40 Forward Week 3
Notes
Transcript
Tonight we are going to finish out the temptations of Jesus.
If you haven’t been with us the last couple of Wednesday nights, we’ve been looking at . A chapter that highlights the beginning days of Jesus’s ministry.
And what we’ve learned is that before Jesus started his ministry He spent 40 days in the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. Temptations that were meant to take Jesus down and keep him from accomplishing God’s plan and purpose for His earthly life.
The first temptation came as Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into break. Matthew writes:
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
As you might imagine, after fasting for 40 days, Jesus was hungry, and so seeing this as a point of weakness, Matthew says Satan tempted him to provide food for Himself. To literally turn some stones into bread. Something Jesus could have done, because in the not too distant future, He’s going to turn water into wine.
So, what was Satan’s angel? Why this temptation? ‘
His hope was too tempt Jesus into trusting himself to provide for himself instead of trusting God. To give into his hunger and step outside of trusting God.
In others words, to see Himself as His own provider instead of trusting in the provision of God.
And the fact is, Satan still uses this same temptation today as he temps Christians to put their trust in what they can do for themselves versus what God can provide them.
So, how did Jesus respond? Well, He responded by quoting scripture, specifically from as Jesus declares that man doesn’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Meaning, Jesus’s hope and trust isn’t in what He can provide himself, but in what God provides Him.
So, that was the first temptation.
The second temptation involved Satan taking Jesus to a high point on the temple and encouraging him to jump off. Matthew writes:
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Matthew 4:5-
So, what's this temptation all about? Well, it was about Satan trying to get Jesus to put God to the test by taking a nose dive off the temple and seeing if God would save him. And this time Satan even uses scripture to encourage Jesus to take the plunge.
A scripture that comes from that seems to indicate if we need something from God, we can manipulate Him into doing it for us. And in this case saving Jesus before He becomes a pancake.
But that’s not what this scripture is saying. Satan has taken it out of context and his hope is that Jesus will force God into demonstrating his power on his behalf.
But that’s not how God works. God isn’t a genie in the lamp that we can summon whenever we need His help.
And what this temptation is really meant to do, is to question goodness. To question whether He can or will come through for us. To test whether God is who He says He is.
So, how does Jesus respond? Well, He responds with scripture as well, but in context. Matthew writes:
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Jesus says, “Sorry Charlie, not going to do it. Not going to test the love, provision, or goodness of God. I know He’s going to take care of me, and I don’t need to manipulate God into proving Himself to me.”
And what was true for Jesus must be true for us as well. We have to come to a place in our walk where we learn to trust the goodness of God. To know regardless of what we are facing, that God is going to come through for us, just like He always has.
This now leads us to the final temptation tonight, and it’s a doozy. Because having failed to tempt Jesus on the first two, Satan goes for the jugular. Listen to what Satan says next:
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Because
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 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.’ ”
Matthew 4:
Matthew says in his last attempt to derail Jesus, Satan takes him to a high mountain, and from there shows him all the kingdoms of the world and all that they offer. All the power. All the glory. All the wealth. All the prestige. Everything that the flesh would desire for wordly success, pleasure, and fulfillment. And he says, “Jesus, all of these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
So, what’s this all about?
Well, when we first read it, it almost sounds like a trick. Because after all, Satan doesn’t have the ability to give Jesus the world, right?
Well let’s look at what the Bible says.
In , Jesus refers to Satan as “the ruler of this world”.
And in , Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air” (.
And in , Paul also says Satan is “the god of this world” ().
And finally, John makes a further distinction when he says: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one” (). ‘
So, based on all that, it almost seems like Satan has some power and authority on the earth. So maybe he does have the power to offer Jesus these things.
So, what does that all mean then?
But thankfully, that would be a wrong assumption. Because what we have to understand is that the Bible frequently uses “the world” or “this world” to refer to the present evil system of opposition to God.
So, the Bible never teaches that Satan actually rules over the entire world, but that he is ruler over the current system of sinful opposition to God.
In other words, he’s leading the rebellion against God. That’s the only thing he rules over.
So, what did Satan mean then when he said he’d give Jesus the kingdoms of the world? Was it a trick? Was it wishful thinking on Satan’s part?
but what he does have rule over the sinful opposition and rebellion against God. In other words, he’s the one leading the charge.
No. What he meant was, since the kingdoms of the world are made up of people and systems in rebellion against God, Satan was essentially inviting Jesus to join his rebellion against God.
Satan was essentially tempting Jesus to join his rebellion against God.
Think of it like this, if Jesus is Luke Skywalker, and Satan is Darth Vader, in this moment he’s reaching his hand out to Jesus and saying, “Jesus, let me be your father.”
Because that’s what Satan really wants. He wants Jesus to worship him. He wants Jesus to put his hope in him.
And to be honest, it’s a strong temptation. Why? it’s strong because if Jesus chooses to Satan’s way, he gets to bypass the cross. He gets to bypass the suffering. He gets to pass go and collect $200 without any cost. If He goes Satan’s way, He gets to be king of the rebellion against God.
But here’s the problem. Satan’s kingdom is temporary. What Satan offers isn’t lasting. What Satan is trying to sell is a mirage. It’s not real.
Yes, it will fulfill temporary fleshly desires, but in the end, it will cost you your soul.
So, how does Jesus respond? Matthew writes:
Matthew 4:
10 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.’ ”
Jesus responds by once again quoting scripture as he refuses to give into the desires of the flesh. For Jesus, there is only one God that deserves worship. One God that He is putting his hope and trust in. And its not the god, little “g” of this world.
So, instead of joining his rebellion, Jesus refuses Satan and waits for the final judgment and the decisive victory over Satan to be accomplished, when Satan will be “thrown into the lake of fire” and “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (), and his kingdom and authority will be taken away from Satan and given back to King Jesus, its rightful Author and Owner.
And in doing so, Jesus passes the final test. He is now ready for the ministry God has called Him too.
So, at this point, a great question would be, “How does this final temptation apply to you and me?”
As you might imagine, it applies in exactly the same way.
Because the fact is, Satan is still trying to convince those who follow Jesus that there’s an easier path that allows us to get what we want when we want it.
A path of least resistance.
A path that doesn’t requires sacrifice.
A path that doesn’t require suffering.
A path that doesn’t require you or I to wait on God and His plan.
A path that gives us exactly what our flesh so badly desires.
A path that leads to instant gratification.
And unfortunately, Christians often fall for this temptation hook line and sinker. Which then leads to them missing out on what God wanted to do in and through their life, their witness, and the promises He wanted to give them.
Now, you might be wondering, “Pastor, can you give me some examples of what you’re talking about?”
I’d be happy too, thank you for asking.
One example would be the sin and temptation of “instant gratification”.
This is when you and I want something so badly, but are unwilling to wait for it in the proper context.
For example, I see this all the time with young people who enter into a dating relationship and begin to face the temptation of meeting their sexual desires.
And please hear me, it’s not that sexual desire is wrong. What’s wrong is when sexual desire is acted upon in the wrong context. And for the dating couple, the wrong context is sex outside of marriage.
But unfortunately, a vast majority of young people give into this desire in order to achieve instant gratification. They want it now, not later.
But here’s the problem. God designed sex for the marriage bed, not the dating bed. And unfortunately, when a dating couple ignores God’s design, what they are essentially doing is giving themselves to Satan’s version of sexual relationship. A wordly version. A version that offers instant gratification and pleasure with no consequences.
But it’s a lie. Because there are consequences. A marriage blessing that is robbed from the couple as they engage in premarital sex.
You might wonder, “What blessing is lost Pastor”? Would you believe it’s the blessing of pleasure. It’s the loss of the very thing the couple was so eager to give themselves to outside of marriage.
In fact, a recent study discovered that couples who waited to have sex after marriage had a significantly more satisfying sex life than those who had sex before marriage.
I wonder why that is? How about this. Because God blesses those who do it His way versus the world’s way. God blesses those who wait to have sex in the right context.
So, that’s one example of instant gratification.
Another would be when it comes to trusting God financially. In the church, we call this tithing, which involves giving 10% of your income back to God. Something that God says if we do, He will immensely bless. Because at the end of the day, God can do more with your 90% than you can do with 100%.
But the enemy doesn’t want you to believe that. So, he says, “Why tithe? Why make that kind of sacrifice. Why limit what you can buy for yourself?”
Instead, why not use that money to gratify yourself. Why not buy that new iPhone you’ve been wanting. Why not go on that vacation you so badly deserve. Why not use it to fulfill your current needs and desires.
But again, it’s a trick and a lie. Because the reason God wants you too tithe is so that you’ll learn to trust Him. So that you’ll see Him as the one who provides. So that He can bless you and provide what you can’t provide for yourself. He wants you to handle your money like the world handles theirs. He doesn’t want you to trust God financially.
Do you see how that works? Satan has his own system in the false kingdom he’s set up. And what he wants more than anything is for you to buy into his system. To give yourself to the instant gratification it offers. To believe the lie that you can have what you want when you want no strings attached.
But there are strings. And the string is called death. Because that’s where his kingdom is headed. Jesus puts it like this:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus says the worlds say often seems more convenient, easier, and more fulfilling. But it’s a lie. Because yes, it might bring some temporal satisfaction, but its end is destruction.
The better alternative then is to choose the narrow gate. A gate that comes through faith in Jesus. A gate that requires you to trust God. A gate that requires sacrifice. A gate that may require some suffering. But a gate that in the end leads to life.
Here’s the bottom line. The fact is, God has a plan and purpose for your life. But for that plan and purpose to come into fruition, you have to follow his path, not the worlds path. You have to be willing to say no to the lie and embrace the truth.
That being the case, as we move into our prayer time, I would ask you to consider the following question:
When it comes to your walk with Jesus, are there any areas of your life where you’ve bought into the false promises of this world? Where you’ve traded a promise of God for a counterfeit promise?
Areas where you took the shortcut instead of the path God had provided.
Areas where you weren’t willing to wait for God’s plan and God’s solutions, so you gave yourself to the world’s plan and it’s solutions?
Areas where you believed the lie
So, here’s what I want to do. For the next few moments as we pray, I want you to do two things:
#1 - To ask yourself and ask God if there are areas of your life where you may have given yourself to the world’s way instead of God’s way. To ask God to show you where you may have put your hope in a counterfeit version of his plan. A plan that is keeping you from God’s best. A plan that is leading you down a path of destruction. A plan that you need to abandon as you turn back to God’s plan and God’s way.
#2 - If such areas exist in your life, I want to encourage you to confess them to God, and ask for His forgiveness. And to ask God to restore what has been lost.
Example of Denise and I.
Let’s Pray
But God