I think that we all understand what temptation is. As a matter of fact my Jack Russell, Emma was tempted the other day; she was hanging around the breakfast table as she usually does in the morning. As I set my plate of eggs on the table, I left the room for a brief moment. When I returned, Emma was circling the table and especially my chair, to see if she could risk jumping up on it to scarf up my eggs before I got back. Now she was tempted, but there was something holding her back from doing it. Now some of you know that I am gluten intolerant. At my office the other day there was a box of donuts left over from a meeting. Now I haven’t had a donut in who knows how long and I was greatly tempted by it (just like I was at the pie yesterday at Bethany). So, I ate most of it knowing that I would be sick in short order, so was it worth eating it and knowing I’d be in some acute distress??? That’s the trouble with temptation. We know it’s not good for us and we do it anyway. Choose to sin, choose to suffer – choose to eat wheat, choose to suffer. There are two lies Satan wants us to believe: 1. Just once won’t hurt. 2. Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning. Loved ones don’t believe it. So how many of us have shrugged and said, “The Devil made me do it!” (You can probably remember the comedian Flip Wilson had a whole routine on that) and we used that as an excuse when we were caught doing something we weren’t supposed to? It’s a convenient defense. But there’s one problem: the Devil can’t make us do anything. He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful. It may feel that way, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because Satan has a tried-and-true strategy for luring us into his net. First, he lays out the bait. Satan knows a person like a skilled angler knows fish. Now while I don’t profess to be a fisherman (because I want to catch something now) I know how it works. He notes our habits. He observes our hangouts. Then he prepares a tailor-made lure and drops it right in front of our noses. Secondly, comes the appeal. He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of that tantalizing bait. Our fleshly nature draws us to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination. Thirdly, the struggle begins. Immediately, our conscience jabs us in the ribs, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait. But Satan’s invitation looks so delicious. What do we do? Fourthly, the temptation ends with the response. Either we resist or yield; swim away or swallow it whole. Anyone who has resisted knows the feeling of freedom that decision brings. On the other hand, anyone who has yielded knows the feeling of emptiness that follows and the pain of the hook in your cheek.” This morning we are going to see Jesus meet and master temptation. In this story we will see three general kinds of temptation that our adversary is still using against us. By way of introduction I want you to see with me when the testing of Jesus came about (vv. 1-2). “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” First, Matthew 4 records that this temptation of Jesus came directly after He was baptized. It was here that God the Father spoke and said, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased!” What a spiritual high. You will discover that testing will often come on the heels of a spiritual high point in your life. Secondly, it came at time of physical weakness; Jesus had not eaten in 40 days. Temptations often come when we are a weakened state physically or emotionally, when we are exhausted and emotionally spent. “In a survey on temptation among readers of the “Discipleship Journal”, 81% of the respondents noted temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God and 57% said they were tempted when they were physically tired. 84% of respondents said resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer, 76% said avoiding compromising situations (remember me talking about Billy Graham avoiding one on ones with women?), 66% said that Bible study helps resist temptation, and 52% said that being accountable to someone helped as well. Thirdly, this temptation came to Jesus when he was alone. We are the most vulnerable to temptation when we are alone. As we begin our study today it is necessary that we understand that these temptations were very much real. C. S. Lewis made these insightful observations about temptation: “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current, that good people do not know what temptation means. That is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is....Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the full what temptation means.” The temptations of Jesus had to be real for the consoling truth of (Hebrew 4:15) to be true: “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.” To sympathize with us, Christ had to have fully experienced the Devil’s temptations! 1. THE TEMPTATION TO DO IT YOURSELF (vv. 3-4) The Devil Speaks (v.3) “And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Don’t be mislead by a false understanding of the Devil’s statement when he says, “If you are the Son of God” - this is not a supposition but an affirmation. It literally means “since you are” or “in view of the fact that you are the Son of God.” The first temptation would be no temptation at all if Jesus were not indeed the Son of God. The devil is well aware that God exists and I don’t think that he expends a great deal of effort trying to dissuade us from a belief in God. His basic strategy is to make us believe that God can’t be trusted. Satan entered into the Biblical picture at creation in the form of a serpent. He said to Adam and Eve, “Do you really believe that God is good? He has told you not to eat from that one tree because he knows that the moment you do so you will be as wise as He is? He is not your friend. He is holding out on you” (Gen. 3:4). The temptation sounds innocent enough, right? You could almost sense the innocence in the devil’s presentation of this temptation – “just make these stones into bread” – what’s the big deal? You the Son of God – just do it! There is no law against turning stones into bread. It won’t hurt anything. Jesus had been without food for six weeks! Because he was the Son of God he could invoke his supernatural powers, the temptation was very real. Jesus could have done it in an instant and his hunger was screaming, “Do it.” Satan is suggesting to Jesus that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since “His beloved son” was hungry. Satan was tempting Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using his divine power for his own purposes. John Piper says that sin …"gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier." Jesus Answers (v. 4) “But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” We often brag that we are “people of the Word.” But are we really? The question is not how much Bible do you know but how much of the Bible that you know are you applying in your life. Jesus lived by the word. The key phrase in each of his answers is, “it is written.” He did not allow the situation or the circumstances or even the enemy to dictate the truth. The answers to all three temptations came right out of Deuteronomy, the story of God’s pilgrim people coming out of bondage. Jesus in his answer was saying, “I will not complain. Neither will I take matters into my own hands. I will trust my Father and his word.” Our temptation is not to turn stones into bread because the impossible does not tempt us. But the compliant behind the temptation is still very strong. The devil’s ploy in this world is to make us believe that if we want something done we need to do it ourselves – not trust in God. We regularly are tempted to go outside the friendly confines of God’s will to satisfy our personal needs or desires. We often promote ourselves because we are sure that God will not do it. We scheme and we plan for our well-being, because we assume that God does not care or maybe does not know about our needs. 2. THE TEMPTATION TO TAKE THE EASY WAY (vv. 5-8) The Devil Speaks (vv.5-7) “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” The devil was not lying when he promised Jesus, for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” (v.6). The devil was offering Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go to all the trouble and pain to win the world when it can be handed to you on a silver platter. No suffering, No Struggling, No Sacrifice. But a crown without the cross would mean that there would be no forgiveness for our sins. Jesus Answers (v. 8) “And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” We do not have to look for to see the application for today. Our world teaches us to avoid pain, to take the easy way, the path of least resistance. Avoid sacrifice. Why give all that money to the church when you can spend it on a new fishing boat. Why spend the rest of your life with the same mate? Go out and find yourself someone new – after all you only live once. You deserve to be happy. What is the result? We are living in a country with children whose lives are being destroyed because of their parent’s selfishness. 3. THE TEMPTATION TO NOT BELIEVE IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT (vv. 9-13)The Devil Speaks (vv.9-11 ) The devil took Jesus to the point of the temple roof that overlooked the Kidron Valley, about a 450 ft. drop. Whether he took him there physically or in a vision we do not know. But once there he made Jesus a very tempting offer. Having seen Jesus defeat him two times by quoting Scripture, Satan now quotes it himself, for his own purposes (vv. 9-11). “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, 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 shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Satan misquotes the promise of God, it was right as far as it went, but he did not quote it all. For Jesus to have supernaturally survived a fall from the pinnacle of the temple in the full view of the people would have immediately identified Him as the Messiah. But it would have that would have singled out his love for Jesus. This would be the equivalent of saying to God –“I won’t believe in you until I see you SHOW it to me by MY terms.” Jesus Answers (vv. 12-13) “And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” But Jesus understood to start His ministry by dramatically jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple would be completely contrary to the will of God. To do so would be to test God. Jesus refused to take this shortcut. There are many subtle ways that we can put God to the test. We may not jump from the top of the church – but we do it in other ways. We do it when we not put the worship of God and attendance at church as a priority – and yet we expect God to keep our children on the right path – that is putting God to the test. We do it when we dive into a path of our own choosing and then cry out to God to bail us out. We do it when we test the boundaries of known sin. God says, “Here is the line,” and we see how close we can get to that line. Then we are surprised when we fall. Then we blame God. But it happened because we have tested God. The one thing common to all three temptations is that they attempted to distract Jesus from his mission or destroy his relationship with His heavenly Father. Don’t miss the truth given in verse thirteen, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” This verse says that “when the devil had ended every temptation” – the temptation was “ended” when he carried to completion and every avenue of attack was employed. When it says that the Devil “departed from Him” the Greek is much blunter, it says he “stood off.” This battle was over but he had not given up. Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister of England stated, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” This verse reveals that the Devil will always be lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting for the next vulnerable moment. When you are weak – expect a major assault. When you resist – be ready for a different approach. When he leaves – count on another attack. When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.” When Christ fills our lives Satan has no entrance. Loved ones, has Christ filled your life so that Satan has no entrance, no way to get in? I pray that he has. God will always, as I have said before provide you with an exit ramp just before you sin, please take it.
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