Standing firm on the Word in temptation
Scripture Reading: Luke 4: 1 - 13 (NIV)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 2 For forty days, the devil tempted him. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry.
3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Message: Standing firm on the Word in temptation
Temptation after Baptism
The context of Jesus’ temptation is just after his baptism, where He was revealed as the Son of God
The Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, where He was tested (interesting thought - being led by the Spirit to be tested)
We should remember that Jesus also came to this world to live as a human being - to experience what we as humans experience - to remove the distance between God and human - Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tested
The wilderness is a place where we get tested!
In life, we sometimes find ourselves in the wilderness - and then we are tempted with the way we respond to what we encounter in the wilderness
Jesus feels the reality of what it means to be tempted, and He resists temptation by relying on the Word of God
He is showing us a way in the temptations of the wilderness
Temptations often come after our most spiritual moments…
40 Days in the wilderness
Luke says Jesus was full of the Spirit
He lived fully dependent on the guidance of the Spirit
He shows us what dependence looks like
He shows us what it means to rely on God’s word and Spirit (Word and Spirit always go together)
The wilderness is a place of isolation, vulnerability and testing
It is in the wilderness times of our lives that God refines and strengthens our faith
The period of 40 days has significant meaning in that it points to a spiritual journey (40 years in the desert for Israle, Elijah’s 40 day journey, 40 days between resurrection and pentecost)
The wilderness can be a spiritual journey for us if we are willing to go with the Holy Spirit
The three temptations have meaning:
Temptation of Provision
The devil asks Jesus to turn stones into bread, appealing to his physical hunger
Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 8: 3 “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.” - affirming that God’s word is more important than physical needs
We are tempted to prioritize our physical needs over our spiritual needs
We need to trust in God and prioritize God’s Word
Temptation of Power
The devil offers all the kingdoms to Jesus in exchange for worshipping him
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6: 13 “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”, declaring that God only is worthy of worship
Power, success and shortcuts are temptations
There’s the well known saying: “Power corrupst”
True authority comes from God
Temptation of Presumption
The devil twists Scripture, quoting Psalm 91: 11, 12 “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” to tempt Jesus to test God to protect Him
Jesus responds with Deuteronomy 6: 16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”, rejecting the notion of the misuse of God’s promises
We cannot presume God’s grace and put God to the test
Temptations and Vulnerabilities
We will have times in our lives where we are vulnerable
We will find ourselves in a spot where we are wondering if we are going to make it
We will find ourselves in positions of power where it is easy to become arrogant and claim glory for ourselves
We will be self-righteous in our lives where we think we can test God
Jesus shows us the way of “Word and Spirit”
Man shall not live on bread alone…
Worship the Lord your God and serve him only…
Do not put the Lord your God to the test
Let us re-evaluate the vulnerable areas in our lives
Let us commit to growing in our knowledge of God’s Word so that we can be resilient when temptation comes
Let us be reminded that the victory was already won by Jesus - this gives us strength to stand firm on God’s word in temptation!
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