Sermon Central
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Tested And Approved
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on May 2, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: As we get closer to Easter, We see Jesus being tested in the desert and His victory over temptation.
Tested and approved
Introduction-
Last week we looked at finding God in the wilderness of our lives.
Those times we need to hear from God but feel like we are in no man’s land and alone.
Most live there instead of believing that God wants to speak to us.
We can become so use to ordinary that we miss and are not sensitive to hearing God calling us to extra-ordinary.
Moses had a burning bush experience from God to get his attention and we need to be looking for Him to be in our everyday life speaking to us.
This morning as we get closer to Easter and the cross, The Scripture here is Jesus being tested in the wilderness and He shows us how He overcame temptation.
Not only can we overcome temptation, but we can have victory over temptation by the same principals Jesus used when He was tempted.
A great number of people live in the wilderness experience.
The Lord wants us to learn lessons in the wilderness but does not intend that we stay there.
Prayer-
Father, this morning do something extra-ordinary in our lives. Help us to see that we can get victory in our wilderness experience and live the life that you intended for us. Help us to learn by your example instead of the hard way we usually learn. May today be that day that we move to a new level in our love for you, and you be able to love through us to someone else.
“Jesus, full of the Holy spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil.”
There is so much in those two verses that you have to stop and grab it all!
Jesus full of the Holy Spirit! He had just been baptized by John the Baptist and was full of the Holy Spirit and was led into the wilderness.
Chapter 3:22- “And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove and a voice came from heaven:” you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus empowered by His heavenly Father
Audible approval from His Father that all there could hear- “This is my Son! Whom I love; whom I am well pleased!
He left that empowering moment and went into the desert and fasted 40 days before his confrontation with the destroyer of our souls (Satan)
Jesus tested in the dessert (Scripture says)
Some commentaries want to pick holes in the wilderness experience by saying things like-
There really is no high point anywhere in the world where Jesus could have stood where Satan could offer him the whole world.
That the Hebrews could not understand Satan being the tempter because Jesus had not yet went to the cross and many did not believe him to be the savior.
Some don’t want to believe that there really is a devil-
Then they don’t read their Bibles!
Because my Bible tells me there is a devil and gives him many names Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, murderer, liar, prince of this world, god of this world, the dragon, to name a few.
The same Satan that deceived Adam and Eve.
The same devil was trying to stop the second Adam (Jesus) from coming and finishing what he started for mankind.
The failure of the first Adam left mankind dead, sorrowful, without hope, and in darkness.
The second Adam (Jesus, would bring joy, power, peace, light, immortality, and redemption.
It made the devil mad!
I would rather look at it this way-
Almighty God commissioned His Son Jesus Christ full of the Holy Spirit of God to come to this earth.
Jesus Christ takes on human flesh- That is supernatural! That is above my pay grade.
He takes on our flesh which means that he could be tempted and means that he could have failed.
He became like us in ability to fail, that he might make us like unto himself in power to resist temptation.
Jesus did not go into that wilderness experience to fail!
He was coming out of the wilderness a victor over temptation and eventually over death itself. Amen.
Stone into bread
(3) “The Devil said to him, “ if you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Have you ever seen Israel? On the news, they are constantly throwing rocks at each other- this is not a sandy beach, it is rock invested area with limestone bits that look like loaves of bread.
The devil is approaching Jesus Christ and asking the question… if you are the Son of God-
He knows that Jesus is the Son of God- the thrown down defeated Satan knows the Son of God.
