Like Jesus - Handling Temptation

Matthew 4:1–11 NKJV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 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.’ ” 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.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” 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.” 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.

Our goal as Christians is to be like Jesus - as we discussed last week

To have peace like Him

to Love Like Him

to Forgive Like Him

To Act Like Him

In order to succeed at any of this, we will also need to overcome temptation, like Him

Jesus Was Tempted - Yet Without Sin

Being tempted is not sin in itself

Many people, when they are tempted, feel as though they have sinned already

this may be true if you are planning to sin, doing so in your mind

but the desire itself, or the thought itself is not sin

Some people give up the good fight of faith, becasue they mistake being tempted with having fallen to sin

Jesus Himself was tempted, not just here, but in many ways

in fact, the bible says, in every way:

Hebrews 4:14–16 NKJV

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We must resist temptation

Temptation is not sin, but it leads to sin

If we resist he devil, he will flee from us

If sin is allowed to conceive, when it is finished, it brings death

Temptation Is Not The Same As Desire, or Lust

Temptation is a drawing, or leading to sin -

this may include a desire to sin, as in lust

but could also be a fear of not sinning, as in self serving greed

Could be a doubt, lack of faith leading us to sin instead of trusting God

There are many reasons the devil presents us with not to trust The Lord

Simple faith rejects all of these reasons with the same answer- Trust in God

So, in trying to be Like Jesus, it will help us to see how Jesus handled temptation

If You Are The Son Of God...

In the first temptation recorded here, the devil challenges Jesus’ identity

Jesus had fasted for forty days, and was now very hungry

the temptation was not to break the fast, the fast was already over, and was voluntary

Jesus was not required to fast as a religious ritual, but was led into the wilderness to fast by the Spirit - voluntarily

The devil is challenging Jesus identity as the Son of God- “If you are… then”

He is casting doubt on Jesus place as the Messiah

If the devil can get you to doubt who you are in Christ, there is little limit to what else he can lead you to.

If He could get Jesus to “attempt to prove himself”, then the temptation has worked

Jesus doe snot jump through hoops for the devil - neither should you

You do not need to prove yourself to the enemy, or any man

The just shall live by Faith

“Turn this stone into bread”

the temptation is to use His power to satisfy the devil’s demand - to prove

nothing wrong with having bread - but not to prove to the devil

This is a common method of temptation - to get you to use a legitimate thing in an illegitimate way

The tempter here also plays on the fact that Jesus was already hungry -

He will always try to catch you in your weakness

Have you ever been hungry?

Ever had a need that wasn’t being met?

Look to the Word of God, not yourself.

But Jesus knew he had fasted, and would eat, but would survive by faith

So, Jesus answered -

Man shall not live by food alone....

Jesus looked to The Word For His reply, and answered from it

If you look to yourself, you will eventually fail

If you look to God, you will prevail

It Is Written … Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3

If you know the Word in your heart, it will be there in your time of trial

Throw Yourself Down...

In the second temptation, the devil again challenges His identity, and invites Him to prove it by throwing himself down from the high place

Here the devil even quotes scripture himself in order to amplify the temptation

quoting Psalm 91, - He has given his angels charge of you...

There is the temptation to obey the devil’s test here, and the temptation to twist God’s Word

Many people fall to this temptation, or twisting God’s word to satisfy their own purposes -

Or moving from faith to presumption

Yes, it is written that He has given His angels charge over us - and they will bear you up in their hands...

But this must never be twisted into deliberately putting ourselves at risk, or creating situations in attempt to force God to do a certain thing or act a certain way.

Our lives and health are gifts from God, not to be taken lightly

Jesus again responds from the Word of God

It is written… You shall not tempt the Lord your God

If you do not know the Word for yourself, in these moments of temptation, your own soul will find the easy way out, and you will likely fail

though there is grace for new Christians, and those sincere learning

All This… If You Worship Me

Finally, the devil stops trying to challenge who Jesus is, and simply moves to offer Him power and wealth — the things of this world

In Luke’s account he specifically says that ll this had been given to him, which happened through Adam -

When the devil can no longer make you doubt who you are in Christ, his next trick will be to try to make you think he has a better offer - a more immediate offer

Where Jesus asks us to take up our cross and follow Him, the devil will invite you to lay down your cross and enjoy the pleasures of this life -

for a moment - but oh the price

Jesus knew that He was already going to have all these things anyway eventually

But the devil is offering him a path that avoids the cross, the crucifixion, the cat of 9 tails, the mocking, the sins of the world laid on Him

But it would also be a fleeting moment, then the devil would reign

a trick, like the one in the garden of eden

the devil tempts many people with this offer of wealth and power and ease, but don’t be deceived, the price is nothing less than your soul

Don’t take the shortcuts -

the road is narrow, the gate is straight that leads to life

Many go the wrong way - the easy way

though the way of the cross may seem hard, that hardship is not worthy to be compared to the good that awaits you

Jesus knew better, again from the Word!

He replied from the Word of God again

You shall worship the Lord Your God - Only

Know The Word, Know The LORD

In Every Situation Jesus answered from the Word

He did this because He Knew the word, or more importantly, He knew God

If you want to overcome temptation, you need to know The Lord for yourself

It is not just about learning a bunch of scripture quotes, the devil does that

It is about learning, and knowing Him, personally, intimately, like your very best friend

We can get to know Him Through the Word

through walking with Him

Through prayer,

through doing the things He approves of, such as giving. forgiving, loving, believing, trusting acting in His Character

Through The Word, we see that we are on the right track, that who we think is Jesus, is Jesus, that what we believe is true, is true.

So, the Word is not to learn a list of quotes or rules, but to learn Him, and to know Him, and to keep us from being deceived

Knowing the Word yourself, and knowing God yourself, will keep the devil from misrepresenting Him to you -

this is more important than ever in these end times

Be Like Jesus - Overcome Temptation Like Him