INTRODUCTION: (I must give credit to John Hamby...some of the sermon comes from one of his)
I remember my grandfather telling me a story about having two wolves inside of us that were always fighting. The good wolf fights with love, peace, and charity. The bad wolf fights with hate, evil, and discord. The winner is the one that YOU feed !!! LET'S PRAY!!!
TEMPTATION...An Enticement, A Forbidden Fruit, An Allure, A Bait, A Desire... and TEMPTATION is the only tool that God allows Satan to use against us...yet he uses it so very well, doesn't he?
My definition of TEMPTATION when Satan is factored in is... “the devil's device to get between you and God.
Let me read a passage from JOB to explain...JOB 1:6-12 says... “6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' Satan answered the LORD, 'From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.' 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.' 9 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 10 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.' 12 The LORD said to Satan, 'Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.' Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”
Have you ever been tempted to do something you knew you should not do? Be honest now.
Did you succeed or fail when faced with Satan and his evil method of getting between you and God?
Today we are going to talk about TEMPTATION and just how Jesus taught us to deal with it through the example of His being TEMPTED by Satan.
I think that we all understand what TEMPTATION is...most of us have been there at one time or another...right?
But let me use this story to illustrate the power of TEMPTATION... “There was a little boy in a grocery store...The boy was standing near an open box of peanut butter cookies. “Now then, young man,” said the grocer as he approached this young man. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” replied the boy: “Nothing.” “Well it looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie.” The boy replied... “You’re wrong, mister, I am trying not to!”
Satan places an enticement right in front of us so how do we overcome it...how do we fight back?
For many of us TEMPTATION so often leads to trouble and such was the plight of the man in this story.
“This man said he was shopping in the mall with his wife when a shapely young woman in a short, form fitting dress walked by. And as she walked by his eyes followed her and without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked... “Sweetie...was it worth the trouble that you are in now?”
TEMPTATION...it is easy to find...it is so hard to resist...and it can cause us so much trouble.” That’s the trouble with TEMPTATION...the intrinsic value gained ain't never worth the pain.
Beloved... “Your doctrine and resolve can be as straight as a gun barrel-but when the head of TEMPTATION rears up...your resolve to withstand TEMPTATION can be just as useless as a gun that is empty!
How many of us have shrugged and said... “The Devil made me do it!” and used that as an excuse when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to do? My hand is raised...how about yours?
See...it is a convenient defense. But there’s one problem with it: THE DEVIL CAN’T MAKE US DO ANYTHING.
He may be clever and powerful but he’s not all powerful...he can't make us...all he can do is tempt us.
Yet it may feel like he can make you do things...yes, it may seem that way when you’re dangling on his TEMPTATION HOOK...but that is because he has a tried-and-true strategy for luring each of us into his net.
So let's take a close look at just how Satan works...just what his method of operation is.
FIRST... SATAN LAYS OUT THE BAIT FOR US...Satan knows people like a skilled angler knows fish...and folks a skilled angler knows fish and catches fish.
He notes our habits. He observes our hangouts. He even knows our desires and innermost thoughts.
Then he prepares a tailor-made lure and drops it right in front of our noses.
He's smart and he's sneaky...he knows the formula for hooking us...he knows all our hot buttons.
SECOND... SATAN COMES WITH THE APPEAL...THE ENTICEMENT...but he can’t make us bite yet he knows what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of his bait...he knows our innermost secrets and desires.
So he uses our fleshly nature to draw us to the bait. We linger over it. We sniff it. We eye it. We toy with it.
And then we roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination...ever been there? I have...
THIRD... THEN THAT IS WHEN THE STRUGGLE REALLY BEGINS...immediately, our conscience jabs us in the ribs, warning us of the danger.
We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait.
We hear the word DANGER! resounding in our head but his invitation looks delicious. So what do we do?
FOURTH... ALL OF SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS MUST END WITH A RESPONSE FROM US...either we resist or yield … either we swim away or swallow the bait whole.
Anyone who has resisted knows the feeling of freedom and exhilaration that decision brings.
But on the other hand, anyone who has yielded knows the feeling of emptiness, the loss that follows, and the pain of the hook in your cheek.
FIRST...TODAY WE ARE GOING TO SEE JESUS MEET AND MASTER TEMPTATION...AND HOPEFULLY LEARN FROM HIM.
In the story we will see 3 general kinds of temptation that our adversary is still using against us today.
By way of introduction I want you to see exactly when the testing of Jesus occurred...look with me at LUKE 4:1-2... “1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.”
FIRST... Please note these two things with me as we examine this passage...
Jesus was filled with the HOLY SPIRIT...the scripture says... “...being filled with the Holy Spirit” … and this is very instructive for us...hear the scripture...He was not alone and we never should be alone either.
Also the HOLY SPIRIT was in the lead for Him as He entered the wilderness...and Jesus allowed the Holy Spirit to be in the lead.
SECOND.. MATTHEW CHAPTER 4 records that this TEMPTATION of Jesus came right after He was baptized.
And after His baptism God the Father spoke and said... “This is my son in whom I am well pleased!”
Now that had to be a spiritual high for our Lord and so often you will discover that testing often follows on the heels of a spiritual high in your life.
THIRD... TEMPTATION came at a time also of physical weakness; Jesus had eaten nothing for 40 days.
Temptations also often comes when we are in a weakened state physically or emotionally, when we are exhausted and emotionally spent.
“In a survey on TEMPTATION among readers of the “Discipleship Journal”, the respondents noted TEMPTATIONS were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). And resisting TEMPTATION was accomplished by prayer (84 percent of the time), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent of the time), Bible study (66 percent of the time), and being accountable to someone (52 percent of the time).”
FOURTH... this TEMPTATION came to Jesus while he was alone.
In the times when we are all alone we are very susceptible to TEMPTATION.
That is why it is so very important that the Holy Spirit walk with us every step we take.
As we begin our study today it is necessary that we see that these TEMPTATIONS of Jesus were very much real.
So first our most dangerous times for TEMPTATION are after spiritual highs, when we are physically exhausted, and when we are alone...and to overcome TEMPTATION we first must be armed with the HOLY SPIRIT.
C. S. Lewis made these insightful observations about TEMPTATION: “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. That is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is....Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the fullest extent exactly what temptation means.”
Jesus TEMPTATIONS had to be real for the truth of HEBREW 4:15 to be true... “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
For Jesus to sympathize with us, He had to have fully experienced temptation! He had to! Praise God He did!
SECOND...WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THE TEMPTATION OF TRYING TO DO IT YOURSELF... (VERSES 3-4)
First we see that the Devil throws the lure out...look with me at LUKE 4:3... “And the devil said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
Don’t be mislead by a false understanding of the Devil’s statement when he says...“If you are the Son of God”... this is not a supposition but an affirmation because the devil knew him...he had been with Him in Heaven...so Satan is really saying... “Since you are the Son of God” or “ in view of the fact that you are the Son of God”.
And this truth exist of the first TEMPTATION...it would be no TEMPTATION at all if Jesus were not God's Son.
The devil is well aware that God exists and I don’t think that he expends a great deal of time or effort trying to dissuade us from a belief in God. No...his basic strategy is to make us believe that God cannot be trusted.
To better understand this let's go back to the very first TEMPTATION in the Garden of Eden for an example...Satan entered into the Biblical picture at creation in the form of a serpent.
He said to Eve in GENESIS 3:4-5... “4 'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 5 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"
At the first temptation in Eden Satan entices Eve to think that God could not be trusted.
Now back to the TEMPTATION of Jesus...it sounds innocent enough too, doesn’t it?
You could almost sense the innocence in the devil’s presentation of this TEMPTATION – “Just make these stones into bread – what’s the big deal about that, Son of God? You are the Son of God – you can just do it! There is no law against turning stones to bread....it won’t hurt anything.”
But let's see...Jesus is in all ways human and had been without food for almost six weeks!
And because he is the God's Son he could invoke his supernatural powers, so the temptation was very real.
Jesus could have done it in an instant and his hunger had to be screaming to Him... “Just Do it.”
But let's look at what Satan is really saying...he is suggesting to Jesus that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since “His beloved son” was hungry.
Satan was tempting Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using his divine power for his own purposes.
John Piper says this of sin... "...(it) gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all TEMPTATION is the prospect that it will make me happier."
Now let's see Jesus' answer to Satan's bait...look with me at LUKE 2:4... “But Jesus answered him, saying, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
We often brag that we are “people of the Word”...that we “live in the Word”. But is that really true?
How many of you think that you are a man or woman of the Word of God?
Understand this fact with me...the question is not how much Bible you know or memorize…but how much of the Bible you apply every day in your life...in your daily walk here through the world.
Jesus always lived by the Word...lived in the Word...and the key phrase in each answer is... “it is written.”
And if we are to ever truly live by and in the Word of God we must walk in the Word every day.
Jesus did not allow the situation or the circumstances or even the enemy to dictate the truth.
The answers to all three temptations came right out of Deuteronomy, the story of God’s pilgrim people coming out of bondage.
Jesus in his answer was saying... “I will not complain. Neither will I take matters into my own hands. I will trust my Father and his Word. I will trust that He knows what is best for me in my walk of His path.”
Our TEMPTATION is not to turn stones into bread because that is impossible for us...thus does not tempt us.
For us, the devil’s ploy is to make us believe that if we want something done really bad we need to do it ourselves...not trust in God for His divine solution for us.
We regularly are tempted to go outside the confines of God’s will to satisfy our own needs or desires.
We often promote ourselves because we are sure that God will not do it for us.
We scheme and we plan for our well-being, because we assume that God does not care or maybe does not know about our needs or doesn't have our best interest in mind.
THIRD...LET'S LOOK AT THE TEMPTATION TO TAKE THE EASY WAY... (VERSES 5-8)
Again we see that the Devil throws the lure out... LUKE 4:5-7 says... “5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, 'All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.'”
Now this is a very special TEMPTATION...and Satan uses it often today...he offers the world for your soul.
Satan is not lying when he promised Jesus... “for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” in VERSE 6. He has the power to make anyone powerful, wealthy or whatever here on earth.
I know that this is hard to understand concerning Jesus but even though Jesus is God He was 100% human …and Satan could give to Him now what He is going to receive at His second coming … yes give it right now.
See...right here Satan is offering Jesus a KINGDOM WITHOUT THE CROSS.
He is saying to Jesus... “Why go to all the trouble and the pain to win the world when it can be handed to you on a silver platter. No suffering, No Struggling, No Sacrifice.”
But a crown without the cross would mean that there would be no forgiveness for our sins and Jesus understands this and also understands the Father's will concerning forgiveness for His people.
Now let's see Jesus' answer to Satan's bait in LUKE 4:8... “And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
We do not have to look very far to see the application for this for our lives today do we?
Our world teaches us to avoid pain...to take the easy way...to take the path of least resistance...avoid sacrifice.
Why give all that money to the church when you can spend it on a new fishing boat.
Why spend the rest of your life with the same mate? Go out and find yourself someone new – after all you only live once. You deserve to be happy.
Why work hard to achieve success...let Satan give it to you on a silver platter through serving him.
But what is the result of giving in to Satan?
One of the results is that we are living in a country with children whose lives are being destroyed because of their parent’s selfishness regarding marriage...divorce today is epidemic...but children suffer.
And another is our young are looking up to and striving to be emulate people who are living worldly lives.
FOURTH...LET'S LOOK AT THE TEMPTATION TO NOT BELIEVE IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT...(VERSES 9-12)
This is the... “God I'll do this if you do that attitude”.
Again we see that the Devil throws the lure out... The devil takes Jesus to the point of the temple roof that overlooked the Kidron Valley, about a 450 ft. drop.
Having seen Jesus defeat him two times by quoting Scripture, Satan now quotes scripture himself for his own purpose...look with me at LUKE 4:9-11... “9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ 11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
Yet Satan misquotes the promise of God, it was right as far as it went, but he did not quote it all nor did he keep it in the context that it is written...PSALM 91:11-12 says... “11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Let me issue you a warning...Satan knows scripture far better than you do and he will use it for his gain.
These verses from PSALMS tell us that in our times of need God does not desert us...He lifts us up.
But we must understand this...for Jesus to have supernaturally survived a fall from the pinnacle of the temple in the full view of the people would have immediately identified Him as the Messiah.
And also it would have insisted that God “show” that He loved Jesus and that is a test of God and a sin.
This would be the equivalent of saying to God –“I will do this God if you will do that.”
Now let's see Jesus' answer to Satan's bait in LUKE 4:12... “And Jesus answered and said to him, 'It has been said, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
Yes... Jesus understood that to start His ministry by dramatically jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple would be completely contrary to the will of the Father.
And to do so would be a test of the Father...a shortcut...see Jesus knew the Father's will and refused.
And for us there are many subtle ways that we can put God to the test.
We do it when we do not put the worship of God and attendance at church as a priority – and yet we expect God to keep our children on the right path – that is putting God to the test.
We do it when we dive into a path of our own choosing and then cry out to God to bail us out and we do it when we test the boundaries of known sin.
God says, “Here is the line,” and yet we see just how close we can get to that line and then we are surprised when we fall and we almost always at that moment blame God for our fall.
But the falling happened because we tried to put God to the test...our God is not to be tested.
The one thing common to all three temptations is they tried to distract Jesus from following the Father's Will...tried to destroy his relationship with the Father … that is Satan's method and yes he does that same thing to us through temptation over and over...he tries to come between us and God like he did with Adam and Eve.
IN CONCLUSION...Please never miss the truth given to us in LUKE 4:13... “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”
This verse says that “when the devil had ended every temptation” – yes...the temptation “ended” when he had carried the temptation to completion and employed every avenue of attack possible.
When it says that the Devil “departed from Him” the Greek is much more blunt … it says he “stood off.”
And if we can follow Jesus lead Satan will also “stand off” from us...but we can never let our guard down.
This battle was over but Satan had not given up....and all our battles with Satan are the very same way...he may “stand off” from us for a time but we must always remember he never, ever gives up.
This verse reveals that the Devil will always be lurking in the shadows...scheming, watching, waiting for the next vulnerable moment...yes he “stands off” but he waits for the next “opportune time”...and that time is again...
When you are most weak – you can expect a major assault then!
And when you resist – you can be ready for a different approach by him.
And when he leaves – you can count on him coming back with another attack at another “opportune time”.
So what are we to do? Satan does not give up...he keeps trying...over and over he will try.
Peter said in ACTS 2:36 this... “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
And we must follow God's lead...we must make Him both LORD AND CHRIST in our lives too.
Jesus must be our Lord...our Savior...and through the Holy Ghost power...he must be our protector!
Paul said in EPHESIANS 6:10-17... “10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of (all of) God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 for shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. 16 in addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 18 pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
This is what Job did...though he lost everything he still stood with God and the Almighty rewarded him.
And this is what Job said in JOB 42:5-6 after all the trials and test he endured and overcame… “5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
And this comes from a man that God said of in JOB 1:8b... “is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil...” and yet being so good he despised himself before God and repented in dust and ashes.
When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says... “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.”
When Christ fills our lives completely Satan has no entrance...there are 2 Lies Satan Wants Us to Believe...
First...Doing that sin just once won’t hurt.
Second...Now that you've ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning.
And both are wrong...doing a sin once hurts God and you and yet God can use anyone who lets Him.
We are never too far gone to be redeemed and God can always use a willing believer.
But...we must repent and Live God and Love God Every Day...then we have the protection of first the Risen and Ascended Son of God as our Advocate in Heaven, second the Father with all the compassion and Love He displayed as He gave His only Begotten Son, and third the Holy Ghost's Power as we walk this earth.
If we truly arm ourselves with these Mighty Warriors then Satan will constantly be found under our feet.
But we must always pray in the Spirit and place our anchor in the cornerstone of the Almighty God. PRAY!
