In With the New Part 1: A New Way to Fight Temptation

Introduction

Whats up friends! Welcome back to NXT High School. My name is Matt Velasco, if we have not met I want you to know that I am so glad that you are here and would love to meet you before you leave tonight! You’ll hear and see that we say something around these parts, we say that Wednesday night, tonight, is the best night of the week. And we firmly believe it. Not just because you get to hangout with friends and have free dinner and a ton of fun, but also because God has a funny way of showing up in special ways on Wednesday nights here at NXT.

So, if you’re new, thanks for being here! We hope you love it and I want to personally invite you to come back next week.

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Many of you know that about 6 months ago Jae and I got a puppy named Kirby, in fact here’s a picture of him because I like to show him off. **Picture on screen** He just got his first real haircut and it looks wonderful.

Anyways, one of the most important commands you need to teach your puppy is “leave it” because it can quite literally save their life. The leave it command is simple, when there is something you don’t want them to bite or eat you say leave it. An avocado falls on the ground when I’m making avo toast and I don’t want him to eat it? “Leave it!” or I’m doing laundry and a sock falls on the ground and I don’t want him to run away with it like he did Monday morning, “leave it!” Its one of the most important commands because it might save his life some day!

But here is a fun fact about dogs…they don’t think like humans and don’t quite understand why I want them to leave it. In fact, the only reason why he (sometimes) obeys me is because he’s been taught that its a good thing when I leave it after my dad tells me to because I get a treat. NOT because it might be saving his life. He’s, no offense to Kirby, not smart or sentient enough to understand the implications. He doesn’t understand why I say it, and he also doesn’t understand why I want him to leave things alone.

Because, and if you have had a puppy or have one you’ll resinate with this, they’ll usually fall into temptation and eat whatever they want because they don’t understand the consequences.

I think we’re a lot like puppies. I think that we all more often than we care to admit fall into temptation and sin because we don’t quite understand the consequences. No matter how many times God says, “Leave it!” we, like a puppy, try and metaphorically eat it anyways.

Big Idea

This week we are going to be introducing a new series called In With the New where we are going to be talking about what it means to live a new life with Christ. Its going to last us 4 weeks and we’ll be covering things Jesus said about how to approach God, how to understand salvation, how to define success, and tonights topic: Jesus’ words on temptation.

Text Address

So if you have your bibles why don’t you open them up to Luke 4: 1-13

Something to consider as we dive into this text is where Jesus is coming from. Right before this portion of scripture is the genealogy of Jesus that follows his mother, Mary’s bloodline. And before the genealogy was Jesus’ baptism where it says, Luke 3:21-22

Luke 3:21–22 ESV

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

So we know that in Luke 4:1 when it says,

Luke 4:1 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

that he went straight from his baptism at the Jordan River into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days and 40 nights.

So then, lets read what Luke has to say about Jesus’ temptation,

Luke 4:1–13 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Content

Set Up

Its important to mentioned that only 3 temptation accounts are mentioned here.

Command this stone to become bread. Appealing to Jesus’ hunger, and his physical needs.

Worship me (the devil) and I will give you power. Obviously, we know that some day hopefully soon Jesus will indeed rule over all of the world here on earth, the Devil was just tempting Jesus to take a shortcut to get there.

Test God and see if His angels save you. Appealing to Jesus’ glory, “test your Father!” He was tempting Him to doubt the faithfulness and goodness of God. He wanted Jesus to feel like He wasn’t secure.

But, evidence points us in the direction of there being more temptation than just these 3 accounts, but for the full 40 days.

These three temptations that are highlighted paint a broad picture of what common temptations are to the average person: Temptations of the physical body, temptations of “ends justify the means” aka getting something by sinful means, and self-glory.

One note I want to hone in on once more before we dive into the meat is the message is a reminder of Jesus’ humanity. We spent last week talking about Jesus’ genealogy in this same Gospel account of Luke. We saw that He, like us, is a “Son of Adam” which just means He is completely human. No more or no less human than we are.

The author of Hebrews says,

Hebrews 2:17 (ESV)

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect...

Jesus did not merely resemble humankind in some qualities of humanity. But He, “in every way” or other translations say “in all things” he was made like us…but the only difference? He had no sin.

The temptations that Jesus experienced were as real as the temptation you experienced yesterday to watch porn after your parents had gone to sleep, or the temptation you experienced this past Saturday at a homecoming after party to drink or smoke with your friends, or even the temptation you experienced during this week’s math quiz to cheat because you didn’t study as hard as you should have.

But Jesus, unlike us, withstood them as a real man who who was “like us in every way.”

The author of Hebrews concludes with this,

Hebrews 2:18 ESV

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

And so with all of this being said I want us to consider three things when it comes to temptation and how Jesus helps us when we are being tempted. This is a high practical message that I don’t want you to tune out of. Learning how to listen to God when He says, “leave it!” could quite possible save your life.

How do we obey God in the face of temptation?

Depend on the Holy Spirit.

Luke 4:1–2 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

The attribute used to describe Jesus as He goes out into the wilderness, prepared to fight the temptation of the devil, was that He was full of the Holy Spirit.

Its important to say that at His temptation Jesus was fully aware that He was the incarnate Son of God, but He withstood the onslaughts of Satan as a real man, deriving His power to resist by depending upon His Father for strength.

Jesus’ temptation was the counterpart to His baptism. In the waters of the Jordan the mouth of Heaven opened and the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, and at His temptation the mouth of Hell yawned and the devil ascended towards him as a tempter. Both of these, by the power of God’s Spirit, prepared Jesus to live as the victorious son.

So also does the Holy Spirit prepare us to live as victorious sons and daughters of God.

An essential fact of this temptation story is that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, and Jesus leaned on the Holy Spirit while walking throughout the wilderness. I have a question for you… where do you typically run first when faced with temptation?

Is it the Holy Spirit?

Or do you pursue another sin to burry the tempter? Maybe you were at that party last Saturday and in order to defeat the onslaught of your pressuring friends you agreed to a drink in order to resist a joint. You stumbled into one sin in order to hide the temptation of another.

This was not and is not the way of Jesus. Jesus, while in the wilderness did not bury the temptation with sin, instead He leaned into the Holy Spirit.

How can you do this practically? You have to know the Words of God. Which brings us to point number 2,

Know the Word and understand how to interpret it correctly.

Jesus grew up around good Jewish folks, had good Jewish parents, and was taught the good Jewish sacred scriptures.

He was acutely aware of the story of Israel wandering around the wilderness for 40 years failing at each turn to obey God and resist the temptations of the world around them.

Jesus, knowing the story of His ancestors, and knowing the power of His Father, did what Israel could never do and survived 40 days of temptation… but how?

Evidently Jesus had reflected long and hard on Israel’s wilderness failrues, because He answered Satan’s temptations with three references to portions of the book of Deuteronomy that makes references to the very failure of Israel in the wilderness we are talking about. Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13, and 6:16.

These portions of scripture hold the key to understanding Jesus’ three temptations and His victory over them.

This wilderness setting was dramatic. Between the inhabited part of Judea and the Dead Sea stretched a terrible wilderness called Jeshimon, which means “The Devastation.” This is the setting of Jesus’ resistance. A desolate, dead, wasteland, an anti-eden.

Within this devastation sat the weary, forty-days hungry Christ. The tempter, Satan, “radiating power and promise” the same one who tempted the first Adam as a serpent slithered towards our Christ, the second Adam and offered Him food, power, and glory.

And how does our Jesus respond? It is written.

I imagine that Satan visibly recoiled as Jesus slapped Him with God’s word. Realizing He was not going to be able to befall the Christ with that line of thinking He moved on to the next. To which Jesus responded, it is written. Another recoil. Another change of subject, to which Jesus responded, it is written.

Though He was hungry, desperate famished. He knew He was the son of God. He knew he could meet his need in a millisecond. But he was an obedient son, and the Father’s word was his meat and drink. Jesus resisted the temptation without the benefit of his own power, showing himself to be the perfect obedient man.

Jesus resisted the schemes of satan because He knew God’s word. In fact, we even see that satan tried to use God’s word against God Himself. He repeats Jesus’ strategy and misquotes scripture at Jesus. Read Luke 4:10

Luke 4:10 ESV

for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

But, Jesus knew Scripture so he didn’t fall for the trap. Satan will try and get you to misuse and abuse God’s word. He’ll pull things out of context and ask you, “did God really mean that?” We see it all the time in our world, and just like it corrupted in the garden, so also is it corrupting today.

But he also resisted the temptations because He clung to that word. This is our third point.

Cling to the word.

There is personal wisdom in this story for us, those of us who are sons and daughters of God. If you remember, the other week I said we are all made in His image but only those who believe in Him are sons and daughters.

Our temptation may not be to turn stones into bread, that would be impossible for us. But time after time we choose something other than trusting in Jesus.

We regularly succumb to the temptation to get our filling outside of GOd’s word. But Jesus tells us that we must cling to God’s word for our every need.

Are you currently tempted to go back to your ex-boyfriend who spoke evil into you and over you because of the crippling loneliness that overtakes you every day? It is written, Psalm 139:7-10

Psalm 139:7–10 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Are you currently tempted to find your identity in your sport because you feel like its the only reason why you’re popular and get to hangout with the people you do? It is written,

1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Are you currently being tempted to leave the faith because its too hard to be a Christian in your school? It is written,

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

This may sound cheesy…but you need to identify where you are most susceptible to temptation and start memorizing battle verses for when you face that temptation.

The Bible refers to itself as a sword, its the sword of truth. When you go to battle with the enemy you should have your weapon— the Word of God! If you don’t have scripture ready when you are being tempted then you are like a soldier without a sword, a miner without a pickaxe, a lumberjack without an axe, a hockey player without a stick, a golfer without a club, or a musician without their instrument. You will never defeat temptation if you leave your Bible to collect dust on your bookshelf.

Conclusion

And so what are your practical steps?

We said tonight that there are three things you must do when facing temptation,

Depend on the Holy Spirit.

Know the Word and understand how to interpret it correctly.

Cling to the word.

I’m going to keep it simple before we wrap up…your next step is to identify where you are most susceptible to temptation and then memorize scripture that can help you fight that temptation. Then, once you feel like you have that scripture memorized move on to the next one. Just google “Scripture for when I’m lonely” or “Scripture for when I’m prideful” or “Scripture for when I’m doubting.”

We are called to fight temptation like Jesus, because He gave us the perfect model for how to do it.

Lets pray.