Tested in the wilderness
Luke 4:1-13
Introduction
This morning we will look at the wilderness experience of our Lord Jesus Christ just before He went to the cross for each one of us. We will see the ways that He fought off temptation to do what He knew God the father would be pleased with.
I don’t think any of us think to be God, but we can learn the lessons that Jesus gave us to successfully get victory over temptation.
It is cute to think that we have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other and that whoever wins is what we do but that is not scriptural.
The biggest enemy of temptation that we fight is ourselves, our own flesh and blood and our own right or bad decisions.
To do what our moral compasses say to do or say back to God, I do not care what you say I will do my own thing.
Unlike the skit of Flip Wilson, the devil cannot make you do anything because he is not all powerful, he is a fallen angel that tries to influence us with our own bad habits and weaknesses, and we will stand before almighty God for our actions… so we had better get this right.
Prayer
The text this morning marks the beginning of Jesus ministry.
Jesus shows us that no ministry will accomplish all that it was intended without the Holy Spirit of God leading us and guiding us.
The beginning of Jesus earthly ministry must be traced back to Mark chapter one where John the Baptist is in the Jordan river baptizing believers, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
I am the forerunner, after me comes the more powerful one, one who I am not worthy to even tie his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit of God.
John is baptizing Jesus, and just as Jesus is coming up out of the water, he saw heaven open up the spirit of God descend on Jesus like a dove. And a voice came from heaven; “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Don’t get in a hurry with this text-
What would it be like to baptize Jesus and be in the presence of Almighty God?
The creator of the universe standing in front of you and you are trying to get out words like I am not worthy to even tie his sandals. He is the one I have been talking about.
Mark chapter one- “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it Is written in Isaiah the prophet “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare the way- a voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.”
The Good News has come, and the Good News is anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God and you are there witnessing it .
Jesus makes a statement later in His ministry that should be an encouragement for all that desire to do great things for God-
“He says greater things shall you do because I go to the Father so that the comforter may come to you. “Amen and Amen.
Do you think the church universal falls short of its potential when you hear Jesus say greater things will you do because each one of us are filled with the Holy Spirit of God
Luke chapter 4:1-13
Jesus is in the Jordan River, John has witnessed Jesus being baptized not only with water (John) but baptized in the Holy Spirit of God (God moment)
Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness.
Let’s stop there a minute!
What Spirit is leading Jesus out of the Jordan? The Holy Spirit of God! Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit-
He is ready to do some devil stomping and accomplish everything that God the Father intended for Him to do.
This is the beginning of Jesus ministry - The Spirit of God leads him into the wilderness-
If you are to go into the wilderness, you had better full of the Holy Spirit and you had better been led by the Spirit.
You do not want to go into the wilderness to fight the devil in your own strength and power and you had better not wonder off into the wilderness on your own.
The wilderness is a tough place without God- Amen?
Anyone know what I am talking about?
The language of our text shows us the power of the Holy Spirit working.
Jesus did not decide to go into the wilderness.
Scriptures tells us that He was led there by the Spirit.
In fact, Scripture tells us the Spirit of God drove him by the Spirit into the wilderness. Once in the wilderness, the devil tried to lead him into temptation.
The devil has his grand moment to test and tempt Jesus, but it was for nothing, Jesus is not tempted and the test given He was victorious as the Spirit of God led Him through with victory.
Adam, who was tempted by Satan, failed and resulted in sin and death while Jesus who was victorious results in life, and life more abundantly.
Jesus was there 40 days fasting and praying to the Father, no food and He was hungry.
Have you ever felt guilty for being tempted?
Have you ever felt after years of walking with God that you should not be tempted anymore?
If you do, then you have not learned the lessons from the Scriptures.
If the devil will attempt to tempt or test Jesus, why would you think that you were above being tempted?
3 distinct times the devil tried to tempt Jesus to be out of character, to do what He knew would be against the will of his Father-
What can we learn and how to we prevent ourselves from falling to temptation in our lives?
We should not be surprised when temptation comes our way- did you get that? Not if, but when we are tempted.
God says that He will provide a way out- a way of escape for us.
Many have fallen to sin and were tempted because they did not take the way of escape that the Lord has provided.
Jesus by example has taught us how to avoid falling to sin- “For forty days He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, and on each occurrence He overcame temptation by knowing and applying God’s Word.
The Word of God hidden in your heart will keep you from sin when we apply the Word of God by faith to our lives. (repeat)
Hebrews 4:15-16
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet He did not sin. Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
It is not sin to be tempted- it is sin when you act upon the temptation.
I heard it said this way- temptation comes our way in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
“Our minds are like a hotel”. The manager cannot keep someone from entering the lobby. However, he can certainly keep the person from getting a room. Sin passes through our mind, when it doesn’t pass through the mind and takes a room, it becomes sin.
Temptation should not be confused with trials.
James talks about trials and temptations, they are different.
God uses trials at times to grow us stronger. He sometimes uses our trails to help someone else.
Temptations are sent from the devil to cause us to stumble. There is a big difference.
Devil destroys and Jesus restores.
James 1:13-14
“Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, not does He himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”
Early in my Christian walk I discovered the power of memorized Scripture- it was the way Jesus fought temptation and it was a way for me to move forward in the hard areas of my life.
2 Scriptures were my lifeline-
Philippians 1:6-
“Bring confidence of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
I also relied on the Holy Spirit of God to speak to me when I found myself being in a place or circumstance that I did not like or desire- when He said run, I ran!
D.L. Moody
“The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”
Make no mistake, we will be tempted- as long as we have these earthly bodies of flesh, we will be tempted. We must allow the Holy Spirit of God to teach us to obey His voice and His word.
John Wesley asked his mother Susanna Wesley, How do you define sin?
“If anything weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God or takes away your desire for spiritual things; in short if anything increases the power or authority of the flesh over the Spirit- that for you becomes sin.”
Illustration-
A little boy was in a grocery store, he was standing next to an open box of peanut butter cookies. The grocer approached the boy and said, “What are you up to” nothing said the boy. Nothing, said the grocer, it looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie” Oh, you’re wrong mister, I am trying hard not to.”
We laugh it off at times, the devil made me do it! Truth is, the devil didn’t make you, he is clever but he is not all powerful.
Satan just tangles the bait in front of us, knowing our weak points, our challenges that God is working through, and offers us bait with a hook on it to take and run with it.
Our enemy (Devil) desires to make us ineffective anyway he can. In our personal life, in a ministry, in our homes. If we are ineffective, we hurt ourselves, we hurt others, we hurt the church. All the things that God cares about very much.
Back to the text- Jesus in the dessert: real or scripted?
Jesus in the wilderness has to be more than a plan acted out, there must be real risk of failure on Jesus part or there could be not act of obedience.
Jesus choice to live a holy life.
Jesus passed the test by being the sinless messiah but also as God on earth, He passed it as being filled with God’s Spirit.
He calls disciples to follow his lead and walk in the Spirit of God.
As we journey, we must desire and get God’s help for loyalty to our God and live according to his word and his ways.
Wind this down-
The narrative here is full with the Spirit of God and hungry as a human need.
The devil uses our needs to take us away from our spiritual fulfillment.
“The devil said to him, if you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
God said, it is written- “man shall not live by bread alone.”
The devil promises us great things if we would only worship him instead of God
The devil said “If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
God said, “it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
The devil the last time he tempted Jesus, took him to a high place of the temple roof-
“If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here.
Quoted scripture
Jesus answered, it is said: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Each time Jesus was tested, He knew how He would respond before the temptation. The Word of God was His strength and his guidance.
Here is where we will stop-
(13) When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.”
When are the opportune times?
After a spiritual victory- when you think you are the strongest. When you feel you have it all together.
When you are spiritually drained- You are spiritually hungry and needing spiritual fullness. When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Sickness, mental stress, fatigue that is more than a hard day’s work.
When you begin something new or take a stand for God
Satan will try to sabotage any work you do for God.
Satan will divide wherever he can and use whoever he can.
Closing,
Do not let him win the moment! Fight him off with the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Do not let your fleshly desires supersede what you know God is saying to you or has said to you.
It will take everything you got!
