Seeing Jesus #1 - Tempted for Us

Opening

• Welcome

• Easter coming

• Child dedication - 4/2 - Palm Sunday

• Boudreaux Joke

Message Opening

• Pray

• Series = Easter is 5 weeks away

• Culmination of all that Jesus came to set in place for us

• We are exhorted to:

Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV

1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• we are to look Jesus - the one who came down from heaven to show us how to live life in God’s kingdom

• AUTHOR - originator - he set out how it is to be done, plotted course and walked it out for us

• FINISHER - perfecter - worked out the kinks,

• Heb 4 - tempted in every way like us but didn’t give in

• didn’t get tripped up

•

The Tempter

• One tempter

• Satan doesn't war against your flesh. He wars against the Spirit in you. He wants you to live by your flesh and not the Spirit

• Jesus came to bring the Spirit to us.

• Until he completed his work, the Spirit was not given to dwell in man

• That's why the Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tested - to show that when we live by the Spirit, we can conquer every attack of the enemy.

• Matthew and Luke tell the story of what we know as the temptation in the wilderness

• Jesus was tempted 3 times

• Each of the very same type that Eve was hit with

• Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life

• It started in the Garden and continues to this day

• We know it and yet we fall prey to his schemes

• But Jesus walked out and showed us that, through the power of the Spirit and the Word, we can be victorious

Matthew 4:1–4 NKJV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

• Lust of the flesh

Satan tested his desire

•

Satan tested his desire

• challenged him to satiate himself

• to have what God doesn’t want you to have

• go where God doesn’t want you to go

•

Matthew 4:5–7 NKJV

5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

•

Satan tested his humility

•

Satan tested his humility

• prove his position

• he was God on earth and he knew it

• but God sent him to demonstrate servanthood

• what would have happened if he had succumbed?

• Entire purpose of his life on earth would have been crushed

• we prove our position by the things we buy

• What we say

• How we treat others

James 4:10 NKJV

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Matthew 4:8–10 NKJV

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

• Interesting: Jesus could have said “away with you” from the start

Satan tested his loyalty

•

Satan tested his loyalty

• compromise his commitment

What Did Jesus Show Us?

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Our desire must be for what God provides

•

Psalm 37:4 NKJV

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

•

Always trust God to elevate you

•

James 4:10 NKJV

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

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We must always keep God first

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Mark 12:29–30 NLT

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’