[In
this study of Luke we have discovered:]
·
[Luke wrote that
we might know with a certainty.]
·
[God's Unique
Provision - God Sent His only begotten son through a virgin birth]
·
[God's Planned
Redemption - God's plan was you redemption through the Blood of Jesus
Christ]
·
[God's Awesome
Manifestation - The Trinity, The Greatness of God]
·
[The Reality of
Spiritual Warfare]
[Now we come to the
temptation of Christ. He is
driven into the wilderness, physically afflicted for 40 days, and then
accosted by His adversary, the Devil.
From this passage we glean more than can be preached in a single
sermon. Therefore, Last week I
preached on the subject of spiritual warfare, today on temptation.]
[In our spiritual
walk we must quickly learn that if our Lord was tempted, then we will indeed
be tempted as well. The Bible
reveals:]
[Hebrews
4:15 For we have not an
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin.
]
[The fact that our
Lord was tempted and did not fall to the temptation reveals that we do not
have to fall to our temptations, but can and should find victory when we are
tempted.]
Notice first:
A.
The Fact
of our Temptation (vs
1-2)
1.
God Leads Us into Temptation (vs
1;
James 1.2-3;
1
Pet 5.8-9) [–
“And
Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and
was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness,”]
a.
[James reveals the inevitability of our temptation when he
writes:]
[James
1:2 My brethren, count it
all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations; ]
1)
[Temptation will come our way.]
2)
[If our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted then we should expect to
be tempted as well.]
b.
[You can expect to be tempted because:]
1)
[God, your heavenly Father will lead you into temptations,
just as Jesus was. Why?
That he might build you and mature you.]
[James
1:3 Knowing
this, that the trying of
your faith worketh patience. ]
[In temptation it is your heavenly
Fathers intention
that you might stand.]
2)
[Satan, your adversary desire that you might fall.
He desires to devour you.]
[1
Peter 5:8-9
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast
in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world. ]
2.
God Limits Our Temptation (1
Cor 10.13) [– Lest you
should be discouraged by the fact of temptation and trials understand:]
[1
Corinthians 10:13 There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God
is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it. ]
B.
The Forms of our Temptation – You will be tempted with:
1.
Your Provision (vs
3-4;
Matt
7.11) [–
“And
the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that
it be made bread. 4 And Jesus
answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God.” ]
a.
[Jesus had just fasted for forty days – most of us would
struggle to fast for a few hours, or a single day, none-the-less for forty
days. This is a supernatural
fast indeed.]
b.
[Notice the end of
verse
2 – “. . . he afterward
hungered.” – Understand that this is not an unnatural response.
We all experience hunger, we should expect that Jesus would be
hungry.
The point here is that this
temptation poured out of Jesus natural needs.]
c.
[People are often tempted with natural desires.
Natural desires become temptations when we are drawn to fulfill them
in wicked ways. For instance:]
1)
[It is natural to experience sexual desires, it is wicked to
fulfill them outside of the covenant marriage relationship.]
[Illustration:
a young lady once said to me.
I am living with a man I am not married to.
But I love him and we sexually fulfill each others needs.
How can something that feels so right be so wrong.
God gave me my sexual needs, certainly He intended for me to fulfill
them!]
[My response was, Indeed God does intend for you to fulfill
your sexual needs, but He intends for you to fulfill them in a God honoring
way. That is in a covenant
marriage relationship.]
2)
[It is natural to experience hunger, it is wicked to depart
from our heavenly Father’s will to fulfill it.]
d.
[Jesus was here tempted to meet his own needs rather than wait
on God’s provision. Our
heavenly Father has promised to always give us good things.
The Bible states:]
[Matthew
7:11 If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?]
[If
God had withheld something from Jesus that He needed then there was a
Fatherly reason for it to be withheld.]
e.
[If you heavenly Father, who knows everything there is to know
about you, has withheld something from you, then there is a fatherly reason
for Him to withhold it. Let His
will be done.
Just because you desire something
does not mean you have to have it right now!]
2.
Your Prominence (vs
5-8) [–
“And
the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee,
and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I
will I give it. 7 If thou
therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” ]
a.
[Here was the preexistent Son of God.
The one who had sat on a throne in heaven before the world existed.
He created and sustains all things by the power of His might.
Yet, here He was, deep in the wilderness all alone, hungry, either
cold or hot, with nothing but rocks for His pillow.
Surely His Heavenly Father did not intend for Jesus to be so lowly.
Clearly, He ought to be exalted among all of creation.
This is just what Satan offers Christ.]
b.
[Satan offers Christ prominence prematurely.
What if Christ had accepted Satan’s offer, then you and I would have
been eternally lost. For it is
through the divine blood of Jesus Christ that you and I are redeemed from
our sins.]
c.
[Satan offers you worldly prominence as well.
But understand that the cost of your mortal exaltation is no less
costly than it would have been for Jesus Christ.
The Bible reminds us:]
[Matthew
16:24-26
24 Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find
it. 26 For what is a man
profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ]
[Colossians
3:2 Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. ]
[Matthew
6:19-21
19 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal: 20 But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. ]
d.
[Be reminded my
Christian brother and sister, if you have received the Lord Jesus Christ you
already are a joint heir to God’s throne, you will reign with Christ one day
soon, and the things of this world and this mere 70 years cannot be compared
to what God has prepared for you in eternity to come.
Do Not trade your birth write for a bit of pourage in this vile and
momentary life.]
3.
Your Promises (vs
9-12) [–
“And
he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and
said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give
his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11
And in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. 12 And Jesus answering
said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” ]
a.
[Notice here that
Satan now quotes Scripture.
]
1)
[Don’t you be deceived, just because someone quotes Scripture
does not make them a Christian.
Jesus told you to be fruit inspectors, not judges.
Look at their life, if they are living for God and obeying His Word
then fellowship with them. If
they are living in sin then have nothing to do with them.
The devil quotes Scripture, but only a fool would listen to him.]
2)
[Satan quotes a promise given directly for Christ, but Satan
takes it out of context and tries to twist it to mean something other than
God intended for it to mean. ]
b.
[Satan is a master of mutilated promises.
Multitudes follow false doctrines today, all of which claim to be
based on the Word of God.]
c.
[Jesus uses another Scripture to thwart Satan’s deceptive
attempt. Hence, the only way a
Christian can protect himself from such subtile temptations is to know his
Bible from cover to cover.]
[2
Timothy 2:15 Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. ]
C.
The Facing of our Temptations
1.
Your Attitude in Temptation
[– Someone has said, “Attitude
determines altitude.” If
you are defeated in your mind and heart, then you have already lost the
battle. You can stand in the
face of temptation. Just
because you are tempted does not mean you have to fall.
Know that:]
a.
[God is building and maturing you through your trials and
temptations.]
b.
[God’s will is always good, perfect, and acceptable; even in
trials and temptations.]
c.
[God will work all things to your good.
Rejoice in your heavenly Father’s provision, knowledge, and power.]
2.
Your Allies when facing Temptation (Psalm
119.9,11;
1
John 4.4)
a.
[The Word of God (Psalm
119.9,11)
– In each of the three temptations recorded in Jesus experience with the
devil, Christ used scripture to win the victory.
There is absolutely no substitute for the memorized Word of God when
facing temptation.]
[Psalms
119:9 Wherewithal shall a
young man cleanse his way? by taking heed
thereto according to thy
word. ]
[Psalms
119:11 Thy word have I
hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ]
1)
[Parents can prepare their children for victory in life’s
temptations and trials by stressing scripture memorization as a daily
spiritual discipline. It is
worthy of reward when your children memorize the Word of God.]
2)
[Parents teach your children that they are memorizing the
Bible for a reason, so that they can use the Sword of God’s word when facing
the devil. They are never more
like Jesus than when they use the Word of God in Spiritual Warfare.]
b.
[The Wonder of God
(1
John 4.4;
James 4.7-10) – The presence of God.
His nearness, and the Holy Spirit.
A Christian focused on staying close to God will find it impossible
to continue in presumptuous sin, and will find victory in their temptations.
The presence of God drives away sinful desires and temptations.]
[1
John 4:4 Ye are of God,
little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world.]
[James
4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands,
ye sinners; and purify
your hearts,
ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning, and
your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of
the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
c.
[Here is an important
point for the lost man or woman.
If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ then you stand alone.
You have no advocate with the Father.
You do not have the Holy Spirit within you.
You do not have the spiritual illumination of the Word of God you
need to over come your temptation.
Therefore, you will continuously fall to you temptations.
You will continuously fail when tried, and you will one day be
eternally lost. However, it
does not need to be so for you.
You can accept Christ today, if you will.]
3.
Your Advance as a result of
Temptation (vs
13-15) [– “And
when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a
season. 14 And Jesus returned in
the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the
region round about. 15 And he
taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”]
a.
[The Empowering Spirit
– to have the Holy Spirit and to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit
are two different things. If
you will be empowered by God then you must endure with God and be faithful
in all of the trials and temptation He uses to build you and perfect you.]
b.
[The glorification of
the Son, Jesus Christ. Once
Christ had endured His temptations He was glorified in His ministry.
The Church of Jesus Christ must understand this reality.
Comfortable Christianity will never see the Glory of God.
It is through the trials of life that God receives His greatest
glory. Therefore,]
1)
[If your trial seems
great, then God will be greatly glorified.]
2)
[If your temptation
seems heavy, then God will be greatly glorified.]
c.
[Hence James wrote:]
[James
1:2 My brethren, count it
all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;]
CrossRoads, Sunday July 9, 2006
