Overcoming Our Daily Temptations
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Apr 25, 2010
- Series: Back to Basics
Back To Basics: (Part XIII)
OVERCOMING OUR DAILY TEMPTATIONS
Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV):
1 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.
When the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray, he impressed upon them the need to seek God’s help regarding life’s temptations. He included these words – “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).
But, if we examine our prayers today, how many of us would seriously go to God everyday being conscious of our need to be victorious against our temptations. You know, my fear is we have been so used to falling into sin to the point that we anticipate asking God for forgiveness, rather than asking Him to give us the ability to say no to sin. And because of this, we are the ones missing out in experiencing a far more blessed life in Christ Jesus.
This truth is perfectly illustrated for us in the Garden of Eden. After God had created Adam and Eve, He allowed both of them to enjoy the richness of His provisions in the Garden and the privilege of intimately fellowshipping with Him. All of these were taken away from them when they carelessly chose to disobey God because of the Devil’s temptation.
It would be to our advantage to know that the Devil has not changed. He knows he has no competition with God, and so he has shifted his focus on the people whom God loves so much. He knows that if he could tempt us to disobey God and cause us to sin, he could deprive us of our blessings and possibly destroy us. Would you allow him to do that?
I hope not. Yes, Satan will tempt us. By temptation, we are referring to Satan’s attempt to entice us to sin and disobey God. As believers we need to take the time to understand all about our temptations and how we can effectively say no them. We should never settle to being victims all the time, we should aspire to be victors. Let’s examine our assigned text, and discover how we can be victors:
I. THE STRUGGLE:
Looking at our text, we would find the Lord Jesus Christ. After His baptism, He was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness (v1). Obviously, if Jesus Christ Himself was not exempt from temptation, all of us will be subject to them as well. None of us are immune to them (pastors, Christian workers, deacons, leaders, and new believers).
However, there is one important truth that we should not miss is stated in verse 1 - led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Temptations don’t happen accidentally, they happen providentially. In other words, God allows them to happen because He has a purpose for them. Why would Jesus need to go through temptations? I believe the words in Hebrews 4:14-16 can give us a hint:
Hebrews 4:14-16:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For 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.
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Since Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry, he needed to go through all the temptations that all human beings are going through so He can become a more effective high priest for everyone. He can easily sympathize with people’s struggles because He knows by experience, what people are going through. Even today, we are recipients of the same ministry.
This is, of course, true with us as well. He allows us to be tempted so we can grow and become more useful for him. Now, I want us to be careful with this truth. I know some people would be quick to blame God for the sins they have committed, but the Bible is clear that it is not God who tempts us to sin:
James 1:13-14 (NIV):
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
God is perfect and holy. It is contrary to His nature to lead anyone to sin. James makes it clear that if we sin, it is because of our own evil desire that gave in to sin. But, Satan cannot just tempt God’s children without asking first His permission. This is very clear in the life of Job. When you read the first two chapters of this beautiful book, Satan was not able to touch Job’s body or his possessions without God’s permission. Here is a great passage that talks about some assurances for us:
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV):
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Don’t miss the three assurances from this passage:
• All our temptation is common to man – You don’t have a temptation that others have not gone through.
• Your temptation is within your capability – God knows your capability. He will not allow you to be tempted with something you cannot handle.
• There is a way out – God always provide an escape route. You must believe that there is a solution to your problem.
Therefore, if we experience them, it is only because God can use them to grow us and make us better ministers. Just like Christ, we can channel our experiences into effective ministries. This is what the apostle Paul had conveyed to the Corinthian believers:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV):
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
So, with the temptations you overcame by God’s help, He desires to use you to assist others become victorious as well. That’s the bottom line for our struggles.
II. THE STRATEGY:
Our text in verse 1 clearly identifies who the enemy is – He is devil. Indeed, he is a powerful being, but his power is nothing compared to our Almighty God. His main objective is to oppose the advancement of God’s kingdom; and so he will attack everyone whom God would like to use as instruments for His purposes. Without a doubt, his desire is let them sin because through sinning he can defeat and destroy them. Paul reminded us:
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV):
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
According to this verse, He is not only invisible, He is also very organized. He will do the best he can to ruin us through sin. But, how does he do it? What are his strategies in order to tempt us to sin? 1 John 2:16 identifies the most effective strategies of the devil:
1 John 2:16 (NIV):
16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.
I believe the Lord has allowed this temptation to be recorded so we can see plainly how the devil works. Notice the devil targeting these three areas:
A. “Cravings of sinful man” or Lust of the flesh - (v.3)
The first temptation of Christ was targeted to the satisfaction of the desire of the flesh. Satan knew that Jesus was hungry and so Satan was tempting Him to go against the will of the Father by turning the stone into bread. The Father’s clear will was for Him to fast and abstain from food.
We too have this fleshly desire. For us, it refers to our old Adamic nature or our old sinful self. Although you and I have been saved, we still struggle with the sinful nature. This nature dwells within us and is bent to live the old life. Satan’s temptation appeals to the satisfaction of our sinful desires.
B. “Lust of his eyes” – (vs. 8-9)
Here, Satan has shown Jesus the kingdoms to stimulate a desire for a life of significance that is contrary to the Father’s will.
We need to be reminded that our eyes could be used by the devil to stimulate uncontrollable desires in us. That’s the reason why we have to be careful with what we are looking at. Usually, it is not the first look that is sinful; the second and the lingering look is what lead us to sin. Knowing this, Job made a personal commitment in relation to his eyes:
Job 31:1 (NIV):
1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl."
Today, there are many Christians who are living defeated lives because they have failed to control their eyes in looking at pornographic material. I hope you don’t believe the devil’s lie that it is not going to harm you, because it definitely will. What you see with your eyes can stimulate some cravings in your life that would be difficult to restrain.
C. "The boasting of what he has and does" or the Pride of Life - (vs. 5-6)
Lastly, Satan has also made an appeal for Christ to indulge in self-pride. He wanted Jesus to prove that He was indeed the Son of God by jumping off from the roof of the temple. As we all know, The Father is always opposing anyone who exalts himself before Him (James 4:6).
The truth of the matter is: Satan has never changed his strategies. If you go back to the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, you can trace the same approach:
Genesis 3:6 (NIV):
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Notice the three areas: a) Lust of the eyes - the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good; b) Lust of the flesh - the fruit of the tree was good for food; c) Pride of life - and also desirable for gaining wisdom. We need to guard ourselves at all times because in the world where we live, Satan has successfully promoted the satisfaction of these three areas by making people ignore the consequences of them. But don’t be deceived, sin will never go unpunished. Paul has appropriately warned:
Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV):
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
III. THE SUCCESS:
This message is not complete without learning how we can be successful against the devils temptations. Clearly, we sin not because we are tempted; we sin because we gave in to our temptations. To be successful, we need the following:
A. Prayer:
Prayer is our expression of dependence on God. As Jesus has taught His disciples to pray - “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13), we need to consciously as God to help live a victorious life. Jesus was in the wilderness to pray and fast, and so when Satan came to tempt Him, He easily won against all temptations. Let’s never forget that our prayers give us the power to overcome the devil.
B. Bible:
We are not referring to carrying a copy of the Bible at all times, rather the grounding in the Word of God that allows us to use it whenever we are being tempted. Jesus has demonstrated this by quoting Scripture verses for each temptation presented to Him. The phrase, it is written” in verses 4, 7 and 10 shows He was referring to Old Testament Scriptures. How about you, do you know your Bible enough that when the Devil tempts you, you can respond with a verse. King David reminds us:
Psalm 119:11 (NIV):
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
C. Submission:
Jesus was always committed to living a life of submission and obedience. Living the same way allows us to live very close to God’s presence and power. When we are intentionally disobedient, there is no way we can resist the devil. James reminded us:
James 4:7 (NIV)
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
D. Wisdom:
We need to seek God’s wisdom. There are times we can resist the Devil by using prayer, Bible, and submission; but there are also times when our best option is to run away. Paul reminded Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV):
22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
In Genesis, Joseph had exemplified this option of running away from temptation. Satan knows our weaknesses, and so if we are truly vulnerable to one area, we need to be wise enough to simply run away.
God wants to help us live victorious lives because through a life of holiness and obedience we gain favors from the Lord. So, let’s do our best not to be victims, but victors for the Lord.