Fighting temptation .

If you have a bible open it up to Matthew 4. I have titled the message this morning. “Fighting Temptation”

Here we are today getting into Matthew chapter 4, and what we have been studying the last couple weeks is Jesus early life, and the beginning of his ministry. If you did not get to check out last’s week message if you can I would encourage you to check that out online because its part of the story.

Now what we see in the text we are into today is Jesus is Tempted. He is tempted by the tempter the Devil. Who we know is the greatest tempter of all.

Now what I believe we see in this text this morning as our main idea is this…

Jesus the Son of God, who never commited a sin, demonstrates to us how to fight sin by trusting in the Word of God, not testing it, and worshiping and serving the Lord faithfully.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

The temptation of Jesus is a fascinating event in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The Scripture tells us in Hebrews 2:18

Hebrews 2:18 ESV

18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus has been through the suffering of temptation.

You jump to chapter 4 in the same book and you read this..

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Now before we get into text I think we need to understand something that makes Jesus different, even though he is one who was tempted and did not fall into any of that temptation that you and I so often fall into.

Now we know the scripture teaches us that Jesus is 100 percent man, and also 100 percent God. He is human in every aspect like you and I. He faced temptation just like you and I. But Jesus is 100 percent God. Matthew has already told us this truth. But God cannot be tempted. According to James 1:13 we learn this…

James 1:13 ESV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Hold on to that verse as we study this passage. But what does it mean that he was tempted in every way, yet he was not without sin. Well myself and many people I have studied have believed that as a man he was tempted in all the ways you and I are, but as God he was not tempted because God cannot be tempted. If we are honest that might be a little hard to wrap your head around.

I read several things this week to help you and myself wrap are heads around this mystery.

Here is a few of those thing…

… One man said Just because Jesus never gave into a particular temptation that you and I always seem to give in to does not mean he has never felt the tug of such a temptation. He same guy also said. Those who resist temptation are those who fell the wright of it most. Jesus was (and is!) a real human being who knew the weight of sin and the heaviness of temptation. He was not shadowboxing with the devil. He was vulnerable. Like Adam (perfect in nature), he could have been hit.? He could have fallen. But he didn't. He is the undefeated champion of the world. He won! As such, he shows us what to expect in the ring and how to jab and how to land the winning right hook.

One other man said… Think of the person in this world that you love the most. Picture their face, and then ask yourself, "Could I murder that person?" Immediately you're thinking, "Absolutely not!" And in that response, what you're thinking is, "I don't have the moral capability of murdering that person." But if you understood my question, "Could you murder that person?" in terms of physically performing an action, though it's unfathomable to you, it would be physically possible. Even so, Jesus, in His deity, as the light of the world in whom there is no darkness, could not have sinned.

He is morally incapable of such an action. Yet at the same time, Jesus could have sinned in the sense that He was physically capable of eating bread or throwing Himself off a temple or bowing the knee to Satan. In this way, Jesus was fully tempted as we are (Heb 4:15).

Jesus though he could not have truly sinned faced the same temptations that you and I do, to show how to escape those temptations.

we also need to see in this text that God is not the tempter of sin, Satan is. Though we see in the text Jesus is led up into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted by the devil. God may test us, but he does not tempt...you can’t confuse that very thing. Now we learn from the book of Job that the Devil does not have the power God does, he and his demons cannot be at all places at all times like God can. In the book of Job we also see that even Satan is under God’s control. So when the devil and his demons are coming for Jesus coming for us they are trying to get us to sin do it for evil. God allows that temptation to change you to refine you to be faithful in all situations. God never temps any of us to evil. He uses that believe it or not for your good.

Now I am going to give you three ways today how to escape temptation the first is this.

We fight temptation by knowing the Word of God.

We see in this text Jesus is a moment of weakness when it came to being a man he was fasting 40 days and 40 nights we know that the Son of God was even hungry because the text speaks of it. And the devil comes to Jesus in a moment where he thought Jesus would Sin. He was hoping to devour him as the scriptures speak of what he does.

And what he does is he tries to pull the same trick that he did in the garden with Adam and Eve and the same trick he does will all who follow him to sin. He twists the Word of God. Friends Satan knows the Word of God better than you and I do, thats why you desperately need to know the word of God so that you do not fall into any temptation.

And he goes further than that he has Jesus questioning the very power he has. Satan will often try to question your identify to cause to follow him and his lies.

Here we have in the text the Son of God the second person of the Trinity being talked to be Satan as if he can’t do what Satan is asking him to do. Jesus was hungry... he was tempted... he has the power of God to turn stones into bread that came from heaven like those who failed God in the wilderness did. But he does Say Satan not only can I turn these stones into bread I can turn it into a 3 course meal with leftovers for all. He tells Satan the greatest foe.. Man shall not live by bread alone, BUT, BUT every word that comes from the mouth of God.

He did not fall like Adam and Eve in the Garden or those in the wilderness before him, he said Satan Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Here he is actually quoting from Dt. 8:3

Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV

3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Friends we may need food to eat, but we need the word of God to truly survive. When we don’t know the Word of God in our darkness times in our greatest temptations we are susceptible to fulfill our own desires apart from the Word of God.

Reading this week I read this.. (The Enemy is so deadly in the way he attacks our desires. He has convinced many followers of Christ that their desires for sin define who they are. But that is not true, Christian, you are a child of God. And just because you are His child does not mean that you will never want something that doesn't accord with God's will. You will fight with some temptations for 40 days, or in some cases 40 years; you may even have to battle your entire life. So how do you win, day after day, year after year? You do what Jesus did.

Friends that is so good because if you are a believer you may come to me saying I can’t seem to shake this struggle that I am battling and I will tell you are you fighting that temptation with the greatest weapon the very word of God. The greatest food we will ever had is the food that comes from the very Word of God.

Ephesians 6:10–20 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

This battle we wage is going to take all of its gear, because the battle we wage is a spiritual battle to which we must man the sword with precision and accuracy. So that no matter the battle no mater the temptation we will be victorious because of who we are in Christ and what he has given us through his word.

But James 4:7 says..

James 4:7 ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Go to God in all those moments. Resist him as we will see he will flee from you and know this.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God through his word and through his grace always gives you a way to escape a way you can deal with the battles that come with temptations.

We also fight temptation in another way write this down take note of this.

We fight temptation by not testing the Lord.

God may test us but let us never be a people who test him. So Satan is attacking the son of man Jesus Christ, in a different way this time. He may be saying ok the food trick did not work he didn’t want to turn the stones into bread let me see if this gets him.

He takes Jesus to the Holy City and takes him on the pinnacle of the temple and has the audacity to tell Jesus If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down for it is written, He will command his Angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up lest your foot against a stone. He is hoping this will kill Jesus I am sure.

This time Satan tries what worked in the garden the first time he twists scripture he takes it out of context. And he also goes after Jesus identify he says if you are the son of God you are going to do what I say. The nerve of this guy right having the audacity to say this to Jesus Christ. IF you are the Son of God just throw yourself down.

So what he quotes is Psalm 91:11-12

Psalm 91:11–12 ESV

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

He is trying to get Jesus to question his own sonship his realationship with the father. And Jesus does not fall. He gives him a strong comeback here again from what the very word of God. He quotes… …

Deuteronomy 6:16 ESV

16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Satan knew this was a weakness of the people of God. They loved to test God, to often we see in the scriptures and in our everyday life people treat God more like a genie in a bottle than God. One of the times we see the people test the Lord in the wilderness is when they were thirsty.

In Exodus 17:7

Exodus 17:7 ESV

7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

They wanted more water. We might not go to God wanting more water, but to often we are tricked by Satan who says if and that is if you are a child of God shouldn’t God be doing this in your life. That deeps isn’t it. Because the Devil cannot destroy any of the Work of Christ or anything God has done but he is going to do whatever it takes to make you test the Lord who died for you. Others you may be around do this as well. If you a Christian are you not suppose to be this way or that way. Sure they may be right sometimes sure the devil may be right when he accuses you but if you are a saved person your identity is not in your mistakes or sin its in Jesus Christ so don’t test God.

One man I read this week says we are tempted to question God’s presence and manipulate God’s promises.

Isn’t that the truth though. We ask God to often to prove yourself to us when he has given us all the evidence we need to believe in him and his promises. How often do when we think when things go wrong do we to ask God why isn’t this happening in my life or why is this happening. Do you not love me. Why does something go wrong all the time. Don’t be like the Israelites who often questioned is the Lord among us or not. The scripture says all they did was seek signs to validate God was really there. Friends seek his presence. I am here to tell you today friends that Jesus went through that hunger went through that temptation as a sign that he loves you and you though you may be tempted ought to not test the God who gave himself up for you.

Latter on I will preach in Matthew this text just today I am going to read it.

Matthew 6:26–30 ESV

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Friends do not worry do not test the Lord but follow him faithfully just like he did for you.

Friends last way in the text we can fight temptation is this

We fight temptation by worshiping and serving the Lord.

So satan loses another battle and he see’s if he can win the War. He takes Jesus to a very high mountain and he shows them all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he says all these I will give you. IF you will fall down and worship me. Man he keeps elevating his temptations doesn’t he. Jesus has a real physical need he says make you some bread it won’t hurt anybody, then he says just fall down if you are the Son of God you won’t be hurt. Now he is saying all the world can be your’s if you worship me.

Sometimes I read the scripture and I think who does the devil think he is. He is delusional. Because all this belongs to God not Satan, but theres something we can’t miss here. It all belonged to God, but Satan did not want Jesus to take the long road of obedience to earn his crown on the cross.

He was telling Jesus this can all be yours you don’t have to do anything to have it only worship me. Friends take a step back think about what he is trying to do. What do we most know Jesus for not this test, though its important, but as the suffering servant who died on the cross for our sins. And Satan is saying you don’t have to do that to have all the kingdoms of this world.

He is saying if you are of the Son of God just take what is your’s worship me dont do the work of a peasant a lowly slave, just take your kingdom. All you have to do is worship me.

Satan wants you to take the easy way out to serve him rather than serving God which may cost us greatly in this life, but its worth it not only in this life, but the life to come.

What Satan does now in this world is fulfill that desire, go for the worldly accolades , live out all the pleasures of this life now whenever you want. He tempted Adam and Eve with the one thing they could not have don’t you think he wants to tempt with all kinds of things. All of us in our flesh seek some sort of thing that does not glorify and honor God, but the truth is. Satan did not die for your sins, he did not create you, he has no authority over you all he can do is lie to you to not believe the scriptures to not be faithful to God to tell you to Test God. all he does is seek to devour you and it does in the name of self pleasure, he says love who you want do what you want just worship me have all you want, just worship me. The devil is a egomaniac who does nothing to deserve God’s Children obedience service or admiration. .

So what does Jesus tell Satan. Not these kingdoms are mine, but he says. Be gone Satan For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Mic drop.

One man I read this week said…Jesus refused to exchange the end-time exaltation by the Father for right now exaltation of a snake.

Church that is what is at stakes when you sin. You have to ask yourself do I want to follow the Devil or do I want to follow Jesus. Whose word tells me conquered all the temptations of this life unlike all those who came before him. He conquered them in such a way by being beating being mocked, being spit at all the way to the cross to the point of death to only rise again three days later saying I conquered all the temptations, and I beat what kills us all and that is sin. The Scripture warns us about the temptations we will face in this life. But hold on to the Word do not test God, serve and worship him alone.

Because the Bible tells us the victory has been won through the God-Man Jesus Christ. And the enemy will be destroyed.

I have read this whole book if you haven’t do so. Because it’s going to tell you something wonderful.

Revelation 20:10 ESV

10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The devil may tempt you in this life more than you can handle, But God gives you a way of escape. Follow the Word do not test God worship him because the tempters final resting place is not where we belong because of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross we will not be thrown in the lake of fire but we will be in the presence of an all mighty God, and that my friends should led you to fight every temptation you have.

Fight temptation knowing that one day we to will reign with Jesus Christ and in his kingdom for which he purchased with his own blood forever.