May grace, mercy and peace be to each of you from God our Father and our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
The good news of the gospel is that we are no longer slaves to sin and death. Let’s pray as we open ourselves up once again to God’s Word …
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and for the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let your grace and your peace be with those listening and gathered here today. Guide us that we may truly be Your disciples as You teach us how to turn from temptation. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Savior and our Lord. Amen.
As we think about the dangers of succumbing to temptation, here is some sound advice:
If you see a temptation coming, and you can avoid it, run. Don’t wait around, don’t play around … run. Remove yourself from the situation. For example, if you drop a match in your lap, you don’t sit there and wonder how long it will take to burn you. You get rid of it immediately. …
You remember David’s engagement with the Philistines in 1 Samuel 17:48…
“When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.”
When you know God has given you something to do, when you know you are led to do a certain thing, do it, get about it as soon as possible.
Don’t wait until tomorrow. Between now and tomorrow, you might change your mind. When you wait, you are just giving Satan a chance to talk you out of it.
If you know you need to get on a diet, don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it today!
If you know you need to get on a budget. Don’t wait until tomorrow, do it today!
If you know you need to deal with something in your life, if you know there is a habit you need to stop, if you know there is a spiritual discipline you need to add to your life, don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it today!
The good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is that we can experience new life daily. We can rise from the ashes. We are NEVER broken BEYOND repair.
But this series is NOT just for the broken and shattered – this series is for anyone who wants to grow in their knowledge and understanding of Christ.
Each week we will look at one aspect of Jesus’ life and ministry during His time here on earth, and this is the key … we will see what we can LEARN from Him.
So, we begin this week with a conversation about temptation. As we heard in our Gospel lesson, immediately preceding the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he experienced a 40-day period of temptation.
Can you even imagine a persistent and prolonged season of temptation? And as an added bonus, the person overseeing your temptation is none other than Satan himself.
I cannot even imagine what that would have felt like, looked like, or been like to endure. And yet, this is the exact scenario that Jesus faced … this is what He had to overcome.
We begin today with a look into this season of Jesus’ life, and how we can learn from and be encouraged by His fortitude.
First and foremost, we all need to acknowledge that we should fully expect temptation in our lives. We all experience temptation every day. No one is immune from the desires to have things, or do things, that do not align with the teachings of Christ.
Temptation comes in many forms, and in many ways. It can seem innocent enough. Sneaking in some social media time at work, or not correctly reporting your income for your tax return.
In the eyes of many, these may not seem like huge problems. But realize that little temptations often grow into BIG problems.
They can lead to things that we ALL would agree are devastating. Things like broken marriages, ruined relationships, careers failures, ministries closing down, and the list goes on and on.
It does us no good to pretend like we are immune to temptation. Or, to think that we can handle things on our own. Let’s pause and hear what the Apostle John says about walking in the Kingdom of God in 1 John…
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us … if we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us. ” 1 John 1:8,10
So today, let’s acknowledge that we all deal with temptation. And while we are at it, let’s also acknowledge that there are times when we follow temptation down paths that are neither Christ honoring nor consistent with our heavenly citizenship.
So, how can we better manage temptation? How can we respond better to temptation? How can we model the fortitude and endurance Jesus had?
I believe the answers to all these questions must BEGIN with our identity. Who are we, really?
Let’s look at what immediately preceded Jesus’ 40-day temptation in the wilderness. Jesus was Baptized as recorded in Matthew 3…
“As soon as Jesus was baptized … he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. ” Matthew 3:13-17
The baptism of Christ is an incredibly significant moment in history for many reasons. For example, look at the last verse when God says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. ”
Notice God the father didn’t say, “Good! Now get on with fulfilling your destiny on Earth!” Or, “This is my son. Watch out Satan and you demons because He’s coming for you!”
No, God said none of that. He simply said, “this is my Son”. This is Christ’s IDENTITY. He is the beloved Son of God.
And this is such a powerful reality that when Jesus is drawn into the wilderness His identity is the very first thing that Satan tries to call into question. He tries to tempt Jesus out of His identity and position.
Look at what Satan says,
“The tempter came and said to Him, ‘IF you are the Son of God…” Matthew 4:3
So, for Jesus, the tempter starts with “If you are the Son of God”.
For Eve, in the Garden of Eden it was “Did God really say…“
What does that same voice from Satan sound like in your life today?
“If you really are a Christian, you wouldn’t…”
“If you really loved God, …”
“If you were only more like x, y, or z … “
“If you are really saved, you wouldn’t be suffering like you are …“
The questions may be different for each of us, but the motive is ALWAYS the same. The motive is always to get us DOUBTING our identity and position, AND get us DOUBTING who God is, and what He said about us.
In summary, when dealing with temptation, always remember WHO you are and WHOSE you are … in short, as the song said just before our message, YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD. Join me in saying the chorus line, “I am a child of God, yes I am”
Okay, so now we can all agree that temptation is something everyone deals with.
We also realize QUESTIONING our identity is a primary tactic of our enemy Satan.
So, to get some help dealing with our temptations, let us look at three specific areas where Jesus was tempted while in the wilderness.
First, in Matthew 4:3-4, Satan asks “Have you ever been really hungry? “ So, the first temptation for Jesus was…
Provision
I cannot even imagine how famished Jesus must have been after his 40-day journey in the wilderness. It is just cruel that Satan would come to him, QUESTION His identity, and then CHALLENGE Him to turn stones into bread.
Honestly, if you had the power to turn stones into Cheeseburgers or Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches, how difficult would it be to stay true to a 40-day fast?
But aside from cheeseburgers and sandwiches, what was really going on here? What was the underlying need Satan was trying to manipulate?
The need Jesus had as a true man, and that we all share, is a need for provision. It was food in Jesus’ case, but it can also be things like finances, clothes, a home to live in, etc. for us.
In all these things, we look to God, the creator and sustainer of all things, and we trust He will supply all we need.
Here are a few teachings from God for encouragement today. First from the Apostle Paul…
“…God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Then, from Jesus in Matthew 6…
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26
Finally, from a Psalm of David…
“The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. ” Psalm 23:1
A good shepherd will always supply for the needs of his flock, as a good Father supplies for the needs of his kids.
We have a good shepherd and a good father, so we can trust our needs will be met.
We can say that giving up the physical desires or temptations of the flesh reminds us that the ONLY provision we really need comes from the hand of God.
God can be trusted, and His Word is what gives us life … not food, finances, relationships or the things of this world.
The second temptation of Jesus from our Gospel lesson seems to be focused on inviting Jesus to test God’s protection of His beloved Son.
Jesus, having confidence in the care and concern for His well-being by God, saw no need to succumb to such a foolish thing.
In fact, Jesus brings up an important principle, that we SHOULD NOT even consider testing the Lord. But if we are honest with ourselves, we often feel tempted to do foolish things simply because we know God is a God of grace, and He can pick up the pieces of a bad choice or a bad decision.
Yes, we know He will protect.
Yes, He can work all things for the good.
Yes, He is omnipotent and nothing can derail His will…
But we need to simply say “NO” to the voice of temptation in our lives. And if you are in a precarious situation, then give some time to prayer, call some trusted friends, and exercise caution and wisdom through your decision making.
God does give us constant encouragement with words like these…
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
The third and final temptation is for Jesus to worship Satan, and in doing so, He would receive dominion over all the kingdoms of the world. It seems like an easy enough choice, but for some, the temptation for position and power is overwhelming.
We are often given a choice to worship something OTHER THAN God to get ahead or receive worldly gain. The significance that comes from worshipping an idol of any kind is at best … temporary and temporal.
We too must choose to worship God alone, and trust in the significance that can only come from our relationship with Him.
As a beloved child of the most-high King, you will inherit an eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken. Oftentimes we forget or look past this reality as believers and get distracted by worldly gain.
But truth be told, the best is yet to come. Your eternal position is far greater than any promotion your boss can give you here.
When feeling tempted in this area, try to keep things in perspective with God’s Word, such as…
“…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
This is truly good advice because there is one glaring thing that was CONSISTENT every time the devil tempted Jesus…
Jesus responded with scripture.
The Word of God is powerful. Here is how the author of Hebrews puts it…
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword … able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
As we journey together over the next few weeks, I’d like to encourage you to commit to daily time in God’s Word. For example, you could read a Proverb every day, jump into a reading plan of the Psalms, or simply read a few chapters a day starting in Matthew 1 and going through each Gospel.
Be creative in your daily schedules as you carve out time to spend with Jesus and His Word?
As a final caution today, the tempter (Satan) is not going to take the next few weeks off in preparation for Easter Sunday.
And He definitely DOES NOT want your faith and knowledge to grow in response to the Word of God.
But here’s a final positive thought for today … if scripture was sufficient to shield Jesus from all temptation, then it DEFINITELY is sufficient to shield us as well. AMEN