[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: My name is Jason, and I'm one.
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the.
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[00:00:26] Speaker B: Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible studies.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Good morning. Heard a story this week that I thought was pretty funny.
Heard this story about a preacher who was going to make a visit at the hospital. But the hospital visitation time was a very, very small window. And so knowing that, he went ahead and got to the hospital early, drove around the parking lot, couldn't find a place to park. And so he's driving around a little bit more, and he sees this one area that has these three faded out parking spots. And in those three faded out parking spot, there's a sign on the wall that says, no parking here.
And so he says, man, I hate that. And so he drives around again, hoping that maybe someone will come out of the building, maybe someone will grab their car and take off and open up a spot. He drives around and around. At this point, he has very few moments to get into the building to make that visit. And so he does what we know he probably shouldn't have done, which is park in that place and said, no parking. And so he thought, well, maybe they'll understand. So I'll put my business card, the church business card, in the window, and I'll leave them a note. And on that note, he wrote something similar to this. You know, I've been traveling around this parking lot ten separate times. I could not find a place. This is the only place available. And then he goes on to say, forgive us our transgressions. Okay, so little winky face thought, that would be great, right? So then he goes in and he pays. You know, he goes in and takes the visit and spends time with the family, then comes back out. And what do you think he found on the car?
A parking ticket. Right? He was in a no parking zone.
And so he sees that. But as he lifts up the ticket, he also sees a note that was written to him, and it said something like this. It said, I, too, have been driving around this parking lot for ten separate times. And every time I found your car in the same spot.
And he said, so I'm also paid to make sure that no one parks in this spot. And then he said, in quotes, lead us not into temptation.
Man, I love it when Joel laughs. That's great.
I thought that was a pretty cute story. We're going to talk about temptation today, and I don't know what your temptations are. All of us have different struggles and different things that we go through. We all battle in different ways. And some of those ways are silly to us. In some ways are more important, more serious, and more destructive to our life. But I'll tell you, one battles that I face in my life, just from a physical standpoint, is my diet. Sometimes. Sometimes I just don't want to eat what I know I'm supposed to eat. And I'm a walking billboard for that struggle. Sometimes as I look at my body and see that I don't always do exactly what I want, well, there are certain times of year where I feel like I can get it together. In the spring, when it starts getting warm again, I start getting exercise more, I start getting a little bit more disciplined. Watch what I eat a little bit. Then I get through the summer and I feel them pretty good. And then we get to this time of year when we get into the fall, and then it is like crash and burn. If you have a problem with sugar. I mean, we get to this time of year and it's like trunk or treat season everywhere you go, it's like bags of candy, and they make them all so perfectly edible. Like these little bitty bite sized candies, right? That are not going to hurt you at all. Some of you are laughing because you share my same struggle.
And so, like, you take one of those, and one of those equals two of those, which equals five of those, which equals, you know, a whole bag of them, right? And that's kind of how you spiral out a little bit. Okay, so that's a tough time of year. But then after we finish all this trunk or treat stuff and we finally get to the next part of this, where are we?
Thanksgiving. I know you said it for me. Thanksgiving. And, you know, everything is made with love and butter during that time of year. And not only that, but there are, like, specialized, like, desserts just for that time of year. You know what I mean? The ones that you're not going to see any other time. I mean, you really are obligated on some level to go and at least taste test those things. But, right. What happens is you start feeling like you're falling off the wagon a little bit, and that's terrible. But then we come to another time of year that is really difficult for me. And it's for one reason and one reason and only, and it's that, oh, man, I hate this. I hate to even admit this out loud, but this is a vice.
It's a terrible thing. And I find myself, I don't know what they put on. It's probably not even really icing. It's probably just wax or something. But I don't know, when I put it in my mouth, that combination is like, oh. And so it's just. It's good. And it's a battle for me. And, you know, this time of year, when we get a little bit closer to the fall, and I mean, closer to winter, we have donuts with Santa here, right? And what do we provide people for as their little gifts when they get their little prizes and all that stuff? It's these Christmas cakes. I mean, Andrew Itzen will stockpile 65,000 boxes of that stuff in his office. And I'll go in there and it's like, whoa. You know, like, it's just awful. As I look at those, and I find myself just eating one to begin with, and I'm like, welcome back. Christmas holidays, right? But then, you know, it's like, one. It starts to where, like, one's not enough. You know what I'm talking about? And they're really small. When you look at them, they're kind of small. And so you eat another one, and then you think, man, I just wish they made it a little bit, you know, different than that. I wish that it was somewhere in between that size. But I'm reminded of this quote from Oscar Wilde. I can resist everything except temptation, right?
And then as soon as I feel like I'm kind of losing control, then this one pops up. And I do not know why those are so much better than the small ones. I cannot for the life of me tell you why. Those larger ones are just so much better. And so for all the way through the holidays, this is a battle to not go into the gas station. When I fill up and pick up one of these now, my wife just heard this for the first time, so I'm probably in big trouble.
This is a battle. And as silly as this may all sound, okay? And as ridiculous as this temptation, and it is a real one, as ridiculous as that is, what would happen if we thought about that same way with regard to really sinful things in our life, like the real challenges that are out there, envy, strife, lust, other temptations that we fall into. The idea that I'll just sample a little bit of something, and that little sample makes me hungry for more. And the more I do that, the more that thing controls me, and I become addicted to that behavior. And that becomes so enticing that I just about can't think of anything. And then before you know it, that thing rules you.
And I think this illustrates the point. This sugar's addictive, first of all.
But sin is equally that way.
And I'm afraid sometimes we think that on some level, we can keep it away from us. But most people like to be delivered from temptation, but they also want to keep it in touch.
What do we mean by that?
Well, we just mean that we say, I don't want the temptation. I want that taken away from me. But we still kind of want it accessible. Right? Like, I don't want Christmas cakes to go away.
You know, I kind of look forward to that season, even though I know it's going to be a battle for me. You understand what I'm saying? I can say I want it gone, but in reality, do I really want it gone? So let's talk about that from a sin perspective. How many of us are engaged in something that we say, I need to stop this prayer with God. And we have that moment where we get angry and we decide, I'm not going to do that anymore. And yet, we don't fully eradicate it from our life. We just keep it nearby so that we might have a sample in those very difficult moments. Right? That's temptation. And we all share this struggle.
This passage in James chapter one reminds us, though, that there's blessing when we endure temptation.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. Understand that there's an expectation on God's part that we recognize the need to step away from things that are harmful to us, that we caution ourselves that we are alert to these things, and that we patiently endure that temptation. Because on the other side of that is the blessing and the promise of life everlasting. And so that's a nice blessing on the other side of that temptation. Right? But it's up to us to go through it. Well, the reality is that the original tempter, Satan, and I hate to say this, but he's brilliant in his way about going about things. And you may say, well, why would you say that about the devil? We obviously don't want to follow the devil, but I have to say that his techniques are pretty brilliant. Listen to these words.
When you're being tempted, don't say, God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes. Catch this from our own desires, and those things entice us and drag us away.
Isn't that brilliant? The devil doesn't have to come and grab you and take you somewhere. He doesn't have to come and say, hey, follow me and let me open up this door of this new thing to you, Doe. No, it's so customized, it's so perfectly suited for just you and your particular struggles and your weaknesses and the things that you're drawn away by. The devil just puts those things out there. And then in the process, what happens is we get mad at God because that temptation exists.
And it's interesting because we blame God for the temptation that we pursue.
I mean, do we nothing, man, if he would just take that away, if God would just leave this out of my life, if he could just, in a moment, he could. I know he's got the power to do it. He could just zap all of these evil influences away. And yet it's us and our own selfish pursuits that causes us to go after those things to begin with.
I just want us to be sure of who it is we're following.
Because the God that we talked about a moment ago doesn't tempt us. He doesn't place those things in front of us. He's not tempted, and he doesn't look to do that for us.
But on the other side of that, trusting in him, is this life everlasting.
But the one that we so often fall in love with, the one that we choose to follow, is this guy.
And I want you to just capture for a second, I know I'm not going to read all of them, and I'm not going to get into all the history of the devil. But we understand he was an angel in heaven.
And at least by the description, we assume that he was the most magnificent being created. And that pride puffed him up. And he wanted power and authority in heaven. And so he waged war against God. And God cast him, because God is infinitely power. He cast him out to the earth. And so now he's here. And that's the difference, by the way, between heaven and earth is. Heaven is a place where those things don't exist. And earth is the place where the devil continues to put these influences in our way. And that's why we don't want to desire this place. We want to desire the other place. And we want to live in such a way that we can be there with God forever. But the guy who owns this joint, listen to what it talks about with him. He's the ultimate. He's the original deceiver. He's a destroyer. He's a prince of demons. He's a person who is looking to be the accuser. He's the one that wants to present you before God with all of these mistakes that you've made because he's put those things in your way. He's the spirit. He's the very embodiment of evil. And yet he disguises himself in unbelievable ways to make us fall in love with what we can get off of him and not how in our mind we're serving him. And yet that's the beauty of it.
Blame God, seek our own passions.
And then I, whether we know it or not, serve him, fall into submission to his devices.
That's why one Peter five eight says, be sober, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
The word picture here is a lion that's laying on its belly, maybe in the tall grasses, okay? And he's looking for a chance to pounce. He's looking for an opportunity. He's looking for someone not paying attention, someone who is weak in that moment, someone who is about to throw all of their discipline to the wind and just give it all over to something else and invite their passions. And instead of jumping out and devouring them like a lion would, his devouring is a self devouring based on our wants and desires. And these desires, James 115 says, give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, brings forth death.
So those desires that we have that are inside of us, that each of us carry uniquely, they draw us away. And when we act on those things over and over and over again, we find ourselves further and further separated from goddess. And ultimately that leads us to a place that is not life, but rather is a place of torment forever.
And so what do we do when we think about this and the desires that we have? We've got a video here from Sonny Patel this week. Because we got this temptation, we're all going to be struggling with it. We're all going to be going through this. And Sonny kind of helps us identify what that's like to suffer through temptation and to give us a little bit of perspective of what that's like.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: Every human being on earth faces temptation and struggles with sin. This might seem discouraging on the surface, but it's actually comforting to know we're not alone in our battles. And the good news is God has provided us the way out by equipping us with this scripture.
God's word is full of examples of people struggling with their own temptations and trials, and they're written down and recorded as a guide for us in our own moments of weakness. Jesus himself is our ultimate example. From the wilderness to the garden, Jesus faced temptations and relied on scripture. Because of his example, we can approach God's throne with confidence, knowing we'll receive mercy and grace, because Jesus can truly empathize with our temptations. In my own life, I found God's word to be both sharp and revealing. It forces me to examine the depths of my own heart and also serves as my greatest ally while I stay on the path towards eternal rest. Embracing God's teachings empowers me to resist temptation and grow closer to him.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: I love what he said there. And, you know, we talk about temptations. Sometimes those temptations are right in front of us. But there can also be a temptation that happens that we don't even. We're not even aware of. Let's say, for example, that you find yourself doing good things and you feel like you've been able to overcome some temptations, and you can be puffed up with pride. And pride can make us think that we're strong enough to withstand those temptations. So we put ourselves in other places that are maybe that we can be susceptible to those kinds of things. And so here in first corinthians, chapter ten, verse 20, verse twelve, it says that, you know, those of us who think we can stand, we need to be careful lest we fall. We need to be mindful that we don't need to be full of ourselves. We need to also recognize that we need to trust in God, even in those times when we think things are going great. But I loved what Sonny pointed to. He said that God provides a way of escape. And as I read this passage, it says, God is faithful, not allow us to be tempted above what we're able to endure, but will, with the temptation, provide us that way of escape. What's he talking about? You know, I want to make sure that we understand there's not, in life, there's not these decisions that we make. Then we go. Door number one is this. Door number one is two. And way over here is a bright angelic chorus singing out of a doorway with bright lights that points us the way to where we need to go. But what I think what might be being said here is that there is a sense in which we can be equipped and prepared and loaded up with who God is in our life. That it opens up our minds to that door of opportunity to do the right thing. And so when we fill our minds with the things that are of God, it opens up. It helps us be more committed to the right thing, and it helps us be able to detect the things when they're not the way they should be. So it provides a way of escape for us. That's why the Bible says in psalm 109 119, verse 105, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my pathway. There's another passage in that same text in psalm 119, and it's actually not 105. Again, it's verse eleven, where it says, your word, I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. What's he saying? Your word's a lamp and a light. It gives me the momentary understanding of what I need to do to serve God. And his word gives me all those things to empower me to make the right choices. But it's also that light that helps me understand how to fight off temptation down the road. So these passages help us. But then also there's hebrews four, verse twelve. And this is one for all of us to be reminded of. Because oftentimes there are people who will say, well, the Bible is not all that relevant, but listen to the words here. It says, for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit and of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. What I want you to capture is that God's word still has power today.
In fact, it's unbelievable how much God's word is powerful.
I think about this passage here, and it talks about the difference between the soul and the spirit. And the soul is kind of the idea of life itself, right? The idea that I have vitality, that I have life in me, breath in me. But then there's this spirit part that is talking more about the things that help me find myself into the will of God. And so what the Bible is able to do is it's able to pierce through all those things and say, hey, okay, this is a life thing. And it's not necessarily sinful and bad, but there could be some things that are in this group of life that cause this part to struggle, the spiritual part. So this part is the part that feeds us what we need. So we have a closer relationship with God. And so we grow in our faith and we're challenged to do the right things and we get stronger and stronger in our faith. And then here are the things in life that we can busy ourselves doing. But the Bible's able to directly go to those things and divide those things out so we can see clearly what God's will is for our life. And it helps us with that. The next passage, verse 13 of that same chapter, says, nothing is hidden before the eyes of God. It's all laid open and bare to those, to the one to whom we will give an account. And so what God is saying is that he understands what we're going through. He knows the challenges we're facing, and his word is well equipped to help us decipher those two things. What is life and what is spiritual life? And helps us make that connection about what those things are.
And so what do we do without an example? Well, the beautiful thing is that we are not without example. Sonny mentioned there are several examples in the Bible. I automatically think of Joseph and the temptation with Potiphar's wife, how he dropped his coat immediately, just ran out of there, said, how can I do this evil thing and sin against God? The idea was that he knew the difference between being a person who trusted in God and a person who pleased himself.
But Jesus also understands our struggles and the things that we go through in temptation. In fact, Hebrews chapter two tells us that he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. And it goes on itself that because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those of us who are also tempted. He is going to be there and help us through this struggle together. I'm reminded of that passage where, you know, Jesus goes to Peter and he says, hey, Peter, the devil wants you. He wants to sift you as wheat. But what is the next part of that?
But I have prayed for you that you may withstand that temptation.
Think about that. Jesus has suffered, has gone through the temptation, but he himself is there to help us that difficulty as well. Hebrews chapter four goes on to say that we have a high priest who is. We don't have a high priest that's unable to sympathize with us, but yet one who understands our weaknesses and who in every respect has been tempted just as we are yet without sin. I love the fact that we have this example of Jesus in the wilderness. We're going to go to Matthew, chapter four. And just to set this up a little bit, Matthew, chapter four, Luke, chapter four, are parallel readings. There may be just a few little added details in each of them that might separate them from the other. But for the most part, if you read one of those, you're going to get the same story.
Luke, chapter four, and Matthew, chapter four. And what's happened here is, as you may think, John the Baptist was on the scene. He was the forerunner for Christ, and he presents him as the lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. And then Jesus himself is baptized to fulfill all righteousness. And there's a voice from heaven that says, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And so once that happens, the spirit leads him off into the wilderness for a time of prayer and fasting. And so that's where we find ourselves here. In Matthew, chapter four, Jesus, after being baptized, was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry.
What I want to say about this is prayer and fasting often accompanied or actually preceded different missions that they might take. If you look and you see where they were about to head out on a missionary journey later, or if they were about to begin a certain kind of ministry, you would see them gather and say, we need to pray and fast and ask for God to be with us. That was a way of connecting deeper with God and to demonstrate this deeper trust in him for all of your provisions. And so fasting was a way to bring you low so that you may look up to him. And for fasting to begin with, that's a powerful thing. And your body kind of responds well to it. It's kind of a replenishing and resetting of your body, and it helps you a little bit, but there comes a point where it no longer is helpful to you. It is now harmful in that your body is beginning to consume itself. And so, literally, a person could be starving to death. Well, that's where we find Jesus here. And he's at this stage where he's hungry.
And in Luke, it adds another little detail that I think is pretty important here. This seems to suggest that Jesus was there for 40 days and 40 nights fasting. And that may have been the trial that he was going through. That may have been the struggle. But in reality, in Luke chapter four, it says that the devil was with him all of those 40 days tempting him. And so maybe what we're getting here in Matthew, chapter four and then later in Luke, is the finishing up of this temptation period. But notice, he comes to him when he's hungry. And I think that's something for us to draw from it, that satan always comes when we're most vulnerable.
Well, when are we most vulnerable? Is it not when we put ourselves in circumstances and situations that are difficult for us to manage?
Isn't it when we tend to put ourselves in proximity to the very temptations that pull us down?
Isn't it true that sometimes our minds are just focused on something, fixated on something that's not very holy and that kind of makes us vulnerable to the temptation that might be coming? Well, Jesus was sinless and he was perfect, and he was the Son of God on all those kinds of things. And yet the devil himself is sitting in his ear for all of this time, and he comes to him here. Notice the first temptation. Lust of the flesh. What are we talking about? Those are like our appetites. The things that we want for ourselves, the things that we want to experience, consume, that we want to make our own things that please us. Those kinds of things are what we would view as the lust of the flesh. And here is the story. The tempter came to him and said, if you're the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. And if a man is starving to death, wouldn't that be the right thing to do? Jesus had that power. He could have certainly done that.
But in a way, the devil comes in to sort of trap him a little bit because he wants him to know you don't have to rely upon God. You can just do whatever you want to in this moment. And while we look at that and go, well, yeah, he's God. But I think, doesn't the devil sometimes say to us, you don't need the provisions of God? I mean, you could take care of this right now. You can fix your hunger right now. You can please yourself right in this moment. You don't have to wait for anything else. You can do this.
And certainly bread would have been great for Jesus, and he could have done that.
And yet he answered him. It is written.
That's a beautiful statement.
It is written because what's taking place right now is the spirit of God inside of Christ is coming out filled with what God says is right and good. And he quotes from deuteronomy, chapter eight, verse three. And he says, man shall not live by bread. Alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus used God's word to declare that survival is centered on our spiritual feeding. When Moses gave those words to the Israelites, he was saying, we're going into this land and there's something that you need to know. One love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and mind. But the other thing about this is that as you're going on this journey, understand that your sustenance is going to come from God himself, that he is the one who is going to provide for us. He is the one that you can count on for those provisions. So we needed to learn to trust in him. And Jesus has taken that very concept, that reality, and instead of feeding himself in that moment, he's trusting in God for those provisions. Second temptation, we'll call it the pride of life. What do I mean by that? Well, the things that make us puffed up, things that make us filled up, make people that make people think that we're powerful or that we're influential, or that we're making a name for ourselves. Those kinds of things are what we would refer to as the pride of life. So here's what the devil did. Took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, this will be cool. For it is written, and he uses quotations from the Old Testament, psalm, chapter 91. He says, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. So he says, look, let me take you up here, man. And this temple would stand 200ft above the hill on the top of Jerusalem. So you're talking about a massive place. And to jump off of that, what the devil was trying to do is say, think about how cool this will be. Think about how amazing and spectacular this moment will be as you leap from the pinnacle. And because God says that his angels are going to attend to your needs, just, they're going to dash out of the sky, it's going to be a huge spectacle, and everybody's going to just be blown away by this, and everyone will want to just follow you and all those kinds of things. In reality, what he was wanting was the spectacle, not obedience.
And Jesus didn't come to make a spectacle of himself, he came to come and obey.
So Jesus said, again, it's written, you don't put your lord, your God, to the test.
So in so many, in so many ways, the devil was wanting to take something we hold very dear life and be reckless with that life.
Now, how many times are we tempted to do something reckless, crazy, adventurous almost in the sense of testing our limits and testing that life that we have been given?
And here Jesus was told to be a spectacle so people will see those angels and be blown away this moment. But instead of that being the spectacular thing, what I want us to understand is Jesus used God's word to declare that our obedience is the spectacular thing, not about the spectacle, of doing something to bring attention to yourself. No, Jesus came so that he may reflect God's goodness.
He didn't come down here to take all the glory for himself. He came here to glorify and honor God in his obedience.
The third temptation, lust of the eyes, those are the things we just want. Possessions, material things, things that we just feel like we're owed, and we deserve those kinds of things. So the devil says and takes him to a very high mountain, and he shows him all the kingdoms of the world. And I don't know exactly what that means. If it's like all the kingdoms, past and present and future, if it means, you know, in a vision on some level that he could see all these things, or if in fact he took him so high that he could see most of the world and all the things that do that. But he looks down and he says, hey, I want to give you all of these things, and all you have to do is bow down and worship me.
Now we know that Jesus was promised to be the messiah, the king of kings. He was going to rule, right? Jesus was going to come and reign.
But the devil is saying to him, hey, I can make all this real quick. You can have everything. You can have dominion and rain, and you can do all those things. And really all you have to do is one thing, like think about what Jesus was going to have to go through.
Jesus knew his mission. He knew what he was brought here for.
Persecution, running all the time, endless days teaching ungrateful people, healing those who needed it, not getting rest, watching people die for the cause of Christ.
He watched all of his followers be persecuted. He himself was beaten and crucified on the cross in order that he might buy us back and reign in our hearts.
Satan appeals to our hearts by offering us a road that's less difficult in some ways. What he was saying, let's just short circuit this whole thing. Like, forget all that suffering, forget all that mission that you came for. Look, I can just give you all the earth right now, and you can reign forever, and I can give you all that you ever wanted. I can give you the things that you, that your heart's desire. I could just give you all of those things. And Jesus is hearing this, and you have to understand later, Jesus in Matthew chapter seven says this, enter by the narrow gate.
Why does he say that? For the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction.
And those who enter by it are many.
But what's the other side of that? For the gate is narrow. That leads to life, and those who find it are very few.
See, Jesus understood that there's not, like some easy button that we push.
There's not this, you know, way that we just get out of all the other things in life, that we can just push one button and get everything we want, eternal life and all those kinds of things. No, no, no.
Our heart's desire leads us into rebellion. Our heart's desire leads us to sinful practices. Our heart's desire pushes us to devotion to things that are not of God.
And there's a lot of people that are choosing that route.
So Jesus says to him, begone, Satan. For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and only him shall you serve. Goes all the way back to deuteronomy. What's the most important thing? That you trust in God above everything else. That you trust in his provisions. That you trust in his plan. That you trust in his purpose. So understand what Jesus did. He used God's word to declare his submission and devotion to his eternal purpose.
That's why Jesus wouldn't bow down. First of all, the devil is a much inferior being, and the God of heaven is the one who promises all the great things.
And yes, there's some decisions that need to be made here. There are some temptations that have to be worked through. There are things that you have to overcome in this life, but the results of that is life everlasting. But when you get everything that you want here on earth, you inherit what the guy who owns the earth gives, and that is destruction forever.
So the devil left him.
And I think it's powerful that he used God's word each of these three times.
And after the devil knew that the spirit of God lives in him, he departed.
And guess what happened next? And I love this. The angels came and were ministering to his needs.
That's beautiful, isn't it?
What did the devil want to do? Make bread? Like, feed yourself? You can do this by yourself. You don't need anybody else. You can just do this all by yourself.
And yet Jesus held strong refused to do that, showed his allegiance to God. And then the moment those temptations were over, what happens?
The angels of God are there, ministering to his needs, taking care of him. And I believe the same thing happens to us. Notice this one part. When the devil had ended the temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. One thing to be reminded of is that temptation is not one of those one time things. It's not that one momentary moment where you do the right thing and you get through that temptation. And that's it. You fought and you didn't know. He's coming. Again and again, I'm reminded of the garden. Sonny mentioned it in his video that in the garden, you know, Jesus was having a tough time as he knew his job, he knew his role. He was committed to that. And yet at the same time, the temptations that were there all around him asked, you know, caused him to ask to God, is there any other way that I can save mankind?
But what did he say? Not my will, but yours be done.
Well, the reality is nothing's changed in the devil's schemes.
In fact, in first corinthians, two corinthians, chapter two, there's this passage as a reminder that says, you know, not to be outwitted by Satan. In other words, we've seen this stuff before. Don't find yourself tricked by these schemes. Again, we're not ignorant of his designs. We've seen this over and over. Those three things that the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, those are things that we're going to see over and over. That's the way the devil works. But because Jesus demonstrated the spirit of God in him, this is something that we need to be reminded of. And that's when we put the sword of the spirit in our hearts and we take in God's word. It's powerful, and it helps us make these decisions. And when we have God's word in our heart, we have his holy spirit in our heart, then it's greater, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
As I was thinking about this, we wanted to kind of look at this from the standpoint of how is God's word a lamp, and how is it a light? Well, first of all, God's word is a lamp is the lamp of our preparation.
The more we take in his word, the more we are equipped to handle the things that come our way in life. That becomes a part of our decision model. It becomes the way we make those decisions and choices. But then also God's word is our light against the darkness of spiritual warfare. And in Ephesians chapter six, I was talking to some sweet lady in the foyer, talking about spiritual battles and talking about the difficulties that we face. Ephesians chapter six says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we wrestle against principalities, against rulers of this dark age.
We're battling against demonic forces.
We're battling spiritual things all the time, because those temptations are placed out in front of us. Our own desires are feeding our minds with things that take us further and further away. But God's word is that thing that helps us combat those temptations with aggression and with offense.
First, John 215 16 says, don't love the world or the things of the world, because all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the father, but it's from the world.
This quote kind of struck me earlier this week. This temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. He's there.
The temptations that we have, the thing, our desires, our lusts, the things that we put out there, those are right there.
But when we yield to that temptation, it's like opening up the door and inviting him into our life.
And those things can hold us captive forever and ever. I'm reminded of that passage in Hebrews, chapter twelve.
You know, as we're running this race and we're looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, one of the things it says that we must do is to lay aside that sin and those things that so easily ensnare us or entangle us, keep us bound.
Temptation is like that. We have the ability to keep those things out of.
But oftentimes we are allowing him in.
Here's God's guidance on this.
Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We see it here in Jesus example. Yeah, it takes perpetual, it takes consistency. It takes one time after another doing the right things, and that allows the devil to realize that you're a heart that is owned by Goddesse, and it gives us the opportunity to stand up against him. But don't miss this last part of Ephesians six. As we were talking about spiritual warfare, it talks about all these different things, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, belt of truth, feet shot with the preparation of the gospel. I want you to understand, if you really go and look at all of those things, and from a metaphorical standpoint, what it's saying is we can be equipped to handle the battle that we're about to face. And we always talk about those kinds of things. All of those things are not offensive. They're all shielding. They're all, you know, defensive in the sense of, you know, keeping the devil at bay. But what I want to think about is not so much that it is defensive in nature. It is preparation for the battles that we're going to face. What does it say about the shield of faith? With it, you can quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. You are powerful not because of you, but because your faith is the victory over sin and death.
But notice what it says here. Take with you the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And it talks about prayer and all those kinds of things that bring us to victory in Jesus. Well, today, some of you may be struggling. You may be going through some really, really tough times in your life, and you may have fallen to temptation.
I just want to remind you that we're here for you and that God's word is your defense mechanism and your offense mechanism to defeat it. If there's anyone who's struggling this morning that would love an opportunity to come before us so we can pray for you and walk alongside you in your fight, please come. While together we stand and Singhenne.
