Overcoming Sin (Part 2)
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 4:5-10
We are currently walking through the Gospels in chronological order, and we have made it to the point of Jesus enduring the temptations of Satan. We have already covered the first temptation, and today, we are going to look at the second.
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.’ ”
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.’ ”
Context
Context
Last week, we laid the foundation for these three temptations. We shared this verse, which outlines for us the three categories of temptation that Satan has always, and still does, use against us:
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
The lust of the flesh is a temptation against the body. It is the temptation of doing something. It deals with our passions.
The lust of the eyes is a temptation against the soul. It is the temptation of having something. It deals with our possessions.
The pride of life is a temptation against the spirit. It is the temptation of being something. It deals with our pride.
Remember that all of these temptations are designed to dismantle the perfect unity of the Holy Trinity. The first temptation was against the flesh. The second will be against the spirit. The third will be against the soul.
In the first temptation of Jesus, Satan tempted Christ to doubt God’s provision. In the second temptation, Satan is tempting Jesus to doubt His Person (His identity). In the third temptation, Satan is tempting Jesus to doubt God’s plan.
In Luke’s Gospel, the temptations are listed in a different order than here in Matthew. Now only God knows why that is, but I have decided to follow the chronology of Matthew’s Gospel.
I did so because of the nature of the temptations, as well as Satan’s wording within the temptations.
Notice with me that in the first temptation we see a particular phrase:
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
According to Matthew’s outline of these temptations, the second contained the same challenge:
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.’ ”
Once we get to the third temptation, we do not see this same challenge. It seems as if there is a shift in the temptations. It would seem as if Satan decides to shift gears in his approach on the third temptation. We will unpack this more as we dig into these temptations, but I think this subtle shift has great importance for us today.
The first temptation dealt with the will of God. It was designed to get you to doubt your purpose. It asks the question, “Where are you going?”
It is most powerful against those who are unsure about life. It preys on those who are confused with their existence. Many people in life are still asking, “Why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do I exist?” These are the ones who will struggle most with this first temptation.
Now, let’s take a look at the next two temptations.
Content
Content
Temptation 2: The Pride of Life
Temptation 2: The Pride of Life
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.’ ”
This second temptation deals with the word of God. It is designed to get you to doubt your person. It asks the question, “Who are you?”
Satan takes Jesus and sets Him up on the pinnacle of the temple. From this great height, he then tells Jesus to jump. Seeing that Jesus leaned on the Word of God to prevail in the first temptation, Satan decides to try to now use it against Him. He quotes from Psalm 91 in attempts to strengthen his case:
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
This passage of Scripture is from a Messianic Psalm. That simply means that Psalm 91 is written about the Messiah. Within that Psalm, God pledges to watch over the Messiah and keep Him safe.
Satan is making a play on God’s promise. “If You want me to believe You are the Son of God, then prove it. God promised He would make sure You are safe, so jump. If He saves You, then You have something to boast of. If You are not willing to jump, then You are no Messiah.”
He gives Jesus an ultimatum. We see this same mentality all over today. I hear my kids use this same tactic with one another all the time.
One of them will say, “Hey if I can do this, then you owe me a dollar.” Or they will say, “Hey, let’s do this challenge. If I win, then you have to do my chores, and if you win then I will do yours.”
Sometimes, they will even come to me and say, “Hey dad, if I do this, then you have to pay me five dollars.” To which I reply, “Oh yeah, who said.”
It is a tactic that is proposed in the form of a challenge. It is a challenge to prove yourself.
Satan says, “Go ahead and jump. If you are truly the Son of God, then God will have to save you.”
This type of temptation is perhaps the most subtle and dangerous of the three, because it seemingly encourages people to exercise faith in God. In reality, it arrogantly demands things from God, turning Him into a genie who grants people’s every request.
I want you all to notice closely what Jesus says:
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Jesus simply says, “No”. You cannot force God to move. You cannot force God to operate on your terms. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Now let’s approach this from two angles:
In one sense, this temptation is designed to force the hand of God.
The problem with this mindset, is that we are nothing outside of God. If it were not for the presence of God within us and the grace of God upon us, we would be capable of nothing.
This temptation is designed to get you to turn the Word of God upon its head. If mankind can somehow force the hand of God, then man becomes sovereign, not God. We know from Scripture, that this is simply not true. God is sovereign, and mankind can in no way, force the hand of God to move and operate.
We are to operate in the will of God, not the other way around.
How many times have we ourselves done this very thing to God.
“God, if you will do this for me, then I will do this. God, if you will forgive me of this, then I will never do this again.”
We are in no position to bargain with God. We are no position to demand things of God. If we are in a mess, it is because of the choices we have made to put ourselves there. The only hope we have when in those desperate situations, is to cry out to an Almighty God who is faithful, merciful, and gracious and admit our failures.
In another sense, this temptation is designed to cause doubt concerning your relationship to God.
“If you are the Son of God, then jump in faith, knowing that God must save you. If you are unwilling to jump, then maybe you are not who you think you are.”
The first part of this temptation plays on the idea, God must live up to His Word. This second part of it plays on the idea, God might not live up to His Word.
Either way, it is a play against the Word of God.
We are never called to prove God, but rather to be the proof of God. It is not up to us to bring the Word of God to life, it already has life.
When Satan presents you with an ultimatum, remember that you have the right to say no.
You do not have to play into his hand.
Remember who you are. You are a child of God, and as a child of God, He is with you always. The only person who have to prove anything to, is God Himself. If He is pleased with you, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, especially Satan.
Temptation 3: The Lust of the Eyes
Temptation 3: The Lust of the Eyes
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.”
As we mentioned earlier, this temptation is stated differently from the other two. It does not ask Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God. The other two temptations dealt with the will of God and the Word of God. They asked the questions, “Who are you?” and “Where are you going?”
By the time Satan reaches this point of the conversation, He knows that Jesus is established in His understanding of who He is and what His purpose is. He now shifts to a different approach. The question now becomes, “Do You know how You are going to get there?”
This temptation deals with the worship of God.
The first temptation was designed to get Jesus to doubt God’s provision. The second temptation was designed to get Jesus to doubt His person. The third temptation is designed to get Jesus to doubt God’s plan.
What is God’s plan? What was the purpose of Christ?
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus came to reestablish a relationship between man and God that has been broken because of sin. That’s the plan....to reconcile mankind to God. He came to restore that which had been lost.
Sin separates man from God. To put it more simply, to be outside the will of God is to be out of relationship with God.
Jesus came to reestablish that relationship.
That was His purpose, but how was He to accomplish that purpose? That is what Satan is challenging Him with right now. How was Jesus to accomplish His mission? How was He to reconcile man back to God?
He would do it through the cross. See, when we look at the cross we think of death, but the cross of Christ was more about life than it was about death. Yes, He died, but He did so that we might live according to Godliness.
This plan that God had put into motion meant that Jesus would have to live a perfect life, free of sin. He would be rejected by most, even His own people. He would be betrayed, mocked, lied against, and then ultimately suffer a most-excruciating death. And He would do it all for the sake of men who hated Him. That was the plan.
If Jesus could accomplish His task, if He could fulfill the plan of God, then He could defeat the current ruler named Satan, reestablish a relationship between man and God, and take back the keys to the kingdoms of this world that had been lost through Adam.
That’s a big plan with a whole lot on the line.
Knowing what was ahead of Jesus, Satan offers Jesus an out.
He takes Jesus up onto a high mountain, flashes all the kingdoms of the world along with their glory before His eyes, and says, “I will give it all to You. This is why You are here, right? You are here to redeem them. You are here to restore them. Let me make this easy for You. If You will bow before me now and worship me, then we can skip this whole plan that Your Father has put into motion and I will give it all to You right now.”
He tempts Jesus by offering Him a way out.
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.’ ”
Satan’s last request uncovers his true motive. He wanted to be worshipped. This was the reason for his fall to begin with. He was created by God and once reigned with God in heaven. He was the mightiest angel of all, but he became conceited. He was not satisfied with being under God, he wanted to be God.
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
Satan wanted to be worshipped. He is tempting Jesus to worship him by offering Him a shortcut. Jesus sees through Satan’s scheme and says, “No way. Scripture clearly defines that only one is worthy of worship. Only one is worthy to be served. That is God Almighty. I will not go against Scripture and be found outside of the will of God, even it means that I get to bypass a whole lot of pain and suffering.”
See Satan is offering Jesus a pretty sweet deal. Essentially, this is what Satan is saying:
“You can have the crown......without the cross.”
If you are willing to do what I ask, I will give You what You want and allow you to skip all of the hard stuff.
It is an issue of worship. To worship something means to value something. Satan says, “How bad do you really want it? What are you willing to do to get it?”
It is a very dangerous temptation, because it seems to offer the same result in the end. You are still gonna get what you want, we are just gonna go a different route to get it.
The problem with this temptation, is that it takes all of the focus of God’s plan for your life and places it on the result. This means that you take all of the focus off of the means of obtaining that result.
What if I told you, that the process in which you obtain a reward is actually more important than the reward itself?
Every single person in this room is guilty of taking the bait on this one.
We all want to get swole, but none of us want to get sore.
Every parent wants what is best for their children, but then so many leave the raising of their children up to everyone else but themselves. They drop them off at school, daycare, and even church, thinking that everyone else is going to provide what God has called them to provide. They are buying into the shortcuts offered to them and once they realize they have made a mistake, it is done too late.
Many people want to go to heaven, but few are willing to admit their sin, repent of it, and acknowledge Christ as king. There is no shortcut to getting to heaven, but we hear it every day. Well if I am good enough, God will let me in. No sir. Shortcuts do not work with God. If you are going to go to heaven, you will go through Jesus, or you will not go at all.
Many say they want to be closer to God, but very few are willing to read their Bibles, study their Bibles, fast, pray, dedicate a certain portion of their day for quite time with God, and get up earlier than they have to to seek His face. Well if I just go to church, that is good enough right? No sir. It’s not. If you are going to grow closer to God, you will do it through sacrifice and being intentional about your walk with God. There are no shortcuts.
See we live in a world that is driven by shortcuts. We all want success, but none of us want to suffer. We all want the most, but we want it at the cheapest price.
Let me be very clear right now......there are no shortcuts with God.
If Jesus would have taken this offer, we would all be doomed to hell. There was no way around the cross. In order for man to be saved, Jesus had to die. Period. That was God’s plan. No shortcut would suffice.
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
We have got to stop giving in to the lies of Satan and believing that we can somehow live out God’s purpose for our life without following God’s plan for our life. It’s not possible.
Their is purpose in the suffering. The suffering makes us stronger. God uses the suffering to mold us into a better version of ourselves, so that we can become something more than what we used to be. If you skip the suffering, then you are not ready for the blessing. Even if it comes, you will not be ready for it, and it will become a burden instead of a blessing.
We must follow God’s plan.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Commitment
Commitment
During these three temptations, Satan challenged the will of God, the word of God, and the worship of God.
In those three temptations, three questions were asked:
Who are you?
Where are you going?
How are you going to get there?
Since Satan tempted in those three areas, it seems plausible to state that we need to know the answer to those three questions. Not only do we need to know the answer to those questions, we need to be able to answer those questions with assurance!
So as we come to a close, I am going to ask you those same three questions:
Do you know who you are? Can you say with assurance that you are a child of God?
Do you know where you are headed? Do you fully understand what your purpose is?
Do you know how you are going to get there? Have you settled in your heart that you are going to worship God and Him alone, regardless if it means that you must suffer more because of it? Have you determined that God’s way is the best way and the only way for you?
If you are struggling with answering any of those questions, now is the time for you to come and get some answers. Come bear your heart to God and figure out what comes next in your life.
