Dealing with Temptation
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Jesus was led by the spirit… He was focused on the Lord. He went out to Fast.
The purpose of the leading was to be “tempted of the devil.”
If the Spirit led Jesus, then this temptation was Permitted by god. Just as Satan had to have permission to tempt Job in the old testamtent… Satan is limited.
Job 1.8-12
v.8 - God initiated the conversation : The Spirit (God) led Jesus to the place of temptation.
v.12 - The Lord permits the temptation of Job : The Lord permits the temptation of Jesus in His flesh.
To stand in face of temptation we must be in tune with the Lord, focused on Him.
Temptation #1: Flesh
Temptation #1: Flesh
Matthew 4:3-4
Matthew 4:3-4
Temptation - to try, examine, to be put to the test;
Literally Satan was tempting Jesus to see how much He would bend.
The temptation: Food
The temptation: Food
Change stones to bread, a temptation to Jesus’s flesh
The bodies response to hunger.
What happens during starvation and thirst
During starvation, the brain gets deprived of this energy which affects the way it functions and may lead to trouble concentrating and sleep problems.
Due to the lack of energy, the heart cannot pump blood across the body as effectively as it should, leading to a decrease in blood pressure and pulse.
Dehydration makes us feel hungry although we just ate, making us eat more. Dehydration and hunger are often confused.
The Response
The Response
Jesus responds with scripture.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
God led the people in the wilderness where there was no food : God led Jesus in the wilderness to fast.
God provided the manna : Jesus was going to trust in God to provide sustenance, not take matters into His own hands.
This would contradict Jesus’s very purpose for why He was here… To do the will of the father
Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, but He would have been exercising His powers independently of the Father; and He came to obey the Father (John 5:30; 6:38).11 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 18.
John 5:30 “30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
John 6:38 “38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
The application
The application
The application to the believer is that we should be of the same mind… Trust God to deliver the sustenance we need.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Temptation #2: Power
Temptation #2: Power
Matthew 4:5-7
Matthew 4:5-7
The temptation: using the word; worship
The temptation: using the word; worship
Satan cites Psalms91:11-12
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Context of scripture: Trusting God
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust.
The same situation occured in the Garden with Eve. Satan used the Word of God out of context to convince Eve it would be alright if she sinned.
Satan approached Eve and said “ hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen 3:1) : Satan approached Jesus and used Psalms 91 out of context of the rest of Scripture.
The Response
The Response
“Thou shalt not tempt”
Tempt = To try God like a child tries his/her parent; To intice to do something (Merriam Webster)
16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
What happened in Massah?
Isreal was enticing God in Massah saying “is the Lord among us, or not?” Exodus 17:7
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord?
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?
How does this counter Satan’s proposition?
Scripture affirms scripture
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The Application
The Application
Just as Jesus used Scripture to affirm scripture likewise we must do the same as Him. 1 Cor 2:13 - Comparing spiritual with spiritual. (Warren Wiersbe)
We must rightly discern scripture.
We must not tempt the Lord.
We tempt God when we put ourselves into circumstances that force Him to work miracles on our behalf. The diabetic who refuses to take insulin and argues, “Jesus will take care of me,” may be tempting the Lord. We tempt God when we try to force Him to contradict His own Word11 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 18–19.
Temptation #3: The World
Temptation #3: The World
Matthew 4:8-10
Matthew 4:8-10
The Temptation: Worship Satan, gain the world.
The Temptation: Worship Satan, gain the world.
Satan desires worship and exaltation: Isaiah 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Pros and cons of the Temptation
Pros of this offer:
Jesus can establish his reign among the nations. Which is going to happen one day in the future (Rev 20)
Jesus would not have to suffer to take away satan’s claim to the world.
Cons of this offer:
Satan would rule over Jesus, and hence the world being that Jesus rules the world.
Jesus would not be able to fulfill the will of God which is to save the world from the penalty of sin.
It is no different what satan does to us today. He desires we replace God in our worship.
The Response
The Response
Jesus responds with a command and scripture
13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Fear = worship, to have a high regard to.
Fear = focus is on God
Serve = Devotion is for God
Jesus maintatains communion with His faither… It makes him a fortress. for the next time
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
The Application
The Application
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Will You Stand in Face of Temptations
Will You Stand in Face of Temptations
If the Spirit led Jesus, then this temptation was permitted by god. Just as Satan had to have permission to tempt Job in the old testamtent.
Job 1.8-12
v.8 - God initiated the conversation : The Spirit (God) led Jesus to the place of temptation.
v.12 - The Lord permits the temptation of Job : The Lord permits the temptation of Jesus in His flesh.
To stand in face of temptation we must be in tune with the Lord, focused on Him.
