The Temptation of Christ - Matthew 4 Sermon

[Music] so [Music] good morning everybody i'd like to welcome you to our online service this morning um as you may know from and i'm sure you know because you're at home but our services have been postponed uh in person we're still going to meet together here online which is amazing the lord's provided this for us but uh we made that decision uh because of the state of the kova situation on our island and in our hospitals as you may be aware uh but uh despite that we're going to worship together in person and thank the lord that we get to do that let us open with the word from the psalms psalm 75 1-2 says this we give thanks to you o god we give thanks for your name is near we recount your wondrous deeds and you know what we do give thanks to god we give thanks to god for all that he's done for us let's begin with the word of prayer father god we are grateful for this opportunity that we can gather here together via youtube each morning here god we are grateful for this technology we're grateful that you've given us a church that is able to do this god might you meet us in our homes this morning god as pastor paul brings your word to us god might you it might encourage us and spur us on to continue in growing in our faith god we know that the situation on our island is very tense at the moment and and things are moving quite fast but god we pray your protection over everyone on our island god with our medical professionals with those who are afflicted with kovid god we pray that you would you would help them you would guide them god and most of all that you would bring them to yourself so that as we worship this morning uh god might you fill us with what we need to be able to go on this week and to be your hands and feet in our island father we thank you so much we pray these things in jesus name amen please join us as we sing how great thou art [Music] [Music] the world's [Music] i see the stars [Music] display [Music] how great thou art [Music] how great [Music] and when i think that god is [Music] to take away my my savior [Music] my savior [Music] sings my soul my savior [Music] art how great thou art [Music] savior god to thee [Music] how great happened [Music] well let me share a few announcements with you as we continue our service um with our current covet situation i just want to let you know from our leadership that we will communicate week to week in the next few weeks uh whether or not we will be back in person we'll kind of take it take the information that we're given by the government and what's going on in our island and and uh just decide whether or not we should be meeting in person and so just keep an eye out on your emails on all of our communication channels for what will be happening for our in-person services we have a another amazing opportunity for us as a church to serve one another and in particular are missionaries and so in the ecb updates if you've read those you would have seen that we have a new initiative to share christmas cards with our missionaries we have 15 missionaries that our church faithfully supports each and every month and year and we want to bless them with christmas christmas cards with wishes from us as a church and so in the email it would give you the instructions on how to do that so the options are to buy a christmas card to create one uh to send them in and uh what i wanted to do is just to highlight the date that the cards need to be in all the information again is on ecb updates but if you can get your cards in before october 17th so you have plenty of time between now and then to get your cards looking amazing as we share christmas wishes with our missionaries so again october 17th is that day that you need to bring them into the office and then in the office they'll sort them and send them to the correct missionary our gilbert institute project is still up and running we have had great interest and donations so far this week and so i want to let you know that this project will run up until september 26th so it's not this sunday but next sunday will be the final sunday and then we'll prepare the items for the school and to get them what they need and so you have another two weeks in order to pray and to ask god for for guidance as to how to give and you can do that online you can drop cash or or check in the church mailbox and we'll make sure that your funds go towards that project towards our local school as we look to bless them and their teachers amp and olympians will again be on pause this week as we uh navigate this current covet situation uh we just want to let you know that uh our kids ministries are not they're not stopped we're continuing to consider how we move forward and so but this week and this week coming will be on pause again life group sign up is still taking place again we're navigating the kuvit landscape to figure out how we'll begin this whether it be online through zoom or if we can do it in person but sign-ups will still take place you can email me pastor dramico ecb.bm and we can get you on one of the live groups in addition to that we'll send out the an email with the life groups that are available so you'll know uh what life groups are available for you to sign up and to be a part of so those are our announcements for this week if you need anything if you need a word of prayer if you need someone to chat with pastor paul and i are just a phone call away please feel free to contact the office to give us a call on our cell phones we'd love to pray for you to chat with you uh and during this time of maybe not shelter in place but staying within your bubbles and so feel free to take that up for each one of us so join us as we sing again we're going to sing in christ alone [Music] he is [Music] what hides [Music] in christ alone [Music] the wrath of god was satisfied every sin on [Music] the him is [Music] from jesus [Music] returns [Music] i'll or till he returns or calls me home [Music] here in the power of christ i'll stand [Music] alive good morning everyone good to be in your home today if you've got a copy of the word of god we are in matthew chapter four matthew chapter four and i'm going to read to you verses 1 through 11. hear the word of the lord 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 and the tempter came and said to him if you are the son of god command these stones to become loaves of bread but he answered it is written man shall live man shall 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 and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself down for it is written he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone jesus said to him again it is written you shall not put the lord your god to the test again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and he said to him all these i will give to you if you will fall down and worship me then jesus said to him begone satan for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only shall you serve then the devil left him and behold angels came and were ministering to him this is god's word i know many of you are are disappointed that we're not in person right now i'm one of them i i would i would love to see your faces uh and not just have you see my face uh but but again i i we we make decisions as a leadership team and uh this this was the unanimous decision that that we went with according to the state of of our island right now and so we pray it's for a short time and and the key is we pray and we we know that as we continue to pray the lord will see us through and we will meet again and it will be joyous once again let's let's spend a little bit of time in prayer before we get into our sermon today father we want to give you thanks again for this medium in which we can gather virtually thank you for the the technology you've afforded us and lord we recognize that there are many others that are without this and we pray you would be with each one who is unable to stream in their home thank you for their faithfulness and we do pray that we would be able to be back in person especially for their benefit father we bring before you our government and lord we pray that you would grant them wisdom from above wisdom to navigate the current outbreak the current hospital situation uh father uh help them as as your ministers of governance in this in this country father we also pray for our health care workers in the hospital father we have we have some some nurses that that are part of our church family father we pray for for for all of them that you would you would give them the stamina in order to continue on uh help them as as they tirelessly work in their in their calling and and we thank you for each one uh father we pray you would protect them and and guard them as well from the anxiety that i'm sure is is part of the work environment at this very moment father we also pray that you would continue to help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of the lord jesus christ we recognize that each and every thing that happens in our life is is not it's not just chance we know that you have a grand plan over over everything that happens and so father we recognize that that there is there is growth opportunity during this time and not only that we recognize that that the fields are white for harvest and father we know we're talking about souls here uh there there are people that don't know the wonderful news of jesus christ and what he has done for us and so we pray that that this time would would draw other people to you father be with those who are sick in in hospital not only of our own church family but but others as well in our community lord we pray for for them and we pray for their recovery and we also pray that you would be with their families who are worried strengthen them we ask father it seems there is is so much to to pray for and thank you that this is an avenue that we cannot exhaust for able to grant each request according to your will help us as we look now into your word instruct us and give us hope we pray in jesus name amen well the beginning of chapter four of our study in in matthew's gospel account is widely known as the temptation of christ i've always known it to be to be a textbook of of how to overcome temptation and and certainly it is it is not less than that but the bible as a whole is more importantly a message of hope than a manual for humanity there's tremendous hope found in this encounter with the demonic the overall lesson is is not about tactics but about trust so let's let's jump in and go through this narrative and see see what we can see let me read the first couple verses to you once again 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 the first line is important because it gives us the gives us the the reminder to to look back right that word then that's important matthew is reminding us that that right right after jesus is is baptized and and the spirit of god lands on him and he's led by that same spirit into the wilderness to be tempted or tested by the devil the mountaintop experience of jesus baptist baptism leads directly to a trial but it's it's by design by design as the holy spirit is is leading jesus in that direction we're told he is led to the wilderness now in the bible the wilderness is a place of of testing of trial when israel did not believe god when it came to dwelling in the promised land which was across the jordan river god had them wander in the wilderness for for 40 years it was a it was a time of of not only judgment but of testing for them and speaking of 40 years we also have that 40 in this account as well having see seeing that jesus is fasting for 40 days and nights so the author is really trying to get us thinking back to those days when israel was in the wilderness it was it was doubt that led israel to wander in the wilderness for 40 years they failed to believe god's promise that came through abraham and isaac and jacob and joseph and moses it was doubt that led them there and it was doubt in god that continued as they faced the trials in the wilderness there is no surprise that that we see this theme of doubt in this temptation narrative as well look look at verse 3 and the tempter came and said to him if you are the son of god command these stones to become loaves of bread the second temptation starts in the same way in verse six if you are the son of god i i i reminded you of that of that glorious post-baptismal event when jesus was affirmed as the well-pleasing son of god that that reality is now being questioned by the devil right would god the father lead his beloved son to the barren wilderness the whole the whole nature of his beloved sonship is is being questioned and and would be and would be questioned as jesus would face far worse than the wilderness the identity of jesus is being brought into question he is the beloved son of god and that's being questioned you know if you're a gospel believing christian you have that same identity as a beloved child of god that that identity is is almost always brought into question when things get difficult right when you're in the wilderness throw difficulty into life and we wonder if god really does love us am i am i really a beloved child to him or even does god exist the key is to go back to where our identity is found right that's that's why this whole narrative starts off with then it's begging us to go back it's it's our identity is found in jesus coming as the perfect human right what what we could never be and enduring the consequences we deserve as rebels against god we obtain the right to become children of god when we put our faith and trust in christ alone to receive his right standing with god because we don't have one on our own that identity doesn't change when the circumstances around you change but we tend to think that way because because difficult circumstances end up taking front stage and we find ourselves forgetting the fact that we are children of the king of kings doubt is the underlying factor in this in this whole temptation narrative and it's it's the same in your life when it comes to your relation to god and and the struggles that you face in life and let's face it there are struggles in life we can even say life is a struggle i want to show you how jesus battles doubt and how it's not an easy battle but one that's worth fighting in order to keep our true identity in in clear view the first demonic request is is to make the stones around jesus into bread you know we know we know the request is possible because we have miracles recorded where jesus multiplies a few loaves into thousands that also tells us that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this request on the surface but we have to consider consider a couple factors here the first is that jesus is on a fast right 40 days and 40 nights he's fasting in preparation of his ministry that is about to go public in a fast you abstain from from eating in order to to keep the focus on the spiritual over the physical because it's often our physical that drives us right and a fast says i'm not going to be driven by that i'm taking that back because the spiritual is what i want to focus on that's what i want to be driven by so this is a tactic to get jesus off track secondly when jesus performed a miracle like the miracle of the multiplication of bread he did so not for his own benefit but for the benefit of others jesus never performed a miracle for his own comfort or or because someone demanded a sign from him jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many right this is always our first temptation to to turn inward right self-centeredness never helps us it detracts from god's desire for for us to love him and to love others as as the greatest commandment tells us if you find yourself appealing primarily to your inward desires you you are open you are open toward doubting god and and turning away from him because that's not how life works you're not the center of life god is the center notice how jesus contradicts this temptation he he counteracts it in the same way each time using scripture the bible each time jesus quotes the bible it's it's from the fourth book of the bible called deuteronomy it's not a familiar book to many people but deuteronomy is all about moses explaining to a new generation of israelites he's explained to them god's ways the the 40 years of wilderness time is done at this point when when deuteronomy is uh is quoted it's done and and a new generation is about to enter the promised land moses is preparing them to enter without the doubt that that prior generation had so this this is very fitting in light of who jesus is jesus jesus is referred to in the bible as the second adam right adam was the first human in the bible and he failed when he was tempted he turned from god to within and sinned because he doubted god jesus when tempted succeeds and remains as the perfect human they call him the second adam because he did what the first adam couldn't do jesus quotes deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 3 when he says man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of god in other words god is our ultimate satisfaction without bread we are hungry without god we are hopeless jesus will not break as fast as as he is showing that that in his humanity he is completely dependent upon the father and that is where his trust is and we see at the end of this that angels come and minister to him and a lot of times that word ministering is is used in in a way of serving as in food and so he knows his father will provide what he needs so so it's important to know what god says especially when it comes to navigating the difficulties of life we find we find god's words in the bible and we have to know our bibles but the the second thing attack here against jesus is found in verses 5 and 6. it says this then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and he said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself down for it is written he will command his angels concerning you and on their hand they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone this is really interesting because the devil tells him like to cast himself off the the some top pinnacle of the temple and and then and then uses the same language as jesus did prior the devil says it is written the devil quotes scripture the quote is from psalm 91 if you're interested it's verses 11 and 12. jesus quotes scripture back to him time from deuteronomy 6 16. jesus said to him again it is written you shall not put the lord your god to the test now this may be a little bit confusing to some but the concept the concept is not that you know one bible verse trumps another right that's that's not the concept that that we that we're learning here the concept here is is that the bible is a cohesive whole all right psalm 91 that the devil quotes is is a psalm about if i were to summarize it i would say it's a psalm about divine providence right god will not let anything happen to us outside of his will so if god says you know you will live to the age of 85 then you will live to the age of 85. right and psalm 91 kind of goes through that you know it it's like nothing nothing can touch you outside of god right god god has the whole thing in his hand right that's that's the whole idea of psalm 91. see the devil is not encouraging jesus with this but instead he's tempting him to test god right if so if god were to come to you and say you're going to live to the age of 95 your response should not be well let me go run out into traffic and see what happens right no that's that's putting god to the test that's not that's not trusting god that's being foolish right so the devil's not encouraging jesus but instead he's he's he's tempting him to test god to see if if this is true which goes against the verse that jesus quotes to not put god to the test right we learn a couple things here right the bible the bible can be used wrongly to justify our self-centered desires and when we do that we are resisting god but for some reason well not for some reason but because we're using the bible we often feel a little better about it this type of action seems righteous because right it has it has bible words behind it but but if we are but but we're really resisting god because we're not only trying to find we're really just trying to find ammo right to believe what we want to believe that's what it boils down to right interpretations of the bible should not contradict other passages of the bible as a whole and so yeah we should know our bible but importantly and probably more importantly we should know our whole bible secondly to test god is to doubt god and not trust him and israel put the lord to the test when they complained about water and food in the wilderness but you know he he provided bread from heaven called manna to the people of israel in the wilderness he provided water in places there was no water and further he also made it so that their their their sandals didn't wear out and their clothing didn't wear out during that time as well god was with them god was with them but they did not act like it was true doubt can be can be the contributing factor to putting god to the test and that's what we saw in the wilderness with ancient israel we need to resist the urge or that particular urge to put god to the test and realize that god works on his time table and not on ours and we can trust him we don't need to test him in in the last temptation the devil abandons his you know if you are the son of god and and trying to use the bible to to go against uh to go against him and he goes right to the temptation of power and glory verses eight and nine again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and he said to him all these i will give you if you will fall down and worship me you know whether the devil could actually offer that i think is highly unlikely as and i just can't trust him because he's known as the father of lies but but what he wants we see what he wants he wants jesus to worship him right the devil shows jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory but not their sin he he just shows them the glory he doesn't show their sinfulness it was for the sin of the world that jesus came that's why the devil just gives him a vision of a glorious world and not a sin cursed world the devil tries to get his eyes off of that fact this is this is a direct attempt to get jesus to doubt god's plan of redemption look how jesus responds in verse 10. then jesus said to him be gone satan for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only shall you serve after this temptation jesus banishes the devil from his presence and and jesus jesus will only worship the father and serve him no notice how he banishes him as well it's just begone satan there's there's no there's no grand um grandstanding if you will right there's no like in the name of there's none of that right it's it's it's simple and it's authoritative and it's authoritative because it's jesus the son of god he has the authority to banish him this this is probably this is probably this idea of worshiping something other than god this is the most common temptation for us we do that when we doubt god when we doubt that god can be the the satisfaction of our souls a lot of a lot of things try to promise us happiness and contentment but but they they never live up to those promises you've probably experienced that like just for example maybe maybe your job is what you worship right that that's what you value above god right that's the thing that you serve right you look for it or to it for fulfillment but you're always going to encounter difficulties and disappointments with it your job will never be able to provide you with your soul's contentment and and if you try to to demand that of it you'll only become its slave there's no freedom in that god is the only one who can satisfy your soul and jesus came to make that a reality through him there there's another occasion where jesus banishes the devil well it's it's not the devil but but he presents the same temptation before jesus so he's being devil-like in matthew chapter 16 we have what is called peter's confession jesus says to his disciples who do people say that i am and so the disciples respond well some say john the baptist some say elijah some say jeremiah some say one of the one of the prophets of old and then he says well who do you say that i am and peter he's the one who always speaks the first he says you are the christ the son of the living god jesus calls peter blessed because god has revealed this to him he says flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you peter god has helped you to see this reality and in the next account jesus tells his disciples how he's going to be rejected and how he's going to suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders and so peter peter takes jesus aside and says no way not on my watch this will never happen to you lord and jesus replies this way in verse 23 of chapter 16. get behind me satan you are a hindrance to me for you are not setting your mind on the things of god but on the things of man strong words but consider that the devil was doing the same thing as peter trying to steer jesus away from the suffering of the cross it was the father's plan for jesus to come and it was the father's plan for jesus to die for all who rebel against him this is this is where we have great hope israel in the wilderness doubted god and and failed the testing over and over and over again jesus in the wilderness trusted in his father over and over and over again he does what israel couldn't do and what we can't do he resists temptation and remains sinless perfect his his death on the cross was was a substitutionary death he substituted his sinless life for our sinful life and this this is good news because we need more than a few helpful hints to battle temptation that's because we mess up and and we give into temptation even though we know we shouldn't with jesus we have not only an example to follow but a rescuer to a door but you know what else if if jesus is is the only one who can pass the test with an a plus plus then then you are in good company with everyone else on this planet and in this church because if you're if you are struggling then i can assure you that there are plenty of others struggling with the same kind of temptations and difficulties right you're not alone you're not the oddball out you are not some freak case but you are loved let's let's remind each other of that especially when we don't believe it right and when do we tend to not believe it when we're facing difficulties and doubts and temptations especially we don't we especially don't believe it when we've fallen and we think we can never get up christ won the victory for you and for me so so let's let's believe and encourage one another with that and rejoice let's pray father we thank you that through our lord jesus christ in this perfect humanity we not only have an example to follow but we have a savior to it to adore thank you for his substitutionary death on the cross where we can have his status that that was that was primally shown at his baptism as the beloved well-pleasing son we don't deserve that we don't deserve that status but you grant it to us true through grace and mercy when we believe in the lord jesus christ so may we be encouraged in that may we be encouraged if we're struggling with doubt with difficulties with temptations and may we encourage one another in that same way that christ has won the victory a victory we could never win thank you that we can live in such a way that that honors him but relies on him help us we pray in jesus name we ask amen i searched the world treasures of faith [Music] came along and put me back together and every desire is now satisfied [Music] oh there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] i'm not afraid to show you my weakness [Music] is there's not a place your mercy and [Music] there's grace better than you there's nothing [Music] better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you [Music] turn mourn into dancing you give beauty for ashes you turn shame into glory you're the only one who cares you turn graves into gardens you turn bones into [Music] you're the [Music] only one who cares there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you or there's [Music] nothing is better than you [Music] there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you or there's nothing nothing is better than you you turn grays into gardens you turn bones into armies you turn into highways you're the only one who cares [Music] well thank you for joining us this morning i appreciate you being here and and please know that that i'm praying for for each and one of you each and every one of you church family by name and uh continue to continue to know that and and be encouraged in these days let me read to you uh a benediction as a closing now may the god of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our lord jesus christ he who calls you is faithful he will surely do it amen [Music] you

Channel: Evangelical Church

Views: 128

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: fr9BM7c-W3Y

Length: 61min 54sec (3714 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021