If you'd open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4, verse 1 through 11,
we're going to be looking at the temptation of Jesus this morning.
Last week, we looked at the baptism of Jesus, and it was His inauguration day.
Do you remember the words?
It kind of climaxed in chapter 3, verse 17, where God says of His Son,
This is My beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased.
He made a declaration, an announcement.
And in that statement, this is My beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased,
God the Father, there were choice words.
He's drawing on Psalm 2, this is the Messiah, this is My Son, He's going to inherit the nations.
And He's also drawing on Isaiah 42, the suffering servant with whom I'm well pleased.
This Messiah is going to suffer.
He's going to establish His reign through suffering.
And so what we're going to see this morning is this.
We're going to go from the inauguration day to the proving day.
Jesus is inaugurated as King, and then what we're going to see is Jesus' medal is proven through the temptation.
Imagine this.
This is just make-believe.
I don't think this really happened, but just pretend with me.
God the Father in heaven says, this is My beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased.
Public announcement.
Up in heaven.
Bling, bling, bling.
Little telephone call in heaven.
God the Father picks up.
Yes?
It's Satan?
I just heard the announcement.
Yes?
I meant it for all to hear.
Yes?
Now, I've heard that He is well-pleasing to you.
Why don't you send Him my way?
Let me put Him to the test.
Let's see what He's got.
You know what God the Father would say at that point?
It's in the plan.
I've already sent Him.
He's being led by the Spirit right now into the wilderness.
And by the way, He's my beloved Son.
I think you've got more on your hands than what you realize.
Click.
This morning, what I want you to see is this.
What the temptation of Jesus shows is that Jesus is trusting and obeying of His Father all the way through.
He trusts and obeys His Father all the way through each temptation.
He submits Himself to the will of the Father.
He trusts and obeys.
And by doing so, He proves what God the Father has just said.
This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
So there are really kind of three stages in this passage.
Verses 1 and 2.
It's the preparation.
Jesus shows up in the wilderness.
And then there's 3 through 10 where we're going to see kind of three rounds between heavyweights.
The devil and Jesus the Son.
I'll tell you right now, Jesus wins.
And then, verse 11, the triumph.
The aftermath.
We'll be spending most of our time on 3 through 10.
But let's look at this preparation to begin with.
It's a preparation of extremes.
Verses 1 and 2.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.
Maybe one of the most extreme understatements in the Bible.
But there may be more going on there than meets the eye.
We've got some extremes.
Extreme landscape.
The wilderness.
It was a deserted place.
A lonely place.
Extreme wilderness.
Extreme landscape.
We've got extreme hunger going on here.
Jesus has been fasting 40 days and 40 nights.
And we all know that kind of 40 days without food is kind of the maximum a human being can go without dying.
So Jesus is at the extreme of His life, humanly speaking.
He's been fasting.
Which means this.
He's just not going without food, going without food.
He's going without food in order to prepare Himself for something.
He was extremely hungry.
But when we get into the temptations, we're going to come back to this.
Because we've got to ask, what was He really hungry for?
Extreme isolation.
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, yes.
But He alone faced the devil.
Now, I'm going to just be honest with you.
I can't imagine going 40 days without food.
It's hard to imagine going 40 minutes without food, just to be honest with you.
And if I was in an extreme landscape with extreme hunger facing an extreme opponent like the devil,
I'd fold like a cheap suit.
I think we all would.
Speaking of this extreme opponent,
he was led out to be tempted by the devil.
We were singing a song here.
Thank you, Ben and Lindsay.
What a sweet song.
Our enemy meant for evil.
God meant for good.
Jesus is led out to the wilderness.
The devil wants evil.
God wants good.
And so He's led out to the devil.
And the devil goes by a lot of different handles.
In the Bible, ruler of this world, John 12.
Prince of the power of the air, Ephesians 2.
The God of this world, 2 Corinthians 4.
The serpent of old, the deceiver of the world, Revelation 12.
The destroyer, Abaddon, Apollyon.
The accuser, the slanderer, the tempter.
Head to head.
Extreme opponent.
There's extreme stakes.
Will Jesus, when facing all these extremes,
will Jesus prove Himself as the Son of God,
faithful to His Father,
or will He be disqualified?
Will He yield to the devil's temptations
and not just Himself be disqualified,
but throw God's plan of salvation into the garbage can?
The stakes are high.
A lot of extremes going on here,
but there's one other extreme I want you to see.
There's extreme fulfillment going on here.
When you hear the word wilderness,
when you read the word 40,
when you read the words hunger,
when you hear the words sun,
you need to be realizing
that Jesus is experiencing here
something that parallels
what Israel experienced in the wilderness.
Very intentional.
Remember, Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness,
wandering the wilderness.
And we see in Deuteronomy 6, 7, and 8,
right before they enter Canaan,
the promised land,
God through Moses addresses them.
And so what we see here
in the temptation of Jesus
is when He says it is written,
He is quoting from Deuteronomy 8
and Deuteronomy 6.
Parallel.
What you also need to know
is that in Deuteronomy 8,
Israel is likened to being God.
God's son.
God led His people, Israel,
His son,
into the wilderness
to test them,
quote unquote,
to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keep
God's commandments or not.
So God leads His people,
His son, Israel,
through the wilderness
to prepare them for entering Canaan.
And we all know
they failed miserably.
They're a bunch of complainers.
stiff-necked,
made it hard.
God was merciful, though.
God leads His son, Jesus,
into the wilderness
to prepare Him
for His public ministry
to prove
that He is
the true
Son of God.
to prove
what was in His heart,
to fully obey the Father,
no matter what,
to submit Himself
gladly
to His God.
He did
what Israel
did not do.
God has a purpose
for leading His son
into the wilderness.
Jesus.
Jesus is going to
show Himself
as the true
Son of God.
So there's
extreme fulfillment.
A lot of action
going on here,
isn't there?
Matthew has this,
like,
if you, like,
cut Him,
He'd bleed out
like Old Testament.
He's just,
got Old Testament
all over the place.
Okay,
so verses 1 and 2,
our King
is being put
to a very
extreme test.
If any of us
were in that situation,
we'd fold,
like,
cheap suits.
You've got to understand
we've got extremes
going on here.
And He's going to
prove Himself
to be faithful.
He's going to,
this is saying
He's ready
for ministry.
Stage 2,
the Son
is tempted.
In verses 3 through 10,
the devil seeks
to disqualify.
Jesus
and undermine
God's plan
of salvation
with three temptations.
Now,
has anybody seen
a boxing match
before?
There are these
things called
rounds,
and so
they come out,
the fighters fight
for a round,
they go back
to their corners,
and they come back
for another round.
And so imagine
the temptation
as three rounds.
Who's going to win?
Let's look at round
one.
The first temptation
of Jesus.
And the tempter,
this is verse 3,
and the tempter
came and said
to Him,
Jesus,
if You are
the Son of God,
command these stones
to become loaves
of bread.
So here's the setting.
We're in the wilderness,
dry,
barren,
and it lacks
a lot of stuff,
but what it doesn't
lack is stones.
And Satan knows
that Jesus is
quote unquote
hungry.
And so in verse 3,
I hope you notice
how the devil
kind of moves
into this temptation.
If you are
the Son of God,
command these stones
to become loaves
of bread.
If you are
the Son of God,
if you are
the Son of God,
what you need
to realize
is that the devil
is not questioning
Jesus' sonship.
What the devil
is doing
is tempting him
to use his sonship
in a way
that would
cause him
to disobey
his father,
to cause him
to move independently.
It's kind of like this.
Jesus,
I got the memo.
I heard the whole thing.
You're his beloved son
in whom his soul delights.
I get it.
Well, since you are
the Son of God,
Jesus,
since you're the Messiah,
God in the flesh,
you've got all the power
to create out of nothing,
since you're that,
why don't you just use
your Son of God power
to feed yourself?
Why don't you fill
your little tummy?
I know you're hungry.
What the devil
is tempting Jesus
to do
is to misuse
his power
as the Son of God.
To use his power
not for the advancement
of his Father's will,
but to satisfy
himself,
personal gratification.
And you might be sitting
in your pew right now
saying,
what's wrong with that?
I mean, seriously,
he's got all the power
he wants to.
If he's hungry,
we could just make
some bread out of stones.
What's the big deal
about that?
Well, the big deal
about it is
he can't do
whatever he wants.
He is submitted himself,
Jesus,
to the will of his Father.
He is the divine Son
sent to accomplish
the Father's purposes.
And so let's look
at how Jesus responds
to this temptation.
Chapter 4, verse 4.
But Jesus answered,
it is written.
It is written.
Look at 4.4,
it is written.
Look at 4.7,
again, it is written.
Now look at verse 10.
For it is written.
Jesus resists
by quoting the Bible.
Jesus resists
by reciting God's Word.
Jesus is saying,
hey, I'm not going to trust
your Word,
you fork-tongue liar,
but I'm going to stand
on what God has said.
I'm going to trust
and obey.
As the Son of God,
I'm going to trust
my Father.
Man shall not live
by bread alone,
but by every word
that comes
from the mouth
of God.
What's he hungry for?
What's Jesus
really hungry for?
He fasted 40 days
and 40 nights.
He was hungry.
We immediately
interpret that as,
oh, he is just
looking for a snack.
Could it be
that he's hungry
to accomplish
the Father's will?
He's more hungry
to obey his Father
than to fill his belly
even though he could.
He submits his power
to the Father's purposes.
And he quotes
Deuteronomy 8.3.
It's a reference
to when Israel
was in the wilderness
and without food.
God put them there
intentionally
to test them,
to see what they would do
and to show them
what he can do.
He can provide
for their most basic needs
on a daily basis.
So he sends Israel
daily supplies
of this stuff
called manna,
this heavenly bread,
to teach his son Israel
that God,
their father,
is able and willing
to meet their everyday needs.
All they needed
to trust his word
to believe what he said.
And you know
what God does?
He provides for them
daily for 40 years
while they're
in the wilderness.
40 years,
day after day,
manna on the ground.
All they need,
he provides for them.
40 years of manna
just like he said
he would do.
40 years of God's
faithfulness
to his own word.
By quoting
Deuteronomy 8.3,
Jesus is saying,
Satan,
I'm going to trust
and obey
my father's word.
He has me here.
I've been fasting.
I am going to trust
that he will provide
for me.
I'm not going to provide
for myself
even though I can.
I'm going to submit
myself to him.
I'm going to trust
his timing
to when I'm going
to eat next.
but my appetite
is to do
the will
of my father
and even if that
means I just
got to put
my own power
under his will.
The son submits
to the father
proving to be
the true son
and he wins
the first round.
Second round.
temptation number
two,
verses five
through seven.
The setting
from the stones
in the wilderness
the devil takes
Jesus to the
highest point
of the temple
in Jerusalem.
You see that
in verse five.
Now whether this
is a real
actual physical
taking Jesus
to the temple
or this is some
kind of vision,
it's not clear
but what is clear
is that the
temptation is real.
And we read
the temptation
in verse six.
If you are the
son of God
throw yourself
down.
Again,
the devil
is trying to
play on the
son of God
thing that God
has already
announced.
If you are the
son of God
he's seeking
to cause Jesus
to misuse
his sonship.
He wants to
disqualify Jesus
and undermine
our salvation.
the temptation
is Jesus
throw yourself
down.
They are like
three hundred
feet above
a valley
on the temple.
He said
throw yourself
down from
his height.
He is saying
willingly,
Jesus will you
willingly put
yourself in
harm's way
Jesus.
Let's see what
God does.
Let's see what
your father does.
Now,
the devil is
pretty slick.
because
the reason
he gives,
he quotes
the Bible.
There's one
other it is
written in
this passage.
It comes
from the lips
of the devil.
Throw
yourself down,
son of God,
for it is
written,
he will command
his angels
concerning you.
On their
hands they
will bear
you up,
lest you
strike your
foot against
toes.
You won't
even step
your toe.
It is
written very
slick.
Very slick.
Evidently,
the devil knows
the Bible.
He's lousy
at applying
it, but he
knows it.
Not even
lousy.
He intentionally
misapplies it.
Now,
remember what
just happened.
This is
instructive.
Jesus just
resisted the
devil by saying,
hey, I live
by every word
that proceeds
from the
mouth of
God.
So,
the devil
says,
oh,
really?
Well,
how about
this?
Put this
on for
size,
son of
God.
If you
live by
every word
from the
mouth of
God,
how about
you live
by this?
Psalm 91,
11,
and 12.
How about
this,
Jesus?
Let's go up
on the
temple,
let's throw
yourself down,
and let's
see you live
by Psalm 91,
11,
and 12.
Throw
yourself down,
and as you're
falling,
let's see if
God the
Father commands
his angels to
come,
gather you
with their
hands,
and protect
you from
falling and
smashing.
Jesus,
put your
money where
your mouth
is.
You see
what the
devil is
doing?
He's saying,
prove it,
Jesus.
If you're the
son of God,
live by
God's word.
And what the
devil is doing
is he's trying
to corner
Jesus with
God's word.
It's a
misapplication
of the
Bible.
He's trying
to use
God's word
to disqualify
Jesus,
to trap
him.
Now,
just to
remind you,
the devil
has been
distorting
God's word
from the
very beginning.
You remember
this?
To Eve?
Did God
actually say
you shall
can't eat
of any
tree from
the garden?
Did God
really say
that to Eve?
Puts a little
doubt in her
head.
And then
remember this
one?
This is also
Genesis 3.
Eve,
you shall
not surely
die.
If you eat
that,
eat from
that tree,
you won't
die.
God's just
being dramatic.
It's a
clear distortion
of God's
word.
The devil
has been
distorting
and misusing
God's word
from the
very beginning.
He is the
father of
lies.
And so
though Psalm
91 does
promise safety
to those
who trust
God,
the devil
is intentionally
misapplying
it.
Nowhere in
Psalm 91
is the
believer told
to intentionally
put themselves
in harm's
way in order
to obligate
God to
save them.
There's no
way in
Psalm 91
it says
that.
What we
see in
Psalm 91
is a
live by
faith,
a humble
faith,
trusting in
your God
and trust
that he
is going
to keep
you safe.
what Satan
is subtly
doing is
tempting
Jesus,
the son
of God,
the second
person of
the Trinity
to elevate
himself over
the father,
the first
person of
the Trinity
to force
the father
to do
the son's
bidding.
Satan is
tempting
Jesus through
a misuse
of Psalm
91 to
force the
father's
hands and
Jesus sees
right through
it.
I know
you.
I know
you from
the very
beginning.
And Jesus'
response in
verse 7 of
chapter 4 is
this.
Again, it
is written.
It is written.
There it is.
He's standing
on the word
of God.
He uses
God's word
to correct
a misuse
of God's
word.
You shall
not put the
Lord your
God to the
test.
I see what
you're doing.
You shall
not put the
Lord your
God to the
test.
I'm not
going to
test him,
devil.
He's quoting
Deuteronomy
6.16 which
says in full,
you shall not
put the
Lord your
God to
the test
as you
tested him
at Massa.
It's a
reference to
Exodus 17.
Israel,
again,
is in the
wilderness
deprived of
water and
they start
to complain.
Wah,
wah,
wah.
Where's
the water?
Moses,
wah,
where's the
water?
We're thirsty.
Why'd you
bring us
out of
Egypt?
We're so
thirsty.
They have
water there.
Seriously,
we're going to
die.
So thirsty.
And they're
complaining to
Moses.
And Moses
responds to
them,
why are you
complaining to
me?
Why are you
testing the
Lord?
Why are you
testing the Lord?
And in
chapter 17,
verse 7,
Moses sums
it up by
summarizing what
Israel is
saying is that
they're asking,
is the Lord
among us or
not?
We're thirsty!
Israel's
testing of
God was
Israel's
doubting of
God.
Satan was
trying to
lure Jesus
into putting
God to the
test in
order to
prove Jesus
is the
Son of
God.
And that
whole line
there actually
disproves,
disqualifies
Him.
But Jesus
knows better.
He's not
going to put
the Lord
His God
to the
test.
He's going
to be the
faithful son.
He's going
to trust
and obey.
He's going
to prove
His
sonship
to His
Father.
There's no
need for
any of
this stuff,
any of
this sensationalism.
He's not
going to
throw Himself
down from
the temple
because God's
not asking
Him to do
that.
In fact,
not yet.
Jesus will
one day
give His
life.
He will
voluntarily
put Himself
in harm's
way.
But that
comes later.
That comes
later.
In Golgotha,
in the cross,
the suffering
servant,
Isaiah 53,
Jesus becomes
sin for us.
He doesn't
put God
to the test.
He actually
submits Himself
to the will
of the Father.
Remember Gethsemane?
Not my will,
but your will
be done.
And
there it is.
Matthew 26.
Jesus submitting
Himself again
to the will
of the Father.
Jesus will
one time,
one day,
give His life
up,
not by throwing
it down from
the temple,
but by hanging
on a cursed
cross.
And in so
doing,
obey the
Father's will.
Jesus says,
I'm not buying
this stuff.
I'm not throwing
myself down.
I'm not putting
God to the test.
I'm going to
submit myself
to the will
of the Father
because I'm His
Son.
Jesus wins
round two.
Round three.
Verses eight
through ten.
The setting.
The devil
takes Him
to a very
high mountain.
You see this
in verse eight.
And shows Him
all the kingdoms
of the world
and their glory.
Now,
we all know
that there's not
one mountain
high enough
where we can
go to and
see all the
kingdoms of
the world
at once.
So mostly,
likely,
this is some
kind of a
vision.
But what
Satan is
doing is
trying to
shortcut
the Savior's
mission.
He's trying
to tempt
Him to
idolatry
and shortcut
the mission.
Now,
imagine this.
If this was
modern day,
times,
Satan showing
Jesus all
the metropolitan
areas of the
world in
their glories.
New York
City,
the Big
Apple.
Glories of
finance and
trade.
Sophisticated
people,
shows in
Paris,
the glories
of fine
food and
fashion.
the glories
of Geneva,
Switzerland,
glories of
international
finance and
banking.
You can have
that too.
The glories of
Washington,
D.C.,
Beijing,
Moscow,
the glories of
political force
and might.
You can have
that too.
You can have
that too.
You can have
all this,
Jesus,
if you would
just bow
down and
worship me.
You can have
all the kingdoms
of the world
and their
glories.
They can all
be yours
if you just
worship me.
We've got a
different tactic
going on here.
Do you notice
there's no
if you're
the son
of God?
He just,
all pretense
is gone,
out the
window.
It's like,
hey,
I'll give you
all this
stuff if
you'll just
worship me.
Why doesn't
Satan start
with if you're
the son
of God?
Maybe he's
realizing it's
working against
him.
Maybe he
realizes that,
hey,
the first two
rounds,
Jesus won
and that's
not working.
So let's
get rid of
all pretenses
and let's
get down
right to
it.
Jesus,
I'll give
you all
this stuff
if you'll
just
worship me.
And in
so doing,
in verse
nine,
we see
the vain
glorious
imposter
that Satan
is.
If you'll
fall down
and worship
me.
Let's just
think about
it this
way.
The devil
who's a
created
being
is tempting
the son
of God,
the eternal
son of
God,
second person
of the
trinity,
to worship
him,
a created
being.
This is
blatant
idolatry.
I mean,
it verges on
being ridiculous.
Satan has
always wanted
what belongs
to God
alone,
exclusive
worship.
What caused
the fall of
Satan to
begin with
was his
lifting himself
up to the
place of
God to be
worshiped.
And he got
expelled from
God's presence
because of
it.
He's a
glory stealer.
And so what
Satan wants
is for the
son of God
to bow down
and worship
him.
In order for
the son of
God to bow
down and
worship him,
the son of
God would
have to turn
his back
on the
father and
say,
sorry,
I'm no
longer
exclusively
devoted to
you.
I'm going
to get all
these kingdoms
in order to
worship him.
It's the
cardinal sin.
It's the
worship of
another God.
But it's
also a
shortcut.
What Satan
is offering
Jesus is
all the
kingdoms of
the world
without
suffering.
It's
undermining
the very
mission of
the
son of
God.
Would you
turn in
your
Bibles to
Matthew
chapter 28?
This
comes after
Jesus
suffers,
after he's
crucified,
dead,
buried,
and raised
from the
dead.
I just
want your
eyes to
fall upon
something.
Matthew
chapter 28
verse 18.
This is the
great commission.
This is after
all of his
suffering.
And Jesus
came and
said to
his disciples,
all authority
in heaven
and on
earth has
been given
to me.
All of
it's mine.
It comes
after his
work on the
cross.
In order
for Jesus
to accomplish
his mission,
he would have
to suffer.
Jesus knew
full well that
what lied
ahead of him
was pain
and hardship,
betrayal,
that he would
have to bear
the very
wrath of the
Father in
order to
save a
people for
himself.
And Satan
very subtly
here is saying,
hey, I'll give you
a shortcut.
I'll give you all
the kingdoms of the
world and their
glory if you
just bow down
and worship me.
And then we
see in verse
10,
Jesus brings
this bout to
an end.
Be gone,
Satan, for it
is written.
Be gone,
Satan, for it
is written.
We're done here,
Satan, for it
is written.
Deuteronomy 6.13,
you shall worship
the Lord your God
and him only,
him only,
exclusive worship
and service.
Him only
shall you serve.
Now, Israel
failed that test,
but Jesus,
the true Son,
is faithful.
He proves
himself to be
faithful in his
worship of his
Father.
What Jesus is
saying in
Deuteronomy 6.13
is that I
submit to his
word, my
Father's word,
not your word.
I don't buy
your little
half promise.
I don't buy
the shortcut.
I see what God
the Father has
called me to as
a son.
And I'm going
to stick to
it.
I'm going to
do it.
Jesus is saying,
I worship and
serve not no
one but my
Father.
I'm exclusively
and wholeheartedly
and by the way,
happily devoted to
him and his will.
He says,
get out of
here.
Get.
I belong to
him.
Winner of
round three,
Jesus.
He proves
himself to be
the true
son of God,
the one who
trusts and
obeys his
father.
He's been
through some
extreme temptations
and he's shown
himself faithful.
And then in
verse 11,
we see the
triumph.
Don't miss
that first
little phrase,
then the devil
left him.
Jesus told
him to leave
and the devil
left.
The devil
obeyed.
And then
what we see
is the
angels come
and minister
to him.
Surely they
brought with
them food.
Surely they
brought with
them encouragement
for his
obedience.
And surely
this is the
right working
out of Psalm
91.
Jesus the
son has
entrusted
himself to
the father
and the
father commanded
his angels
concerning him
and they met
his needs.
Jesus triumphed
over Satan's
temptations
proving himself
to be the
true son
of God.
This says
he's ready
to go.
He's walked
through it.
He's resisted
the devil's
temptations.
He's prepared
to start
his ministry.
A light
has
dawned.
Now
I want to
point to
three things
to walk
away with.
The first
is
man
I was
trying to
wrestle through
this this
week.
Do I
apply anything?
Because it's
awesome to
see Jesus
just resisting
the devil
successfully.
It's
awesome.
What a
God we
have.
What a
king.
What a
savior.
He did
what none
of us
could do.
He
perfectly
lived a
righteous life.
Not once
did he give
himself to
temptation.
Not once.
He did
what none
of us
could do.
And then
he died
in our
place for
our unfaithfulness.
What a
God we
got.
What a
savior.
What a
king.
His
obedience
from
beginning to
end secured
our salvation.
He
submitted
himself to
the will
of the
father even
to the
cross.
That's
one thing.
Rejoice
in your
savior.
Second
thing.
Jesus is
able to
help you
when you're
tempted.
Because
Jesus
suffered
when he
was
tempted.
Would
you turn
your
Bibles
to
Hebrews
chapter 2
verse 18.
I just
want you
to let
this sink
into your
heart a
little bit
because all
of us
are facing
temptations
right?
I just
want to
let you
know
Jesus
gets
it.
He's
been
there.
He knows
what it's
like to
be
tempted.
He can
sympathize
with our
weaknesses.
But not
only can
he
sympathize,
he can
help
you.
He's
able to
help you.
He's
willing to
help you.
Hebrews
2
18.
For
because he
himself has
suffered when
tempted,
he is
able to
help those
who are
being
tempted.
Anybody
tempted in
the room?
Anybody?
Yes.
We're all
tempted.
And you
know what?
Instead of
letting that
kind of
distance you
from your
Savior,
recognize he
is ready and
able to
help you in
the temptation
because he
himself has
been tempted
yet without
sinning.
You know
what you
do when
tempted?
Here's what
I do.
Jesus,
help me in
the middle of
the night when
my anxiety
meter is off
the charts,
when my fears
are going,
when I don't
know what's
going to
happen.
I'm trying to
cling to
things and
make sense
of things and
I can't because
my brain is
not big enough.
I start to
freak out.
You know
what I do?
Jesus,
help me in
my bed.
My wife has
heard it.
Jesus,
help me.
He's able to
help us when
tempted.
He knows
what it's
like.
The last
thing,
the third
thing,
when temptations
come,
Jesus shows
us how to
resist temptation.
We resist
temptation by
reciting God's
word.
In order to
recite God's
word, it's
got to be on
our hearts.
Psalm 119,
11, I
have stored
up your
word in
my heart
that I
may not
sin against
you.
We don't
read the
Bible just
to read the
Bible.
We read the
Bible to
fight.
We read the
Bible to
resist.
Can we be a
church that
regularly says
when tempted,
it is written.
It is written.
When you're
tempted to
greed, it is
written.
When you're
tempted to
sexual immorality,
it's written.
Sinful anger,
it's written.
Unforgiveness and
bitterness, it is
written.
Condemnation, it
is written.
There's another
thing I've found
myself doing in
the middle of
the night.
Lying in my
bed, and these
thoughts come in
of past sins I've
committed, and I
start to think,
what a miserable
wretch I am, and I
start thinking more
about my sin than
about the Savior who
saved me from it, and
you know what comes
into my head?
It is written.
There is therefore
now no condemnation
for those who are in
Christ Jesus.
If God is for me, who
can be against me?
There's nothing that
separates me from the
love of God, not even
my own sin.
when you're afraid, it
is written.
God is with me.
When you're anxious, it
is written.
Don't be anxious for
anything, but in all
things with prayer and
supplication, make your
request to God, and He'll
give you the peace of
God which transcends on
all understanding.
When you're questioning
your worth, it is
written.
I am the apple of His
eye.
When you're facing
discouragement, it is
written.
This I call to mind, and
therefore I have hope.
The steadfast love of the
Lord never ceases.
When you're tempted to
gossip, it is written.
I will use my lips to
build up.
Ephesians 4.29.
Where are you tempted?
Where are you regularly
tempted?
Are you saying it is
written to it?
Are you resisting it?
And maybe you're sitting
and you're saying, well, I
know where I'm being
tempted, but I don't know
where it is written.
Ask for help.
Because surely there is
another saint in this room
who's been tempted by the
same thing, and they have
an it is written right
there in the top pocket of
their heart that they can
share with you.
Let's seek each other's
help for finding out what
is written so that we can
honor our Savior in
resisting the temptations
of the devil.
We can live in his
victory that way.
Jesus is the true Son of God.
He fully entrusted, obeyed the
Father.
His obedience secured our
salvation, and it compels us
to be faithful and true
ourselves.
Let's pray.
God in heaven, we are a tempted
people.
And we have a Savior who trusted
and obeyed and never, never
wavered.
He was tempted in every way, yet
without sin.
And God, we rejoice in our Savior
who won this bout with the devil,
and then through his death,
through his resurrection,
he triumphed over the power
of sin.
And we are now united with him
in his death and resurrection,
and so we're dead to sin and
alive to God in Christ Jesus.
And we give you thanks for that,
God.
Help us to rejoice in our Savior.
Help us to fight with it as
written in Jesus' name.
Amen.