Responding to Temptation
Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. 3 Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread." 4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.' " 5 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.' " 7 Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the Lord your God.' " 8 Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 9 "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will only kneel down and worship me." 10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.' " 11 Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
Intro: How It Happened:
God populated the earth with broccoli & cauliflower & spinach, green & yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man & Woman would live long & healthy lives.
Then Satan created McDonald’s.
And McDonald’s brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger.
Then Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?"
And Man said, "Super-size them." And Man gained pounds.
God created healthful yogurt so woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.
Then Satan brought forth chocolate. And woman gained pounds.
God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."
Then Satan brought forth ice cream. And woman gained more pounds.
God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables & olive oil with which to cook them."
Then Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter.
And Man gained pounds & his bad cholesterol went through the roof.
So God brought forth running shoes & Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.
Then Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels. And Man gained even more pounds.
God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat & brimming with nutrition.
Then Satan peeled off the healthful skin & sliced the starchy center into chips & deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.
And Man clutched his remote control & ate the potato chips soaked in cholesterol.
Satan saw it & said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed, & created quadruple bypass heart surgery.
Then Satan created HMO’s. (Adapted from www.mamarocks.com)
-We’re talking about temptation today.
-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 full what temptation means.” [Today in the Word, November, 1998, p. 24]
-Learn to recognize a temptation for what it is! You may not see an ugly guy with too much hair gel in long red underwear with 2 horns on his head, whispering sinisterly, or hissing out temptations - “Just do it! You know you want to!” Satan is much more subtle! He is more likely to let you think it is your idea, or better yet, God’s idea, or perhaps he’ll convince you that it is the only viable option. Temptations are designed to make us want to trade the favor and blessing of God for something that won’t satisfy and won’t last.
-Today I’d like to look at 3 perspectives to help us overcome temptation:
1. Don't live for your appetites - Live for God!
Matthew 4:3-4 3 Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread." 4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.' "
-Life is so much more than this! Hunger is better than Disobedience; Feeding my appetite doesn’t really add anything to my life, but obeying God does! Sometimes we can hear God better when we decide to neglect the physical appetite and focus on the spiritual. Jesus did it for 40 days; don’t you think we could afford to miss a meal or two? And of course the value of a fast isn’t just that you go without food; the value is what you replace it with – time and interaction with God!
-Times of fasting and prayer are important for followers of Jesus. It provides a time and setting for you to hear God speak to you. But guess who else will want to speak to you? Your enemy! Now we know that we’re not likely to encounter Satan himself since he can only be in one place at one time. However, he has millions of demons who do his bidding, and let me assure you, there is at least one assigned to you. And since there is nothing new under the sun, he or it will hit you in the bread basket with temptations to take matters into your own hands and put your appetites ahead of God’s will.
-Do you remember who led Jesus into the wilderness to fast and pray? V.1 – The Holy Spirit. Satan was trying to coax out a misused display of power that was all about self. Satan attacked Christ’s identity as the Son of God. “If you really are the Son of God, then show a miracle to bolster your self-esteem and strengthen your sense of identity. Besides that, you’ll have something to eat.” Jesus didn’t have to prove His identity to Himself or anyone else – let alone to Satan. And neither do we! We can stand in God’s favor and in His power, knowing who we are in Christ. We don’t have to live for our appetites, and we don’t have to measure up by anyone else’s standards!
-Obviously, there is nothing wrong with eating bread. Hunger is a gift from God to let us know we need to nourish our bodies. However, we can overdo it and give in to a lot of other appetites that might be destructive and sinful.
-So instead of giving in to our cravings, get in to God’s word! Read it, hear it, pray it, live it! God’s words are spirit and they are life! Our life comes from God and is sustained and blessed by His words to us. Read God’s word! Listen to Him when He speaks to your heart, through your mind, by the Holy Spirit.
2. Don’t try to manipulate the Lord - Trust Him!
Matthew 4:5-7 5 Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.' " 7 Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'Do not test the Lord your God.' "
-God’s promises to care for us were not intended to be charms to protect us from willful carelessness. This is like forcing God’s hand. I wonder how many people Satan has deceived into taking their own lives by telling them that God will stop you or rescue you if He really cares about you. What a twisted way to think! Now I’ve heard a few testimonies where God has intervened and caused a gun to misfire or sent help in the nick of time. But if we try to force God’s hand, we are putting Him to the test.
-I don’t know if there is such a thing as a spirit of suicide, but I do know that our enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I can’t help but think about Judas. It is possible that he tried to force the Lord’s hand when he betrayed Jesus. He was a zealot and wanted Jesus to get with the program and rise up and lead a revolt against the Roman govt. So when he betrayed Jesus he may have expected Jesus to use His mighty power to overthrow the soldiers and take His place as King of the Jews. And when Jesus didn’t react the way he expected he realized he couldn’t manipulate God into acting. And he took his own life, possibly trying to atone for his own sin by dying in a manner similar to the way Jesus would die but without the nails – hanging and asphyxiation.
-Testing God does not end well! 1 Corinthians 10:9 “Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.”
-We see from the text in Matthew that Satan will even use Scripture (misuse it) to get us to take the bait and give in to temptation. Not too different from in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1 "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" Satan twists God’s words and attempts to deceive by confusion or by casting doubt on God’s character or love for us.
-The best response to these tactics is to trust God! Sounds easy, but requires us getting to know Him before we’ll really believe that He is trustworthy! Manipulation doesn’t work well in any relationship. Don’t let it enter your relationship with God! You don’t need to bargain with Him! He will give you the best deal ever without you having to make a bunch of empty promises. He loves you and wants what is best for you! Trust Him!
3. Reserve your worship and energies for God alone.
Matthew 4:8-10 8 Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. 9 "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will only kneel down and worship me." 10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.' "
-This seems so blatant, so in-your-face! The Devil, a created being, soliciting worship from the Creator of the universe! The irony of the situation is almost comical.
-Now there was some truth to what the devil implied about the whole world belonging to him. 1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” But it wasn’t really his to give. This is my Father’s world! Satan’s days here are numbered! And no matter what he promises to give to people who agree to bow down and worship him, it will be short-lived! There is no lasting fulfillment or blessing outside of God’s favor! Temporary pleasure? Sure. But heartache and spiritual death and emptiness.
-We were created to worship God! Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." That’s us! We were created to bring pleasure to our Creator! He delights in us, much as we delight in our own children. I can listen to Noelle talk for hours, and just sit there with a big stupid grin on my face. We are God’s work! Our lives, our personalities, our laughter, our antics all came from Him! We are the expression of His love and creativity! Therefore, we should use our love and creativity to bring Him pleasure! We can love Him back and honor Him for who He is! That is called worship!!!
Conclusion: As we close, how are you doing with temptation? Do you have an appetite or do your appetites have you? Are there areas where you are testing God, trying to force His hand, seeing if He really means what He says? There is nothing in all of creation that is worth your worship! God alone deserves all the honor, glory, and praise that we can possibly give Him!
-If you’re struggling and need God to help you resist the temptations the enemy brings our way, I’d like to pray for you. Temptations will always come. But we need God’s help to know how to respond and keep our faith intact.
-And faith may be the place you need to start today. Maybe you haven’t made a real decision about your faith yet. You want to do what’s right, but you’ve never taken the step of talking to God and asking Him to forgive you and accept you as one of His own children. If you haven’t done this, I would encourage you to act on it today. If you need someone to walk you through it I would be glad to do so.
-We all struggle in various areas, but there is a God who will help us if we call on Him in faith and ask Him for help. If you’d like me to pray for you that you would be able to say no to the temptations that come your way, just lift your hand so I can see who you are and be praying for you.
