INTRODUCTION
Bobby desperately wanted a new bicycle. His parents told him he would have to save his money and buy it himself. Not terribly surprised or disappointed, Bobby vowed to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to buy a bicycle. His plan began well enough, but one hot summer day it hit a snag. At the end of a disastrous day, you could sense his dilemma in his prayer. Kneeling beside his bed, he poured out his heart, "Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the street again tomorrow!"
How many times do we let the sound of the ice cream truck get to us?
Today our journey with Jesus takes us down the path of temptation. That seems like an odd road to travel with Jesus, but it is a road that He had to walk down.
Hebrews 4:15 gives us one of the reasons that Jesus journeyed down this path. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
HEBREWS 2:17-18 says, “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
This passage tells us that Jesus had to deal with the same type of things in life that we deal with. Another important thing to glean from this verse is that temptation itself is not sin. When we allow the temptation to grow past the being tempted to the action stage or the lust stage. JAMES 1:15 says, “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.“
A couple of others things were accomplished by Jesus successfully overcoming temptation. He personally defeated Satan and Jesus serves as an example to us as how to overcome temptation.
As we journey with Jesus today, we will see that the three areas of temptation that Satan tried to entice Jesus with goes to the root of all the sins that we would be tempted. You can put all sin in one of the three categories that Jesus was tempted by.
Let’s begin today’s journey by turning to Luke 4.
SERMON
I. THE LUST OF THE FLESH (VERSES 1-4)
READ LUKE 4:1-4
A. The background of the temptation Verse 1-2
This journey in the wilderness happened just after a great moment of spiritual triumph for Jesus, His baptism.
One of the other things that I want you to take note of is the timing of the visit by Satan. One of the great spiritual highs of the ministry of Jesus had just occurred, His baptism. The next event we come to is the temptation. Many times in life great temptation follows after great spiritual achievements. (Elijah)
In Matthew he tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit specifically to be tempted whereas Luke says that while He was in the wilderness Satan tempted Him for the whole 40 days.
Luke tells us that during the 40 days that Jesus had nothing to eat and that is the setting for the first recorded temptation of Jesus.
In the gospels we do not have every temptation listed that Jesus went through. Both the gospel writers hit the high marks of the temptations. The three listed goes to the root of all other temptation that we face.
Notice the timing of Satan dropping this temptation on Jesus. He waits until the end of the 40 days. Jesus had been fasting for the whole time and here comes the devil.
Satan will always try to hit you in your weak spots. If you are going to fight a battle, do you want to hit the enemy where they are strong or where they are weak?
Satan knows our weaknesses and he will do all he can to get you there. As Luke unfolds the story of Satan’s temptation of Jesus, one truth emerges that touches all of us: Satan watches for an opportune time to tempt us. He wants to take us away from God. Knowing that we will be tested, we must always be ready.
B. The temptation Verse 3
To tempt someone is “to try”, “to test”, to endeavor to entice or to draw a person away from virtue by suggesting motives to evil”
Notice how Satan frames this temptation, “IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD”. This is the same taunt that would be used as Jesus hung on the cross in Matthew 27:40. Satan will always try to get you to doubt, just like he did with Eve in the garden. Did God really mean what He said?
Satan will try to get you to wonder, “Is serving Jesus really worth it?” If Satan is working on you, if you are fighting Spiritual battles, Satan is loosing his grip on you and he is fighting to hold on. Once the seed of doubt is planted, it is easier to trap you.
In verse three, Satan encouraged Jesus to turn the stones into bread for Him to eat. This seems harmless enough, after all Jesus was hungry according to verse two. What is the harm in turning some stones to bread?
This is another tactic Satan uses; He is usually very subtle in how he works.
Think about how television has gone downhill? (EXPLAIN HOW IT STARTED SMALL TO WHERE IT IS NOW)
Jesus you are hungry, now you can take care of it yourself.
C. The problem with the temptation.
The subtle problem with this request is that it would require Jesus to put Himself and His needs over God. Falling to this temptation would subtly tell God that Jesus did not trust in His provision for Him.
No doubt that Satan reminded Jesus that since He was the Son of God that He should not have to go hungry. The wicked Israelites did not have to go hungry like He was.
In our lives there are so many times that Satan baits us into not trusting God with our needs. The lust of the flesh tells us that we need something so much that we will not trust God to provide it.
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
In the context of the passage Jesus was talking about our physical needs. Jesus promises that if you seek His kingdom and His righteousness that He will provide for you.
Has Satan duped you into thinking that you have to take care of yourself?
Many sins fall under the lust of the flesh. WE end up doing all kinds of things to satisfy our desires instead of trusting God. How many of us have gotten ourselves in financial ruin because instead of waiting for God to provide a car or a house for us, we would run as fast as we could to the bank to buy something we couldn’t afford?
D. How Jesus dealt with the temptation. Verse 4
What did Jesus do when Satan confronted Him with this “opportunity” to take care of His own needs?
Did Jesus have an intellectual debate with Satan over why He should not do what he was being enticed to do? Did Jesus yell at him and say he was stupid for suggesting such a thing? Did he argue with him?
Jesus simply quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. READ VERSE 4.
READ DEUTERONOMY 8:1-4
Moses was telling the people that God humbled them then He took care of them. He humbled them so that they would know that they could not take care of themselves the way God could. Moses wanted to people to know that as long as they were obedient to God, God would provide for them.
Jesus in using this verse is telling Satan the same thing holds true for today. If we are obedient to the will of God, God will take care of us; we can have faith in His provision.
We are always better off to obey God and to trust in His gracious sustenance than to impatiently and selfishly provide for ourselves in ways that disobey, or in any way compromise, His Word.
II. THE LUST OF THE EYES (READ VERSES 5-8)
A. The temptation
This temptation is listed as the second one in Luke but the third on in Matthew.
There are a couple of reasons for the difference. One reason is that Matthew seems to be giving a chronological order of the temptations whereas Luke gives a geographical. Luke goes from the desert to the mountain to the temple. The other reason is that Luke seems to be giving a summary view of the temptations whereas Matthew goes to the climax of the temptations.
Satan is telling Jesus that He can have the glory that He is going to get by going to the cross without going to the cross.
Satan is trying to tempt Jesus by showing Him all that He can have and how easily He can have it.
Satan is asking Jesus to bow down to him, to switch His allegiance from God to him.
Jesus lived as a carpenter; Jesus did not have anything so Satan was telling Him that He could have all the riches as splendor that the world has to offer.
READ VERSE 6. Satan claims to have possession of the world. In many places Satan is called the ruler of the world. 1 John 5:19, Ephesians 2:2 etc.
B. The problem with the temptation.
This temptation was designed to get Jesus to morally and spiritually compromise Himself to get something that looked good.
A preacher was livid when he found the receipt for a $250 dress that his wife had bought. "How could you do this!" he demanded. "I don’t know," she wailed, "I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then, I
found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, "Gee, you look great in that dress. You should buy it." "Well," the preacher persisted, "You know how to deal with the devil. Just tell him, "Get behind me, Satan!" "I did," his wife replied, "but then he said "It looks great from back here, too."
Sin looks good. Look at the beer commercials, they do not show you the bad things that beer can do to your life. Satan packages sin in such a way that it looks good.
Eve compromised herself because the fruit of the tree looked good to her. It looked so good to her that she compromised herself to eat it and she did the same thing to Adam.
How many times have we compromised ourselves for something or someone who looked good?
C. How Jesus dealt with the temptation? Verse 8
The way that Jesus dealt with this temptation was the same way He dealt with the first one. He quoted Deuteronomy 6:13.
Jesus tells us that the way we deal with the lust of the flesh is to put God first.
The story is told of a man who was trying to teach his dog obedience. He would take a large piece of meat and put it in the middle of the floor. Each time the dog attempted to take the meat the man would swat the dog and say, “No.” Soon the dog began to associate the swatting with the word no and learned to stop simply when the word was said. When meat was placed on the floor the dog would not look at it but rather at his master, waiting for his word of approval or denial.
Many times we would be able to defeat the lust of the eyes by focusing our eyes in a different place, Jesus!
In Mathew at this point Jesus told Satan to leave Him and He did. One of the ways that we can defeat Satan and temptation is to flee and tell Him to leave us alone. JAMES 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Temptation only has power over us if we let it have it.
Jesus has been there before us; He has met the worst Satan can give and has been victorious. More than that, He is eager to share that victory with His own people when they are tempted. “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
III. THE BOASTFUL PRIDE OF LIFE (VERSES 9-13)
A. The temptation verse 9
In verse 9 Satan is trying to get Jesus to put God to the test. Once again Satan challenges Jesus’ Sonship. If you are the Son of God, prove it by doing the following.
Falling for this temptation would have made Jesus instantly popular in the eyes of the Jews because they had a tradition that said the Messiah would miraculously appear on the top of the temple.
Satan was trying to get Jesus to show that He was untouchable.
He wanted Jesus to foolishly put God to the test. Putting God to the test in this was once again would show a lack of faith on the part of Jesus.
Throw yourself off the temple and let God save you.
B. The problem with the temptation
Satan uses another subtle strategy with Jesus. Satan quotes scripture again, but he forgets an important part of the passage.
Satan quotes part of Psalm 91:11-12. READ VERSES 10-11 again.
The part that Satan leaves out is this PSA 91:11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.
The boastful pride of life tells us that we can boss God around, that He is there to be our personal butler.
This is the sin of presumption, we presume that no matter what we do God will bless it or fix it.
The sin of presumption will cause us to allow ourselves to accept half-truths if those half-truths get us where we want.
The prosperity message that we hear a lot is a sin of presumption. A person can take scripture passages out of context and twist them to where they sound good. Next thing you know, I have a multi-million dollar ministry because people are willing to listen to partial truths.
The boastful pride of life tells you that God is your cosmic butler.
If ALL Christians were supposed to be health, wealthy, and problem free what about Paul, James and the other early Christians. I have been reading the book “Jesus Freaks” that talks about Christian Martyrs. When I read what they gave up, I am offended by the thought that if things are tough it is ALWAYS because you have a spiritual problem. That is the boastful pride of life saying that we too good to suffer any hardship like those who have gone out before us.
C. How Jesus dealt with the temptation. Verse 12
Once again Jesus goes to the scriptures and a proper use of them to combat temptation.
Jesus uses a passage says we are not to put God to the test. If your faith is strong in Christ, you do not have to see God do a bunch of stuff to keep your faith.
The faithful one will be faithful no matter what. (SHAD, MESH, ABEND)
CONCLUSION
Satan tempts us in the same basic ways he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. First, he will try to get us to distrust God’s providential care. This will cause us to try to solve our own problems, win our own struggles, and meet our needs by our own plans and in our own power.
Second, he will try to get us to presume on God’s care and forgiveness by willingly putting ourselves in the way of danger—whether physical, economic, moral, spiritual, or any other.
Third, he will appeal to selfish ambitions and try to get us to use our own schemes to fulfill the promises God has made to us—which amounts to trying to fulfill God’s plan in Satan’s way.
We can have victory over temptation only by resisting in the way that Jesus resisted—by holding with complete obedience to God and His Word.
We find help against temptation, just as we find help for everything else in the Christian life, by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:2).
Don’t let the sound of the ice cream truck - or the enticing sound of anything else - tempt you away from the spiritual goal of belonging to God.
