Overcoming Temptation
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“Overcoming Temptation”
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Anybody in here ever been tempted? The right answer to that question is YES! We’ve all been tempted, and there will never be a time in your life when you’re beyond temptation.
· -“Every man is tempted…
· -“temptation is common to man..
Temptation has been defined as “an invitation to do wrong”. “The craving to fulfill a legitimate desire, in an illegitimate way”.
There are only two ways that you can face temptation:
#1. You can fight against temptation in the strength of your flesh.
This is the person who fights against temptation in the strength of their flesh, and loses, gives into temptation and sins. They fight and fail, fight and fail, fight and fail, make promises and break the promises. Why? Because you do not have the power to overcome temptation on your own! We are no match for temptation of the world, flesh and devil!
I heard about a guy who was on a diet, but he loved donuts; but they were a definite no no on his diet! On his way to work, he passed Krispy Kreme and the hot-now sign was lite up.
Temptation called out to him, “just think about how a doughnut would taste right now, it would melt in your mouth”. He said to himself, well; I’ll stop only if there’s a parking spot at the front door. And he said; and would you believe it, after circling the store 10 times, there was a place right at the front door.
We don’t have what it takes to overcome.
#2. You can face temptation in the power of Jesus!
We don’t have to live a life of defeat, we can be victors through the power of Jesus! He is our example and our power to overcome temptation.
As we look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, we learn where temptation comes from, how temptation works; and the steps to overcome temptation. The Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness; he was there fasting and praying for 40 days. And were told that Jesus was, V:2-“tempted of the devil”
The Bible teaches a real, literal devil, who was once among God’s beautiful angels, but he rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven. Now he spends every second thinking how to hurt the heart of God. And the way he does that is by turning people away from God; and leading God’s children to sin against God. And his chief weapon is temptation!
He has some very powerful allies; the world and our flesh.
Don’t believe the new age philosophy that says the devil is just your own internal evil; your own personal devil. No! Jesus had no evil in him; the Bible says the devil came. The Bible calls the devil the tempter, the roaring lion seeking to devour you!
The devil is real, he is evil, powerful, and he hates you, and wants to destroy your life!
· Temptation will come every one of us.
Some of you are thinking; if I’m being tempted by the devil to sin, there must be something wrong with me. I shouldn’t be having these kinds of thoughts, and feelings. If I was a strong Christian, if my heart was pure, I wouldn’t be having all these problems and all these conflicts, and struggles.
Think about that for a moment; can you imagine yourself to be so filled with the Holy Spirit, so led by the Holy Spirit that your heart is perfectly pure? You absolutely please God in every way. Do you think, if you lived this super spiritual life then there would be no temptation?
Well somebody actually did live that way, Jesus Christ, was filled with the spirit, led by the spirit, had a heart absolutely pure, righteous and holy, and was tempted by the devil.
If the devil had the audacity to tempt Jesus, he will come after you and me! The longer you are saved, the more the devil would like to take you down! You will never be mature enough, holy enough, or live long enough to grow past temptation!
Let me make a statement you really need to hear!
· Temptation is not sin!
Jesus was tempted, and we know He never sinned!
The sin is giving in to the temptation, yielding to the temptation.
Temptation is the tempter knocking on the door; the sin is open the door and letting him in.
Martin Luther said, you can’t keep a bird from flying over your head; but you can keep him from building a nest in your hair.
· Temptation will come to every one of us.
· Temptation comes at the most unexpected times.
Jesus has just been baptized in obedience to God, the Holy Spirit came down on him, and God the father spoke from heaven. What an incredible experience! Jesus leaves his baptism, with the words of his father ringing in his ears; this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
The very next thing that happens is He’s being tempted by the devil. The same day Jesus got the approval of heaven, he got an assault from hell!
Leonard Ravenhill said, “when God opens the windows of heaven to bless you; the devil opens the doors of hell to blast you!
When the dove comes down, the devil shows up! Some of the greatest temptations you will ever face will come on the heels of some of your highest spiritual experiences!
Moses- Red Sea, manna, water from the rock; murmuring people- anger, and struck the rock.
Elijah- Mount caramel, fire from heaven, threats, fear and running from Jezebel.
I found out that I can have an argument with Tess on the way home a revival meeting.
When you own a spiritual mountaintop, keep your eyes open, and watch out for temptation.
· There is no place that temptation doesn’t come.
V:1-“Into the wilderness…
Where to Jesus experienced temptation? In the city? No. Jesus is out in the middle of nowhere, in the wilderness. Is there no place you can go to get away from temptation? No there’s not!
You think to yourself, I wouldn’t be having these temptations, if I weren’t living in this place, working this job; I need to get away.
I am not saying; that you don’t need to get another job, our move away from your old friends; and get a fresh start.
If God has delivered you from drugs; you don’t need to live in a crack house. You need to get away from that lifestyle!
But changing your environment; will not keep temptation from coming to you in a new environment!
Adam was in a perfect garden, and the devil tempted him-and he fell into sin.
Jesus was and a barren wilderness and the devil tempted him-and he overcame the temptation.
Satan doesn’t care where you are, he will come after you! You cannot isolate yourself from temptation. So don’t think for a moment; if I could quit this job with all these heathens; and work for the Billy Graham Association, I could live in victory. No! Victory doesn’t come from your surroundings, victory comes through Jesus!
You can sit right here in this church service, sing the songs, and hear this sermon and be tempted to sin.
Jesus was tempted, is the same way you and I will be tempted; listen to this verse:
-“For we have a high priest who is touch with the feelings of our infirmities, he was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin”.
What are the points/areas Jesus was tempted in and that will be tempted in? Satan tempted Jesus in three areas, which are the same three areas he will tempt you and me in. -“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”. All temptation falls into one of these three areas; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Satan tempted Jesus in these three areas and he tempts us in these same three areas.
First of all Satan tempted Jesus with:
1. The lust of the flesh.
V:3-“The devil said to him, if you are the son of God, command this stone that it be made bread”.
Jesus was hungry, he had not eaten anything for 40 days. Satan knew that Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, and that he was physically hungry and weak. He knows his physical appetite was screaming for food. So the devil appeals to Jesus to meet a legitimate need, in an illegitimate way.
There’s nothing wrong with having an appetite or with bread; both are gifts from God.
Jesus taught us to pray about daily bread.
God gave the children of Israel bread in the wilderness.
Jesus fed 5000 with bread and fish.
There’s nothing wrong with bread!
But Jesus was led into that wilderness by the spirit of God, He had a divine appointment with God to fast and pray. Jesus had come to do the father’s will, not his own will; which meant trusting God to provide for his needs. Soon the father would send angels to care for him; but at that moment it was God’s will for him to pray and fast.
Satan was tempting Jesus as he tempts us; to be impatient, to get ahead of God’s timetable by meeting your own needs, your own way, rather than waiting for God to provide for you. Satan tempted Jesus to gratify his fleshly desires, outside of the will of God. Satan will try to get you to fulfill the fleshly cravings and appetites of your flesh outside of the will of God.
Satan wants you to put your fleshly desires before God! To make your fleshly cravings the God of your life. The book of Philippians tells us about people; who made their fleshly appetites their God; and they were headed for destruction. ()
· Rest is necessary-laziness is sin.
· Food is good-gluttony is sin.
· Sex is God’s gift from marriage-immorality is sin.
· Money is necessary-greed and selfishness is sin.
· Conversation is good-gossip the sin.
Every sin is a perversion of that which is good.
Satan tried to get Jesus to question God’s provision for him. Satan’s message was since God hasn’t fed you; act independent of God and feed yourself. Why go hungry when you can do something about it? Don’t wait on God, take care of yourself!
But there was no need that Jesus had that God couldn’t meet; and wasn’t going to meet. God knows about the desires that you have; trust him to fulfill those desires.
The lust of the flesh leads you to think that you must fulfill the desires of your flesh outside of God’s will, which is sin!
Satan will show you things that appeal to you flesh, and he will say do it, take it, and your flesh will cry out to indulge itself. Satan tempted Jesus, and he tempts us with the lust of the flesh.
Jesus answered Satan, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.
Secondly Satan tempted Jesus with:
2. The Lust of the Eyes.
V:5-7-Read.
Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms, glory, riches of the world; feast your eyes on this. Satan tells Jesus all of these things can be yours right now; if you’ll bow down and worship me!
Satan showed Jesus a lot of stuff; the kingdoms of this world- that is a really big offer!
Satan put before Jesus eyes all the wealth, power, achievements of the world; he offered Jesus the world on a silver platter!
All Jesus had to do was turn his back on God, and God’s plan for him, and bowed down and worship Satan.
Did Jesus Christ have the right to receive the kingdom, the power and the glory? Yes He did!
Jesus is the King of king, and one day all that Satan showed him will be his! But how would he receive it? That was the question.
God’s way was for Jesus to suffer and die for sinners, and only then to receive the kingdom. What Satan offered Jesus on the spot was to have all the kingdoms without the agony of the cross. The kingdoms of this world would become the kingdom of Christ without the scorn, scourging, the spitting, and the blood of crucifixion.
Satan was tempting Jesus to take the crown without the cross!
Just bow down and worship the devil, and the kingdoms of this world would be his.
Thank God Jesus didn’t hesitate; but told Satan you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only show you serve.
Satan will bring all kind of things before your eyes; material possessions, wealth, lands and houses.
There was nothing wrong with the kingdoms of this world, or money or possessions or houses and lands; as long as you don’t worship them, serve them, and turn your back on God to get them!
The lust of the eyes leads you to want to have things at the expense of your spiritual life!
What is the driving force of your life? What are your ambitions for your children? Money, status, education, comfort, material possessions?
Would you rather spend an evening with the rich and famous; or the wise and godly?
We are tempted to put material things before our spiritual life, family life, and church life. When you put things ahead of God, and God’s plan for your life; you just bowed down and began worshiping Satan!
You say, well Satan has never offered me the kingdoms of this world; no, it doesn’t have to!
We sell out for a whole lot less than that!
· Eve sold out for a piece of fruit.
· Esau sold out for a bowl of beans.
· Samson sold out for a woman.
· Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver.
I know Baptist who sell out their spiritual life and church life for a Jet Ski, Lake House, or season tickets to the Chief’s games.
Whatever Satan is showing you; is only temporary! The kingdoms of this world will become Jesus eternally. And those of us who worship Jesus, and serve God will inherit the kingdoms of this world with our Savior one day.
Thirdly Satan tempted Jesus with:
3. The pride of life.
V:9-11-Read.
Satan tells Jesus, what you need to do is to jump off the top of this temple several hundred feet in the air, let the Angels escort you to a safe landing in the temple court. Satan is quoting from , to the son of God! Satan is quoting Scripture! Don’t be surprised when people twist the Bible for their own purposes; it’s not original with them, Satan has been doing that for a long time.
Satan says, People will see this; and they will say WOW did you see that, he is the son of God, and you will get the recognition and respect you deserve! You are the Messiah, and God is obligated to take care of you. Prove to the people you’re somebody by doing this daredevil’s stunt.
You will be somebody, in the eyes of the people; this is the pride of life. Jesus was already somebody; Jesus had heard his father say “you are my beloved son in whom I’m well pleased”; and that was enough for Jesus! Jesus had nothing to prove!
We will all be tempted with the pride of life.
The desire to be somebody in the eyes of others.
People gossip to pull someone else down, hoping to make themselves look good- the pride of life.
Often we can’t let something we’ve done go unnoticed; we have to tell somebody-the pride of life. The Bible says don’t let your right hand, know what your left hand does; but we don’t do that because of the pride of life.
I got a thing in the mail that said, Mr. Bumpers, you have been selected for Who’s Who. You’ve been recognized as being educated, well-read, interested in world affairs, well-balanced, and therefore I know you will be interested in what I have to offer you. Will of course I am since you describe me so perfectly- appealing to my pride.
The pride of life, I’m somebody, I’m needed, Mr. big stuff. The areas that Satan tempted Jesus, are the same areas he tempts us; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
How did Jesus overcome temptation; and what steps do we take to overcome temptation?
Step #1:
1. Be Filled with the Spirit.
V:1-“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost… Was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”.
Jesus submitted to God, and God filled him with the Holy Spirit. The best defense is a good offense! Don’t wait for temptation to come before you get ready for it; every day Submit to God, and ask him to fill you with his Spirit, so you can live in power and victory. Every day, be filled with the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus! Jesus met Satan and overcame Satan as a man filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus could have vaporize Satan on the spot! But he did not do that, why? Because Jesus was setting an example for us; and we can’t speak a word and vaporize Satan. But we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and face, and overcome temptation in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is foolish, and disastrous to try to overcome Satan and temptation without the power of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus said about the Holy Spirit; “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world“
The only way to stand the pressure of temptation on the outside; is to be feel with the Spirit on the inside.
When I was a boy the nuclear submarine thresher went to deep in the ocean off the coast of Massachusetts and was crushed by the pressure. A submarine has thick steel bulkheads to withstand the pressure of the water as it dives. But the thickest steel walls, bulkheads cannot withstand the pressure of the deepest oceans, and those still bulkheads gave way and all the crew of the submarine thresher died.
And yet in those same deep waters where that steel submarine had been crushed, little fish swim without a care in the world. What is their secret? Why aren’t they crushed? Are they made of some indestructible material? No! They have only a thin layer of skin; but those fish have an internal pressure that perfectly corresponds to the pressure from the outside. God gave them what they need to swim in the deepest ocean.
Hey, listen to me-you and I can spend our lives building walls to block out temptation, and we should; but that will never be enough!
We need power on the inside; that is a match for the pressure from the outside. And that power on the inside that keeps us from being crushed by temptation is the power of the Holy Spirit! He is the inner answer, to the outer pressure of temptation, he and he alone can keep you from caving in!
Step #2 to overcoming temptation:
2. Be Familiar with the Bible.
V:4,8,12-“It is written”
Three times Satan attacked Jesus, and each time Jesus won the battle filled with the Holy Spirit, quoting the Bible.
The Bible is called, -“the sword of the Spirit”.
Each time Satan rushed Jesus, he stuck him with the sword; the word of God!
-“The word of God is alive, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword”
Each Scripture that Jesus used to counteract the temptation, and win the battle was from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus must have been having his quiet time in the book of Deuteronomy.
The person who overcomes temptation is the person who is familiar with, and able to quote the Bible when temptation comes. Jesus knew the Bible, do you know the Bible?
Are you hiding the word of God in your heart that you might not sin against God?
Jesus didn’t have a red letter, leather King James Bible with the thumb index. No! Don’t get the idea that you can waive this Bible around and scare the devil off; and if you have a Bible on your nightstand, or in the car you can overcome temptation and Satan. You have watched too many vampire movies; just because you have a copy of the Bible, or a cross, garlic and a flashlight you can overcome temptation and Satan and vampires. No!
You must read the Bible, you must learn some verses, and be able to quote them in your mind when temptation comes!
Jesus quoted a word, from the word of God.
There are two different words used for the word of God in the New Testament:
· Logos-the whole word of God.
· Rhema-A word from the word.
V:4-“Jesus said, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.
That is the word-Rhema-every utterance, individual verse, and saying. Jesus knew the word of God, and he knew exactly where to go with the word, to get a word to defeat the particular temptation of Satan.
We must become familiar with the Scripture enough to quote it against temptation.
Step #3 to overcoming temptation:
3. Be Focused on the Future.
V:13-14-“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit in the Galilee…”
The devil was defeated, Jesus overcame temptation, and demonstrated that he was the sinless, perfect son of God; who would continue to defeat Satan and win the ultimate battle over sin and death on the Cross!
When the temptation was ended, we are told in the book of Matthew, that angels came and ministered to Jesus. And that after the Angels ministered to Jesus; he went into Galilee and the power of the Holy Spirit to preach his first message and begin to do ministry!
One of the ways to overcome temptation is to think about, what will happen if you give into this temptation; and what will happen if you overcome this temptation! Focus on the future!
Think about the consequences of giving in to this temptation.
When temptation comes, ask yourself:
How will giving into this temptation affect my relationship with the Lord Jesus?
How will I feel in my heart if I give into this temptation? Guilt and shame!
How will this affect my relationship with others if I give into this temptation?
When temptation comes Satan says, just do it, hurry up, give in, don’t think about it, don’t engage your brain and heart, just act. Just lose your temper, and say what you want to, don’t think about how this will hurt the other person, just do it!
Just respond quickly, in anger, and post what you want to, you have a right to, do it, do it, don’t think about it.
Then when you have failed and sinned, and you feel bad, and conviction comes, Satan says don’t worry about getting right with God are others, you have plenty of time don’t be in a hurry, don’t reach out, don’t confess your sin, put it off.
When you lose the battle with temptation and sin; as a child of God you feel lousy, miserable, defeated, and convicted; if you don’t you’re not saved. Before you give into temptation and sin; thank about the future, think about the consequences and effect it will have on your relationship with the Lord and others.
It isn’t worth it!!
When temptation comes; be focused on the future; think about how good you will feel when you win, overcome this temptation. Think of the joy and victory that will flood your soul! Think of how God will be glorified, and Satan will be horrified.
Jesus overcame temptation and he went forward to success, victory, ministry and service to God. God has a great plan for you, and don’t let temptation and Satan sidetrack you from accomplishing God’s plan for your life! Focus on the future God has for you, don’t let temptation led you to sin against God!
Our victory comes through the victory of Jesus Christ. Jesus the sinless son of God, overcame temptation and Satan, and died as our sinless substitute so that we might be saved and through him win the battle against temptation and sin! We do not face temptation alone; Jesus is our great champion in the fight. By his victory in the wilderness, suffering on the cross, and resurrection from the dead; he has defeated the devil and opened the way for us to be saved and live in victory!