The Hardest Test We Will Ever Take

There are two different types of tests we will be called upon to pass as we move through this world. One of those tests is to measure the content of our knowledge; that is a head test. The other kind of test measures the content of our character; it is a test of the heart. Sometimes the tests we must face will have to do with knowledge and information, and other times they will have more to do with our character and our moral convictions. To put it another way, some exams are designed to find out what we know, but just as important are those exams that are designed to find out who we are.

All of us probably understand what temptation is. There is a story told about a little boy in a grocery store that I think illustrates the nature of temptation. The boy was standing near an open box of peanut butter cookies. “Now then, young man,” said the grocer as he approached the young man. “What are you up to?” “Nothing,” replied the boy: “Nothing.” “Well it looks to me like you were trying to take a cookie.” “You’re wrong, mister, I’m trying not to!” That’s temptation!!

We understand that temptation leads to trouble. There was a story in Reader’s Digest. This man said he was shopping in the mall with his wife when a shapely young woman in a short, form fitting dress walked by. He said as she walked by his eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining his wife asked, “Was it worth the trouble that you are in?  That’s the trouble with temptation.

How many of us have shrugged and said, “The Devil made me do it!” and used that as an excuse when caught doing something we weren’t supposed to? It’s a convenient defense. But there’s one problem: the Devil can’t make us do anything. He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful. It may feel that way, however, when we’re dangling on temptation’s hook, because Satan has a tried-and-true strategy for luring us into his net.

First, he lays out the bait. Satan knows people like a skilled fisherman know fish. He notes our habits. He observes our hangouts. Then he prepares a custom-made lure and drops it right in front of our noses.
Second, comes the appeal. He can’t make us bite, but he does know what happens inside us when we catch a glimpse of that tantalizing bait. Our worldly nature draws us to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.

Third, the struggle begins. Immediately, our conscience (Can we say Holy Spirit?) jabs us in the ribs, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait. But Satan’s invitation looks so delicious. What do we do?

Fourth, the temptation ends with the response. Either we resist or yield; swim away or swallow the bait whole. Anyone who has resisted knows the feeling of freedom that this decision brings. On the other hand, anyone who has yielded knows the feeling of emptiness that follows and the pain of the hook in their cheek.

In this lesson we are going to see Jesus meet and master temptation. In this story we will see three general kinds of temptation that our adversary is still using against us. By way of introduction I want you to see with me when the testing of Jesus came about. “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. (Luke 4:1-2)

First, Matthew 4 records that this temptation of Jesus came directly after He was baptized. It was here that God the Father spoke and said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” (Matthew 3:17) What a spiritual high. You will discover that testing will often come on the heels of a spiritual high point in your life. Secondly, it came at time of physical weakness; Jesus had not eaten in 40 days. Temptations often come when we are a weakened state physically or emotionally, when we are exhausted and emotionally spent.

Third, this temptation came to Jesus when he was alone. We are the most susceptible to temptation when we are alone.

We need to understand that these temptations were very much real. No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is that good people do not know what temptation means. That is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is....Christ, because He was the only Man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only Man who knows to the full what temptation means. The temptations of Jesus had to be real for Hebrew 4:15 to be true: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” To sympathize with us, Christ had to have fully experienced the Devil’s temptations!

THE TEMPTATION TO DO IT OURSELF

“And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” (Luke 14:3)
The first temptation would be no temptation at all if Jesus were not indeed the Son of God. The devil is well aware that God exists and he doesn’t spend a great deal of effort trying to dissuade us from a belief in God. His basic strategy is to make us believe that God can’t be trusted. In the Garden of Eden when Eve told Satan that God said that they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. He told her “You won’t die!” (Genesis 3:4)

The temptation sounds innocent enough, doesn’t it? You could almost sense the innocence in the devil’s presentation of this temptation – “just make these stones into bread” – what’s the big deal? You the Son of God – just do it! There is no law against turning stones into bread. It won’t hurt anything. Jesus had been without food for six weeks! Because he was the Son of God he could invoke his supernatural powers, the temptation was very real. Jesus could have done it in an instant and his hunger was screaming, “Do it.” Satan is suggesting to Jesus that there must be something wrong with the Father’s love since “His beloved son” was hungry. Satan was tempting Jesus to disobey the Father’s will by using his divine power for his own purposes.

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, People do not live by bread alone.” (Luke 4:4)
We often brag that we are “people of the Word.” But are we really? The question is not how much Bible do we know but how much of the Bible that you know are you applying in our lives. Jesus lived by the Word. The key phrase in each of his answers is, “The Scriptures say.” He did not allow the situation or the circumstances or even the enemy to dictate the truth. Jesus in his answer was saying, “ I will not complain. Neither will I take matters into my own hands. I will trust my Father and his word.”

Our temptation is not to turn stones into bread. The devil’s ploy for us is to make us believe that if we want something done we need to do it ourselves – not trust in God. We regularly are tempted to go outside the confines of God’s will to satisfy our personal needs or desires. We often go ahead and do it ourselves because we are sure that God will not do it. We scheme and we plan for our well-being, because we assume that God does not care or maybe does not know about our needs.

THE TEMPTATION TO TAKE THE EASY WAY

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (Luke 14:5-7)
The devil was not lying when he promises Jesus “this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” (v.6). The devil was offering Jesus a kingdom without the cross. Why go to all the trouble and pain to win the world when it can be handed to you on a silver platter. No suffering, No Struggling, No Sacrifice. But a crown without the cross would mean that there would be no forgiveness for our sins.

“And Jesus answered and said to him, The Scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”  (Luke 14:8)  We do not have to look for to see the application for today. Our world teaches us to avoid pain, to take the easy way, the path of least resistance. Avoid sacrifice. Why give all that money to the church when you can spend it on a new fishing boat. Why spend the rest of your life with the same mate? Go out and find yourself someone new – after all you only live once. You deserve to be happy. What is the result? We are living in a country with children whose lives are being destroyed because of their parent’s selfishness.

THE TEMPTATION TO NOT BELIEVE IT UNTIL YOU SEE IT

Having seen Jesus defeat him two times by quoting Scripture, Satan now quotes it himself, for his own purposes.  “Then the devil took him to 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 and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” Luke 14:9-11)

Satan misquotes the promise of God, it was right as far as it went, but he did not quote it all. For Jesus to have supernaturally survived a fall from the pinnacle of the temple in the full view of the people would have immediately identified Him as the Messiah. But it would have insisted that God “show” that you love me and is a test of God. This would be the equivalent of saying to God –“I won’t believe in you until I see you SHOW it to me by MY terms.”

“Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.” (Luke 14:12)
Jesus understood to start His ministry by dramatically jumping from the Temple would be completely contrary to the will of God. To do so would be to test God. Jesus refused to take this shortcut.

There are many subtle ways that we can put God to the test. We may not jump from the top of the church – but we do it in other ways. We do it when we do not put the worship of God and attendance at church as a priority – and yet we expect God to keep our children on the right path – that is putting God to the test. We do it when we dive into a path of our own choosing and then cry out to God to bail us out. We do it when we test the boundaries of known sin. God says, “Here is the line,” and see how close we can get to that line. Then we are surprised when we fall. Then we blame God. But it happened because we tested God.

The one thing common to all three temptations is that they attempted to distract Jesus from his mission or destroy his relationship with His heavenly Father.

Don’t miss the truth given in Luke 14:13 “When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” This battle was over but he had not given up. Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister of England stated, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” This verse reveals that the Devil will always be lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting for the next vulnerable moment.

When you are weak – expect a major assault
When you resist – be ready for a different approach
When he leaves – count on another attack.

 

There are two lies Satan wants us to believe:
1. Just once won’t hurt.
2. Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning.

But these are not true. When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.” When Christ fills our lives Satan has no entrance.