Our Fight Against Temptation
Notes
Transcript
Our Fight Against Temptation
Our Fight Against Temptation
Las vegas
What we are going to talk today about
Our fight against temptation
How Jesus defeated Satan
How we can use that example in our own lives
Then perhaps the most important
The purpose of Christs temptation.
Incredibly important to understanding the Bible
Please stick with me
The last point will open up the word of God to you
Help you understand a critical theme of theme of the Bible
Once you get this you’ll understand who Jesus truly is
Who He is going to be
This is one of those topics that is hard to preach
It offends
It convicts
Yet it is desperately needed in the life of the believer
Why?
Because as it says in
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Scripture is Key To everything
Lets open in prayer
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
To be honest it was a hard week
When you are focused on teaching about Temptation
Your eyes awaken to everything around you
Everything appears to be leading you away from God
Taking a class in college
After the fall
The world falls into a curse
So if you can imagine a line
Everything falls short of that line
God’s perfect character
The absence of Sin
Is missing
Everything in this world is influenced through sin
Not to say God is missing
But His over arching influence isn't dominating in our lives
We live under the rule of Satanic or demonic influence
The bible says in John 12:31 and Ephesians 2:2
Satan is in charge right now
The Bible is clear about this
As does the temptation of Christ
Think about it
Why would satan offer authority to Christ
If authority wasn’t given to satan in the first place
We will get deeper into that in a moment
I know that unpopular
But thats the teaching of the Bible
The result of Sin
As we have walked through Mark
Here we have another key example
Another purpose
Another critical point
To why the Messiah had to come
Logically think about it
If we believe the Bible is the Word of God
If we believe that this book is how God speaks to us
Then we have to realize that IF there is no sin problem
Then whats the point of Christ?
The simple fact is that we have a problem
That problem is sin
Because of Sin Christ came to save us through the cross
Having this as a foundational understanding is critical
With this foundational belief
We come to the obvious conclusion
Temptation is real
Temptation is a daily thing
Temptation is easy to fall into
But…
Temptation can be overcome!
Let me hit on just a couple different passages to prove my point here
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
I find it interesting how Paul in his encouragement to the Corinthian Church
Mentions that temptation is common
Temptation is not new
But relying on God will allow us to pull through these times
Romans 8
Tells us to walk with a desire focused on God
James 4:6
Tells us if we resist the devil he will flee
What the Bible is doing
Placing blame on the individual
Making our decisions our fault
Making sin something we have to deal with
Forcing us to realize our responsibility
Its our own sinful nature that allows for sin to enter in
But just as 1 Corinthians 10 13 says
If we pursue the cross
If we make Jesus the Lord of our Life
If we desire what He wants for my life
I can be freed from the power of Sin
Along with that responsibility comes a catch
But to think we can do this on our own
thats a mistake
We need the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit
The conviction that the Holy Spirit brings
The life long progression in sanctification
Its no easy task but there is victory in Jesus
Lets take a look at how Jesus over comes
There are some great lessons to be learned here
Take notice here also the details
Look what Satan does here
Bible says Jesus fasted 40 days
40 is said to be a number of testing or hardship
and lets understand
Jesus would have been starving
How many of us get hungry after missing on meal
Jesus didn’t eat anything for 40 days
I find that incredible
Because how does Jesus defeat Satan in every test
Scripture
Even when He’s starving and at the point where he is about to drop
Scripture
Scripture is key to everything
But whats the first thing Satan does?
Turn with me to Matthew 4 Parallel account
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Satan knows your weak spot
Satan knows where to get you
I’m sure if I was in an actual church service
I would hear an amen
Human need or desire
Easiest place to get us
Some of us thats sweet spot may be
Sex
Money
Alcohol
Insecurity
Depression
Whatever it is Satan will hit on that point
At your moment of weakness
Look at this
Satan knows who Jesus is
If you’re the Son of God
Go ahead
Satan notices Jesus is hungry
If I can get him to turn this into food
Then God’s will has been stolen
Then God’s purpose has been wrecked
Thats where Satan gets me every time
Right in my sweet spot
Right where he knows I am weak
I’m sure he does this for you to
How does Jesus defeat satan
Notice, Jesus drops his pride
Ignores His hunger
Immediately quotes a passage
He goes right to Scripture
Jesus Quotes Deuteronomy 8 3
Jesus places authority with the Father
Jesus stays obedient to the Fathers will
Stays focused on the mission
Jesus is saying my reliance is on God the Father
He is in charge
He is watching over me
He will take care of my needs
Most importantly Jesus goes right to Scripture
The Word of God!
I cringe at the idea that some of you don’t open the Bible
In this book
Wisdom from the creator
Jesus Himself in the face of temptation from the chief tempter
Quotes Scripture
Satan was doing exactly what he does with us
In our moment of weakness
He wants you to drop your guard Satan wins
We fail when
We depend on our own ability
But Jesus puts it back in the Fathers hand
There is victory there
Reliance on God and his provision for your life
Critical point
Lets dig a bit deeper
Three temptations here
Notice temptation number 2
Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
Two points here that I’d to quickly go over
Satan appeals to our selfish nature or personal gain
How many times have we tried to use God as our personal puppet
How many times do we get frustrated
Because God hasn’t done things exactly how I want them
We get angry
We get irritated
God hasn’t blessed me yet
What if God’s will is different
What if you’re not seeing the full picture
What if your selfish desire to do things your way
Is getting in the way of God’s purpose
Satan is asking Jesus to go against the Fathers will
Go against Gods plan
To put things in His own hands
Satan is tempting, He is saying
You’re about to be crucified
You’re about to go through hell
You can avoid that
Just throw yourself off the building
Angels will come
Everyone will see
You’ll become what they want
You’ll be worshipped
You can avoid this crazy plan
You can avoid the pain and suffering
You can still achieve God’s purpose
Just do it your way
You don’t have to follow exactly what the Father said
Isn’t that exactly what He did to eve in the Garden?
Isn’t that how Satan works on us?
Satan is good folks
Imagine how tempting that would be for Jesus
Satan rationalizes his temptation
Massive point I want to make to you
Satan uses Scripture to Tempt Jesus
How does he do this?
Using Scripture out of context
He purposely leaves out a few words
Look what one author wrote
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 4:5–7
he purposely did not quote Psalm 91:11–12 accurately. He left out an important phrase, “in all Your ways.” According to the psalmist, a person is protected only when he is following the Lord’s will. For Jesus to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple in some dramatic display to accommodate Himself to the people’s thinking would not have been God’s will.
Why is this so important?
How does this even apply to our lives?
We have an over abundance of false teaching these days
This plays right into the hands of how satan tempts
Using Scripture out of context
is not only dangerous
It leads to a manipulation
False conversions
Lack of discipline
Leads to a false understanding of the Gospel
The late Dave Hunt
Scholar and theologian
If we don’t get back to the truth of Scripture
To what the Bible really means
We are literally hand delivering people into hell
If we don’t use scripture how is supposed to be used we are a tool for Satan
Scripture is key to everything
Understanding Scripture
Devoting time and energy
proper understanding
Is critical to our walk
and fundamental to fighting off temptation
So many people ask me
whats the formula
whats the magic
tell me the secret
Secret is get into the Word of God daily
Know God
Know His truth
Don’t let anyone fool you
Every book of the New Testament
Warning
Satan is good very good
If he can twist the truth of Scripture
He’s got you
Satan is no fool
He knows exactly what he’s doing
Think about it
If he can keep you down
If he can keep you trapped in Sin
Then he has effectively prevented you
From being used by God
From being a contributing member
But where does Satan hit next?
A desire for power and glory
A chance to change God’s plan for jesus again
Look how Satan goes after Jesus
Turn to
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
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.’ ”
Satan playing to the ultimate feeling of pride
power
The chance to take the easy route
The chance to control everything
To get Jesus to avoid the cross
To avoid the will of the Father
If Jesus gives in,
God’s plan for our Salvation is ruined
Satan wins
But once again what does Jesus do?
Jesus quotes Scripture
I hope your getting the point
Scripture is key
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
Its hard to sin when you have Scripture floating in your head
Being able to properly apply the truth
Is fundamental to our battle
For many of us this Temptation of power and pride
Is a massive issue
To feel powerful
To feel in charge
To feel important
You know my mind keeps wondering to Social Media
We now have a platform
I’m important
I’m special
Satan is using this
Highly effective
Kids now days are doing anything
For a feeling of importance
For a feeling of relevance
Challenges
Half naked
Things our society would have condemned 20 years ago
It’s almost like we have fallen for the last temptation hook line and sinker
Last week I spoke a bit of our Identity in Christ
This is why this is so imporant
To know your value to God
To know you’re loved
To know He came to save you
When you look at your life
You know someone paid it all for you
that you are loved
Temptation becomes harder to give in to
Not impossible
But harder
But why is identity so important
When you understand
why He was tempted
you begin to truly understand the Gospel
I read commentary after commentary
I wasn’t going to teach this because it goes a tad deep.
But once you realize.
Opens the Bible up for you
Romans 5 mentions something about Christ being the new Adam
When you compare the Garden
with the desert
Compare the Animals
with the desert animals
the full belly
with the starving belly
You begin to get a picture that where Adam failed
Christ prevailed.
Where Adam sinned and cursed the world
Christ obeyed and saved the world
The first man failed to meet the standard of God
So God became man and reconciled the world to himself
Whats really fascinating
Genesis 3:15 immediately after the fall
You find a promise of a Messiah
An individual that would come to save all of mankind
A person who would be what every man failed at
The perfect servant
worthy of becoming our king
Thats the Gospel.
Christ came and corrected the sin problem through the cross
Where we are seperated because of Adams failure in temptation
We are saved were christ succeeded in temptation.
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.
Because of Christ we can be with God
Because he passed the test He is worthy to be our king
The temptation of Christ was a test to prove to us
He is worthy
No argument
No objection
He is our King
Come to the cross today, you’re not promised tomorrow.
Lets pray