TEMPTATION
LUKE 4:1-13; MATTHEW 4:1-11
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 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.
5 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.
9 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.
13 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
Introduction Temptation is something that we all must deal with on a daily basis. Amen
Consider these Thoughts.
#1 It greets us when we awake.
#2 It meets us as we begin our daily routine.
#3 It finds us on our way to work, school, or wherever we may go.
#4 It provokes us when we get to work, school, or wherever else we might be.
#5 It meets us again as we return to our homes.
#6 It tests us even as we retire to sleep.
Somebody once said, “Watch out for temptation–the more you see of it, the better it looks.”
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.”
I want us to take a close look at that matter and see what we can Learn from how Jesus handle Being Tempeted.
A FEW THINGS TO OBSERVE ABOUT TEMPTATION.
#1 . When We Are Tempted Of The Devil It Is Not Without The Knowledge Of God Or Without His Permission. (Luke 4:1; Matthew 4:1)
a. The Holy Spirit Led Jesus In A Particular Direction.
b. The Holy Spirit Led Jesus To A Particular Place.
c. The Holy Spirit Led Jesus For A Particular Purpose.
#1 God may lead us to and through times of testing and temptation, but He never tempts us to do evil.
James 1:13-14–“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”
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Consider the testing of Job Job 1:9-12; 2:3-7)
#2 Some Of Our Greatest Spiritual Peaks Are Often Followed By Times Of Greatest Testing And Temptation.
a. Jesus Had Just Been Baptized . (Luke 4:1; Matthew 4:1– “
b. Jesus Was Full Of The Holy Ghost. (Luke 4:1)
c. Jesus Had Just Been Fasting. (Luke 4:2; Matthew 4:2)
d. Jesus Was Just Beginning His Ministry.
#3 The Devil Most Often Will Begin Temptation In The Area Of The Flesh At Which We Are The Most Weak Or Vulnerable. (Luke 4:2-3; Matthew 4:2-3)
After 40 days of fasting, Jesus was hungry!
We need to guard ourselves all the more in those times and in those areas that we know we are most susceptible to temptation.
#4 The Devil Will Tempt Us To Command Things And Demand Things That God Never Intended For Us.
a. He will tempt us to depend on self and its resources instead of on God and His resources. (Matthew 4:3; Luke 4:3)
b. He will also tempt us to exercise self will in an area where there should be dependence on God.
1 Corinthians 10:31–“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Proverbs 3:5-6–“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
#5 . The Devil Will Tempt Us To Exalt Self And Tempt God With Our Life.
(Luke 4:9-12; Matthew 4:5-7)
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The devil says, “Go ahead and do it, the Lord will forgive you. Remember
1 John 1:9 ?”
#6 The Devil Will Twist And Misquote Scripture In An Attempt To Get Us To Fall
Into Temptation. Psalm 91:9-14)
a. He leaves out important parts. (Part of Psalm 91:11)
b. He takes Scripture out of context.
(He quotes Psalm 91:11-12 but the context is Psalm 91:9-10; 13-14)
#7 The Devil Will Tempt Us To Take Shortcuts To The Will Of God.
(Luke 4:5-7; Matthew 4:8-9)
We should remember that when we try to shortcut we most often end up getting cut short.
QUESTION………
HOW ARE WE TO DEAL WITH TEMPTATION?
#1 We Need To Awake To The Realization That Temptation Is A Part Of Life.
If the devil tried to tempt the the perfect, sinless Son of God, we can be assured that he and his forces will try to tempt the rest of us.
1 Peter 5:8–“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
We are in a spiritual battle, we must first realize we are in a spiritual war!
Ephesians 6:12–“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
#2 . We Need To Look To Jesus As Our Example.
1 Peter 2:21–“21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”
Hebrews 12:1-2–Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So if Jesus is our example, then we need to resist temptation the same way He did.
(Matthew 4:4, 7, 10-11) And hide God’s word in your heart…..
Psalms 119:11–“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Psalms 119:105–“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Hebrews 4:12–“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
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.”
James 4:7–“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
That is what Jesus did!
He submitted Himself to the Father.
He continually resisted the devil with the Word of God and the devil left Him.
We Need To Awake To The Realization That Temptation Is A Part Of Life.
We Need To Look To Jesus As Our Example.
#3 We Need To Look To God For Help In Our Temptation.
Ephesians 6:10-13–“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
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.”
Hebrews 2:17-18–“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.”
James 4:8–“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Conclusion
We all have the problem of temptation. How we come out of temptation depends on how we choose to handle temptation.
QUESTION......
How are you handling temptation? Are you trying to go it alone? Or are you leaning on the resources that God has given to you? We have the example of Jesus. We have the whole armor of God. We have the Word of God. And we have Prayer. We have the Holy Spirit.
Maybe you can’t resist temptation in your life because you don’t have the Lord in your life?
It is impossible to draw near to God if you are at enmity with Him.
Lets Pray…………….
