Jesus Helps Us Fight Temptation
March 8, 2009
Part 2 of 2009 Lent series: “Who Do You Say Jesus Is?”
We are using the season of Lent this year to think about who Jesus is – and what Jesus means to us.
I’m asking you to focus on one basic question:
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Who is Jesus – for you?
Remember that in Mark 8:27-29 Jesus questions the disciples about who “people” said that He was. They came up with a list of things people said about Jesus – that He was Elijah, that He was John the Baptist, or that He was another of the Old Testament prophets who had risen from the dead.
Jesus then made the question more personal by asking who they said that He was.
That’s when Peter made His confession that Jesus was the Christ.
You know – it didn’t really matter what others said about Jesus – did it?
What mattered was who Jesus was to the disciples.
What mattered was who they said Jesus was.
What mattered was that Jesus was the Christ. – the Savior – the only way to salvation – for them.
What mattered was that they said Jesus was their Lord and Savior.
The same is true for us.
You can listen to me talk about who Jesus is – or listen to others tell who they think Jesus is – but what really matters is who you say that Jesus is – who is Jesus for you.
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Who is Jesus – for you?
We’re looking at several answers to that question during Lent.
Last week we saw that the most important answer we can give to this question is that Jesus is my Savior.
Until you can say that Jesus is your Savior it doesn’t matter what else we say about Him – but once we can say that Jesus is our Savior – we can say other things about Him – things like:
1. Jesus is the one who helps me resist temptation
2. Jesus is the one who gave of Himself for me
3. Jesus is the one who keeps me holy
4. Jesus is the one I want to tell others about
5. Jesus is the one I follow
Today we’re going to look at how Jesus can help you fight temptation.
Listen to how Jesus fought temptation as we read from Matthew 4:1-11:
Read Scripture
This is an amazing story, offering a unique insight into the nature and character of Jesus.
For one thing, it’s one of the few stories told about an event in the life of Jesus in which there are no eye witnesses. How did Matthew (or any of Jesus’ disciples) know about the temptation He faced in the desert? There’s only way they could have known. He told him them about it. At some point during His time of ministry on earth, He must have told His disciples about the time He spent in the desert, battling temptation in a showdown with the devil. William Barclay calls this story “the most sacred of stories” because in it “Jesus is laying bare his inmost heart and soul.”
Apparently, Jesus shared with His followers about the struggles He faced – and I am sure He faced them. But – He defeated them – and can strengthen us to defeat them also.
Another interesting point in this story is that this story reminds us that Jesus was truly human. Matthew says – that after fasting 40 days and nights, He was hungry. I can certainly identify with that – can’t you? Matthew’s words give evidence that this story wasn’t just a legend created by the early church, because it emphasizes the humanity of Jesus. There has always been a tendency among some followers of Christ to strip away his humanity and make him completely unreal. This is the image some people have of Him—He was so divine that he never cried as a child, never skinned His knee, never drove a crooked nail as He worked as a carpenter, because He was divine. Some like to believe that Jesus just went through life floating around on a little cloud about six feet off the ground.
That wasn’t Jesus. He wasn’t like that. He became one of us—fully human – so He face the same temptations we face – but He defeated them.
Have you ever seen the movie King of Kings? The scene of Jesus being tempted in the desert was probably the most unrealistic in the entire film. After being in the desert 40 days and nights without food and water, His hair wasn’t even messed up. As He faced temptation, He never showed any sign of struggle. In fact, He showed no emotion at all. He spoke in a voice that I can only describe as “Shakespearean monotone.” There was nothing at all believable about the scene
I prefer to see that this story tells us that Jesus was human, Jesus was tempted, and He had power over temptation. I like to believe that because it gives me hope – and gives all of us hope. When I am tempted, I can call on Jesus – and have power over temptation – just as He had.
So can you.
That’s exactly what the writer of the book of Hebrews was telling us when he said,
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. (Hebrews 4:15)
Jesus overcame temptation so that you and I can overcome temptation.
Jesus overcame temptation so that you and I can say:
Jesus helps me fight temptation.
After you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, one of the things you need to be able to say about Jesus is:
Jesus helps me fight temptation.
This story shows us 3 things Jesus gives us the power to do as we fight temptation:
1. Expect it.
Temptation is inevitable. Even good people are tempted. Even people who walk in the Spirit are tempted. Matthew said.. .
(v. 1) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Did you get that?
He was led by the Spirit. He was doing exactly what God wanted him to do, and still he faced temptation.
Sometimes we might have a tendency to think – in the midst of battling temptation — that God must have abandoned us or there must be something wrong with us, or else we wouldn’t be experiencing temptation in our lives. That’s not true. Even good people experience temptation. Even people who’s lives are led by the Holy Spirit experience temptation.
We can’t misunderstand the situation here, though.
The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but it wasn’t God who tempted Jesus. God doesn’t tempt you to sin; He doesn’t try to entice you with evil opportunities. You might be lead into tempting situations even if you are following God’s will, but continuing to follow God in tempting situations – and the example Jesus gives us – can give us victory.
In our judicial system there are laws against entrapment. When an undercover cop is trying to bust people for buying drugs, he can’t walk up to someone and say, “Hey you want to buy some drugs?…Come on, try it, you’ll like it. Just think of how good you’ll feel. All your problems will go away. Come on, don’t be scared.” etc. etc. A cop can’t do that, because it would be considered entrapment.
God does not tempt us, but gives us power over temptation.
Another thing we need to realize is that temptation: it often follows a “peak” experience in our lives.
Right before Jesus went to the desert to be tempted, He was baptized by John the Baptist. It is a moving scene. John declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and after he baptized Jesus, the Spirit came down in the form of dove and the voice of God declared that Jesus was God’s Son. This was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and undoubtedly an exciting time in His life: He was about to begin the work God had called him to do. And then — immediately after this powerful event, Jesus faced the devil one on one.
It doesn’t make sense, does it? But that’s what often happens in our lives. After a peak experience, we often find ourselves alone in the desert. In his book The Winner Within NBA coach Pat Riley talks about how difficult it is for a championship team to win a second consecutive championship, because that peak experience leads to a whole new type of struggle among the players. If you’re not ready for success, it can be quite difficult to handle. That’s why Benjamin Franklin said, “Success has ruined many a man.”
It is significant to note that after Jesus was declared by John the Baptist to be the Messiah, the next event in his life was a time of temptation in the desert. The next event in his life was not the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, where thousands gathered to shout “Hosanna” in his presence. It wasn’t the feeding of the 5,000, and it wasn’t the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It was 40 lonely days and nights in the desert without food and water. Jesus faced a time of temptation.
A peak experience in life is often followed by a time of temptation, or a time of struggle.
When things are going good for us, we have a tendency to think “I’ve arrived. This is it. I’ll be on top from now on.” It doesn’t work that way in anyone’s life. When you succeed in a big way, you can expect a time of testing to follow soon afterward.
Don’t be surprised by temptation — expect it.
Another thing to expect: Temptation attacks you where you are most vulnerable.
Don’t be surprised by it – expect it!
After Jesus had been alone in the desert 40 days and nights without food and water, the tempter came to him and said,
(v. 3) “If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Why did Satan say this?
Because he knew that Jesus was hungry.
He knew that the idea of eating food was the most tempting thought he could put in Jesus’ mind. He wanted Jesus to abuse His power for His own needs, and so He attacked Him where He was, at that moment, most vulnerable: he tried to get Him to eat.
Here’s a fact of life: Temptation doesn’t hit you where you’re strong; it hits you where you’re weak.
If your business is thriving but your marriage is on the rocks, guess where the tempter will attack. If you have a strong family life, but you’re going through some struggles at work, guess where the tempter will attack. He’ll find where you’re vulnerable, and he’ll go after it.
In a football game, when a key player gets injured and is replaced by an inexperienced rookie, what does the other team do? They start trying to take advantage of the inexperienced player – going after the team where it is at it’s weakest point.
That’s exactly how temptation presents itself in our lives. It hits us where we’re weak. It hits us where we’re vulnerable.
Does that mean we have to throw in the towel and give in to temptation? No. It means we have to rise to the occasion, and face temptation in God’s strength. Jesus was at the point of starvation, and He didn’t give in.
After you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, one of the things you need to be able to say about Jesus is:
Jesus helps me fight temptation.
To experience the power Jesus can give you over temptation, one thing you need to do is to expect it temptation. It happens to everyone, even good people; it frequently comes after a major victory in life; and it often hits us where we are weakest.
Expect it.
A second thing you need to do to experience the power Jesus can give you over temptation is to understand it.
2. Understand it.
Many times we lose the battle against temptation because we don’t understand how temptation works in our lives. Temptation is, by its very nature, deceptive. It often presents itself to us in a type of twisted logic. Matthew tells us that the devil took Jesus to the Holy City and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple, and then he said,
(v. 6) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.”
Then, notice what Satan did next. He quoted Scripture at Jesus. He said,
(v. 6) “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.’”
Do you see what Satan was doing? He quoted Scripture knowing that Jesus knew it was absolutely true, but he was trying to get Jesus to apply it in a twisted, self-serving way. He was saying, “Come on, Jesus. God will take care of you. Jump.” And there was an unspoken implication, “Or do you really believe God will take care of you? Maybe he won’t, if you’re not really the Messiah.”
An un unscrupulous insurance salesman’s most effective tactic is to tell the prospect that if he really cared about his family, he would buy insurance. If the prospect turns down the sales pitch, the savvy agent might say – especially if the family is present: “Are you telling me that your family isn’t worth 50 cents a day to you?” A life insurance salesmen might know what buttons to push to get people to accept his offer. In the same way, Satan knows what buttons to push, too. And he’ll use whatever twisted logic he can. When we’re especially mad at our spouses, Satan might say something like:
“You know that God wants you to be happy, right? And you know that you’ll never be happy as long as you’re married to this person. So God must want you to get a divorce…Unless, of course, you believe that God just wants you to be miserable for the rest of your life.”
Or he’ll say, “God doesn’t want your family to do without the necessities of life, and you need your money much more than the government needs it, so cut some corners on your income taxes. Spend that money on your kids. Unless, of course, you think God doesn’t want you to have enough to live on.”
Very few people can be tempted with the idea of doing something bad just for the sake of doing something bad. But we can all be tempted with the idea of doing something bad in order to get something that we might think is good.
Satan tempted Jesus to jump from the temple in order to prove to the world that he was God’s anointed Messiah. He tried to get him to do something wrong in order to accomplish something good…but Jesus understood temptation well enough to see through Satan’s twisted logic.
To tap into the power of Jesus over temptation, you need to understand temptation.
You need to understand that it is deceptive.
Another thing you need to understand is that it often promises what God has already provided.
Matthew tells us that Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said,
(v. 9) “All this I will give to you if you bow down and worship me.”
There is something ridiculous about Satan’s words, because he was offering to give Jesus that which God had already given Him. God had already declared Jesus to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He had declared that all of creation would worship Him, every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That has been God’s promise to Jesus throughout all eternity. This is His world, and yet, Satan offered it to Him.
That’s the way temptation works.
It often offers something that it can’t really give…something that only God can give. Temptation will say to you, “Do this and you’ll be happy. Do this and you’ll have peace of mind. Do this and you’ll feel good about yourself.” But the devil can’t give you happiness, because it isn’t the devil’s to give. He can promise you the world, but he can’t give you the world, because it really isn’t his to give. Only God can give you happiness. Only God can give you peace of mind. Only God can give you a sense of well-being.
So, understand this about temptation: It promises more than it can deliver.
You need to understand temptation if you are going to tap into the power of Jesus to overcome temptation. You need t understand that it’s deceptive – and that it promises more than it can deliver. You also need to understand is that it doesn’t last forever.
When Jesus resisted the tempter, the tempter finally went away. Too often we give in to temptation because we think, I can’t fight this forever. You don’t have to. Temptation doesn’t last forever.
James said,
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Resisting temptation doesn’t make you weaker, it makes you stronger.
When Jesus overcame temptation, it didn’t mean he was through with temptation for the rest of his life. He had to deal with it again and again throughout his ministry.
After you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, one of the things you need to be able to say about Jesus is:
Jesus helps me fight temptation.
To experience the power Jesus can give you over temptation, one thing you need to do is to expect it temptation. It happens to everyone, even good people; it frequently comes after a major victory in life; and it often hits us where we are weakest. You also have to understand it – understand how it is deceptive – how it promises more that it can deliver – how it won’t stay forever but also won’t go away forever, either.
Expect it. Understand it.
Thirdly – you have to attack it.
3. Attack it.
How did Jesus respond to temptation? He responded with the Word of God. Every time the devil tempted Jesus, he responded by saying, “It is written.” There is something about the words of Scripture that give us strength in overcoming temptation.
There was a pastor who had a problem with exaggeration to the point of being deceptive. If there were 850 people at church, he would round it up to 1000. If he had 6 appointments in one day, he would say he had 10. If he paid $100 for something, he’d tell you he paid $200, or he’d tell you he’d paid $50, depending on which way he was trying to impress you. God began to convict him of this kind of deception, and he began making an effort to develop the “virtue of accuracy.” When he was tempted to exaggerate, he would repeat to himself a verse from Proverbs:
The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight, (Proverbs 11:1)
Saying this verse to himself again and again helped him overcome the sin of lying.
When it comes to attacking temptation, the Word of God is your first line of defense. The more you know Scripture, and use it, the more power you’ll experience power over temptation.
When you’re facing temptation, remind yourself that if you resist the devil, he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
When you’re tempted to lie, remind yourself that accurate weights delight the Lord (Proverbs 11:1).
Therefore, we need to make an effort to know the Word.
Now, you can’t memorize the whole Bible, and you don’t have to. What I have learned is that when I read the Bible on a daily basis, God speaks to me about what I am going through at that time in my life. I can’t tell you the number of times I have faced something during the day that is directly related to what I read earlier that morning in the Bible. You attack temptation with the Word of God.
To experience the power Jesus can give you over temptation, attack it with the Word of God.
You attack temptation by confronting temptation.
Matthew tells us that when Satan tempted Jesus to bow down and worship him, Jesus said,
(v. 10) Away from me, Satan!
He did not run from the tempter, he confronted him, and told him, basically, to get lost.
Let me ask you a question. How do you speak to your tempter? Do you hear yourself whining, “Oh no. Temptation is so strong and I’m so weak. I’ll never win this battle.” Or do you stand strong and boldly say, “Get lost! There’s no way I’m going to commit that sin!”
I read of a Christian businessman in a business meeting in which one of his clients tried to persuade him to cut some corners that were, at the very least, unethical. He confronted the man and said something along the lines of, “Are you suggesting what it sounds like you’re suggesting?” The man hemmed and hawed and finally said, “Yes.” The man stood up and said, “This meeting is over. And so is our relationship.” Then he stormed out of the office — and it was his office! The client sat there dumbfounded. The man came back in about 15 seconds later and said, “Did you hear me? The meeting is over. Leave.” And he sat down at his desk and started going through his mail. The thing is that man desperately needed the business this client offered – but he didn’t want the client’s money bad enough to cheat others, so he kicked him out of his office.
That’s the way we need to deal with temptation in our life. When it makes it’s appeal, we need to cut it off mid-sentence, so to speak, and say, “I won’t even discuss it. Get away from me.” You don’t have to cower in the face of temptation. You can confront it boldly, because you’re not confronting it in your own strength, but in God’s strength.
To tap into the power of Jesus over temptation, you need to attack it. You can do this with God’s word – and by confronting it. Another way you attack temptation is to re-affirm your commitment to God. Jesus said…
(v. 10) Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Jesus was saying, “Leave me alone, because I belong to God, and I don’t belong to you. I worship him, I don’t worship you.”
When I was little, and one of my older sisters would try to get me to do something I didn’t want to do, I would say: “You’re not my boss!”
Maybe you’ve heard one of your kids say that – or maybe you’ve said that yourself.
That’s how we need to respond to temptation. We need to say, “You’re not my boss. Jesus is my boss. I don’t serve you, I serve him.” When you face temptation, reaffirm your commitment to God. Remind yourself that you belong to Him, that He is your Lord.
Temptation is a fact of life.
To tap into the power of Jesus over temptation you need to expect it.
Temptation is insidious, so make sure you understand it.
Most of all, remember that temptation isn’t all powerful, so attack it. Not in your own strength, but in God’s strength. You attack it with the Word of God; you attack by confronting it and telling it to get lost; you attack by re-affirming your commitment to the Lordship of Christ.
Jesus experienced power over temptation, and you can too, if you follow his example.
So – who do you day that Jesus is?
After you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, one of the things you can say about Jesus is:
Jesus helps me fight temptation.
To experience the power Jesus can give you over temptation, one thing you need to do is to expect temptation. It happens to everyone, even good people; it frequently comes after a major victory in life; and it often hits us where we are weakest.
You also have to understand it – understand how it is deceptive – understand how it promises more that it can deliver – and how it won’t stay forever but also won’t go away forever, either.
You also have to confront it – with the Word of God and the power of God – and by reaffirming your faith in God in the face of temptation.
By the power of Christ – we can fight temptation.
By the power of Christ – you can say:
Jesus helps me fight temptation Amen.
