Jesus in the Wilderness

Intro

Welcome

Lesson

In the Wilderness

We’re going to talk about spiritual warfare.

I think there were a few of you that put this in your survey as something you wanted to hear about. And so, because we are coming across this part of Jesus’ life, I’m going to take some time to focus in on that.

Can anyone describe what spiritual warfare is, in your understanding?

Spiritual warfare simply coming against the enemy with the effective tools that God has given us.

Ephesians 6:10–12 NKJV

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:13–15 NKJV

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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Ephesians 6:16–18 NKJV

16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 NKJV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

If our weapons against the enemy are not carnal (physical, worldly), and they are spiritual, then what are they?

The Word

Prayer

Ben does taekwondo. The attack that he may use in taekwondo might be very effective against an opponent he is up against there, but it has zero effect in a battle against our enemy.

That’s why our weapons cannot be carnal. They will be useless. There has to be a strong resistance and it can only come through those weapons God has given us.

Now… I want to show you exactly how Jesus acted this out. We’re going to see Jesus’ clear example.

Somewhere in the wilderness of Israel, Jesus engaged in true spiritual warfare with the true enemy of our souls: Satan.

Here’s why this interaction is important.

Satan knows well how to do his business. He’s great at temptation. He’s great at sowing doubt. He’s good at coming after weaknesses.

And he knew, unlike others, that Jesus was God in flesh. So he wanted to thwart the plan.

All the devil had to do was find the point of weakness in this man Jesus and expose it like he had in so many other lives before. And it will prove that Jesus doesn’t make any difference.

So the strategy wan’t a secret. It had always been successful with others. He would show Jesus the three temptations that John wrote about:

1 John 2:16 NKJV

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.

So here’s how it begins.

The devil chose to attack first at what he thought would be the easiest target: the lust of the flesh.

After Jesus had done forty days of fasting, the Bible makes it pretty clear something that should be obvious: Jesus was hungry.

Matthew 4:2 NLT

2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

And here is what Satan said:

Matthew 4:3 NKJV

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

What was he saying? He was suggesting that Jesus use His supernatural ability to satisfy His flesh by turning nearby stones into bread. There’s the temptation: lust of the flesh.

But Jesus didn’t fall for it. What did Jesus respond with?

Matthew 4:4 NKJV

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Do you know why those words are in italics? It’s because Jesus was quoting Scripture to Satan.

Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV

3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

We’re talking about spiritual warfare, here. What was the only part of the armor of God that was a weapon?

The Sword of the Spirit… which is… the Word of God.

And that’s exactly what Jesus did. And you’re going to see that it is extremely effective, not just against any spiritual force, but even Satan himself. Because wielding the Word is the most powerful act of spiritual warfare. It is not the only, but Jesus showed it to be the strongest.

If we move on, the next thing Satan went for was the pride of life.

Matthew 4:5–6 NKJV

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.’ ”

So what’s happening here?

Satan was challenging that He even was the Son of God. And he was saying the if He really was, He should just jump off of this high point they were at, and angels would swoop in to catch Him, revealing that He really was the Messiah to all who saw it.

Something to point out here is that Satan loves to motivate people to their deaths: depression, the spirit of suicide, convincing us we’re going to die. (If Satan could kill you, he would just do it. So if you’re hearing, “You’re going to die,” you’re definitely not. Because if he could, he wouldn’t be saying it. He’d be doing it.)

How did Jesus respond this time?

Matthew 4:7 NKJV

7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

That would be Deuteronomy 6:16. More sword of the Spirit.

Last, Satan came to the lust of the eyes.

Matthew 4:8–9 NKJV

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.”

Pretty self explanatory. If you want all of this stuff, just bow down to me and the world is yours.

This, of course, would be idolatry, which had plagued Israel so often.

But Jesus refused to bow. As a matter of fact, He gave a final crushing blow with the swor of the Spirit:

Matthew 4:10–11 NKJV

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.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Now He was standing alone in the wilderness, triumphant over every category of temptation we will ever face. He overcame the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And He gave us this pattern to defeat the enemy.

Scripture: Good, Better, Best

Let me tell you about your Bible in spiritual warfare and in general:

It’s good to read it.

It’s better to remember it.

It’s best to release it.

All preaching is: releasing the word.

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan himself. All three times, do you know what He said? “It is written…” and this was powerful because He was just declaring to the enemy what was already settled in His word. And it was an easy defeat.

But you cannot DECLARE what is written… if you don’t KNOW what’s been written.

But when you do know what has been written, you can declare: that is a lie! We know that the devil is a liar. And the surest way to combat a lie is with TRUTH.

It’s best to release it!

“Faith comes by hearing… hearing by the word of God.” Do you know what that tells me? If somebody’s hearing it, then somebody’s speaking it!

It’s amazing how just speaking the word can totally change the atmosphere. And God wants to use you with coworkers and classmates and family. He will quicken you when they’re going through something. And you’ll begin to speak truth and speak life. And it will uplift and change things!

But here is what I’ve learned: you can’t release what you don’t remember. And you can’t remember what you don’t read.

So…

It’s good to read it.

It’s better to remember it.

It’s best to release it.

Prayer: Essential

So the Word is a big part of spiritual warfare. But so is prayer.

In prayer, we can also take on the enemy and overcome him.

For many prayer is only a place they occasionally step into, maybe once or two times a week. But it’s actually something that we can live in and operate in, and we should. Because if we pray daily, we have more power to step into it in strength.

Some of the most powerful people I know are people who simply know how to pray. And they do it often. It’s not a rare thing. It’s a common thing.

Sis. Shenault’s moment where, after asking for a closer walk with Him, her “friend” walked in and began talking to her. It became a regular appointment!

One part of prayer, though, is warring in prayer. You can begin praying against the enemy. You’ll begin praying in tongues. And it will be a bold, warring tongue.

And this sort of prayer destroys the enemy.

When disciples couldn’t cast out the demon from a man, Jesus, aggravated by them, did it instantly. They asked Him why they couldn’t do it, to which He responded: “This kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”

It’s not some idea someone came up with. It’s the truth of the word of God.

Conclusion

God wants to use you to destroy the enemy.

Lost family

Personal battles and temptation

The cares of life

The pressures of this world

Satans direct attacks

All of this can be defeated!

Prayer

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