he was speaking to the chairman, the chairman said this to him. He asked, "Where did you get all this knowledge?" Dr. Carver said, "From an old book." The chairman said, "What book?" George Washington Carver said, "The Bible." The chairman inquired, "Does the Bible tell about peanuts?" He said, "No, sir. But it tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked him to show me what to do with the peanut, and he did."

It doesn't tell me about peanuts. But because he is the creator of the heavens and earth, because he spoke it ex nihilo into existence, because he provides the rain, the sun, and the wind and the soil for the peanut to grow, because he is the God who provides all of my needs, because he's my light and my salvation, because he's the one who gave me these words, he said, "I just go to my God who made the peanuts." He said, "And he tells me how to use the peanut."

The Bible doesn't address it. But the creator speaks to me. He's my revealer. He gives me wisdom and insight. He gives me a level of prudence that I don't have within myself. It is found in the Word of God, and that is where we go to the Word of God to find how we live this life. Saints of God, I want to tell you something. The devil is real. He wants to keep you in darkness bound.

He wants you thinking that person is your problem. He wants you thinking if you can just get just a little bit, if I could just get this contract, if I could get this connection—he wants you to think that there is some place, some area that you can get to, and all of a sudden life will change. But I'm here to tell you, it won't. That is the biggest ploy that Satan has because he's the deceiver. He's a liar and he's a murderer. And he wants to steal your joy. And until you comprehend who he is and how to fight this battle, you will forever be in spiritual bondage.

One of the biggest deceptions I think that the enemy uses for us, and it's this last one here with Christ, is finances. That financial realm, Satan makes us think that somehow if we just had a little bit more, just a little bit more, we're not taking a Sabbath rest because we're trying to acquire and accumulate a little bit more. We're not able to enjoy what we already have because we're trying to acquire and get a little bit more.

And you've heard me say it on many occasions, some of my best times in my life when I was the brokest. I mean broke. You know when you have to park your car on a hill and let it roll down to get a start? You don't understand that. Y'all don't understand. I mean so broke you got to get in on the passenger side and you can't—y'all don't understand. But some of my best times, most joyous times, peaceful times, fun times when I had to borrow a few dollars to get gas to get back home, I had peace and joy.

Yeah, but see, y'all don't understand. y'all always have been blessed and highly favored and had plenty. But for those broke brothers who can identify, just nod and say, "I remember. I remember." Yeah. But some of the best times. But the enemy would keep you in darkness. Yeah, yes, he will, thinking that you need more. It's not more. It's to worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.

Our impact fact for today is this. I want you to see it. The genius of Satan is to convince humanity he is a harmless myth. That's his genius. Satan is subtle, as Genesis 3:1 says. He's a serpent, Revelations 12:9 and 10, the dragon of old, the deceiver. And if you're not careful, he'll deceive you. It's my prayer today that you understand your enemy, know who is in opposition to us, but then use the weapons God has given us that we might be victorious in our fight against the dark side of faith.

Guest (Male): Satan's job is to tempt and entice us to go against the will and character of God. When that happens, may we remember Jesus' example of relying totally on the truth in God's Word. Thank you, Dr. Coleman. For any questions or comments, please email us at info@rochecolemanministries.org or give us a call at 346-386-4621.

To make a donation to the ministry or if you want to purchase one of Dr. Coleman's books, please log on to rochecolemanministries.org. Our mailing address is Roche Coleman Ministries, 594 Sawdust Road, Suite 185, The Woodlands, Texas, 77380. Friends, if you live in the Houston, in the Woodlands area, please stop by Impact Church of the Woodlands where Dr. Coleman serves as the senior pastor.

We hope you'll come visit us this weekend. The church is located at 5401 Shadowbend Place, The Woodlands, Texas, and the Sunday worship times are 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM. We look forward to meeting you. In closing, the impact thought is: declare who God is in times of temptation and use God's Word for victory.