Lessons Learned From the Temptation of Christ
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In the latter part of Revelation 12:12, the Bible says, “…the devil has come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
The devil is very persistent; if his plan A doesn’t work, he’ll keep coming back to you with Plan B, Plan C, etc. I suppose that would be because of his great wrath and the fact that he knows he only has a short time to manipulate and deceive people.
The persistence of the devil is the very reason also that believers must focus on him. In order to fight an enemy, you must know the enemy.
In Revelation 12:9, the Bible tells us that “…that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world…”
The greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he doesn’t exist!
The devil is real, he’s a personal adversary, he’s a mighty foe with whom we must do battle continually. The fiend of hell is not afraid to assault the very throne of God, or the Son of God! In these eleven verses we are told three times that Satan attacked the Lord of glory.
Our Savior was “tempted of the devil.”
It was the devil who brought sin into the world in the beginning. It was he who vexed Job, deceived David, and caused Peter to fall so miserably.
The Word of God calls him a “murderer,” a “liar,” and a “roaring lion”...
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The world is ruled by the wicked influence of Satan.
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Unbelieving men and women are taken captive by the devil at his will.
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
His goal is the everlasting destruction of our souls. He ever seeks whom he may devour. His malice is unrelenting. His hatred against us never abates. For nearly 6000 years he has been trying to destroy and draw into hell those men and women he was created to serve. If the devil went after Jesus and tempted Him, you better believe that he’s coming for us also!
We must constantly watch and pray that we be not taken by his devices. His cunning and subtlety are greater than we can imagine. The prince of darkness often transforms himself into an “angel of light” and his ministers into “preachers of righteousness”...
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Satan is with us wherever we live. He goes wherever we go. He never tires. He never sleeps. He never quits. If he can, he will destroy our souls! If we would be saved, we must crucify the flesh and overcome the world; but we must also “resist the devil.”
We are under attack from the great manipulator!
Let’s look at a few things tonight concerning the temptation of Jesus Christ:
LOOK AT THE TIME
LOOK AT THE TIME
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Notice the word “then” - This took place after some things:
As soon as our Lord was baptized, as soon as he began to publicly identify himself in this world as the Son of God, he was tempted of the devil. While he stayed in the carpenter’s shop, chipping away at wood, the devil was undisturbed. But as soon as he began to lay the axe to the root of Satan’s kingdom, our Lord was tempted by the devil. The very first thing that is recorded concerning our Lord’s public ministry is his temptation.
Notice the order of things.
It was after He had accomplished the will of God...
It was after He had accomplished the will of God...
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
It was after He was anointed by the Spirit of God...
It was after He was anointed by the Spirit of God...
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
It was after He was approved by the Word of God...
It was after He was approved by the Word of God...
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Then he was tempted. Here is a fact of life, from which there is no escape in this world—If you are a child of God, if the Spirit of God is in you, you will be tempted of the devil.
LOOK AT THE TEMPTATIONS
LOOK AT THE TEMPTATIONS
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
The temptation of passions
The temptation of passions
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
This is the lust of the flesh right here…
So many things appeal to the flesh, but Satan knew Jesus was hungry, so he tried to appeal to that…Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, but He didn’t.
Remember, there’s no sin in being tempted; the sin is yielding to that temptation.
Think About this...
This also involved the love of God and the will of God. “Since You are God’s beloved Son, why doesn’t Your Father feed You? Why does He put You into this terrible wilderness?” This temptation sounded like Satan’s words to Eve in Genesis 3! It is a subtle suggestion that our Father does not love us.
The temptation of prestige
The temptation of prestige
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
This is the pride of life.
This is that which makes us feel superior to someone else. It is found even in religion today. Some people feel they are super–duper saints, while everyone else is inferior. It’s the pride of life that makes them that way...
The second temptation was even more subtle. This time Satan also used the Word of God. “So You intend to live by the Scriptures,” he implied. “Then let me quote You a verse of Scripture and see if You will obey it!” Satan took the Lord Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple, probably 500 feet above the Kidron Valley. Satan then quoted from Psalm 91:11–12 where God promised to care for His own. “If You really believe the Scriptures, then jump! Let’s see if the Father cares for You!”
The temptation of possessions
The temptation of possessions
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
The is the lust of the eyes.
Satan showed the Lord Jesus Christ all the kingdoms of this world.
We need to remember a couple things. One, they are very attractive, and second, they are in the hands of Satan.
There is a godless philosophy which is trying to get control of the world today.
This is an attractive world that we live in, with all of its display, all of its pageantry, all of its human glory, but we aren’t to live for this world…Believers should have their sights set on eternity!
The devil offered Jesus a shortcut to His kingdom. Jesus knew that He would suffer and die before He entered into His glory (Luke 24:26; 1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). If He bowed down and worshiped Satan just once (this is the force of the Greek verb), He could enjoy all the glory without enduring the suffering. Satan has always wanted worship, because Satan has always wanted to be God (Isa. 14:12–14). Worshiping the creature instead of the Creator is the lie that rules our world today (Rom. 1:24–25).
LOOK AT THE TRIUMPH
LOOK AT THE TRIUMPH
By relying on Scripture
By relying on Scripture
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
J. C. Ryle wrote, “Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be got by hard, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful reading.” You cannot fight the good fight of faith if you cannot use the sword of the Spirit.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
We must TAKE it. That indicates action on our part!
By resisting Satan
By resisting Satan
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Hey, you know what's wrong with many of us today? We simply don't resist the devil! If we would resist him woth the Word of God, just like Jesus did, he'd have to flee!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
What do you need tonight? I promise you can get some help if you want it.