Just before I forget, it's the
end of the financial year. So Cole asked me to ask anyone
who wants a copy of the statement to just write their name and
stuff down on the back there. In preparation for the ITM. In
preparation for the ITM. Okay. Okay. Throughout the week, I had an
opportunity, or a very sad opportunity, to hear a guy preach in Coles. And he set up a microphone, and
I hadn't heard him before. And he stood and claimed to represent
God, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he blasphemed God.
And he declared that same lie of Satan that that suggest that there's something
that we have to do to be saved and they carried on with a whole
heap of scripture and yet they were deceiving people because
they were deceived by Satan themselves and after The sadness had passed
and the anger at what we heard. I couldn't help but being more
grateful for what we've got going on here, what the Lord's doing
in amongst us. And it's a great reminder that
the Lord sustained us for 15 years in the truth. It's worthwhile
just stopping and pondering the things that have gone into him
sustaining us. and the ways even in difficult
circumstances, he's continued to declare his word from this
place. So as we meet here this morning,
I just wanna start by prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you
that in the midst of all the difficulties of life, you are
a rock. I thank you so much for the way
you work in the lives of your people. the ways you grow us
in the grace and knowledge of our great King and Saviour, the
ways you strengthen our faith. Father, thank you for uniting
us and declaring your word through us. I pray that this morning
that you would fulfil that promise to walk amongst us. You've gathered
us together. Come and join with us, Heavenly
Father, and declare your word to our hearts. May these be your
words that we hear this morning, and I pray they energise us,
Heavenly Father, and strengthen us. I thank you for your witness
throughout the world, and I pray the same things for those churches
as I do for here, that you will just continue to reveal yourself
in the most amazing ways. Father, thank you for your mercy
upon us. We pray all things in the name of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Amen. Oh, sorry. First song's number 36, Let Us
Adore You. And then Ben's Let us adore, let us adore Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee, Thee,
Thee, The you Yeah. Hebrews 13 from verse 1. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain
strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds,
as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being
yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable and all
in the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without
covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, the
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me. Remember them which have the
rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose
faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Be not carried about with diverse
and strange doctrines, For it is a good thing that the heart
be established with grace, not with meats which have not profited
them that have been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof
they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the
bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary
by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore
Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood,
suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto
him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here we have
no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him, therefore,
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks to his name. But to do good and communicate,
forget not. For with such sacrifices, God
is well pleased. Obey them that have the rule
over you, and submit yourselves. For they watch for your souls,
as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy,
and not with grief. For that is unprofitable for
you. Pray for us, for we trust we have a good conscience in
all things, willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather
to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. Now the God
of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. We're going to sing number 46. Without your voice we can't stand,
God save these days. Search and save the race, we'll
come a-truthin' now. When he had purchased it, he
took his seat. Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! ? Shout your voice, rejoice again,
my saviors ? ? Rejoice in Christ the Lord ? ? Jesus the judge
of all ? ? And take these sad ones out to their eternal home
? ? And take these sad ones out to their eternal home ? Lord willing we'll be looking
at Satan's temptation of our Lord Jesus Christ this morning. And we need to realize the primary
objective of Satan in all his temptations is to attack God. And while he has no access to
heaven and can't attack God directly, what he can and does do is attack
the church of God. And his attacks even go as far
as infiltrating the church and causing confusion, causing obscurity
regarding the gospel. And it's all in an attempt to
corrupt the simplicity that's in Christ. Satan knows he's a defeated foe,
but that doesn't stop him venting his hatred for God upon the church. If he can somehow just cause
one elect child to perish in hell, then he's caused God's
grace to be deficient, God's word to be a lie, and God himself
at that point to cease from being God. And this is why Satan's attacks
target either the faith of the church, both individually and
collectively, or, as we have in this passage, the
object of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ himself. It's no wonder that John in Revelation
12 calls Satan the accuser of the brethren. Satan tries to diminish God's
character by causing his word of promise to fail, and in turn,
by making our God out to be a liar. And ultimately in all these temptations,
Satan's great desire is to dethrone our incorruptible God. He wants to fulfill his own desire
to rule and reign over all things. Isaiah 14 gives us some insight
into the heart desires of Satan. In verses 13 and 14, it says,
for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. And we know from the Genesis
3 account of our own temptation in our father Adam, that Satan
is more subtle than any beasts of the field which God had made. Now that field there represents
all creation and the term beast of the field represents all created
beings. So you see, no matter what we
think, Satan is a formidable opponent. He's far more subtle,
he's far more deceptive, and he's far wiser than we would
normally think him to be. No doubt is Satan wise beyond
our ability to detect, but he's also more powerful than
we have the capacity in our own flesh to resist. Ephesians 2 describes him as
the prince of the power of the air. And according to Peter in
1 Peter, he's as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Brothers and sisters, not only
do we have these powerful external influences of Satan to deal with,
When we fell in our father Adam, Satan managed to successfully
infiltrate our very nature. So much so that internally, in
our flesh, we carry these same temptations. And it's these temptations
that continually influence all that we and everything we think. So you see, in yourselves, in
our own wisdom and strength, we have absolutely no hope of
resisting such a great foe. But praise be to God for our
great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan infected all humanity
with his sin, all but one. Our Lord, he's truly man, but
his body was prepared by his father. The humanity of our great
representative was in no way corrupted by the activities of
Satan in the garden. So he came forth without sin. As in all the scriptures, there's
much more in this passage than we can deal with today. So if
the Lord would allow, today I'd like us to just consider two
things. The first of these is the nature
or the characteristics of Satan's temptations, both here upon the
Lord, but also in every circumstance of our own lives. The second
thing I'd like us to consider is the response of our Lord,
and particularly how His response equips us to deal with these
temptations when they do occur. Our text today is from Matthew
4, verses 1 to 11. But I just want to start reading
at Matthew 3.13 to help set a bit of context for us. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering him said
unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us
to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him, and Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water,
and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him. And he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. and lo
a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son, in whom I
am well pleased. And now a text. Then was Jesus
led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the
devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was
afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to
him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these
stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle
of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down. For it is written, he shall give
his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone. Jesus said unto him, it is written
again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil
takes him up into an exceeding high mountain. and showeth him
all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And said
unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall
down and worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil weaveth
him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. The Lord Jesus came as our great
representative. He came to undo the work of Satan
by establishing a perfect, everlasting righteousness on behalf of all
the chosen children of God, all those given to him in that everlasting
covenant that Ben just read about. This is what our Lord meant in
Matthew 3.15, back in there where he said to John, it becometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. See, John, like the rest of us,
he had no righteousness of his own. And yet when the Lord said
us, the Lord was referring to a union with him. Every single thing that our Lord
did throughout the entirety of his life was in complete obedience
to his Father in heaven. And brothers and sisters, when
he fulfilled all righteousness, we actually fulfilled all righteousness
ourselves in him. Hebrews 2.17 tells us that in
all things that behooved him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God. to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people. So remembering that the Lord's
representing his people here, let's take a closer look at this
passage. Verse one, then was Jesus led up of the
wilderness, up into the wilderness to be, sorry, led up of the spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then, after his
baptism, after he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, after he
was revealed to be the Christ, God's chosen Messiah. Then, at
the beginning of his ministry, we have the Lord being led up
of the Spirit, away from men, away from all the distractions
of the world, and being led alone into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil or Satan. The first thing we need to realize
here is that this, as with every single thing that takes place
in this world, is an act of God. You only have to read the first
few chapters of Job to realize that Satan has no power unless
it's been given to him by God. And he has no opportunities,
bar those ordered and allowed by our sovereign God. Here, as the Lord begins his
ministry, He comes forth from his baptise having been declared
to be the Christ, God's chosen Messiah, that beloved son in
whom God is well pleased. And so now Satan turns his attention
to the Lord. He's attacking God by attacking
his anointed sacrifice. It's now that Satan's given the
opportunity to tempt our Lord and to try, as he did in the
garden, to lead our Lord into sin. If successful, if successful,
he would bring God's grace to naught, he would cause his word
to fail, and ultimately, he'd succeed at dethroning God. Verse two. And when the Lord
had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward and hungered. See, our Lord begins by devoting
himself and by dedicating his ministry in reverence to his
Father in heaven. And he does it by fasting 40
days and 40 nights. Now, fastings It's an act of
reverence to God here. It's abstaining from food or
drink in order to focus on prayer, in order to seek God's will,
in order to help us draw near to our Father in heaven. And notice it wasn't till after
his fast had ended that our Lord hung it. And not only is his hunger a
sign of his true humanity, it's the perfect opportunity for Satan
to begin his temptations. But again, it's an opportunity
given by God, isn't it? We need to keep reminding ourselves
that Satan is an opportunist. He looks for any and every opportunity
through which he can cause us to fall that he might devour
us. It's in our weaknesses that we're
found vulnerable. Our first parents, they were
vulnerable to Satan in that they were innocent. They were unaware
of the danger of Satan's deception. And when Adam sinned, we all
sinned in him. We died spiritually. We were
lost. We were separated from God. and
we had no way in ourselves back. So we ourselves, in every situation
of our lives, are vulnerable in that Satan's influence resides
within each one of us, continually. And here, representing his people,
our Lord, although he's perfect in every way, He was vulnerable
through hunger, and this provided the perfect opportunity for Satan
to begin. And when the tempter came to
him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Satan's first words are, if,
if thou be the Son of God. It's not that he didn't know
who this was. Satan was well aware of who he
was dealing with. This was actually a challenge.
It was a challenge tempting the Lord to prove who he was by a
display of his own strength. It was a challenge to perform
a miracle, to satisfy a physical need. And such is the subtlety
of Satan, isn't it? How often do we get caught up
in defending or justifying ourselves instead of just considering God's
word on a matter? Whether we realize it or not,
even if we're right, At this point, Satan's already succeeded
in his temptation of us. Here, targeting the hunger of
our Lord, Satan begins to try and persuade the Lord to give
priority to physical needs rather than spiritual. Much like Esau in Genesis 25,
He's trying to get the Lord to sell his birthright for a bowl
of food. Satan would have the Lord reject
the grace of God and satisfy his needs by his own wisdom and
strength. He would have him walk by sight
and not by faith, not by simply trusting his Father in heaven
for all things. In almost every circumstance,
whether it's good or bad, I always seem to turn first to
my own wisdom and strength. And sadly, it's often only when
I'm completely depleted that I turn or I'm turned again to
my God. God that my salvation doesn't
depend on my performance in this world. It depends on the finished
work of my Saviour, my Lord Jesus Christ, His work. And one of
the most significant ways that the Lord made us meet or partake
or qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light was to rely by faith upon his father in heaven in
every single circumstance. Now he had wisdom and power beyond
our imaginings, but he lived his life by faith. He lived his
life in complete reliance upon his father for all things. And
so it's no surprise that Satan begins his temptations by targeting
our Lord's faith. And look how the Saviour meets
this temptation. It is written. Our Lord, as He suffers His first
temptation in our stead, He simply declares to both Satan and to
all of us, God's word regarding how men are really sustained
in this world. He declares that we're sustained
by the grace of God and not by our own wisdom and works. The Lord takes us to Deuteronomy
8, where Moses is reminding the people of the goodness of God
in their wilderness wanderings. And he quotes the last half of
verse three, where Moses declares to the people that what sustains
us in this life isn't the physical things of the world, but the
word of the Lord. It's his sustaining grace. What's also interesting about
this verse is that it isn't just an instruction. In the first
half of the verse, we're also given an explanation of just
how God teaches his children this very valuable lesson. Deuteronomy 8.3 says, And he
humbled thee, and he suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee
with manna which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers
know. Here's the purpose, that he might
make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Out of the
mouth of the Lord doth man live. The way we learn to rely on the
grace of God instead of our own wisdom and strength The reason
that this precious truth guides the walk of God's children in
this world is because the Lord brings these desperate circumstances
into our lives. And then by miracles of his grace,
he ministers to us in them. And I just want you to know that
these lessons are lessons we really do learn need to know. It's a really good
way to look at our trials, isn't it? God allows difficulties in
our lives for His own reasons, that He might make us to know
that there's more to life than our physical needs, that there's
greater priorities than the immediate circumstances of our lives. that
he's the great sustainer of life and not ourselves, and that there's a miraculous
spiritual element to our circumstances which brings glory and honor
to his name. We often get so caught up in
the circumstances of our lives that we forget these things,
don't we? And before we know it, we find ourselves rejecting
God and becoming self-sufficient, just like our parents did in
the garden. And sadly, even at this point,
we actually stand condemned just like Peter did in Galatians 2.11. We stand condemned until God
sends someone like Paul to restore us. And how did Paul restore
Peter? He preached the gospel to him.
He preached that same gospel that our Lord declares here in
this first response to Satan. We live by the grace of God and
not by our wisdom and works. The second temptation comes to
us in verses five to seven. The devil taketh him up into
a holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down. For it is written, He shall give
his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against
a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Having failed at his attempt
to get the Lord to reject the grace of God and turn to his
own wisdom and strength, Satan now turns his attention to attacking
the Word of God. Again, insubtly, he begins by
challenging the Lord to prove that he is God's chosen Messiah. He says again, if thou be the
Son of God. And it's as if Satan thinks that
the Lord can be so distracted by defending himself that he'll
somehow be more susceptible here. And look at the deception of
Satan this time. First Satan elevates the Saviour
to the head of the church. Now this obviously is a spiritual
illustration and we all need to look at the scriptures through
spiritual eyes if we're ever to understand the gospel. But
it's not that Satan's giving the Lord this position of religious
authority. Our Lord Jesus Christ was and
is and always will be the head of his church. Satan, by reminding the Lord
of who he is, is now tempting him to test the Word of God,
to question its faithfulness, to prove it. Satan's next temptation,
having just been rebuked by the Word of God, now centres directly
on the faithfulness of that word and the security we have in God's
promises. So often in religion we see men
elevate themselves and seek the esteem of men and only to use
their authority to suggest a deeper understanding to the simplicity
of the gospel. They call into question the security
that the saints have in the precious promises of God, and they do
it by suggesting that there's something extra that we need
to know or something extra that we need to do to contribute to
our salvation. And that's how Satan operated
in the garden, isn't it? By their newfound knowledge,
by the resulting activities they could make themselves gods. And this time Satan quotes scripture. He introduces one of God's precious
promises from Psalm 91 verses 11 and 12. For he shall give
his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways, They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone. These verses speak of the spiritual
security that our Lord and all that are in him have in this
world in spite of our surrounding circumstances. Satan, just like
he did in the garden, just like he does in the lives of all God's
children, he'd have us question this faithfulness of God's promises.
And see, questioning God's word involves doubt, distrust, and
insecurity. It's an act of unbelief, and
ultimately, it's an accusation against God. But even more than
that, this accusation in turn suggests failure, unfaithfulness,
uncertainty, even deception. It's actually calling God's character
into question. It's tempting, it's testing him. It's to question his very deity. As we'd expect, our Lord deals
with his next temptation in the same way he dealt with the last. The same way we're to deal with
challenges when God's glory and our salvation are called into
question. It is written. What an amazing
display of faith. What a great encouragement to
us all. Our Lord meets opposition to
God's word by simply proclaiming more of God's word. I pray that
this is how we respond when our security is troubled or challenged
by the circumstances of our lives. The scripture the Lord takes
us to this time is Deuteronomy 6, where God reminds the Israelites
to continue to remember his word that it may be well with them.
The verse is verse 16. You shall not tempt the Lord
your God as you tempted him in Massa. And it's referring to
Exodus 17, when the people criticized God and accused him of bringing
them out of Egypt only to kill them in the wilderness. Again,
to doubt God is to accuse him of sin. Brothers and sisters, our God,
He is sovereign. His word is faithful. And not one of His precious promises
can ever fail. When Satan comes tempting us
in the circumstances of our lives, both good or bad, I pray that
the Lord would give us the grace to simply believe. The grace
to simply rest our lives and our souls into his care. The grace to look away from this
world and to look to him and to see him as he's presented
to us in the scriptures, a holy, a faithful God who has fulfilled
all righteousness on our behalf. Our third temptation is in verses
8 to 10. Again, the devil taketh him up
to an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms
of the world and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship
me. Then said Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. This time Satan's attack is far
more open and far more obvious than before. He's showing his
true colours. He's showing the desires of his
own heart all over again. And again, how similar is this
to what happened in the garden? Genesis 3, 6 says, And when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her, and he ate. The third temptation is the same
for the Lord. First Satan takes him up to an
exceeding high mountain. He shows him all the kingdoms
of the world and the glory of them, and then he offers them
to him. It's similar to the promise he
made Eve, isn't it? You shall be as gods was the
promise. You'll be sovereign over everything. It's not possible to see the
earth from any one point. So again, this has to be a spiritual
illustration. And I can't help but think that
this exceeding high mountain represents creature pride. It represents the greed and the
selfishness of self. It's an exaltation of ourselves
above every other being. It's an expectation that all
things in the world are ours and at our disposal. Ultimately,
this mountain represents the elevation of ourselves to that
throne of God. Look at the similarities again.
I'll read it again. We read it earlier from Isaiah
14. The similarities between this
mountain and Satan's desires. For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high
God. We also see the arrogance of
Satan here, assuming that these things, all the kingdoms of the
world and the glory of them, are his to give, especially given
that he's speaking to the Lord of all creation. Psalm 24 says,
the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world
and they that dwell therein. See, it just goes to show that
Satan, as with all he successfully deceives, is completely blinded
by his own self-worth. And what a revelation of our
own carnal nature. Each of us, Doesn't matter how
humble, how righteous, or how religious we are, each of us
have residing in our own flesh the same pride, the same arrogance,
the same greed, and sadly the same disrespect for God. And every single time we seek
things in our own wisdom and strength, This nature is revived
within us. What's the cost? What's the cost
when we succumb to these temptations? In Matthew 8, the Lord asked,
for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? And that's what it is to fall
down and worship Satan, isn't it? It's to lose our soul. This third temptation just shows
us that to receive anything from Satan's hand, it's to follow
him. It's to partake of his sin. It's
to pledge our allegiance to him. Ultimately, it's to make Him
our God. Every time, every single time
we look to our own wisdom and strength, every time we seek
gain for ourselves in this world, without respect to the Lord,
we're worshipping Satan and necessarily rejecting our God. What an incredible mercy it is
from our God to know that our Lord saves to the uttermost and
that all his elect children are eternally safe in him, no matter
how far we fall. In response to this last temptation,
Our Lord delivers the final blow, get thee hence Satan. And how
does he do it? Well, he does it the same way
he dealt with the other temptations. It is written. The Lord again takes us to Deuteronomy
6, but this time it's summarizing verses 13 and 14. Thou shalt
fear the Lord thy God and serve him. and shalt swear by his name,
ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the peoples which
are round about you. It's profitable here to note
that these verses directly follow a reminder that Israel had been
brought into the promised land and had been given all things
necessary to sustain them in this new land by the grace of
God alone. And what a great reminder to
us. We've been rescued from the blindness of our flesh, rescued
from the allurement of this world, all by the grace of God alone. These verses are a warning to
us to simply continue as we began. walking by faith in our great
God. Brothers and sisters, we actually
worship our God by trusting our lives and our souls to Him, because
it's in Him that we fulfil all righteousness. As I said in the beginning, my
hope today is that we consider just these two things in the
passage. The first of these is the nature or the characteristics
of Satan's temptation. My prayer for us is that we might
have a better understanding of the subtleties of his attacks
upon the church. That we might more readily recognize
the focus of these attacks. and that in a more subtle awareness,
we might see just how often these temptations occur in our own
lives. Here in these three temptations,
we're given a view into the threefold objectives of Satan. See, Satan, if he could, would
have us reject the grace of God, reject the word of God, and ultimately
reject God himself. And he tries to do this by subtly
bringing particular circumstances into our lives in an attempt
to revive our fleshly instincts, the ones he infected us with
in the garden. In 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5,
Paul, knowing the frailty of our flesh, he says to examine
yourselves, not just in anything, examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith. And in Galatians 6.3, he says,
if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing,
we're all nothing compared to the glory of God. If a man thinks himself to be
something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. It's a good and fruitful practice
for us all to look at our lives on a regular basis, to consider
both our words and our actions in response to the varied circumstances
we find ourselves in. And it's also good for us to
recognize these fleshly characteristics when they manifest, and they
will manifest. And then the question, and this
brings us to the second consideration, how do we combat these things
when we find them in ourselves? Satan's temptation of our Lord
centred upon trying to get the Lord to rely on his own wisdom
and strength, rather than resting in the grace of God. Brothers and sisters, one thing's
for sure, we have no strength in ourselves to resist Satan.
Even if we did have that strength, If we did resist him, if we did
turn to our own wisdom and strength, he would have the same victory
that he had in the garden, wouldn't he? How did our Lord deal with
Satan? Simply, it is written. So how do we deal with these
things when we find them in ourselves? It is written. We just go back
to the scriptures. Remind yourself of the gospel. Our Lord rebuked Satan with the
word of God. In the book of Jude, when Michael
the archangel was contending with Satan, he didn't rely on
his own resources. He just simply said, Lord, rebuke
thee. Our saviour is the word of God. The battle's his. And only he
can resist Satan. Only he can deal with Satan and
with Satan's influences upon us. In Ephesians 6, we're told
to put on the whole armor of God. And there's a purpose for
that, isn't there? That you may be able to stand
against the walls of the devil. Now all that armour listed in
some way illustrates simple faith, but there's one item in that
armour that's not defensive. It's the sword of the spirit,
and we're told in the same passage that the sword of the spirit
is the word of the Lord. In Hebrews 4, we're told that
the word of the Lord is quick and powerful. and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to divining asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and the intents of the heart." Brothers and sisters, there's
only one way to deal with these attacks of Satan, and it's to
declare God's Word to him. It's to lift up our great Savior
before him, and just leave him to God. James tells us in chapter
four, verse seven, resist the devil and he will flee from you. It's an amazing promise from
God. And we resist him by preaching the same gospel that our Lord
preached to him. We live by grace and not by our
works. And what's the result of this
final blow to Satan? Verse 11. Then the devil leaveth
him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. I just love the last part of
this verse. Behold, angels came and ministered
unto him. Where promised great trials in
this world, Painful situations, overwhelming circumstances, our
own faults, our own fails, attacks from within, attacks from without. And yet when each of these trials
passes, and they will eventually pass, but when each of them passes,
we have a very sweet promise, don't we? These things bring
us closer to God. What a great picture of entering
heaven and having passed from the agonies of this life. What a great encouragement to
us to wait upon our gracious God, to rest in his precious
promises, and to know that we have fulfilled all righteousness
in our great representative, our Lord Jesus Christ. May our King and Saviour open
our eyes to see these temptations in our lives. And may he also
cause us to wield that sword of his gospel faithfully, that
we might glorify him even in our most difficult trials. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, it's true, we
are just frail, weak, desperate creatures in need of a Saviour.
And what an amazing Saviour we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you, Father, that everything necessary for us to spend eternity
in your presence has been provided for in the finished work of our
great King. We thank you, Heavenly Father,
Although the circumstances of our lives are much bigger than
what we can bear, you have controlled all things. You have made even
Satan a servant to our salvation. Father, work so in our hearts
that you would cause us to just rest completely in this precious
truth, to look to you for all things, and again, to just rejoice
in the finished work of our great King and Saviour. Father, we
pray in his name, for your glory's sake. Amen. Let's have a break,
sorry.