1 John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You
have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in
you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
In the 1970s comedian Flip Wilson made "The Devil made
me do it" a national catchphrase. As host of his own TV variety show, Flip
Wilson created a recurring character named Geraldine. And every time her
husband accused her of doing something wrong, whether it was buying a dress
that was too expensive, or crashing the car into the side of the church, her
excuse was always the same: "It wasn't me. The Devil made me do it."
Many of us grew up hearing that catchphrase, and its affected
the way we see the devil. We believe he has the power to "make" us do
things. Or we imagine him as a little guy wearing a red suit, with a pitchfork,
sitting on our left shoulder, whispering in our ear. And meanwhile, there's a
little angel perched on our right shoulder, trying to counteract whatever
temptation the devil is whispering to us. And in the cartoons, the devil
usually won. (Taken from http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4)
Is the Devil as powerful as
God? Let us read again 1 John 4:4 “But
you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those
people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who
lives in the world.” Emphatically
NO!
Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV) As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went
up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said,
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Jesus has just had the spiritual high of his life. He has heard the Father say he was loved by
the Father and was well pleasing to him.
He also received the infilling and anointing of the Holy Spirit. Then in
Matthew 4 we read of the temptation of Jesus, his lowest moment.
We need to clarify something here. God never tempts anyone. James 1:13 And remember, when you are being
tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,
and he never tempts anyone else. God
does, however, test us. James 1:2-4
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider
it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is
fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
We read in Hebrews that Jesus was tempted but he did not
sin. How did he overcome
temptation? Hebrews 4:15 “This High
Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same
testings we do, yet he did not sin.”
Matthew 4:1-11 gives us some keys to overcoming temptation.
1. Jesus prepared through prayer and fasting. Verses 1-2: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty
nights he fasted and became very hungry.”
We see here that the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We live in an instant culture;
instant potatoes, t.v. on demand, instant messaging (it seems no one writes
letters anymore), instant oatmeal, etc.
We have lost the art/understanding of tarrying (waiting). When I was growing up, I remember prayer
meetings that lasted 3-4 hours and church services that ran long into the night
(we still had to get up for school on Monday!)
We prayed/tarried until we heard from God. We also prayed for a need until our prayers
were met (days, weeks, months, even years in some cases. Today we get upset if prayer meeting (if we
even attend) goes over an hour or if our church services run longer than an
hour and a half. We also have lost our
waiting skills. We want God to speak/answer in or time (instantly).
Isaiah 40:31 teaches us why it is
important to wait: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.“ (KJV)
Jesus stayed in the wilderness for
40 days and 40 nights fasting and praying.
Talk about waiting!
2. Jesus used the Word against the enemy. Verses 3-10, During that time the devil came
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves
of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the
devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple,
and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He
will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures
also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to
the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down
and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures
say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Jesus was God, yet he was fully human while
he walked on the earth. As a man, he had
to use the same tools we do to overcome temptation. The primary tool he used was the Word. In each of the three temptations, he quoted
scripture to silence the enemy. It is
vital for us to be students of the Word.
We need to read, study, and memorize the Word so that when we are
tempted or in need we have God’s truths to draw upon for ammunition or for
strength.
3. The final thing we see from Matthew 4 is: when
we resist the devil he flees and the Spirit ministers to us. This is found in verse 11, “Then the devil
went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” When we resist the devil he has to flee.
James 4:7 “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.” “Don't miss the word
"flee." Flee is something someone does when he is on the run from a
superior force. The devil's a coward. He picks on us when we are feeling weak,
but he turns tail when we show the first sign of strength. And he knows that
there are plenty of easier targets than a Christ follower who stands up to him
with God's Word!” (Taken from http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4)
We also see in verse 11 that after the
devil flees the Spirit ministers to us bringing peace and strength. He also begins equipping us for the next
battle.
In conclusion, we see from the Temptation
of Jesus that the first way to overcome temptation is to use the Word.
The second way to resist temptation is to
understand how temptation works. We are tempted when desire and opportunity
come together. Think of every time you gave in to a temptation. It always
happens at the intersection of desire and opportunity. So when you feel the
desire to sin, ask God to remove the opportunity. When you have the opportunity
to sin, ask God to take away the desire. Remember, God will always provide a
way of escape. Look for it. It may be that you can get yourself out of the
situation in which you have the opportunity to sin. (Taken from
http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-devil-made-me-do-it-sin-temptation-matthew-4)
1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in
your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He
will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are
tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
The
Remodel: Understanding that the devil has no more power than we give him. We can use the Word to silence his voice in
our mind and resist the temptation he throws at us. The Devil Can’t Make Us Do ANYTHING!!!
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