Matt 4:1-17 “Led By the Spirit”

Intro:

Review from last week:

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Jesus quotes scripture from Deuteronomy- not only giving us a pattern for dealing with temptation but also giving authority to what was written so long ago

Outline:

Desires of the Flesh: “Led By the Spirit” (vs. 1-4)

Pride of Life: “Throw Yourself Down” (vs. 5-7)

Desires of the Eyes: “Fall Down and Worship” (vs. 8-11)

Summary: Sometimes, following the Spirit’s leading will take you into the wilderness

Illustration: Foster care,

Prayer:

The Desires of the Flesh (Bread): “Led By the Spirit” (vs. 1-4)

The wilderness “desolate” (vs. 1)

Then

Jesus was lead up- “an-eh-xth-eh”, aor, pass, ind, 3rd, sg, to be lead up

by the Spirit

into the wilderness- “er-eh-mon” uninhabited and uncultivated, desolate place (PIC of Map)

to be tempted- “peirasth-eh-nai” aor, pass, infinitive to be put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of someone, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities.

by the devil- “diabolou”

Ephesians 2:1–2 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—”

The weakness: he was hungry (vs. 2-3)

After fasting- refraining from certain foods

40 days and 40 nights- what was He doing?!

Flood- 40 days and 40 nights

Moses- 40 years as a shepherd, 40 days and 40 nights on Mt. Sinai

Israel- 40 years in the desert

He was hungry- “epainasen” aor, act, ind, 3rd, sg

and the Tempter came- “peirazwn” pres, act, part, nom, mas, sg, to put to the test in order to ascertain the nature of something, including imperfections, faults, or other qualities.

and said to him

The writing: the Word of God (vs. 3-4)

If you are the son of God- presently the Son of God, take into consideration what is recorded right before this in the text, the baptism of Jesus! The HS is present, and the voice of God declares, “this is my beloved Son, whith whom I am well pleased”.

command these stones to become loaves of bread

But He answered

It is written- “gegraptai” perf, pass, ind, 3rd, sg, to be written

“Man shall not live by bread alone

but by every word”

Deuteronomy 8:3 “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.”

Notice the context of Deut. you see, it is not just about spouting off things that you have memorized, it is about specific passages to specific temptations.

that comes from the mouth of God- it is not just about what we put into our mouths that gives us life, but also what comes out of the mouth of our creator.

“It is better to obey God’s Word than to satisfy human desires.” Louis A. Barbieri Jr., “Matthew,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 26.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

Sometimes, following the spirit’s leading will lead you into the wilderness. We are tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil when we are following the spirit’s direction and feel alone.

Foster Care

We are tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil when we choose to abstain from certain things in life.

“I am missing out”

FOMO

We are tempted by the World, the flesh, and the devil when we do not understand or remember the written words of God.

Often because we have been engulfed with someone elses’ words

What is your “40”?

This is where I have to poke at you for a minute. If you have said at any point in your life, “I know I should be reading my Bible more” in response to question about spiritual growth, what are you really saying? In what way is that supposed to help? Does the sheer volume of knowledge help against temptation?

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

Jesus is stronger than the desires of His flesh. Which were not bad! We have to eat to survive. But there is something more to life.

Transitional phrase: Being led by the HS does not always mean being led around the hardships in life in order to avoid, pain, heartache, and suffering. No, sometimes that is where the HS is leading you in order to develope a hunger for what God says about you more than anyone or anything else.

Pride of Life (Water): “Throw Yourself Down” (vs. 5-7)

God’s Holy City (v. 5)

Then- it doesn’t tell us how long in between these things were. It would seem close after the other.

the devil took him- “paralambanei” pres, act, ind, 3rd, sg, to lead or guide somewhere, in contrast to the HS leading Him into the wilderness.

to the holy city- Jerusalem, Maybe this is where they get the plot lines for hallmark, the HS is always leading you to the country and the devil leads you back to the city

and set him on the pinnacle of the temple (PIC)- the devil takes Jesus to the epi-centre of the Jewish faith, not the slums, not the gods of fertility and sexaulity, not the pagan temples, no the symbol of covenant relationship with and presence of almighty God.

God’s protection (v. 6)

And said to him

If you are the Son of God- once again, the power of words and seeking to cause Jesus to doubt what His Father has said.

throw yourself down- “bale” aor, act, imp, 2nd, sg, “You throw yourself down”- double emphasis.

prove that God cares about you, make it about “YOU”! Make it a public display of power! “God, if you really exist…”

for it is written- “gegraptai”, perf, pass, ind, 3rd, sg

He will command his angels concerning you

on their hands they will bear you up

lest you strike your foot against a stone- a quote from the Psalm “My refuge and my fortress”. If God really cares about you, He will not allow any kind of hurt or pain to come into your life.

Psalm 91:11–12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”

Satan left out, “in all your ways”. the BKC says, “According to the Psalmist, a person is protected only when he is following the Lord’s Will” (

God’s provision (v. 7)

Jesus said to him

again it is written- “gegraptai”, perf, pass, ind, 3rd, sg

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”

Deuteronomy 6:16 ““You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.”

Massah- “testing” from Exodus 17:7 “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 water, so God commands Moses to strike the rock.

This is after the great show of God’s power and glory in Egypt: the plagues, the exodus, the red sea… Now their hearts are being tested to remember what God has done and has promised even though you don’t see it yet. Isn’t that the very definition of becoming more like Jesus and “Progressive Sanctification”?

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

Who knew that the temple could be a place of testing? Who knew that it would be possible to be in the most secure location and still have your heart tested! This was the focal point of everyone’s day, everyone would have seen it or heard about it.

Our hearts are not safe from testing even as you sit here today and hear these words. Right now there is a war going on in you and around you for our hearts! Will we remember what God has said is true about us? Or will we start to make everything about us and our desires?

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

“Does God care about me, does He even see me? I just want someone’s attention, someone to see me, someone to care.

Where is your pinnacle these days? Where do you feel that no one sees you or cares about you?

This can lead to dependent relationships on other women or men, you heart starts to crave a companion and you don’t care about who or when, you just want it now.

Transitional phrase: Even here in the midst of the physical representation of gospel and God’s promises our hearts can be tempted to question if God even cares about us or sees what is going on in our lives. Jesus knows what that feels like and he was faithful.

Desires of the Eyes: “Fall Down and Worship” (vs. 8-11)

A very high mountain (v. 8)

Again- he is not giving up here,

the devil took him to a very high mountain (PIC)

and showed him all the kingdoms of the world

and their glory-

Now wait a minute, what is he showing Jesus? The glory of all the earthly kingdoms. So pretty impressive right? I guess, but where is Jesus from? Heaven and the glory of God!

The easy road (v. 9)

And he said to him: notice, he does not question whether or not he is the Son of God

All these I will give you- “dwsw” future, act, ind, 1st, sg to cause to have

if you will fall down and worship me- I can give you what you want without having to pay the price.

God’s road (vs. 10-11)

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

Deuteronomy 6:13 “It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.”

Then the devil left him

and behold angels

came

and were ministering to him- imperfect, on going

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

The longer I look at something, the more my heart longs for it. Case and point, motorcyles, quads, and jeeps. If that is true of me, think about Jesus, how long has he spent looking at the glory of God the Father and the glory of His heavenly kindgom?

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Jesus is faithful- SHOW THE CHART

Summary: Sometimes, following the Spirit’s leading will take you into the wilderness

Discussion Starters:

Where and when do I feel most tempted?

What passages of Scripture have been really helpful to me over the years?

Which area does temptation become the hardest: Lust of the flesh, pride of life, or the lust of the eyes?

Song: Blessed be your name

Benediction/Looking ahead: INVITE PEOPLE TO THE CAFE