The Spirit Led Life is the Only Life.
Matthew 4:1 – 11
May 24, 2009
Pray: Father, We come to you as children needing guidance, encouragement, and help.
You have provided the Bible, Your living Word, Your Holy Spirit, Pray, and Each other to go to for meeting our needs.
The devil, Satan does not want us to hear what you have to say to us. The devil wants us to turn to the World outside for help. May it never be so!
Speak! Oh Lord Speak! Holy Spirit of God, you are welcome in the place. If we do not have our Spiritual ears open this morning, open them. If our minds are asleep wake us up. Your children need to hear from you this morning. Through the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Read the Scriptures: 4:1-11
The Holy Spirit of God is that Holy Ghost that we cannot see with our eyes, but we can feel with our senses and hear with our spiritual ears.
The lost person, the person who does not know God, does not have the Holy Spirit living in them. Therefore, they do not have the ears to hear the calling of the spirit. They are spiritually blind, deaf, and dumb. Except hearing the Word of God the Spirit calls them.
The Christian, the person who has a personal relationship with the Father, through Jesus, is sealed by the Spirit of God against spiritual death. This person has the Spirit of God in them and has the ability to be fully led by the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit’s leading our life will not impact others for Christ. The Christian life without the help and leading of the Spirit is just a wasted life. But one submitted to the Spirit is full of adventure, challenge, and yes, sometimes even death. But the Spirit led life comes at a cost.
In Chapter 4 of Matthew we find Jesus living out the example of the cost to be paid for a Spirit led life. Jesus allowed himself to be fully led by the Spirit of God, even when the Spirit took him down a road most of us would not want to go.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what advantage has a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” Luke 9:23-25
Jesus took up a cross, dying for us. He wants us to do that also for him: Look closer at Matthew 4. Let’s see if we can find the keys to unlock the door to the Spirit led life.
4:1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the Devil.
I. The first lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: Walking with God does not exempt one from temptation, but walking in the Spirit prevents one from falling into temptation. (repeat)
• God may allow us to be tempted to expose what is really in our heart.
Jesus is exposed when he is lead out to be tempted here.
Job is exposed when God sees Satan at a meeting that is held in Heaven and God says to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him in the earth. A perfect and upright man, one that fears God, and avoids evil?”
You will be exposed from time to time to see what is in your heart.
• God does not tempt, but the Devil.
James, chapter 1:
“When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
• Temptation takes place between your ears. This is why you must be submitted to Jesus and Filled with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. We have not the power to overcome sin on our own.
The Spirit of God can conquer our areas of temptation, other wise we sin.
James 4:7&8 states:
“Submit yourselves to therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.
Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10: 4 & 5;
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (i.e. not of the mind), but mighty through God to the pulling down of (spiritual)strongholds. Casting down every imagination and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
The battleground is here (between the ears)! If Jesus had to face Satan only through the power of the Spirit, don’t think for a minute we can face him down with our meager minds. “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
4:2-3 And fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he afterward hungered. “And the tempter coming to him said, If (you are) son, only one of God, speak! in order that these stones should become bread.”
II. The second lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: When the tempter comes, Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, he targets our weakest point. (repeat)
1st Satan went after Jesus at man’s most vulnerable point. Satan challenges the very nature of humanity – The number one motivator for man is the need for food and water. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs:
1. Basic – food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep
2. Safety – bodily, income, resources, health, family, property
3. Love – need for belonging, acceptance, to love and give love, friendship
4. Esteem – individualism, respect by others, confidence, achievement
5. Self Actualization – experience purpose, meaning, realizing inner potential
In conquering this temptation Jesus shows that the greatest temptation to man, the need for being sustained in not from earthly things, but from God himself, the creator of everything. He proves the Word of God is sufficient over all nature.
What is your weakest point?
• For children its basic needs, parental supervision, & friendships
• For many young adults it is the allurement of sex
• For men it is power, prestige, or sex.
Satan will march pornographic bill boards, beer commercials, and scantly dressed women around you all the time.
• For women it is the need for security and affection,
“ I need to fill loved & cared for”
Satan whispers in your ear, the exact words you want to hear.
Those words which meet our fleshly desires and weaknesses.
He will lead you down a path further and further.
Unwittingly, we follow, closer and closer to the cliff until finally, years later, we drive over the cliff, never knowing, at what point, we left the path Jesus had for us. And we look back and we wonder?
o It seemed so right at the time. But was it the path Jesus had for us?
o You see, there are paths that are not outwardly evil or Biblically sinful. It’s just not the path Jesus chose for you.
4:4 “Jesus answered (áðïêñéèåßò - adjudicated), "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word proceeding out through the mouth of God.' " Deut. 8:3
III. The third lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: There are many ways of getting what you want or need, but only one way brings Glory to God.
• Satan told Him: “Speak!” That is all God has to do to meet his own needs or our desires. But does not obey Satan.
• It is not a proper use of God’s Power, through the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Power for your own personal gain any more than it is proper to spend your life efforts for your own personal gain.
• Satan challenges Jesus to meet his needs, his way. Jesus, refused because he knew that in doing so he would lose the very prize he was setting out to gain. Your ransomed soul. Had he given in to earthly temptation, he would have lost.
• That is the challenge to us? Meet your needs, your desires, your way.
• Again James, the brother of our Lord Jesus states:
James 2
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Do they not come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight, but you do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
• God wants to meet our needs, but in his timing, his way.
• This is what Satan uses against us. He knows we have an issue waiting on things. Who do you think designed the Microwave, drive throughs, and fast food?
The proper way to apply God’s Power, gifts, and your life’s efforts for having your desires and needs met are: Matthew 6:33
“Seek you first, the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and –
All these things – shall be added to you.” (ðñïóôéèçìé – brought near and placed before you) the picture is one of a king setting on his thrown and gifts being brought in by men with their heads bowed and the gifts being laid before the thrown.
When God is allowed to bless you this way: Who gets the glory? He does. It is all about Him!
4:5 -7 “Then, the Devil took Him to the Holy City and stood Him upon the wing of the Temple and said to Him, If son, you are of God, throw yourself down! For it is written; “His Angels, He will command concerning you and upon their hands shall they bear you up, least you should strike this stone with your foot. Jesus said to him; Again it is written; “Not out of(by means of) testing the Lord your God!”
IV. The fourth lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: You cannot push God into a corner and make Him react on your behalf. This is presumptuous. And if you try to twist the Word of God to wring out your own desires, as Satan did to Jesus here, you will fail.
Satan is seeing if Jesus, being man is presumptuous. “Presumptuous is just a fancy word meaning to overstep bounds set for you or taking liberties that are not yours to take.” God will not send his angels to intercede because of some presumptuous test put to God)
Knowing the Word of God will make all the difference in the World to you.
1. There are promises you can step out in faith believing & God will do:
a. God has promised care for those who seek first His kingdom and His righteousness: Matthew 6:33; PS 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
b. God has promised you rest from all your burdens: MT 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
c. God has promised you peace from all your anxiety: Isaiah call him the Prince of Peace: PS 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified through faith, we have peace with with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
d. God has promised salvation from eternal Hell for all those who come to him: “If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
2. But there are also things that would be presumptuous to think God will do:
a. It would be presumptuous to think that after becoming a Christian, you can still go out and live the way you did before without consequences: Paul in Romans 6:1 states: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God Forbid, How shall we who are dead to sin live any longer there in?” vs 12 Let not sin reign in your Mortal body that you should obey it in your lust.
You can burn up all your treasures in Heaven and your physical life here on earth by this. You will not lose your salvation, but you will get there faster and you will be sorry once you get there.
b. It would be presumptuous to believe you can hurt a brother or sister in Christ and God will look the other way:
T 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
MT 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right (the sheep, those who are saved), `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
MT 25:37 "Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
MT 25:40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
c. It would be presumptuous to believe that giving money, going to church, or being kind to someone will get you to Heaven. Heaven is a free gift, not earned.
d. Some people presumptuously believe that they can serve God best through bowing down and serving the worlds system. I have heard it like this. Just think how much money I can make and give to God’s service? Obedience is better than sacrifice.
A king once lost his throne with that thought: When King Saul tried to explain his actions of disobedience to Samuel, Samuels’s response was:
1SA 15:22 "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
4:8, 9 “Again, the devil took Him to the very highest mountain and showed Him all the Kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him; All of this I will give you if you fall down and worship me.”
V. The fifth lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: You have a choice to make. You must choose between pursuit of God’s Kingdom or the pursuit of the world’s goods.
Matthew 6:24
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (earthly goods).”
Jesus was a carpenter; A pretty good life by for someone in his day and time. A skilled carpenter would have been the equivalent of an IT professional today in status and income. Jesus could have established a shop, built a clientele, traded his hand crafted furniture or skills for everything he needed to build a great home and life, but he chose, rather to follow His father’s will for his life.
The road the Spirit led Jesus down was not one of popularity among the rich and politically recognized, but it was one of Supreme recognition.
• The Pharisees and Sadducees hated Jesus because the message he preached would destroy their method of gaining wealth; Yet God recognized him: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The road the Spirit led Jesus down was not one of wealth, but it was one of every need being met.
• Jesus didn’t own a home, but he had friends who took him in.
• Jesus didn’t work a job, yet he could catch all the fish he needed to eat, some even with gold in their mouths.
The road the Spirit led Jesus down was not one of constant pleasure, but it was one of fulfillment.
• He suffered hunger, tiredness, cold, heat, humiliation, beating, and crucifixion, yet he had great fulfillment; He healed the blind; he made the lame to walk; He brought Lazareth back to life; his last words were “ôåôÝëåóôáé” It is completed! It is finished! He had accomplished the work God had sent Him to do. He was fulfilled.
So, do I follow after every pleasure of life at the cost of missing the road Jesus has created me to walk, or do I pursue Him at the expense of my own desires?
Jesus’ response: Don’t test me! You can see it in these last few verses of the text in Matthew:
4:10-11 Then Jesus said to him; Go away Satan! For it is written;
The Lord God you shall worship and him alone you should serve!
Then the Devil left Him and behold Angels came and served Him.
VI. The Final lesson in being led by the Spirit of God: When the Devil comes stalking you; send him away and God will send his angels to minister to you.
The needs we have are real, but there is a way of meeting those needs that will bring glory to God and there is a way that will take glory away from God.
Ask yourself:
Is what I am about to do bring glory to God or take glory from Him?
• If if bring glory, it is the right path.
• If it does not bring him glory, find the right path. You have taken a detour.
• If one does not submit and walk in the Power of the Holy Ghost, many of the ways and paths of this life will appear viable options.
• Temptation will come as Satan hones down on your weakness and attacks you at the point of your desires.
• Lust of the Flesh – Pleasure
• Lust of the Eyes – Treasure
• Pride of Life – Measure
• Memorize the Word of God, overcome the tempter’s temptation, then God will send angels to meet your needs.
• Otherwise, the devil fist comes as the tempter, then when you have succumbed to the temptation, he changes directions and becomes your accuser to heap quilt upon you. And even after repenting of the sin and asking God for forgiveness, Satan is still there accusing you; trying his best to heap enough guilt upon you that you become useless for the kingdom of God. For the rest of our life.
