Tested And Approved!

SERMON OUTLINE:

TEMPTATION #1: selfishness (vs 1-5)

TEMPTATION #2: presumption (vs 5-8)

TEMPTATION #3: compromise (vs 9-12)

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• The British PM Boris Johnson took his cabinet out for a meal;

• The waiter asked him; “Sir, what would you like to eat?”

• Boris Johnson replied; “I’ll have the roast beef please”,

• The waiter then said; “And what about the vegetables?”

• Boris replied: “They will have the same!”

• TRANSITION: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tremendous authority,

• And sadly,

• This week we have seen another example of how he has misused that authority!

• Unlike Boris, Jesus never used his authority for selfish gain,

• Todays, passage is a great example of that.

• Instead Jesus used it to bless and to help other people.

Pause and say two things:

• FIRST: Being tempted is not sinning,

• No one sins when they are tempted to do wrong.

• The Bible is very clear, that it is only IF we give into temptation,

• That’s when we sin.

• SECOND: Temptation or testing is not always a negative, a bad experience,

• We tend to think of it in that way.

• Sometimes testing is positive.

Quote: William Barcley:

“Temptation is not meant to make us sin; it is meant to enable us to conquer sin.

It is not meant to make us bad, it is meant to make us good.

It is not meant to weaken us, it is meant to make us emerge stronger and finer and purer from the ordeal.

Temptation is not the penalty of being a man, temptation is the glory of being a man,

Temptation is the test which comes to every man whom God wishes to use.

So, then, we must think of this whole incident,

not so much the TEMPTING, as the TESTING of Jesus”.

Ill:

• You are probably all familiar with a PAT (‘Portable Appliance Testing’) test?

• A PAT test is a routine inspection of some types of electrical appliance,

• They are checked to see if they are safe to use.

• e.g. You often in public buildings, such as a care home or hospital ward,

• See a sticker on a plug and the date it was last tested.

• And sometimes you are not allowed to plug anything in unless it has been PAT tested.

• The device is tested for positive reasons and not negative.

• The product has been examined and proven to be the genuine article in working order!

• TRANSITION: The temptation or testing of Jesus,

• Is not to find fault but to show that he is indeed genuine article!

3 things to note.

• By way of introduction,

• They are all found in verse 1.

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”.

(1). IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD WHO LED JESUS INTO THE DESERT:

• Life of course is full of highs & lows.

• If you were never in the valley, you could never appreciate the mountain top.

• Now having just experienced the high and holy experience of his baptism, (MT)

• Jesus will now face a tough, down to earth experience in the wilderness. (V)

Quote: Warren Wiersbe:

“Jesus was not tempted so that the Father could learn anything about his Son, for the Father had already given his divine approval.

Jesus was tempted so that every creature in heaven, on earth, or under the earth might know that Jesus Christ is the conqueror. He exposed Satan and his tactics, and defeated Satan. Because of his victory, we can have victory over the tempter”.

(2). NOTICE THE ENEMY: THE DEVIL:

• The devil is of course a spiritual being,

• More powerful than human beings but no-where near as powerful as God.

• e.g. God is omnipresent (everywhere)

• But the devil can only be in one place at one time.

• e.g. God is omnipotent (all powerful)

• The devil is powerful,

• e.g. Archangel Michael could not defeat him in his own strength (book of Jude verse 9)

• But he is limited in what he can do and as we can see Jesus was and is more powerful.

One thing our enemy the devil isn't, and that is stupid, he is very, very clever:

• He knows that at certain times we are more vulnerable than at any other times,

• To fall prey to his scheming wiles.

• Notice that in our passage (Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-11):

• He picks what would seem to be the most perfect moment,

• To try to tempt Jesus into sinning, into disobeying his father.

The reason this would appear to be the perfect moment to trap Jesus is because: