LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP – PART EIGHT
“THE TEST OF LEADERSHIP”
Matthew 4:1-11
©Larry L. Thompson (2003)
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. [2] After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." [4] Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" [5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. [6] "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " ’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’" [7] Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’" [8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. [9] "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." [10] Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’" [11] Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus is the ultimate leader. We can learn leadership principles from His life by listening to what He says and by watching what He does. One of the greatest tests a leader will face is the test of temptation. After Jesus was baptized, Matthew tells us that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Today we’ll look at how our Lord, our Leader, faced this time of temptation, and it will show us how we as leaders can also prepare for and pass the Test of Leadership.
Jesus told his leadership team to “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Mark 14:38). Every leader knows that victory comes in meeting the test and victory over temptation comes from being constantly prepared for it, which, in turn, comes from constantly relying on the Lord.
It is said that a person traveling in tiger country will not be attacked if he sees the tiger before the tiger sees him. Generally tigers attack from behind in order to surprise their victims, and therefore one of the best defenses against this TEST of STRENGTH is to face it.
The following insights from the Victory Our Leader had in His time of testing should prove invaluable to every Christian aspiring to leadership in your life. The first lesson in the Test of Leadership is…
1. THE TEST OF TRANSPARENCY (MATT. 4:1-2)
This is an amazing story, offering unique insight into the nature and character of Jesus. For one thing, it’s one of the few stories told about an event in the life of Jesus in which there are no eye witnesses. How did Matthew (or any of Jesus’ disciples) know about the temptation he faced in the desert? There’s only way they could have known. He told him them about it. At some point during his time of ministry on earth, he told his disciples about the time he spent in the desert, battling temptation in a showdown with the devil. The temptation story has been called "the most sacred of stories" because in it we see the transparency of our Savior. "Jesus is laying bare his inmost heart and soul." He shared with his followers about the struggles he faced.
Another aspect of His transparency is seen as this story reminds us that Jesus was truly human. Matthew says,
(v. 2) “After fasting 40 days and nights, he was hungry.”
Matthew’s words give evidence that this story wasn’t just a legend created by the early church, because it emphasizes the transparency and the humanity expressed by Jesus. There has always been a tendency among some followers of Christ to strip away his humanity and make him completely unreal. Songs are written about him containing lines such as “The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.” This is the image some people have of him—he was so divine that he never cried as a child, he never skinned his knee, when he worked as a carpenter he never drove a crooked nail, because He was divine. He just went through life floating around on a little cloud about six feet off the ground. That wasn’t the Jesus of scripture...He was 100% human and experienced everything just like you and me as well as being 100% divine. He became one of us—fully human as well as fully divine. The fact that he was transparent and honest enough to share with the disciples “He was hungry” helps us to identify with the great truth that in His humanity He was able to pass the test of leadership that pointed us to the divine power within his life.
Because Jesus was the ultimate leader we can learn from His transparency regarding His humanity. We can learn that we will also struggle and face these temptations and tests every day.
Listen to these words from Hebrews...
“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
Jesus passed the test of transparency when He openly shared with His disciples that HE TOO experienced temptations. Today we’re going to look at how Christians are empowered to pass this test of leadership. In overcoming the test of temptation, this story illustrates to us three principles we need to know. First of all...
2. THE TRUTH ABOUT TEMPTATION
a. THE TEST OF TEMPTATION IS INEVITABLE. Even good people are tempted. Even people who walk in the Spirit are tempted. Matthew said...
(4:1) “Then Jesus was LED BY THE SPIRIT into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”
Did you understand that scripture? He was led by the Spirit. He was doing exactly what God wanted him to do, and still He faced temptation. We have a tendency to think, when we face temptation, that God must have abandoned us or there must be something wrong with us, or else we wouldn’t be experiencing temptation in our lives. The truth is this: EVERY LEADER WILL EXPERIENCE TEMPTATION. Even Spirit-filled and Spirit-led Leaders will face the test of temptation.
There’s an important distinction I want to make. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but it wasn’t God who tempted Jesus. God doesn’t tempt you to sin; he doesn’t try to entice you with evil opportunities.
Illustration: Entrapment
In our judicial system we have laws against entrapment. When an undercover cop is trying to bust people for buying drugs, he can’t walk up to someone and say, “Hey you want to buy some drugs? Come on, try it, you’ll like it. Just think of how good you’ll feel. All your problems will go away. Come on, don’t be scared.” A cop can’t do that, because it would be considered entrapment.
Some people think God tempts us to sin—that he puts the cookie on the table and says, “Come on, I dare you to eat it.” God doesn’t do that.
Temptation is inevitable, but it doesn’t COME FROM GOD. The Bible says...
“When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone...” (James 1:13)
God’s purpose is not to tempt us! However, He will use the enemy’s temptation of Leaders to TEST them. However, God will give us power over temptation.
B. THE TEST OF TEMPTATION NORMALLY FOLLOWS A TIME OF VICTORY
Another fact I want you as a leader to realize is that temptation often follows a victory or “mountain top” experience in our lives. Right before Jesus went to the desert to be tempted, he was baptized by John the Baptist. It is a moving scene. John declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and after he baptized Jesus, the Spirit came down in the form of dove and a voice spoke from heaven that said...
“This is my son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (John 3:17)
His baptism story is the “Coronation of the King.” It was the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry, and was undoubtedly an exciting time in his life: He was about to begin the work God had called him to do. God even spoke from the heavens to affirm his Son to all who were present. Immediately after this powerful event, Jesus faced his duel with the Devil.
In the Old Testament there is a story about the prophet Elijah who single-handedly faced and defeated 450 prophets of Baal during a time of extended drought. He challenged them to call upon their gods to bring fire upon their altar. They prayed and prayed, but nothing happened. Then Elijah built an altar to the Living God, and he called boldly upon God to consume the altar. The fire of the Lord came down from heaven and consumed the altar—and everyone knew that Elijah’s God was the Lord. And then Elijah prayed for the rains to come; God answered his prayer and it rained. It was a high point in Elijah’s life.
HOWEVER, immediately afterward, Elijah heard that the wicked Queen Jezebel was angry and wanted to kill him, and Elijah panicked and ran for his life. He hid out in the desert and told God “I can’t take this anymore; please kill me now.” (1 Kings 18) Elijah was courageous when he faced 450 prophets of Baal, but he ran like a coward the next day when the Queen made a threat on his life.
Doesn’t make sense, does it? But that’s what often happens in our lives. After a great victorious experience, leaders often find themselves alone in the desert.
C. THE TEST OF TEMPTATION ATTACKS YOUR WEAKNESS
Another fact leaders MUST learn about their time of testing is this: temptation often attacks you where you are most vulnerable. After Jesus had been alone in the desert 40 days and nights without food and water, the tempter came to him and said...
(4:3) “If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Why did Satan say this? Because he knew that Jesus was hungry. He knew that the idea of eating food was the most tempting thought he could put in Jesus’ mind. He wanted Jesus to abuse his power for his own needs, and so he attacked him where he was, at that moment, most vulnerable: he tried to get him to eat. Appeal to the flesh; satisfy the needs of the flesh.
Here’s a fact for every Leader’s life: Temptation doesn’t hit you where you’re strong, it hits you where you’re weak. If your business is thriving but your marriage is on the rocks, guess where the tempter will attack. If you have a strong family life, but you’re going through some struggles at work, guess where the tempter will attack. He’ll find where you’re vulnerable, he will look for your weakness and he’ll go after it.
ILLUSTRATION: Dolphins Injured Quarterback in 2002
Last year during the NFL football season, Jay Fielder, the Dolphin QB was injured and Ray Lucas, our back up, got the call. Do you know what does the other teams did? They started blitzing Lucas in order to rush a guy who had not taken many snaps during the season because they knew that was a weakness and in a rushed decision a mistake could made and the opponent could capitalize. Did it work? Several interceptions in the first three games before they strengthened their defense against the attack.
That’s exactly how the test of temptation presents itself in the lives of leaders. The test will hit you where you are the weakest. ALSO IF THE ENEMY CAN NOT DEFEAT YOU HE WILL DEFEAT SOMEONE YOU LOVE SO THEIR DEFEAT WILL DEFEAT YOU.
Does that mean we have to throw in the towel and give in to temptation? No. It means a true leader will rise to the occasion, and face the test of temptation in God’s strength. Jesus was at the point of starvation, and he didn’t give in.
d. YIELDING TO TEMPTATION HAS MORE TO DO WITH A PERSON’S CHARACTER THAN WITH THEIR CIRCUMSTANCE!
To illustrate this point look at the first Adam in Paradise. His circumstances were perfect and yet when there was a test of temptation to satisfy his flesh…he failed. Look at the second Adam, Jesus Christ, he is in the barren desert wilderness, fasted forty days and nights and yet when tempted with satisfying the flesh he resisted. His circumstance could not get worse yet He was victorious. NEVER LET YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE BE A RATIONALIZATION FOR YOUR SIN IN YIELDING TO TEMPTATION.
To experience power and victory in each test, the first principle a leader MUST KNOW is THE TRUTH ABOUT TEMPTATION:
• It is inevitable!
• It normally comes after a major victory in our life.
• It often attacks us where we are weakest.
• Yielding to temptation has more to do with a person’s character than with their circumstance.
The next principle we will discover in passing the test of temptation is…
3. THE TACTICS OF THE TEMPTER
Many times we lose the battle against temptation because we don’t understand the tactics of temptation and how it works in our lives. Temptation is, by its very nature, deceptive. The first tactic used to tempt the Leader is for the Enemy to…
a. TWIST THE TRUTH
Matthew tells us that the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple, and then he said,
(4:6) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”
Then, notice what Satan did next. He quoted scripture at Jesus. He said...
(4:6) “For it is written: ’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
Do you see what Satan was doing? He quoted scripture, took a little bit of TRUTH, knowing that Jesus knew it was absolutely true, but he was trying to get him to apply it in a twisted, self-serving way. He was saying, “Come on, Jesus. God will take care of you. Jump.” And there was an unspoken implication, “Or do you really believe God will take care of you. Maybe he won’t, if you’re not really the Messiah.”
Illustration: SELL PERSONALIZED CHRISTMAS CARDS
I would make my pitch and if they said no I would say, “Well, you know your neighbor bought them and she said that was really a small price to pay to show how much you care about your friends and how much you love Christmas!” I don’t want to disparage any little door to door capitalists in our congregation, but this really worked when you knew the buttons to push to get people to buy the Christmas Cards.
Satan knows what buttons to push on every Leader, too. And he’ll use whatever twisted truth he can. He’ll say things like, “You know that God wants you to be happy, right? And you know that you’ll never be happy as long as you’re in this job or married to this person. So God must want you to quit your job or get a divorce...Unless, of course, you believe that God just wants you to be miserable for the rest of your life.” Or he’ll say, “God doesn’t want your family to do without the necessities of life, and you need your money much more than the Lord’s work or than the government needs it, so cut some corners on your taxes and forget about your tithe. Spend that money on your kids. Unless, of course, you think God doesn’t want you to have enough to live on.”
The enemy knows that leaders can’t be tempted with the idea of doing something bad just for the sake of doing something bad. But leaders can all be tempted with the idea of doing something bad in order to get something good. SATAN WILL TWIST THE TRUTH TO SEE IF YOU WILL RATIONALIZE THE TEMPTATION.
The second Tactic of the Tempter is to…
b. PROMISES WHAT IS ALREADY PROVIDED
Another thing I want you to notice about temptation is that it often promises what God has already provided. Matthew tells us that Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said...
(4:9) “All this I will give to you if you bow down and worship me.”
There is something ridiculous about Satan’s words, because he was offering to give Jesus that which God had already given him. God had already declared Jesus to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He had declared that all of creation would worship him, every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That has been God’s promise to Jesus throughout all eternity. This is his world. In fact, the book of Colossians says that it was Jesus who created the world. This is his world, and yet, Satan offered it to him.
That’s the way this tactic of the Tempter works. He often promises something that he can’t really give...something that God has already provided. Temptation will say to you, "Do this and you’ll be happy. Do this and you’ll have peace of mind. Do this and you’ll feel good about yourself." But the devil can’t give you happiness, because it isn’t the devil’s to give. He can promise you the world, but he can’t give you the world, because it really isn’t his to give. Only God can give you happiness. Only God can give you peace of mind. Only God can give you a sense of well-being.
So, understand this about the Tactics of the Tempter: He always promises more than he can provide.
C. TEMPTATION NEVER LASTS FOREVER BUT NEVER LEAVES FOREVER
Another principle I want you to understand about temptation is that it doesn’t last forever. When Jesus resisted the tempter, the tempter finally went away. Too often we give in to temptation because we think, "I can’t fight this forever." You don’t have to. The test of temptation doesn’t last forever. James said...
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
Resisting temptation doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you stronger.
Also, leaders must understand that temptation may be gone today and the victory is yours today but don’t be deceived…it will be back tomorrow. The tactic of the Tempter is this: He NEVER leaves forever. In Luke’s account of the temptation story, after Jesus resists Satan’s temptation, Luke says...
“When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him UNTIL AN OPPORTUNE TIME.” (Luke 4:12)
When Jesus overcame temptation, it didn’t mean he was through with temptation for the rest of his life. He had to deal with it again and again throughout his ministry. Remember the words of Hebrews: “He was tempted as we are.” Obviously, in the Garden of Gethsemane when he was tempted not to go through with his sacrificial death.
In dealing with the test of a leader in regards to temptation, we need to remember: The Test of Transparency, The Truth about Temptation, The Tactics of the Tempter and finally, Leaders need...
4. THE TRIUMPH OVER TEMPTATION
How did Jesus respond to the test of temptation?
a. REMEMBER SCRIPTURE
He responded with the word of God. Every time the devil tempted Jesus, he responded by saying, “It is written.” There is something powerful about the words of scripture that give us strength in overcoming temptation.
David understood this principle. He said in the Psalms...
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
When it comes to passing the test of temptation, the Leader knows the BIBLE is the first line of defense. The more you know scripture, and use it, the more power you’ll experience over temptation.
• When facing any test of temptation: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
• When tempted to lie: Prov. 6:16-17: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: [17] haughty eyes, a lying tongue…”
• When tempted to yell or insult your children: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger.” (Eph. 6:4)
• When tempted with lust: Job 31:1: “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”
The words of scripture give us strength for EVERY test of temptation.
Therefore, we need to make an effort to know the Word. Now, you can’t memorize the whole Bible, and you don’t have to. What I have learned is that when I read the Bible on a daily basis, God speaks to me about what I am going through at that time in my life. I can’t tell you the number of times I have faced something during the day that is directly related to what I read earlier that morning in the Bible. You triumph over temptation by remembering and speaking the word of God.
b. REBUKE SATAN
Also, you triumph over temptation by confronting the Tempter and Rebuking Satan. Matthew tells us that when Satan tempted Jesus to bow down and worship him, Jesus said...
(4:10) “Away from me, Satan!”
He did not run from the tempter, the triumph came when he confronted him, and used his authority over him.
Let me ask you a question. How do you speak to your tempter? Do you hear yourself whining, “Oh no. Temptation is so strong and I’m so weak. I’ll never win this battle.” Or do you stand strong and boldly say, “Get lost! There’s no way I’m going to commit that sin!”
You don’t have to be fearful in the face of temptation. You can confront it boldly and biblically and you remember, you’re not confronting it in your own strength, but in God’s strength.
c. RE-AFFIRM OUR SURRENDER
Finally the last step to our triumph over temptation is to re-affirm your surrender to the Lord. Jesus said...
(4:10) “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
Jesus was saying, "Leave me alone, because I belong to God, and I don’t belong to you. I worship him, I don’t worship you."
When our girls were small and one of them would tell their sister to do something, the other sister would often say, “You’re not the boss of me.” Once I overheard Jennifer say: “You’re not the boss of me. Only Daddy is the boss of me.”
That’s how we need to respond to temptation if we are going to experience triumph. We need to say, “You’re not my boss. Jesus Christ is my boss. I don’t serve you, I serve him.”
When you face the test of temptation, reaffirm your surrender to Christ. Remind yourself that you belong to Him, that He is your Lord.
CONCLUSION
Every leader in the Christian faith is going to be tested. Many of those tests will come in the face of temptation. A strong leader knows the value of:
• The Test of Transparency: We need one another.
• The Truth about Temptation: It is inevitable; follows a victory; attacks our weakness; and yielding has more to do with character than circumstance!
• The Tactics of the Tempter: Twists the Truth; Promises what is already Provided; and Never Lasts but Never Leaves!
• The Triumph over Temptation: We REMEMBER SCRIPTURE; WE REBUKE SATAN; and WE RE-AFFIRM our SURRENDER to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
