January 15, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
Subject: The Temptation of Jesus
Title: Let’s Get Started – The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry
Last week I shared with you about John the Baptist and how he came to prepare us for the coming ministry of Jesus. My focus was not just the salvation that Jesus has offered to all by His work on Calvary, but also every word He uttered and every miracle He worked that is evidence of the fact that the Kingdom of God is at hand. As a matter of fact, everything that we read in the gospels after hearing what John’s message was, has to be understood in the light of his message. 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. And we know that John wasn’t just talking about turning away from sin, but changing the way you think. And if the kingdom of heaven, which is spiritual, has now come to earth, then it somehow has to manifest itself in the natural realm. That was the intent of Jesus’ statement in John 14:11-12 when he said, 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Everything that we read in the bible subsequent to John’s message has real meaning for every believer.
Today I want to look at Jesus’ temptation in the desert and understand the implications that this part of Jesus’ life has for believers today.
Here are the things that we know about Jesus that got Him to this point.
1. He was born of a woman just as we were…
2. He was baptized in water in order to identify with our sin…
3. He was filled with Holy Ghost power in the same way God wants us to be…
4. And now He is going to the desert to fast and prayer and confirm through revelation from God what His purpose is to be.
Let’s read God’s word and ask Him to bless us today…
Matthew 4:1-11.
Lord, I believe this is Your word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
And I appropriate it to my life today…
I. THE PURPOSE OF FASTING… 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. I wondered about fasting and the importance of fasting for us, and as I looked in the bible I found three instances where someone fasted for forty days – Jesus, Moses and Elijah. As I studied I asked myself this question, “What was the purpose of the fast?” In Exodus 34:28, Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. 1 Kings 19:7-11, 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” You know the rest of the story… There was a great wind and the Lord wasn’t in the wind… there was an earthquake but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake, but when Elijah heard the voice he knew it was God. In each case of these prolonged fasts, God gave the participants revelation of Himself. So it is only logical – not just in a natural sense but also in a spiritual sense – that Jesus went out to the desert to fast so He could receive revelation from God. Now this fasting was not something that Jesus just decided to do on His own. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert… I told you last week that it was commonly thought in those times that the desert was a place where evil spirits lived. And yet Jesus, being led by the Spirit, is going there to fast and pray and to be tempted by the devil. Why in the world would the spirit of God lead His Son out to be tempted by satan? Was it to see if Jesus would give in to sin? No, it was to show the world that He wouldn’t and thus would later become that perfect sacrifice that would take away the sin of all humanity. So as Jesus was fasting and seeking revelation from God, the devil was tempting Him. Now we only see that Jesus was tempted at the end of His forty days, but the truth is that the most difficult time in fasting is in the first three days. During that time the one who is fasting will often experience fatigue, dizziness, headaches and nausea, until the body becomes adjusted to the changes. It is during that time when the devil will attack in an effort to get you to stop. He doesn’t want you to receive revelation from God. He surely did the same then. Listen to me on this – never put yourself in a position to be tempted unless you are led by the Spirit. If you have had a drinking problem then you better be sure it is God leading you to go and witness to people in a tavern. And it would be a good idea to fast before you go.
II. THE EFFECTS OF FASTING… According to physicians, fasting, when accompanied by plenty of water intake, has a cleansing effect on the body. According to one Assembly of God web page on fasting, with the proper intake of water during fasting poisons are removed from the body. Fasting will help people with many physical ailments, especially, but not limited to those with stomach problems. Fasting has a rejuvenating effect on the glands, kidneys, liver and the blood, as well as the throat and eyes. But the effects are not limited to the physical body. If, as we discussed earlier, the purpose of fasting is to receive revelation from God, then there also must be a great spiritual advantage to fasting. In the A/G article on fasting I mentioned earlier it refers to four natural desires of man. 1) the desire for fellowship with God…2) the desire to eat… 3) the desire for sexual intimacy… and finally, 4) a desire for possessions, power, and luxury. The first one is suppressed by the other three, so the natural desire we have for a deep relationship with God becomes more difficult. The next two are not wrong, but have the potential to become sin that will separate us from God. The fourth, which is a desire for improvement of the quality of life, becomes an area in which the enemy lies in wait to seduce you and reel you in with greed. Those are the lies he attempted to use to get Jesus to sin. First – food, …After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Then the devil questions Jesus relationship with the Father, 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Finally in verses 8-9 power and luxury, 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Here is what happens when you fast. Within ten days you are no longer hungry. Your desire for food leaves. After that sexual desire declines. And then, as you continue in prayer, the desire for possessions and comfort in life decrease to the point where they are not even noticeable. And once that occurs there is no longer any hindrance in your intimacy with God. Listen to me – I am not saying that we all need to fast. I am just trying to explain what Jesus was experiencing while the devil was tempting Him as He fasted. But remember this much – the kingdom of heaven is at hand… Jesus is revealing the kingdom through what He says and does. I mentioned earlier about the forty-day fasts mentioned in the bible. There are numerous other places where God’s people fasted for shorter periods, but in every case it was for the purpose of hearing from God – receiving revelation - so they could be sure of God’s will.
III. THE BENEFITS IN FASTING… Here is where we really get to the meat of the message – where the kingdom of God is being forcefully advanced. This is kingdom power at work. I mentioned earlier the three temptations that satan put before Jesus. Look at how Jesus responded to each. 1) His natural hunger - “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Because of Jesus’ fasting and being dependent on God and having an unhindered intimacy with Him, He can respond as He did. 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ That is how God wants the kingdom to live in you. John 15:7-8, 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. The same Greek word is translated “word” in Matthew 4:4 and John 15:7. It is the word rhema. It means,”utterance”. This can come to you in two ways. First, the Spirit of God may just speak into your spirit a truth that you need to know. It will always line up with the written word (logos). Secondly, this rhema may come to you through the reading of the logos as the Spirit enlightens the word to you for your benefit. The kingdom message is God’s people living off of God’s promises. 2) satan challenges Jesus about the Word of God. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Look, you all know as well as I do that the enemy knows the word of God and he knows how to twist it around to his benefit. Jesus’ answer in this case was simple. 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Satan is still lying and deceiving and stealing and killing and destroying, and not just to everybody, but especially to God’s people. “The baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is not for today…” 1 Corinthians 13, 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. The enemy says, “No spiritual gifts! No power!” But just like he did with Jesus, he leaves out part of the scriptures. 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. Satan will distort scriptures by taking them out of context. He will also tell you cannot trust the word, or at least expect it to be for the church today. But John the Baptist came preparing the way for the Lord and the kingdom message. 3) satan tries to get Jesus to take a short cut. He appeals to the natural lust for power… 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Would Jesus have been able to stand against satan had He not been fasting? We don’t know for sure. What we do know is that by the end of the forty days Jesus was so sure of God’s plan for His life that nothing could keep Him from going to the cross. I believe that from this point on Jesus had His eyes set on the cross and the work of salvation that He came to accomplish.
We read in the beginning of the passage the Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert. He fasted. He prayed. He put up with the adversary with all his lies and deception. He was physically cleansed. He was spiritually in tune with the Father to the point there was no doubt what His purpose was. But because of that forty day fast there is something significant that Luke tells us took place at the end of the forty days that Matthew doesn’t say. Luke 4:14, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit… Well wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus have Holy Ghost power when the Spirit descended upon Him at His baptism? Yes He did. But because of the spiritual awareness and revelation of God’s will that came through His fast, that power is taken to a new level.
So how does that affect us today? Does fasting make God answer our prayers the way we want? NO, it prepares us for the answer He has. It enables us to stand until we receive the promises He has already given.
Do we have to fast? No, but Jesus saw it as the norm for His disciples. Matthew 6:16-18, 16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Is it necessary to fast to receive what God wants to work through you? Sometimes! In Mark chapter 9 there is the story of a demon-possessed boy whom the disciples prayed for, but nothing happened. Mar 9:28, And He entering into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could we not cast him out? Verse 29, And He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer and fasting.
Fasting, the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit are all an integral part of the kingdom message. Yes the kingdom is eternal. But it begins in you when you are born again. And all the benefits of that new relationship that you have in the new covenant by the blood of Jesus are yours today.
It is the kingdom being revealed in you through the manifestations of the Holy Spirit power at work in you.
Jesus temptation in the dessert was never about what the devil was doing. It was about the kingdom power at work.
The kingdom of God is at hand!
