VICTORY OVER TEMPTATION--Luke 4:1-13
Proposition: “We can have victory over temptation as Jesus did by using the Word of God to resist the devil."
Objective: My purpose is challenge people to be alert to the truth that God will assist in experiencing victory over temptation.
INTRODUCTION:
Illus: A young lady said to a friend, “I can resist everything but temptation.”
Illus: If the Devil were to write his own beatitudes, they would possibly go something like this:
** Blessed are those Christians who are TOO TIRED, TOO BUSY, too distracted to spend time with their fellow Christians in church--they are my best candidates to backslide.
**Blessed are those Christians who WAIT TO BE ASKED and EXPECT TO BE THANKED --I can use them to slow things down.
**Blessed are those Christians who are TOUCHY, with a bit of luck they may STOP GOING TO CHURCH and get others to quit-they are my missionaries.
**Blessed are those Christians who are VERY RELIGIOUS but GET ON EVERYONE’S nerves--they are my most effective stumbling blocks.
**Blessed are those Christians who are TROUBLEMAKERS--they are my best wrecking crew.
**Blessed are those Christians who have NO TIME TO PRAY--they are easy prey for me.
**Blessed are those Christians who dwell on the negative and KEEP SPREADING TALES OF GOSSIP to others—they will spread dissension among my people which pleases me. Blessed are the GOSSIPERS for they are my secret agents.
**Blessed are those Christians who are COMPLAINERS--they are my best discouragers.
**Blessed are YOU when you read or hear this and THINK IT IS ABOUT OTHER people and not yourself---I’ve got you.
Through the one act of disobedience (Adam’s) all have the tendency to sin and become sinners. Through the one act of obedience (Christ’s) all will be made righteous (Rom. 5:18-19). Christ’s victory over the devil through His perfect obedience unto death on the cross brings life and salvation to everyone, but not everyone receives this gift. Because we cannot keep God’s Law perfectly, Christ has done it and shows us how. Christ overcomes temptation with the Word of God. The devil would tempt us to get our eyes off of God’s Word, to get us not to trust in Him that He will provide us our daily bread. He tried to get Jesus to take alternative routes to saving humanity--the way of glory. But the Father’s plan for saving us was for His Son to go the way of the cross, which He did.
I. THE APPEAL TO PROVISIONS FOR PHYSICAL NEEDS (vvs. 1-4) “Command this stone to become bread.” Note that the devil attacks Jesus by appealing to His desires. Satan: “Prove You are the Son of God. Serve Yourself, show divine power. You are hungry and You have the right to eat. Pick up one of the many rocks lying here in the desert and let God turn it to bread so You can eat. Surely, He will supply Your every need.”
1. The culmination (v. 1) “Then, Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan.” After the high point of His baptism, He was thrust into the wilderness (The desert was a barren place) by the H.S. This wilderness was not a wilderness of sand. It was covered by little bits of limestone exactly like loaves. To be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41--Elizabeth, 1:67--Zacharias) means to be completely yielded to Him and to be completely obedient to every word of God. A person who is filled with the Spirit is emptied of known sin and of self and is richly indwelt by the Word of God. Have you ever been in a spiritual wilderness?? This is a place where you can’t seem to feel the presence of God anywhere around you. You pray, you fast, you worship and raise your voice to God. But…nothing.
2. The conflict (v. 2) “being tempted for 40 days by the devil”—Satan indeed tempted Jesus but there is more to the story than that. Satan began with Jesus’ hunger and went on to raise a doubt as to His divine Sonship. The true humanity of Jesus is reflected by the words He was hungry. It was in God’s plan that right at the outset of His ministry Jesus should face up to the question of what kind of Messiah He was to be.
Illus: There was a little boy who really wanted a new bicycle. He saved all his nickels, dimes and quarters in order to buy one. Each night he asked God to help him save his money. Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, "Dear Lord, please help me save my money for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come again by my house tomorrow." He, even as a little boy, understood the conflict he faced as well as the distractions of temptations.
3. The challenge (v. 3) “If You are the Son of God”—The temptation has to do with the Father’s provision. A clear logic by Satan but faulty. “If You want people to follow You, use Your wonderful powers to give them material things.” The problem for Jesus was to know whether the voice He now heard came from the same source as the heavenly voice. Always remember that what does not agree with Scripture does not come from God. Satan’s premise, on which he based his proposition, seems to be something like this: NEED + POWER TO MEET THAT NEED = SATISFACTION OF THAT NEED. In other words, Satan could not conceive of our Lord having a vital need, having the power to satisfy that need, and not using His power to meeting the need.
4. The confrontation (v. 4) “Jesus answered Him”—As God provided in the wilderness in time of testing (manna), God provides today. Moses warns 5 times against forgetting the Lord’s provision (Deut. 8:3, 10,11, 14, 19). One is to live on the provision of God’s Words. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 4:34). Jesus’ point is that physical needs must be met God’s way, not our own selfish, short-cut way. We’re tempted, of course, to steal, to cheat, to fornicate, to lie, to provide a quick fix for our physical hungers. God is able to supply our needs, but we must wait on Him and seek to do things His way. Bread -- physical fulfillment -- is not more important than God’s Word and way.
Illus: J. Wilbur Chapman said, "My life is governed by this rule: Anything that dims my vision of Christ or takes away my taste for Bible study or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian work difficult is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it." Where are your weak points, and what are you hungry for?
II. THE APPEAL TO PRIDE (Serve Satan) (vvs. 5-8)--“All the kingdoms of this world”— The devil’s next attack is to try to snare Jesus by deception. Satan: “Build the kingdom of God the quick way—serve me. God wants You to establish the kingdom of God. It can easily enough be done. I can really help You. Come up here a minute. What do You see spreading out below You. You can see forever, can’t You? Looks like every kingdom & nation in the world spreading out before You eyes.” Satan (the great deceiver) says, “Worship me & all this will be Yours.” Devil is spelled D-E-V-I-L. If you leave the D off, it spells E-v-i-l.
1. The comprehension (v. 5) “The devil…showed Him all the kingdoms”—The Offer includes all the territories (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and now Rome). Jesus saw the possibility of setting up a kingdom that would be mightier far more than that of the Romans. We also remember that the crowds wanted Jesus to be a political Messiah and throw off the Roman oppressors. It is not difficult to see how such a vision might be regarded as a legitimate aim, but not the purpose for which Jesus came into the world.
2. The compromise (vvs. 6-7) “All this authority I will give You…If You worship me, all will be Yours.” These were easy terms. All this meant compromise. It meant casting out devils by Beelzebub. This would mean the lowly path, not that of earthly glory. It meant a cross, not a crown.
1). The promise (v. 6) “All this authority I will give You.”— The Greek word for "worship" (proskuneo) is “used to designate the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, the ground, etc.; the Persians did this in the presence of their deified king, and the Greeks before a divinity or something holy; ’(fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully.’ " (Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich’s Greek-English Lexicon). The devil, of course, was a liar through and through and pretended that he had the power to give such glory and authority. Satan is saying You can have it all. You can be the King of a Kingdom in an instant. The voice of the devil pretends that he has in his power to grant glory, fame, recognition and all the power and authority that go with it, but his power is limited. Some day he will be cast into the lake of fire forever.
2). The price (v. 7) “If You worship me” “Fall on Your knees and worship me.” There will be power, glory, authority and fame if You acknowledge my authority. The devil arrogantly hoped to succeed in his rebellion against God by diverting Jesus from His mission and winning His worship. "This world is mine, not God’s," he was saying, "and if you hope to do anything worthwhile here, you’ll need to follow my instructions." Jesus didn’t argue with Satan about who owns the world, but Jesus refused to validate Satan’s claim by worshiping him. Jesus knew that He would redeem the world through giving up his life on the cross, not through making an alliance with Satan, the deceiver. Yes, this is the issue. The devil wants to be worshipped. People, like Satan, often become addicted to wanting to be worshipped, glorified, and become “Number One.” For human beings, it is relatively easy to become seduced into seeking personal glory, fame and recognition.
3. The concentration (v. 8) “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only”—The Answer—Once again Jesus appealed to the Bible, pointing out that worship of God is exclusive. None other is to be worshipped that He. Jesus now exercises His authority & commands: “Get behind Me Satan.” (Deut. 6:13). I will serve God, not Satan. There is only one path to glory. And Jesus knows it: Worship the Lord your God serve Him only, whatever the cost. We’re always looking for the short cut, aren’t we? For the end without the means, for the gain without the pain.
Illus: “The thing that makes men and drivers crooked is following the line of least resistance.” “When you flee temptation, be sure you don’t leave a forwarding address.”
III. THE APPEAL TO POPULARITY (Let God serve You)(vvs. 9-13) “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.”— Now Jesus is brought to the Temple of God in Jerusalem, with the encouragement to show himself in a dramatic way to the teeming crowds. This temptation was to dazzle the crowd. Jesus is taken to the pinnacle of the Temple, where Solomon’s porch and the Royal porch met, and urged to use His divine power to leap down the 450-foot drop into the Kidron Valley below, unharmed.
1. Presumption (v. 9) “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from there.” This would be to presume on God instead of trusting Him humbly. This is the temptations to give the people sensations.” “People will respond to the spectacular and more people will turn to God.” Jesus’ temptation is to encourage doubt. If you are the Son of God, he says. Just a few weeks earlier God’s voice had thundered from heaven This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well please, but now the devil is seeking to plant the seeds of doubt in Jesus’ mind. "Did God really say you were His son? What does that mean anyway? How about a little test just to make sure? Just throw yourself from this tower; God has promised He’ll protect you. Don’t you believe it and can’t You use it in a dramatic way to get people to trust God?" This is just as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden, Did God really say ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ His tactics never change. Don’t doubt God, but boldly trust Him to take care of You in this situation.
2. Provision (vvs. 10-11) “He shall give His angels charge over You.” Many were awaiting a miracle at the Temple. If someone jumps off the top of the temple & then lands softly on the ground, people are going to notice. People are going to bow down & worship. We read this in Psalm 91, & believe me, the Israel-ites read the same Psalms. “His angels shall watch over him & he will not dash his foot on a stone.” Even the devil can quote scripture. Here then was Jesus’ opportunity to obtain fame & notoriety as the promised Deliverer without going to Calvary.
3. Proclamation (v. 12) “You shall not tempt the Lord Your God” “You must not make senseless experiments with the power of God.” (Jesus) He knew that sensations would never last. At the human level, we see manipulation constantly. Force people to say nice things about you by your own carefully chosen words of self-deprecation. Force people to see you as a philanthropist by visible gifts to charitable causes. The forms of manipulation are innumerable and often so subtle that unless we are self-aware, we may almost fool ourselves. Too often, we try to manipulate God, too, with bargains and deals. We need to take seriously Jesus’ words, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
Illus: “Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.”
4. Postlude (v. 13) “Now when the devil…he departed…until an opportune time” But the passage ends with some chilling words, When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time. Jesus will again face almost overwhelming temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane when He wrestles with the prospect of going to the cross. But full of the Spirit and the Word, with the discipline of resisting temptation deeply ingrained into him, He is able indeed to go to that cross, thereby defeating the devil once and for all. Remember the words of James: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This is the epilogue of this experience: Satan’s timing. However, it is said later of Jesus that He “was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.” The devil is a real personality, though not necessarily visible.
Illus: When people fall prey to wrong doing, they often try to excuse it. A three year old tried to give an explanation for being in the kitchen, on top of a chair, eating cookies. His explanation was, "I just climbed up to smell them, and my tooth got caught in them." How do you like that explanation?
Illus: Another boy was heard in the pantry. His mother said, "Willie, where are you?" He told her he was in the pantry. "What are you doing there?" she asked. He said, "I’m fighting temptation." That is not the place to fight temptation, that is the place to start running.
CONCLUSION:
1. The devil tempts all of God’s people. Remember that others have successfully faced what you are facing.
2. Scripture is the best weapon against temptation. God is with you in the temptation.
3. We do not have to give in to temptation. He will always give you what you need to be a success!
4. Worship belongs to God.
Barclay, “The hard way of service and of suffering leads to the cross, but after the cross to the crown.”
Illus: Iron Eyes Cody, a Native American actor, told an old Indian legend in Guideposts magazine a few years ago. Many years ago, Indian youths would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley, green with trees, bright with flowers. There he fasted. But on the third day, as he looked up at the surrounding mountains, he noticed one tall rugged peak, capped with dazzling snow. I will test myself against that mountain, he thought. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top he stood on the rim of the world. He could see forever, and his heart swelled with pride. Then he heard a rustle at his feet, and looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke. "I am about to die," said the snake. "It is too cold for me up here and I am freezing. There is no food and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley." "No," said the youth. "I am forewarned. I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite, and your bite will kill me." "Not so," said the snake. "I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you." The youth resisted awhile, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass, when suddenly the snake coiled, rattled, and leapt, biting him on the leg. "But you promised..." cried the youth. As the snake slithered away he turned and said, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."
Illus: Horatio R. Palmer, author and composer, was an American musician. One day while he was working on a music theory exercise, the idea for a hymn suddenly came to him. He wrote it down as quickly as possible and with few exceptions the hymn has remained as it was written. The hymn that he wrote has been an excellent teaching song for people in learning how to face the daily temptations of life:
Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each victory will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue,
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
Refrain: Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.
Prepared by: Gerald Steffy, 6206 N. Hamilton Rd.
Peoria, IL 61614, Phone: 309-691-3680
E-Mail grsteffy@yahoo.com to receive MY SERMON NUGGETS
