From Baptism to Temptation: Trusting God's Path

Central Idea of the Text (CIT): Jesus was affirmed by God at His baptism and then led by the Spirit to be tempted, demonstrating His trust in God and resistance to temptation.Proposition: We are called to trust in God's affirmation and guidance, even when faced with temptations.Objective: By the end of this sermon, hearers will recognize the importance of trusting God's guidance through their spiritual journeys, especially during times of temptation.Main Point of the Sermon (MPS): Recognize God's presence in your life through affirmation and guidance, and respond to temptations with faith and trust in His path for you.

Baptism of the Son

Luke 3:21–22 “When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!”

Mark 1:9–10 “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove.”

Matthew 3:13–17 HCSB

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. But John tried to stop Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?” Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him to be baptized. After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!

We will see on all three of these accounts that John the Baptist was confused and felt unworthy.

Introduction

Imagine a world where your connection and grounding in faith are so robust that you effortlessly withstand temptation's lure. The realm of Satan, demons, and temptation is shrouded in mystery, with C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters offering a creative glimpse into such a world. Yet, what remains clear amid the unknown is our daily battle against temptations that threaten to derail us from God's narrative. As we embark on this exploration of Jesus's life, our focus sharpens on the tools at our disposal—prayer, Scripture, spiritual disciplines, and the Holy Spirit's power—equipment that Jesus himself utilized in His journey.

As we delve into the narrative of Jesus's temptation, we uncover a rich tapestry of lessons on utilizing divine resources to navigate life's challenges. This exploration begins with a vivid portrayal of Jesus's baptism, a pivotal moment of divine affirmation, and swiftly transitions into the wilderness of temptation.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a notification pop up on your phone and let you know that satin was trying to control the situation? In the book Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis there is a demon assigned to each person and his job is to trip you up . How do you picture a demon? - A lawyer with a smart phone who is always telling you what he thinks is best. Is it the loony toons devil on your shoulder? How much power do we give satin and his demons? Can they manipulate events, or us?

Much remains hidden about the spiritual realm, and it's prudent to avoid becoming overly fixated on its mysteries. However, we are certain of one thing: we face an adversary, Satan, who roams with the intent to lead us astray. Each day, we encounter temptations that urge us to veer off the path God has laid out for us, and succumbing to these temptations results in harm not only to ourselves but also to our loved ones and the message of Christ.

Imagine how transformative it would be to be so deeply rooted and connected to our faith that we could effortlessly resist temptation when it confronts us. Today, we will explore how to cultivate such resilience and harness the strength to embrace the narrative God has envisioned for us.

John the Baptist played a pivotal role in announcing the arrival of God's chosen one, urging people to prepare for the kingdom of God. Following John's declaration, Jesus entered the scene and was baptized by John, a gesture that not only endorsed John's mission but also aligned Jesus with God's purpose. As Jesus emerged from the waters of baptism, the heavens parted, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, accompanied by a divine proclamation of pleasure from God. This moment was a significant milestone in Jesus's life, signaling the start of his ministry. Yet, rather than capitalizing on this high point to begin his teachings and perform miracles, Jesus chose solitude, retreating into the wilderness for forty days.

All these accounts of Baptism and he didn’t hang around for long.

In each account Jesus was Baptized and then we transition into his time in the wilderness.

John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1 “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea” we see the wilderness mentioned.

The wilderness we see multiple times in the bible is the desert. A desert is a descendant place where there is nothing and where you go to be with God.

We see that Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 Days and 40 Nights. Same as Mosses and we would see 40 years being used in the exile story as a punishment for not trusting God.

Jews were exiled from God because they lost their relationship with God and was focused on worldly things.

Wilderness full of temptation

Starting with Luke 4:1–13 “Then Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, He was hungry. The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.” So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, and they wil…”

Where have we heard this story before?

Genesis and the story of satan and Adam and Eve.

Genealogy of Jesus is listed in chapter 3 with verse 38 ending with Son of Adam , Son of God. Jesus is often called the Second Adam.

But that's not the only parallel. Notice where this encounter takes place—in the wilderness. What else happened in the wilderness? Israel wandered in the desert. God led Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea, across the wilderness to the very threshold of the Promised Land. He invited them to go in and take the land. But what do they do? They refused. They turned back towards the wilderness where they wandered for 40 years.

One of my favorite movies is Back to the Future. It's great storytelling, and it's great movie making. Marty McFly is a 1980s teenager growing up in a loser household. His father is a buffoon. His mother drinks too much. His siblings are classic underachievers. And it all started back when his parents were teenagers, when his father was humiliated by a school bully, Biff. When Marty is accidentally sent back to the year 1955, he arranges circumstances in such a way that his father is the one who humiliates Biff. Marty's dad knocks out Biff in front of Marty's future mom. That twist in the story rewrites history. When Marty finds his way back to 1985, he finds his family living in a sprawling mansion. His father is a famous wealth author, and Biff is out in the driveway waxing the family's cars. Spielberg and friends came up with a great storyline, but it had been done before.

After thousands of years of humiliation at the hands of a bully named Satan, Jesus came back to rewrite history. Jesus came to face the bully. He came to show us how to live God's story. The Old Testament tells us that human beings cannot live God's story by themselves. Jesus had to come to show us how to do it.

Facing Temptation with Trust Luke 4:1-13

Jesus has spent 40 days in the wilderness: he is hungry and depleted.

This is when satan comes to us the most, when we are vulnerable , alone, and isolated from other people physically and emotionally.

Do you feel vulnerable when you are in a new place or away from everything familiar?

Satan’s Temptations

Satan has shown throughout the Bible that he is crafty and deceptive. In Luke 4:3–4“The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.”” The devil tempts Jesus to have something that he shouldn’t have, Food. Food is one of our most basic needs. There is nothing wrong with food or eating bread when you are hungry. Satan knows at this time Jesus is fasting and abstaining from food to focus on God.

What are some of the things satan tempts you with? Is it the timing that is bad or is it something you are not meant to have. I Often struggle with the temptation of food especially when I am bored or trying to loose weight.He can also tempt us with things like new clothes, cars, and electronics. Again there is nothing wrong with any of these things unless they are a detour from God’s direction. If you are compromising your integrity to get these things, working to many hours trying to keep up with the Jones's, More importantly taking away time from your spiritual walk with GOD. Should we not be able to obtain these things it can rob us of our joy and stir up greed and jealousy with in us.

Are you struggling with something you aren’t meant to have?

Genie in a bottle.

How many of you have seen the movie Aladdin? There is a Genie that gives Aladdin three wishes. Explain the first wish

1. Make me Prince - He was from humble beginnings (street Rat)

Secondly, Satan tempts us to be something/ someone that we aren’t meant to be.

Luke 4:5–8 “So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.””

Satan offers for Jesus to become an earthly king, with rule over all of the nations with them bowing down to him. First let me point out that Satan doesn’t have that power. He is lying once more. We know that Jesus’s purpose was to become a Heavenly king not one for this world.

Satan comes at us in the same manner. He will entices us with things such as : popularity, fame, power with in our society, marriage, comparability, and success.

God may have some of those things within the plan for you but satan offers them now and ignores God’s plan which has perfect timing. If we look to satan for these things we are walking away from God, around him, and ahead of him.

Are you wanting to be something that you are not or someone different?

Hot stove moment

Satan will tempt us to do things we may not or should not do.

Luke 4:9–12 “So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.””

Here we see satan using scripture at Jesus and twisting its meaning. Remember back in Genesis when he asked “Did God Really say you would die?” God did say he would protect his children but he didn’t say from everything.

Satan will tempt us to do something we're not meant to do—to go off on our own, to live carelessly or recklessly, presuming that God will catch us when we fall. That's a dangerous assumption to make.

Pigs were not meant to fly. If they tried, it wouldn't end well. We were not meant to abuse our minds and bodies with drugs and alcohol. Men and women were not meant to give themselves away sexually outside the safety of marriage. We weren't meant to let our anger explode. When we do those things it ends badly. We hurt ourselves and we hurt others. Are you tempted to do something you weren't meant to do?

So Jesus was tempted along these three lines—to have something, to be somebody, and to do something other than God intended. In other words, Jesus was being tempted to break away from God's story. Satan offered Jesus a different storyline without hardship, without suffering, without the Cross. That's the same thing he offered Adam and Eve—a different storyline. It's the same thing he offered Israel in the wilderness—a different storyline. It's the same thing he offers you and me every time he suggests we be, do, or have something contrary to God's intent. Adam and Eve fell victim to that temptation, and the people of Israel fell victim to that temptation time and again. You and I fall victim to that temptation all the time. But Jesus didn't fall. Jesus stood the test. He looked Satan in the eye and said: My life is about more than food. It's about more than power. It's about more than safety. It's about doing my Father's will and fulfilling his purpose.

Jesus' victory over temptation

Jesus faced the bully. Three times he came at him with his worst stuff, and three times Jesus fended him off. How did he do that? If we think Jesus did it simply because he was Jesus, we are mistaken. We sometimes think of Jesus as some kind of a superhero disguised as a mild-mannered rabbi, that beneath that tattered robe he had a special suit that gave him supernatural powers. That's not what the Bible tells us. Hebrews says, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity … For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way … Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (2:14, 16, 18). All Jesus was wearing under those robes was skin and bones like you and me.

Now we can get into a long and lively debate about whether Jesus could have or couldn't have given in to this temptation. On the one hand, Jesus is fully human. So if it was a real temptation he must have been able to give into it. On the other hand, he's fully God. And how could God violate his own nature and sin? Now, theologians can argue both sides of that question pretty persuasively. As I see it, the important point isn't whether Jesus could or couldn't have sinned. The point is Jesus wouldn't have sinned, not because he had some special power that you and I don't have, but because he had so strengthened himself spiritually that in the moment he was able to say no to temptation. And that same spiritual strength is available to every Christ follower, to you and me, if we're willing to live the way Jesus lived.

We find strength to live God's story when we order our lives around the practices of Jesus.

Look again at the opening lines, verse 1: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit … was led by the Spirit into the desert." Notice that Jesus was already full of the Spirit before he even got into the desert, that in the desert he already had the power of the Spirit within him. And what did he do once he was in the desert? He fasted. He abstained from food so he could focus on his heavenly Father, on his relationship with him. What was he thinking about while he was in the desert? The Scriptures. Jesus probably didn't carry a bunch of scrolls with him out into the desert. He had these Scriptures at his disposal because he had memorized them. He understood their meaning because he had been reflecting on them. And that makes sense, because if you take a careful look at the Scriptures he quotes, you notice that all three come from a small section in Deuteronomy that deals with Israel's time in the wilderness. It seems that while Jesus was out in the wilderness he was reflecting on Israel's journey in the wilderness.

So who did Jesus talk to when he was in the desert? He talked to his heavenly Father. There was no one else to talk to. Why did he go to the desert in the first place? To retreat, to find some silence and solitude, to pull away from the noise and the crowds telling him who he should be and what he should do. He went there so he could train himself to hear his Father telling him who he should be and what he should do.

Jesus didn't overcome temptation because he had some special power that you and I don't have. Jesus didn't overcome temptation because he tried harder than you and I might try. Jesus overcame temptation because he had trained for it. For many years, for his whole life, he had ordered his life around some practices that strengthened him spiritually.

Now, we traditionally call those practices spiritual disciples. And we typically put them into two categories. The first is abstinence—fasting, we refrain from good things; silence, we refrain from speaking; solitude, we refrain from human company; secrecy, we refrain from telling people everything we're doing; chastity, we refrain from sexual relationships. We refrain from various things for a season in order to make space for God in our lives.

But there are also disciplines of engagement—prayer, Scripture reading, reflection, worship, and acts of service. Jesus had been doing these things since he was a boy. Why do you think he knew those stories so well? He learned them in the synagogue. He had them ready because he had memorized them. He knew their meaning because he'd been reflecting on them. He understood the importance of worshiping God alone because he had been worshiping God every Sabbath for his entire life. He was able to hear his Father's voice because he had trained himself to do that. Since he had ordered his life around these practices, he was able to live every moment of his life in fellowship with his heavenly Father and in the fullness of his Holy Spirit. In other words, he was so grounded, he was so connected, that in the moment of temptation he was able to stand strong.

Our victory over temptation

That same spiritual strength is available to you and me.

Dallas Willard has done some great thinking and writing on this subject. His book The Spirit of the Disciplines revolutionized my understanding of the Christian life. This is the sum of Willard's approach to living the Christian life: Stop trying to be like Jesus. Now, that doesn't sound like very good advice. He says it a little better: "If you want to keep all of Jesus' commands, don't try to keep his commands. Become the kind of person who would easily and routinely keep all of Jesus' commands." In other words, don't try to be like Jesus. Train to be like Jesus. There's a big difference between trying and training.

If the average person decided to run a marathon next Saturday he wouldn't be able to do it. He could try. He could push himself to the limit, but the simple physiological fact is that the average person doesn't have the mental and physical strength to run 26.2 miles without stopping. But the average person can train to run a complete marathon by running a certain amount each day. And by gradually increasing that amount over a period of weeks and months, the average person can increase their mental and physical strength so that they can run 26.2 miles without stopping. And here's the interesting thing about running a marathon: If you're training for a marathon, you never actually run 26 miles. It would so wreck your body that you wouldn't be ready to run for a month, at least the first or second time. But if you can train yourself to run 20 miles, then you can certainly run 26 miles.

And that's how you overcome temptation—not by trying, but by training, by building spiritual strength that will enable you to do the things that you want to do, that God's put on your heart to do. You can't overcome temptation by gritting your teeth and willing yourself to overcome. You can only do it by becoming the kind of person who normally and routinely does what God wants. And spiritual disciplines train you to do that.

Normally, we think of fasting as giving up food to focus more on God. But the truth is you can give up anything to focus more on God. A few years ago, for the season of Lent, I gave up Cokes. I was drinking way to many of them in the first place. This was a struggle but allowed me to be more focused on my relationship with God. When I wanted a coke i would just remember the sacrifice that Jesus was going to make this season.

Last year was ice cream along with this year.

You might be wondering what drinking cokes and ice cream have to do with living God's story. With these practices, we develop spiritual muscles and find the spiritual strength that will help us live in line with God's story. If you can say no to a coke when you desire it, you can probably say no to pornography or to sleeping in on a Sunday morning. If you can learn to connect with God every morning, you will probably be able to connect with him throughout the day, even when your boss is on your back or your kids are testing your patience. If you can learn to be silent for an hour or for an entire day, then you will learn to hold your tongue when you feel like lashing out at somebody.

If Jesus had not ordered his life around these practices, the story would look different. When Satan showed up, Jesus was ready. He was ready when temptation came, and he was able to stand strong, even when he was hungry and alone and far from home. He was ready because he trained himself.

That same strength is available to us. We find the strength to live God's story when we order our lives around the practices of Jesus.

Steve Macchia wrote a helpful book called Crafting a Rule of Life. The idea of having a rule of life is simply this: selecting a series of spiritual disciplines that bring order to your day and to your relationship with God.

Conclusion

Overcoming temptation is not a matter of trying harder; it's a matter of training yourself to become the kind of person who normally and routinely does what God wants.

Jesus won this showdown in the wilderness. He delivered a roundhouse punch to his enemy that sent him staggering off, licking his wounds. Luke tells us that when the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, "He left him till an opportune time." Now Jesus would meet this enemy again, many times during his ministry, right up until the end. Jesus sweated great drops of blood as he wrestled in the Garden of Gethsemane, resisting temptation. Jesus stood the test. He faced the bully and won. And so can we, if we order our lives around the practices of Jesus.

God's story for Jesus was way better than the story the Satan offered. Satan suggested that Jesus make himself a few loaves of bread. But with the Father's help, Jesus was going to make enough bread to feed thousands of people. Ultimately, Jesus is the Bread of Life that feeds the world. Satan offered Jesus the opportunity to rule the kingdoms of this world. But the Father made Jesus king of the cosmos, with everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth bowing down to him. Satan dared Jesus to throw himself from the Temple to see if God would catch him at the last moment. That was child's play. Jesus threw himself to the very gates of hell, only to have the Father grab him, raise him up, and exalt him to heaven. God's story for Jesus was far better than the story Satan offered. And God's story for your life is far better than what the enemy offers. God's story for your life is far better than any story you could come up with, the world could offer, or Satan could slip into your mind. It's not necessarily an easier story, but it's a better story. And we can live it. We can find the strength when we order our lives around the practices of Jesus.