Look To Jesus

As we continue to look at the testing tree and how we are constantly confronted with it, we need to know that we do not have to go through those times of testing along. Jesus is our ever present help. He is always as close as the air we breath. He understands and sympathizes with what we are going through, for He too has been there. He too has been at the foot of the testing tree.

This is why we need to look to Him. It is throughJesus that we have the power to be victorious at the tree. We can, with Christ’s help, pass those tests that confront us. We don’t have to fail God. We don’t have to fail others. We don’t have to fail ourselves. We don’t have to be tripped up by sinful stumps put in our pathway by Satan.

I’ve known students who grown discouraged in school because they continually do poorly on their tests and assignments, consequently, many drop out of school. There was a danger of that happening among Christians during a time of testing and persecution described in the book of Hebrews. The writer of Hebrews encourages the Jewish Christians to look to Jesus in times of testing. He points out that Jesus has been through it and with His help they can make it through, they can pass any test that comes their way. One commentary author writes, The writer constantly “pleads with the reader to remain faithful to the gospel and not to drift away.” Those who drift away fail, but those who stay steadfast pass the test. Let’s read and then .

Our text mentions the temptations, the pain, and the shame that Jesus endured, yet through it all, He never sinned. He was victorious over it all. He passed every test that was put before Him. And He now sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us. This why we are told to look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

We began with the issue of suffering. When the testing tree comes let us not do as Eve did, which was to debate about it with Satan, but let us look to Jesus for the help we need.

I. In Times of Suffering Look to Jesus

In times of suffering we naturally look at or focus on our pain and/or the objects causing our pain and suffering. We may focus on our loss. We may get fixated on our injury. We may dwell on the “if onlys.” But when we do, we do the very opposite of what we should do and are told to do. When the pain and suffering come, when the storms clouds of heartache and injury darken our world, it is then that we need to turn our eyes to Jesus. It is then that we need to do like the song we sung earlier said to do. We need to look full in His wonderful face and trust in His marvelous grace. For when we do, as the song says, “And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.”

I. In Times of Suffering Look to Jesus

Yes even the pain and hurt will grow dim. They may not be completely removed, but they will grow dim.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;/’;’’;;;; ;;;;;;;;ppppppppWe do the very opposite of what we should do. When the pain and suffering come, when the storms of heartache and injury blow in, it is then that we need to turn our eyes to Jesus. It is then that we need to look full into His wonderful Face and trust in His marvelous grace.

This is true because the faith and strength we need in times of suffering and temptation come from Jesus. He is our source of power and grace. He is our go to person.

A. Our Faith and Strength Comes From Christ

I said He’s our go to person. When I hurt my knee changing out the church sign, workman’s comp assigned me a case worker. When she contacted me, she said she was to be my go-to-person. Any issues or concerns about my injury or treatment should be brought to her.

Any concerns about life, need to be brought to Jesus. He is our go-to-person. You would think most Christians would know this. You would think the disciples would have learned this fairly quickly, but in both cases the answer is not so much.

For instance, in Matthew chapter 14, when Peter stepped out of the boat and on to the angry waves that were being tossed about by the strong winds, he did fine, at first. He walked on the water. He defied the laws of nature. He was triumphant over the raging storm. But the moment he took his eyes off Jesus, he begin to sink.

When Peter stepped out of the boat and on to the angry waves that were being tossed about by the strong winds, he did fine. He walked on the water. He defied the laws of nature. He was triumphant over the raging storm. But the moment he took his eyes off Jesus, he begin to sink.

Our faith and spiritual strength doesn’t come from being in church, knowing a lot of Bible verses, or even as a result of being saved from our sin and its consequences. It comes from being close to Jesus. Yes, salvation is important for we have to have a spiritual connection to God and that connection has to be through Jesus. But it also takes being relationally close to Jesus.

The faith we need and the strength we need to be more than overcomers in this life comes directly from Jesus and it can’t be store up, shored up, or doubled up ahead of time. It must be a constant thing. We need to draw near to Him or a regular basis, and so much more so at those times when the pain is the greatest, the temptation is the strongest, and our faith is the weakest.

It must be a constant thing. We need to draw near to Him or a regular basis, but even so much more so at those times when the pain is the greatest, the temptation is the strongest, and our faith is the weakest.

B. He Understands Our Suffering

Do you have a spiritual habit of spending time with Jesus everyday? Do you allow His Word to speak to you everyday? Do you talk with Him through prayer everyday?

This faith we need and strength we need comes from Christ, but Christ’s closeness doesn’t just happen. We have a role to play. We have a duty to perform. state, Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

We have a duty to perform.

If we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and so will His power that dwells in Him.

We should draw near for the strength we need, but also because of the fact that He understands what we are going through. He understands our sufferings.

B. He Understands Our Suffering

states, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

The New Living Translation Bible translates this verse this way, This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

Jesus has been there. He’s suffered unimaginable pain through the crucifixion. He knows what it like to have friends betray you, forsake you, and disown you.

When pain invades your life, or enemies attack you, or circumstances turn against you, remember that Jesus has been there. He understands. No one knows you like Jesus and no one loves you like Jesus.

This is also true in times of temptations.

II. In Times of Temptation Look To Jesus

When Eve was tempted by Satan in the garden of Eden, she focused on the temptation, which was the tree of knowledge, and listened to the tempter, which was Satan. This is not how you overcome temptations. This is not how you deal with temptations. The key to victory is to look to Jesus. Only Jesus can give us the faith we need and the strength we need to resist the temptations we don’t need. Only Jesus can provide us with a way out of the temptation. This is why we need to look to Jesus when temptations come, for Jesus has been there. He knows temptation.

A. Jesus Knows Temptation

Jesus didn’t just experience the tree of temptation, He took on the tree at the very beginning of His ministry. Mark’s gospel says “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. ” ().

Matthew tell us in , Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him,...”

As one writer put it, “Satan did not drag Jesus into the wilderness to do battle with Him. Jesus went forth with the urging and power of the Holy Spirit directing Him to the point of contest, the testing tree.”

What followed these words were three temptations that represented all the temptations that Jesus had to resist throughout the 40 days in the wilderness as well as all the temptations put before Him throughout His three years of ministry.

A. Jesus Knows Temptation

Let’s look at those temptations in . This is found on page 1028 of our pew Bibles.

We see in verses 3-4 the physical temptation in which the needs of the body can be used to tempt us. Satan will use our physical needs; our need for food, water, sex, companionship, security, lodging, etc. to get us to sin.

But Jesus’ response to Satan was that the spiritual things of life must take precedent over the physical. God’s will must take priority over our wants and needs.

Then in verses 5-7 we have the psychological temptation in which Satan tried to get Jesus to bypass God’s plan for revealing His Messiahship to the world. Satan will always try to get us to ignore God’s Word and His plan for our lives.

Listen to me for a second. No one is more concerned about our well being than Jesus Christ. No one knows better than Jesus as to how to meet every need that we have. Satan will tell us that we and others are smarter than God, but let me tell you, no one, absolutely no one is smarter than God. So don’t listen to Satan;s lies when he puts those thoughts in your head. But rather listen to Jesus who says in verse 7, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Jesus didn’t just experience the tree of temptation, He took on the issue of temptation at the very beginning of His ministry. Mark’s gospel says “12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. ” ().

Then in verses 8-10, Satan tempted Jesus to worship someone other than God, in this case, Satan himself. Satan offers to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would bow down and worship him--Satan.

In other words, Satan is telling Jesus He can have the very thing the Father is going to give Him in the end, but without having to go to the cross.

Short cuts in the spiritual realm always lead to dead ends. Don’t go there. Listen to God’s word and obey it.

Matthew tell us in , Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him,...”

Thus, Satan threw everything he had at Jesus and yet, Jesus never sinned.

As one writer put it, “Satan did not drag Jesus into the wilderness to do battle with Him. Jesus went forth with the urging and power of the Holy Spirit directing Him to the point of contest, the testing tree.”

What followed these words were three temptations that represented all the temptations that Jesus had to resist throughout the 40 days in the wilderness as well as those that were put before Him throughout His three years of ministry.

B. Jesus Never Sinned

Let’s look at those temptations in . This is found on page 1028 of our pew Bibles.

Despite His weakened condition from lack of food or water He didn’t sin. This is significant because the times in which we are most likely to sin are those times when we are exhausted and stressed out.

We see in verses 3-4 the physical temptation in which the needs of the body can be used to tempt us. Satan will use our physical needs; our need for food, water, sex, companionship, security, lodging, etc. to get us to sin.

But Jesus’ response to Satan was that the spiritual things of life must take precedent over the physical. God’s will must take priority over our wants and needs.

Then in verses 5-7 we have the psychological temptation in which Satan tried to get Jesus to bypass God’s plan for revealing His Messiahship to the world. Satan will always try to get us to ignore God’s Word and His plan for our lives.

Listen to me for a second. No one is more concerned about our well being than Jesus Christ. No one knows better than Jesus as to how to meet every need that we have. Satan will tell us that we are smarter then God, that others are smarter than God, but let me tell you, no one, absolutely no one is smarter than God. So don’t listen to Satan when he puts those thoughts in your head. But rather listen to Jesus who says in verse 7, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Then in verses 8-10, Satan tempted Jesus to worship someone other than God, in this case, Satan himself. Satan offers to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would bow down and worship Satan.

In other words, Satan is telling Jesus He can have the very thing the Father is going to give Him in the end, but without having to go to the cross.

Short cuts in the spiritual realm always lead to dead ends. Don’t go there. Listen to God’s word and obey it.

Satan threw everything he had at Jesus and yet, Jesus never sinned.

B. Jesus Never Sinned

The Bible is clear about this. states, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

A. Jesus Knows Temptation

Jesus didn’t just experience the tree of temptation, He took on the issue of temptation at the very beginning of His ministry. Mark’s gospel says “12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. ” ().

Matthew tell us in , Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him,...”

As one writer put it, “Satan did not drag Jesus into the wilderness to do battle with Him. Jesus went forth with the urging and power of the Holy Spirit directing Him to the point of contest, the testing tree.”

Despite His weakened condition from lack of food or water He didn’t sin. This is significant because the times in which we are most likely to sin are those times when we are exhausted and stressed out.

What followed these words were three temptations that represented all the temptations that Jesus had to resist throughout the 40 days in the wilderness as well as those that were put before Him throughout His three years of ministry.

Jesus took on our sin, but Jesus himself never sinned. Only a sinless Savior can die for sinners. Only a perfect Savior can provide the righteousness we need to get to heaven.

Let’s look at those temptations in . This is found on page 1028 of our pew Bibles.

We see in verses 3-4 the physical temptation in which the needs of the body can be used to tempt us. Satan will use our physical needs; our need for food, water, sex, companionship, security, lodging, etc. to get us to sin.

I saw this past week an article about a show called preachers. I’ve never watched the program and from I have read about it, no Christian should ever watch it. The writer of the script had one scene last week showing Jesus having sex . Evil hates holiness. Satan hates God, Jesus, and everything connected with God. And he will try to get Christians to take part in unholy acts. He will tempt us to fill our minds with pictures and scenes of ungodliness.

The Bible is clear about this. states, When Eve was tempted by Satan in the garden of Eden, she focused on the temptation, which was the tree of knowledge, and listened to the tempter, which was Satan. This is not how you overcome temptations. This is not how you defeat temptations. The key to victory is to look to Jesus. Only Jesus can give us the faith we need and the strength we need to resist the temptation. Only Jesus can provide us with a way out of the temptation. This is why we need to look to Jesus when temptations come, for Jesus has been there. He knows temptation.

A. Jesus Knows Temptation

Then in verses 5-7 we have the psychological temptation in which Satan tried to get Jesus to bypass God’s plan for revealing His Messiahship to the world. Satan will always try to get us to ignore God’s Word and His plan for our lives.

Jesus didn’t just experience the tree of temptation, He took on the issue of temptation at the very beginning of His ministry. Mark’s gospel says “12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. ” ().

Matthew tell us in , Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him,...”

As one writer put it, “Satan did not drag Jesus into the wilderness to do battle with Him. Jesus went forth with the urging and power of the Holy Spirit directing Him to the point of contest, the testing tree.”

But with the help of Christ we don’t have to. We can resist the temptations. We can choose right over wrong and holiness over unholiness. But if we hope to look to Jesus in times of suffering or temptations, we must make looking to Jesus a practice even in the times of calm.

What followed these words were three temptations that represented all the temptations that Jesus had to resist throughout the 40 days in the wilderness as well as those that were put before Him throughout His three years of ministry.

Listen to me for a second. No one is more concerned about our well being than Jesus Christ. No one knows better than Jesus as to how to meet every need that we have. Satan will tell us that we are smarter then God, that others are smarter than God, but let me tell you, no one, absolutely no one is smarter than God. So don’t listen to Satan when he puts those thoughts in your head. But rather listen to Jesus who says in verse 7, “You share not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Let’s look at those temptations in . This is found on page 1028 of our pew Bibles.

We see in verses 3-4 the physical temptation in which the needs of the body can be used to tempt us. Satan will use our physical needs; our need for food, water, sex, companionship, security, lodging, etc. to get us to sin.

Then in verses 5-7 we have the psychological temptation in which Satan tried to get Jesus to bypass God’s plan for revealing His Messiahship to the world. Satan will always try to get us to ignore God’s Word and His plan for our lives.

Listen to me for a second. No one is more concerned about our well being than Jesus Christ. No one knows better than Jesus as to how to meet every need that we have. Satan will tell us that we are smarter then God, that others are smarter than God, but let me tell you, no one, absolutely no one is smarter than God. So don’t listen to Satan when he puts those thoughts in your head. But rather listen to Jesus who says in verse 7, “You share not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Then in verses 8-10 Satan tempted Jesus

III. In Times of Calm Look to Jesus

Money doesn’t grow on trees and faith doesn’t just come out of thin air, neither of them just happens.

A. Faith Doesn’t Just Happen

It takes work to bring about both. But in the case of faith, the work simply involves establishing and maintaining a close relationship with Jesus. It involves following the instruction book, the Scriptures.

states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” The reason our faith grows from His Word is due to His presence being made real to us by His Word.

By reading it, listening to it, studying it, memorizing it, and meditating on it, the Word of God makes Jesus’ presence real to us and thus strengthens and emboldens us.

helps us to see this. It reads, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

We can have faith in God, when the presence of Christ is real to us, and it’s His Word that makes that happen.

So if we want to insure the aid of Jesus when we are in the storms, we’d better make a practice of going to Him when we are in the calm. Let me assure you of this, Christ is worth the effort spent in the Word and in prayer.

ord and prayer.

B. Christ is Worth The Effort

Christ is worth spending time everyday in His Word. He is worth spending time in prayer everyday. He is worth whatever it takes to get alone with Him each day.

In fact, Jesus is worth it all. Listen to this song before we have the invitation. It’s title is “Worth it All.”

Song: Worth it All

Conclusion: There will come a time of temptation. There will come a time of suffering, pain, and sorrow. And when they come, Satan will be there. He will be whispering into our ears. He will try to get us to betray God, deny God, and disobey God.

It is in these times of testing, that we must look to Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Only through Christ can we be victorious in our faith. Only in Christ can we be more than conquerors.

So I ask you, do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If you do, then look to him in the bad times and the trying times. If you don’t know Him, then come to the altar and I will introduce Him to you.