 Today, we're going to be looking at the temptation of Christ. Beginning at verse 1, Matthew chapter 4, reading to verse 11, then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. Now, when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, 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 shall give his angels charge concerning you, and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. And Jesus said to him, away with you Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only, you shall serve. And the devil left him and behold, angels came and ministered to him. As we have been going through the gospel of Matthew, we concluded at chapter 3 verse 17, a place where the Lord Jesus Christ had just been baptized and then his father had spoken a word and had said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Chapter 4 reveals to us why the Father is pleased with him. You see, Jesus is now in verse 1, led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, to be tempted by the devil. He had been commissioned and he had been anointed for service at his baptism. So now his credentials as well as his qualifications will be proven. In this chapter we see a face-to-face confrontation, a confrontation between Satan and Jesus Christ. And in this confrontation, we're given insight into the secret of victory over Satan. You see, in this passage Satan reveals his pattern of attack as he attempts to gain victory over the Lord. But the result is that Jesus will show us how to overcome the enemy. It reminds me of 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11 where Paul says we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. So Jesus is actually showing to us how the enemy works and what he does when he attempts to bring temptation into our life. As we look at this, I want to point out something here that's very obvious but should be mentioned at least in introduction. I want you to notice that this passage clearly reveals that there is such a thing as a very real and a very personal devil. There are those who would say that there is no such thing as a devil. That it's just a myth. There are those who say that evil in this world has no real origin. There's no Satan, but it's just an influence of some sort. There are those who would say that there is evil. Yes, but it's not a devil. It's just some force of evil, a principle. But there is not a real devil. Well, the Bible doesn't teach that. The Bible teaches that there is a real and very personal devil. And we see that here in Matthew chapter 4 where the devil is attempting to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ to sin. When you read your Bible, you'll see from Genesis to Revelation that that Satan, that the devil is known by various names and titles. And these names and titles are intended to reveal to us his character as well as his influence. So you'll read about Satan. The word Satan means adversary or the devil. Devil means slanderer. You read of Apollyon, which speaks of a destroyer or a Lucifer, which means lightbearer. He's called the accuser of the brethren. A baton, which means destruction. Beelzebub, Lord of the flies. The Prince of this world, the Prince of the power of the air, he's called the God of this age. He is the adversary, the dragon. He is the serpent, the deceiver. He is an angel of light, the Prince of demons. He is the wicked one. He is the tempter. So you see him referred to in a variety of ways from Genesis to Revelation. And he's always revealed as being personal. He's a created being. He was an angel. Originally it would seem he was the heavenly choir director. You see that in Ezekiel chapter 28 verses 11 through 19. The reason he'd be referred to as the heavenly choir director is because when you begin to look at the description found in Ezekiel, it's a description of musical instruments and his beauty. And so there are those who would say, and I happen to agree with this, that he was more than likely the leader of the worship team in heaven. But Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12 through 15 reveals to us that he fell. In Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12 through 15, there are recorded there what are called the five eye wills of Satan. And Satan ultimately simply said, I will ascend. I will be worshiped. I will be like God. And so he fell. He fell by pride. And even though by pride he fell at this time, he still wields great power and still wields great influence on earth. As you do a little research on him and the things that he does and all, you find that he bestows kingdoms, he inflicts illness, he buffets believers, and he keeps people in the fear of death. He especially keeps people spiritually blind. And he does that through spiritual deception. When Paul was speaking of that in second Corinthians chapter four verse four, he said, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. He blinds their minds. And you could be speaking with somebody who doesn't believe in Christ. You can be giving them scripture. You can be sharing with them the truth of the gospel, but there's no spiritual illumination because they're blind. It requires the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment for them to have a relationship with God. They have to be turned to God by the working of the Holy Spirit because Satan has kept them blind. People sometimes think that they are on their own rejecting the claims of the gospel, but in reality, the rejection of God, the rejection of Jesus Christ is spiritual in nature. What we have here in chapter four is Satan making an appearance and he comes to tempt Jesus to sin. Matthew had at least two purposes in presenting the temptations. One, he wanted to demonstrate Jesus's power to resist the tempter. And in doing so, he reveals Jesus's absolute authority over the devil. But also, there's a practical application. This teaches us Jesus's pattern in overcoming temptation. What Jesus did is something that we in Christ can also do, and you'll see that in a moment. Now as verse one, as we see in verse one, Matthew writes that after his baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness. He was led into a place that's called wilderness. That refers to a hot, dry, barren, a desolate area that was outside, just outside of the city of Jerusalem. And there's a purpose there. The purpose was for Jesus to be tempted by the devil. That word tempted, there's a Greek word that simply means to test. It is what is called a morally neutral word. It depends on the intent of the one who's doing the testing. So in this case, the devil is the one testing and his intent for Christ is evil. He wants Jesus to fail. So he brings the temptation. Now through this testing, God intends to demonstrate the greatness of Jesus Christ and intends to turn into victory. What Satan would intend to result in defeat. And so Jesus is there, and it says according to verse two, when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward he was hungry. So Jesus has observed what would be called a complete fast. He didn't eat anything according to Luke chapter four verse two. And he's been fasting notice with me in verse two, 40 days and 40 nights. The number 40 is used throughout the Bible to speak of judgment. The flood lasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the law for 40 days. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. 40 is the number of stripes that were received as punishment. The prophet Elijah fasted 40 days and nights. All of this speaks of stress and much of it speaks of judgment. After 40 days and 40 nights, notice with me, it simply says, and this is interesting to me how it says it, that Jesus was hungry. That word hungry. Well, he wasn't simply hungry. He was, he was famished. By the 40th day of fasting, your body is breaking down. And soon after, very soon after you're going to die. And so Jesus is at his weakest point is what is being presented here. And at this time, under physical fatigue, he can be vulnerable to attack because he's been weakened. When we're hungry and when we're tired, we also are very vulnerable. But Jesus is prepared and Jesus is able to resist. And this is what we're going to see here as the enemy comes. Now notice verse three, when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread. Now, I don't know how Satan speaks. I don't, I don't know if he was taunting him. I don't know if he was raising his voice to him. We don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if he was simply speaking calmly and logically. You see, Jesus, you're famished. But you also are the son of God. Well, if you're the son of God, why don't you use your miraculous power that you have to turn these stones into bread and satisfy physical need that you have? There's nothing wrong with meeting a legitimate need. Food is a legitimate way to satisfy hunger and it's legitimate for you to take of food when you're hungry. What's the problem with doing something like that? You see, what the enemy is doing now is he's revealing his strategy of attack. And if you take notes, you might want to note 1st John chapter two verse 16, because in 1st John chapter two verse 16, we see that he usually attacks in three basic areas. In 1st John two, 16, John said, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life are the three basic areas all human beings are tempted in. And this is what was used in the original temptation of Eve when she was in the garden. When the enemy, Satan approached her and began his temptation, drawing her attention to a forbidden fruit and speaking about what a great thing it would be for her to partake in that. And according to Genesis chapter 3 verse 6, it simply says, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. There in Genesis chapter 3 and repeated in common practice amongst human beings to this day. And so he says, these stones can be turned into bread. When you go to Israel, you'll notice that there are bakeries you can walk by and they will actually have bread that is freshly baked and you look at the bread and some of the bread actually looks like some small stones. And so Jesus is out there in the wilderness with all of these small stones that could look like freshly baked bread. And he's saying to him, he says, you can make this rock, these rocks into bread. So the first temptation is the lust of the flesh. He's simply saying, satisfy your physical appetites and do it now. Again, eating when hungry is legitimate. Meeting legitimate physical needs in a legitimate way is always right. It's not wrong. But in this case, Satan wants Jesus to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. And Satan is saying to him, use your miraculous power to satisfy your needs. There are messages that underlie that one, to discipline yourself and to suffer need hunger and thirst. Well, that's just not right. Jesus, you have the power to satisfy your desires immediately. Why don't you simply do that? Why should you hurt or suffer hunger? Why not satisfy your basic and necessary urge? Underlying that message would be if God was good, and if he's truly a good father, you're the son of God, would he not want you to be satisfied? And would he not want you to be satisfied now? So use your power for your own personal benefit, because if you do not, you will die. So there's your temptation. Use your power for yourself. Now we live in a world that has gone crazy with instant gratification. Why one should delay self gratification is a mystery to many people. Why would I want to wait for anything if I can have it right now? Many people right now are very wealthy. They don't really know it, and they would actually say they're not. But if you've got a plastic card in your wallet, you got money to spend, don't you? A lot of it sometimes, it depends on your credit line. And so if you carry more than one card, two, three, four cards, and you have a good credit line, you have instant access to satisfaction for anything you want. And that's what happens sometimes. As we go somewhere, we see something, we think it's a legitimate thing, so we buy it, we find ourselves in debt. We can be tempted to satisfy our physical urges, and we can do so immediately without any delay. We have a desire to eat so we eat, we want to drink something, we drink. If we want to engage in sexual activity, we do. We pamper our flesh constantly. But the sad thing is our society is being destroyed by the desire for immediate gratification. You see, there is a time to be gratified, and there's a time to wait. A lot of people don't know what the word wait means though. But when the wait, when you wait, and you legitimately meet that need, that desire, that God-given desire, then you're blessed. Young lady in our church by the name of Mariah, Mariah grew up in our church. When she was a little girl, she'd come up and sing during Christmas and all. I remember when she was singing the age of 10 or whatever. And I've always had a very special love for Mariah. And Mariah began to do more and more ministry and all. And before you know it, you had an opportunity to sign a contract to become a recording artist. And she was going to move off to Nashville and she was going to begin to write and produce songs and things. And she came into the back and she and her parents and we prayed and ministered to her and shared with her and gave her advice and all. And then off she went and began her career. And while she was there in Nashville, she encountered a young man by the name of Joel. And Joel was taken by Mariah very quickly. Mariah's a beautiful gal. And Joel as a single man had connected with her and he was attracted to her and so he writes a song with her. And it's a song he told me later on. Joel told me later he said, you know I could have helped her to get that song written in about two or three hours. But I stretched it out to two or three days just so I could be with her and just so I could spend time with her and get to know her a little bit and turn on that old charm and this and that. And so Mariah didn't know whether or not at first she was interested in having a boyfriend at all. But when she decided that that was a good choice and that this is a good man and she'd like to get to know him and began to date they made an agreement. The agreement was that they would not share a kiss. They didn't kiss. And so she even has a song that she wrote and sang we haven't even kissed because they didn't kiss. Now Mariah was satisfied to keep that oath. Now Joel he wanted to kiss Mariah but they held fast to that promise that they had made to one another and so he asked her to marry him. She agreed. They set the date and I co-officiated their wedding knowing that they had yet to kiss. Because they live in Nashville on occasion they would come to California. Mariah and I would have coffee with them and spend time with them and share with them and do a premarital kind of council with them while they were here. The day came and I knew that Joel was dying to kiss Mariah. I knew he was. And so finally the words are pronounced. You know I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. Joel you may kiss your wife. Oh man he looked like a hungry wolf. Wow. Now she's this she's the cutest thing in the world. She starts laughing. So she's laughing as he sweeps her holds her like with that old picture some of you have seen of that sailor holding this woman there when he'd just gotten back from world in world war two and he holds her in this romantic pose and he tries to give her a romantic kiss but she's too busy laughing for it to really be that cool. But I'm sure he made up for it later on. That is a that was a beautiful moment and a proper thing to do. For a lot of people the the sense of delaying gratification of holding off and not doing that. Now you know not kissing or not having sex or whatever it doesn't make sense of them because after all I'm a guy you're a girl we're created to do things like that why not do that. Well because it's a proper time there's a proper place and it's always under the covenant of marriage because that's what God intends for your greatest blessing. And so we have this desire for instant gratification. Why would I wait why would I hold back if I want something why don't I take it right now. Well my motive motivation ought to be the same one that Jesus had which is simply a desire to please the Father. In Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 Paul said it like this he said so put to death the sinful earthly things lurking within you have nothing to do with sexual sin impurity lust and shameful desires don't be greedy for the good things of this life that is idolatry. In Romans 8 13 if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. And so the enemy is saying you are if you are the Son of God command these stones to become bread you're famished you have the ability to do it why don't you. Well verse 4 gives the answer he answered and said now notice how Jesus deals with each temptation it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. All three of Jesus's responses begin with the quotation of scripture and he reminds Satan of how God provided for the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. The fact is in importance the spiritual need comes before a physical need. People on their dying bed normally do not want something to satisfy a physical appetite. I have done ministry to more than one person who is dying. I have never heard one not yet as they're ready to meet their maker I have never heard one yet say I wish I had bought an extra pair of shoes or I wish I had those socks or I wish I bought that car or wish I had that house I have never heard that I've just never heard that and do you have any regrets yeah I wish I'd have eaten more ice cream I have never heard anybody say that because when you're about to enter into eternity the physical things are all being left behind not a single thing you have gained on earth is going to travel with you to heaven other than that which you have already sent ahead there's a reason to seek the things that matter and Jesus gives us that reason he was satisfied by honoring the father in John 434 it says my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work in John 638 I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me a man can have physical needs met but still be empty because spiritual needs should be preeminent and the guiding principle of our lives should be what guided Jesus Christ it is written man does not live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God well in verses five through seven the enemy doesn't give up tempting him he gives him a second temptation verse five the devil took him up into the holy city the city of Jerusalem 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 shall give his angels charge charge concerning you and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone and jesus said to him it is written again you shall not tempt the lord your god so satan now uses pride of life and he does so by introducing and misquoting a scripture jesus had given a scripture so what does satan do satan says two can play at that game i can quote scripture too today in many places that are calling themselves christian churches there are people who are misquoting scripture there are places that are teaching that jesus christ is not the second person of the trinity rather a creation of god and they're teaching that they're christians in reality they're misquoting scripture there are others that are saying today but jesus is a spirit brother of lucifer they use the bible but they misquote scripture satan misquote scripture you see it even when he's speaking to jesus himself who is the author and inspirer of all bible well you say it is written therefore let me give you a scripture psalm 91 11 and 12 he shall give his angels charge concerning you they shall lift you up lest you dash your foot against the stone so he uses scripture all you need to do is hurdle from the pinnacle of the temple and when the angels hold you up those who see this event take place will instantly regard you as being messiah jesus knowing the scripture because the scripture says to keep thee in all thy ways says you are not to tempt the lord thy god presumption is not the same as faith you see this pinnacle at that time when it's referred to as the pinnacle of the temple if you were to be looking at the walls that surrounded the temple mount and you saw what is called the pinnacle during that time below the pinnacle there was what is what is called the kidron it's the kidron it's just below there's a small small river called the river kidron that really runs through there and it's in what is called the kidron valley and over time that valley has filled up but during the time of christ that kidron valley from the pinnacle of the temple to the bottom would have been about 450 feet now malachi in chapter 3 verse 1 had said the lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in behold he shall come says the lord of hosts and so if jesus comes hurtling down from 450 feet and is held up by the angels those who see this take place obviously would regard him in a way that would satan says earn him the credibility to be their messiah what he's actually giving him a temptation to do is to presume on the grace of god presume on the grace of god that you might become great in the sight of men he's saying if you don't want to use your power to do the spectacular well allow your father to use his and then there's that subtle thing don't you believe what the bible says well the lord jesus christ isn't about to tempt his father it is written again he says in verse 7 you shall not tempt the lord your god people will not be convinced by miracles and signs anyway john 1237 says although he had done so many signs before them they didn't believe him jesus knew what this kind of effect sensationalism would produce it never satisfies completely people grow hungry for more and different and no matter how noble our motives to test god is to doubt god on one hand part of the life of faith is to follow the lead of the spirit and to take spiritual risks christians live a life of faith we trust the lord to direct our footsteps and sometimes killing giants and walking on water is exactly what we're supposed to do but on the other hand to put god to the test is not faith it's called presumption a several years ago now here in san bernadino county there was a faith evangelist a faith preacher that that came into town and he was preaching a message that god guarantees healing to those who put their faith in him trust him and claim those healings and so he was doing a crusade a local pastor with a son his son's name was westley westley wanted to take his son westley to this crusade because westley had diabetes and was taken insulin for it the father wanted his son healed and he was a pastor he wanted his son westley healed so he went to this particular crusade and the evangelist prayed for his son westley afterwards and said to westley things like just claim your healing hold fast to it by god's by christ stripes he are healed it's a guarantee hold hold fast by faith and don't let the enemy rob you of your blessing things of that nature and so they went home the next morning westley wakes up and begins to give himself an injection of his insulin but the father says no that's a lying symptom you were healed yesterday and that's just a lying symptom in christ's name you are healed my son hold fast to your healing and don't let the devil convince you otherwise well the little boy began to get sicker and sicker without his insulin and ultimately went into diabetic coma and the father is still holding on to the promise because after all that evangelist had said by jesus stripes there's a guarantee of healing just hold on in faith and don't let satan rob you of the blessing and the father held on when the little boy went into that coma and the father held on up to the point where his son died the son died the father went through this terrible trauma my son's dead but god's word says he heals and how come he didn't heal my son there must be something greater that god wants to do because it's a guarantee that evangelist was right the word of god seems to say that so they had a funeral service we're westley this is all a true story i'm not making any of this it's a true story this actually happened here in san bernie dino county i had the book that was written we killed our son our son i killed my son father thought that in the funeral service god was going to do something even greater he's going to raise the dead body of his little boy to life and that would be what's going to happen that's what's going to happen and he just kept praying and praying there at the casket of his 12 year old son god raise him in jesus name raise him lord i know you can do it and he kept that attitude until they bury that little boy in the ground 12 years old died didn't have to shattered this man he was arrested all kinds of bad things occurred then one day he said that he was reading scripture and he was reading first quinthians 13 speaks about faith hope love and he said you know i had the faith i had the faith that god would heal my son faith believed for a healing but love would have given him insulin there's a difference between faith and presumption just because god can doesn't mean that god will help and when your attitude is that you're going to gain something from it that makes it all the more wrong if we put god to the test to satisfy our own ambition there is no guarantee that he will help us and so jesus says it is written you shall not tempt the lord your god and then third verse 8 again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and and he said to him all these things i will give you if you will fall down and worship me and jesus said to him away with you satan for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only you shall serve the lust of the eyes finding fulfillment in the things that you possess he's basically saying listen you can have the crown and you don't have to wear a cross you don't have to carry it i'll give it to you you see satan now removes his mask and he gives him a demand it's something that satan has wanted for ages he wants worship adam has forfeited this authority to me and now i give it to you if you do just one thing put yourself first and put god last why wait to become king when that can happen now satan always says the world of power of fame of riches politics or what we want is always simply now if only if only you worship me me jesus resisted because instead of redeeming the world he would have joined it remember with me and i want you to notice this when jesus in verse 10 says away with you satan it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only you shall serve remember with me always that what you worship you will serve what you worship you will serve whether it's a whether it's a relationship whether it's a building whether it's a business whatever it may be whatever it is that carries your attention has your desire whatever it may be whatever comes first is what you end up serving all your time all your effort all your talent all your money it all goes to that one thing satan said if you worship me i'll give you all of this you don't have to take that cross to get that crown i'll give you the world it was forfeited to me by adam all you need to do is one small thing something i've been demanding from the beginning all you need to do is worship me and he said no away with you get the behind me for it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only you shall serve what you serve by the way you ultimately become like jesus was not about to take the crown without the cross and he resisted i want you to see this i want you to see that three temptations in three basic areas were all responded to in the same way it is written what does god's word say on the subject i want this lord but we need to spend time in the word say is that what the lord would have for me to want some things that i've wanted aren't things that he wanted me to have when i first got saved wanting to get married for me that was the top of my list i wanted to get married i wanted a good christian wife i had wanted to get married since i was a little boy i first time i ever asked a girl to marry me i was four years old i mean i wanted to get married her name was bernadette bernadette archuleta i teased about bernadette archuleta here in this church i was teasing only teasing of course but i said you know bernadette archuleta i was in love with bernadette but the thing is is bernadette grew a mustache before i did and i was just kind of just teasing well i had a lady approached me afterwards and she said to me i would have you to know that bernadette is my cousin and i said really bernadette archuleta is your cousin she goes yes i for real yes i said then you know she had a mustache when she was 12 years old she works for us now by the way the lady who had brought that up her name is debbie i was in love with bernadette and i was in love with everybody and nobody was in love with me and so the day came and i got saved and i thought now i've got a shoe in because jesus said if you ask anything in my name i will do it so i would be at bible studies and here comes a little hippie girl with blonde hair and you know and i say in jesus name that one's mine i claim her in the name of christ and it just didn't work you know and when i've had the opportunity to see some of the girls that i claimed in jesus name i do thank god for unanswered prayer just because you want it doesn't mean you should have it just because you asked for it doesn't mean it should be given to you god has a way of giving you exactly what you need at the right moment making demands holding your breath spiritually trying to hold him ransom through promises doesn't work what we need to do and what we need to learn to do is just to put the lord first that sounds so heavy but it's just so practical wake up in the morning say father in jesus name today's your day i want to serve you get into the word first thing read some scripture meditate for a moment pray and go into the day serving the lord i will follow you it's so very basic but it's the one thing that many people simply do not do we get caught up with the business of the day and forget the lord so begin by saying lord today i will pursue you because there are things the lust of the flesh there are going to be opportunities to be in the office or whatever to to give into the desire the lust of the eyes there are going to be things that i'm going to want to possess there's going to be pride of life so that people will think i'm very important because of the things i do and not who i am these are all temptations lord help me to put you first to know your word so when the enemy comes with a temptation to try and stumble me and bring me into failure that i might have eyes to see and be aware of what he's trying to do so that in you i can have victory in the case of jesus he said get thee behind me and the enemy left and we'll close with verse 11 how it says the devil left him behold angels came administered to him undoubtedly these angels brought him food they made sure that he was able to satisfy his hunger and so as believers we have victory by resisting in the way that jesus resisted we use the word we resist temptation we remain faithful to the father in the midst of it all but one thing that's interesting is when you cross reference this with luke 4 13 it says when the devil had ended all the temptation he departed from him but luke was inspired to add the words for a season he works constantly and even though he stepped away at this moment he makes reappearances in various ways because you may defeat him in faith once but that doesn't mean he gives up he constantly seeks whom he may devour but every victory that you have in christ is one more victory that strengthens your resolve to remain faithful to him resist the devil he will flee from you