The Tempted King (Matthew 4:1-11)

[0:00] Okay, brothers and sisters in English service, long time no see. It's good that you have Pastor William with you.

[0:11] And yeah, I look forward to seeing you at church in a very near future, hopefully. So I'll continue on to the series of the King.

[0:21] The series of the King. And this time, Pastor William has given me this topic as the tempted King. Why? Why the King has to be tempted?

[0:34] Because, I mean, it's an age-old thing. No one is exempted from temptation. From the very first Adam in the Garden of Eden, he was tempted and he fell.

[0:50] Now, and Jesus being the second Adam, he has to go through temptation. And he has to overcome in order to bring salvation to us all.

[1:06] So let's have a look at this temptation thing. And because we're all tempted, more or less. And at times we fall.

[1:16] If it's not by the grace of God, we won't be here. So let's have a look. What is this temptation that we are facing? Now, the Cambridge Dictionary describes that it's a wish to do or having something that you know you should not do or have.

[1:38] That is temptation. Yeah, I mean, we all faced it at times. But what does the Bible say? What does the Bible say about temptation?

[1:50] And what our King had to go through? Now, let's have a look. Open up our Bibles in Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 to 11.

[2:02] I'm reading it from the NIV. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

[2:16] After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

[2:28] Jesus answered, It is written, Men shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

[2:43] If you are the Son of God, he said, Throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, And they will lift you up in their hands, So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

[3:00] Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do 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 splendor.

[3:15] And this I will give you, he said, If you bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, For it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

[3:29] Then the devil left him, And angels came and attended him. Now, This passage, Very simple.

[3:42] Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan. But the thing is, He has overcome.

[3:53] And that is the, that is so significant. It's a crucial point for us, as Christians, to overcome, to overcome, overcome temptation, and, and be victorious.

[4:09] So when we, when we are tempted, we can have confidence, according to this passage, we can have, have the confidence in Jesus, and, and sure, have this, have this, assurance and promise, that we can overcome as well.

[4:28] Yes, indeed, we are all, we are all tempted in various ways. But we can have hope, and we can have assurance, and we can have the promise, in Jesus.

[4:40] Now, this word, temptation, okay, in, in Hebrew, it's, it's, it's, it's, Nessa. Now, and in, in Greek, it's, pray, pray, rasmus.

[4:54] Now, what, what do those words mean? Okay. Now, Nessa, or, pray, pray, rasmus, in, in, in, in New Testament, in Old Testament, it's not just something negative.

[5:09] It's, it's, it actually can be both positive and negative, because, when, when, when God was testing, um, Abraham for his, faith, by offering Isaac, all right, Nessa, God used this word, he tested, Abraham.

[5:28] But, but the Israel, Israelites, when they tempted God, in the wilderness, also this word, Nessa. And the New Testament, Perasmos, also has this kind of a positive and negative, kind of a, uh, connotation.

[5:46] So it's not, it's not about, it's not about who is doing that. It's about, it's about the mentality behind it. God does not tempt us, as James has said, but we're tempted by our own evil desires, and, and we fall, and we're enticed by them.

[6:04] And the devil will certainly, will do his best, to, to tempt us, in order to pull away, pull us away from God. So, this is, the biblical, definition of, temptations.

[6:22] Can be testing, can be trialing, can be, tempting. Okay. Okay. So, but for, for Satan, our tempter, I mean, he is, is part of the, the, the plan that, that he really, he really wants to pull us away, separate us from God.

[6:41] It appears, appeals to our natural desires, in order that, we are, to fall in it, and to, annihilate ourselves, from God.

[6:54] So in the, in the, in the, in the, book of Genesis, we all know the classic, record about, this, the fall of man. Okay. So it was a tempter.

[7:05] He was disguised, as a serpent. But, I mean, he could disguise himself, as, as the angel of light too. Right. So we need to be, prudent, to discern, what this, tempter, who, how does it appear.

[7:23] And there is this temptation, the situation, that we are being in it, and the one, us, being tempted. And, I wasn't sure, if it was an apple, or what sort of, what kind of fruit, was, was there, but it was forbidden anyway.

[7:39] And, and the tempter, himself, was trying his best, to set out, to kill, to destroy, to pull us away, from God, in any given situation.

[7:53] And, often, this temptation, will hit, hardest, in the areas, of, of our weaknesses. So, just imagine, you know, that, I mean, we all have our, different personalities, experiences, our, our characters, our likings, you know, but, at times, we are strong, in certain areas, but we are weak, in other areas.

[8:22] And, there, you know, for, I mean, for, different things, that different things, will happen in life, I mean, certain things, we like, we are easily, much more easily, tempted, than others.

[8:33] For instance, if there was a fruit, if that fruit, was this, I mean, I certainly, will not fall, into temptation. I would, actually, run away from it.

[8:44] Others, I couldn't even, smell, I mean, stand the smell, of these things. I remember, when I was, when I first came to New Zealand, I was about 13, I was about 13, you know, and somebody, kind of, tried to, during lunch time, I was an intermediate, and they gave me, kind of a piece of bread, and, and I, and I, tried, wow, what, what's this in there?

[9:10] This black, you know, this color, brown, dark brown color, it's so salty, I, whoa, I couldn't even stand it. Oh, and then I realized, there was marmite. No, thank you.

[9:22] Certainly, I will not fall into it, but if you really, really like durians, or if you really, really hooked on, marmites, you could do anything, and, and you just, easily fall.

[9:36] And, and, Satan knows, where our weaknesses are. would it be for men? Would it be, would it be for sex?

[9:48] For ladies? Would it, would it be for, clothes, material stuff? Or, or who? Others would fall into pride?

[10:01] And, I remember, 1985, there was, there was a, Christian author, who, who has written this book, Money, Sex, Power, by, this guy was called, Richard Foster.

[10:15] And, it became, it became a classic. And, indeed, that was, that, what, what, the three dimensions, of temptations, that he, he mentioned, that actually has its roots, from the beginning.

[10:31] So, in Genesis chapter 3, when the, serpent was tempted, Eve, and Adam, I mean, you can eat the fruit, look at it, how lovely it is.

[10:43] And, and the Bible described that, it is, indeed, the fruit, was good, for food. And, it appears, to the, our materialistic, desires, money.

[10:57] And, and, and pleasing to the eyes, our emotional, our inner desires. and desirable, to gain wisdom, that's, pride, that's, power.

[11:13] Same thing, when Jesus, our king, was tempted, I mean, there is a word says, there's a phrase says, an old trick, is fine, as long, as it works.

[11:26] In Cantonese, kill, not afraid, go, the most important, is to be, to be, to be, so, Satan, try, try the same thing, turn the stones to bread, appear, to Jesus, appeal to Jesus, you know, he was hungry, it was something, that's, materialistic, indeed, we need to eat, you, you've been fasting for 40 days, there's something, I mean, turn the, turn the stone to bread, you can eat, and jump down from the temple, the inner desire, I can be great, oh, I jump down, and I'm not even hurt, and you worship Satan, he'll give you, the kingdoms of the world, power, pride, and that's why, old, apostle John, he, he, reminded, the Christians at the time, it was the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of this life, we need to be careful, we need to be careful, now,

[12:32] I think, we need to understand, the things that come at us, and we need to be careful, and, and, we, we need to, to be, sticking in Jesus, and by his grace, by his power, we, overcome, these, temptations, so how are we going to, be victorious, how are we going to, win over these, temptations, we can't do it by ourselves, not by power, not by might, but by the spirit, says the Lord, so, how can we win, the three temptations there, and how did Jesus overcome, firstly, the will of God, and then, the indwelling spirit, that was in Jesus, and then, thirdly, the noble identity, identity, that, he knows, he's very certain of, and, we can, win over these, temptations, as well, now, this is the map, about Jesus, when, the Bible recorded, he was, when he got baptized, in John 3, and then, the, and then, the spirit led him, to the wilderness, okay, to the wilderness, to be tempted, and after the, 40 days, of temptations, he, he overcame, and, and, and then, after that, he started, his ministry, he went up, back up to,

[14:04] Nazareth, and then, went out to, Galilee, to Caponium, to start, his ministry, preaching, the gospel, the kingdom, of the gospel, of the kingdom, so, how are we going to, yes, yeah, I mean, Jesus, he's son of God, but I'm not Jesus, how can we overcome, I believe that, because of the, victory of, over temptation, of Jesus, becomes our power, becomes our promise, we can, have victorious, power, life, over temptations, we can win, with Jesus, so, firstly, the word of God, in verse 4, verse 7, verse 10, it is written, it is also written, for it is written, now, all these, Jesus was replying, every challenge, by Satan, you turn these stones, become bread, throw yourself down, come and worship me, bow down, worship me, and, and,

[15:09] Jesus replied, it is written, it is written, it's, it's, the word of God, has been written, and I truly believe that, and if we, we are, careful enough, we know that, Jesus was citing, the Old Testament scriptures, right, surely, I mean, there was no New Testament, at Jesus time, all the Bibles, all that was written, it was the Old Testament, writings, writings, but, which Old Testament, writing, the book, of, Deuteronomy, why, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, was, recording, the, after the 40 years, of, Israelites, in the wilderness, just before, they were going, to the promised land, Moses, again, repeated the law, to them, get yourselves ready, go into the promised land, and Jesus, in the wilderness, for 40 days, and ready, to embark, onto his ministry, so, there was a parallel there, and,

[16:21] Deuteronomy, is not just, the, anywhere, in Deuteronomy, and it was, between, the verse, three verses, were all, in the chapter, six, to eight, and, every, Palestinian Jew, at the time, would know, that, that, that, three passages, I mean, three chapters, there was no chapters, at the time, that, the, the, the, the recordings, of, of those, those, passages, it was, really, belonged to that, passage of, Shema, Shema, hear, O Israel, okay, it was, it was a command, for the Israelites, to hear, the laws, of God, so, Jesus, knew, Jesus, was convinced, so, it's not much, even though, he was, the son of God, but, it's the father's will, it's the, laws, laws of God, that he is, to submit to, so, how are we, as, disciples of Jesus, how do we, treat the word of God,

[17:36] I mean, surely, we can read, we can know, the Bible, we can even, recite, but, it's not just, the knowledge, of God's words, but, we need to, observe, we need to, practice, we need to, trust, on his words, Psalm, 1, 1, 9, verse 9, says, how can a young person, stay on the path, of purity, I'm sure, it's not just young person, anyone, to stay on the path, of purity, by what, by knowing, the word of God, by reciting, the word of God, no, no, no, no, by living, I mean, knowing, and reciting, and, you know, it's, it's understood, but, ultimately, we need to live, according, to, his word, and, that, we can, have the, power, and assurance, to, win, over, temptations, secondly, the, indwelling spirit, now, in,

[18:42] Matthew chapter 3, verse 16, as soon as Jesus, was baptized, he went up, out of the water, at that moment, heaven, was opened, and he, saw, the spirit of God, descending, like a dove, and alighting, on him, now, just imagine, I'm not sure, if others could see it, but he certainly, could see it, and he knew, that the Holy Spirit, was descending, upon him, and, that's why, in verse, in chapter 4, verse 1, Matthew described, that Jesus, was led, by the spirit, he did not go in there, by himself, but he was led, by the Holy Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, to be tempted, okay, and, in Luke verse, Luke chapter 4, verses 1 to 2, verse 1, Jesus, full, of the Holy Spirit, and was led, by the spirit, okay,

[19:46] I mean, we're full, with the Holy Spirit, filled, with the Holy Spirit, we still need, to go through, testing, God does not test, God does not tempt us, as James has said, right, but the, but he, through these, situation, he tests us, to test our loyalty, okay, but the Satan, will certainly, do his part, to pull us down, pull us down, away from God, so it was, what the, the Holy Spirit, led Jesus, for these, 40 days, in order, to, to prove, his faithfulness, his readiness, to, to overcome, and to, fulfill, the gospel, because he's not just, going to, preach about the gospel, he need to, he need to, he is the gospel, so he must, win over, he is, he, as the second Adam, he has to overcome, and praise God, he did, so it was, it was the word of God, he trusted on, and also he knew, the, the spirit was in him, and he, he, he knew that,

[21:15] God would not allow, him to, go through, something that he could not, bear, and same with us, we have the Holy Spirit, in us now, okay, and yes, we are under trial, we are under, under testing, or under testing, all the time, and, and, and Satan would tempt us, but the Bible promise, in 1st Corinthians, chapter 10, promise that, I mean, God will not lead us, God will not let us, tempted, beyond, what we can bear, he will, certainly, open up, a way for us, we are filled, with the Holy Spirit, the spirit will not, push us, push us, to the dead end, he will allow us, to go through that, and then, to be strengthened, to be strong, to prove our, our faithfulness to God, and God can use us, yes, I remember, you know, the Lord would, also taught us, how to pray, okay, lead us not, into temptation, but how does this,

[22:21] I mean, how does this, reconcile with this passage, that the, the Holy Spirit, led Jesus, to be tempted, and, and Jesus, taught us to pray, lead us not, into temptation, and, I mean, that, we are all tempted, I mean, we are all tempted, at all times, but Jesus, taught us to pray, is to, not to the stage, that we are going to be, critically, for, I mean, being, unwell, is one thing, but, when we, when we, ill to the point of death, is, is another, all right, we, we have flus, and cold, and, you know, but if you died of, a flu, it's pretty critical, I mean, in life, we are being tempted, all the time, and pray, that God, will not, lead us, into the point, that, of no return, and, and,

[23:24] Holy Spirit, does his job, in reminding us, bring us, to our, our, our, consciousness, about, where we are, you're going too far, my son, and, the Holy Spirit, is reminding us, as, as our, counselor, as, as our, our, our protector, as our advocate, so, he will not, let us, go to this, critical moment, but let us, hear his, his voice, let us pray, and let us, be diligent, he's always with us, he's, he's speaking to us, right now, maybe we're going through, some sort of, challenges, some, some, temptations, at a moment, what is he saying, to you, I mean, with, surely he will speak, through the word, and sometimes he speaks, through, different, different, circumstances, but it will, he will, he will not contradict, the will of God, so what, what is he saying, to us now, when we are facing, temptations, a, theologian,

[24:41] Warren, wise, I don't know how to pronounce his name, but anyway, it doesn't matter, he says that, temptation is, Satan's weapon, to defeat us, yes, he will do all, you know, he will fire his, fiery darts, arrows, bullets, but God, can use temptation, as tests, as tools, to build us up, so, we do not need to fear, W, word of God, I, indwelling spirit, N, noble, identity, Matthew 3, 17, and a voice, from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love, with him, I am well pleased, and Luke, from another perspective, and, that was even more, that was even more convincing, like, the voice said, you are my son, whom I love, with you,

[25:54] I am well pleased, now, just imagine, I don't know, which vision, was more correct, exactly, you know, which was, exactly, was the, the voice, spoke, but, imagine, Jesus, he knew, he was going to, go to, the cross, now he's, he's, he's got baptized, and he knew, he has to go through, trials, 40 days, tempted, by Satan, and he need to, start his ministry, and it will be, oppositions, it will be, misunderstandings, it will be, it will be, the, I mean, it will, it will be, it will be, it will be, it will be, he will, he will, he will have to go, to the cross, and, at worst of the lot, he will have, to face, the annihilation, because of the sin of man, he was bearing, upon his shoulder, he has to be, annihilated, from his father, that was the worst, the worst pain, of all for him, but here, his father, promised, no matter, what you're going through, no matter, what you're going to face, in the future, you are my son, whom,

[27:20] I love, with you, I am, well, pleased, I'm sure, that will be, a great comfort, that will also, serve as a great, great encouragement, for him to face, anything, anything, in the future, you know, hard labors, will not kill us, others, oppose us, that's okay, as long as, we know, we're loved, and we can love someone, I mean, for those, who's married, you know, if you and your spouse, can stand, together, I mean, nothing, nothing, can come into, you know, and invade, your family, if you and your spouse, can in God, we are standing, we're standing together, in unity, and with, with, love, and love, nothing in this world, can, can beat us up,

[28:29] I mean, for, for me, and Simo, we're coming up, 29 years, I mean, we had, had a fair bit, of challenges, trials, testing, I'm sure, Satan had, done his bit, to try to pull us, away from God, but because, we pray together, and we, we, we, we are very, very certain, from day one, that God has placed us together, to walk the path of life together, I mean, there's a couple, in the last 10 years, there were a couple, three times, Simo has, nearly said goodbye to me, right, but, because, because, we're in love, and I can surely, look at her, and I say, you are my wife, whom I love, with you, I'm well pleased, and she can look at me, and she can look at me, and say to me, you are my husband, whom I love, with you, I'm well pleased, I mean, we can face any challenges, just, just think, our heavenly father, the perfect God, he says to you, you are my son, whom I love, with you,

[29:44] I'm well pleased, I tell you, I can face anything, any fiery darts, any arrows, any bullets, from Satan, I can still stand, because I know, I have this, noble identity, I'm a son of God, you are a daughter of God, we are children of God, we can sure win, so, W, word of God, I, indwelling spirit, and noble identity, they all come from God, we have this assurance, in Jesus, and he has, won over, temptation, and we can, by his power, by his grace, we can win over it as well, and Luke 4, verse 13, describe that, I mean, in Matthew, there's only one phrase, it says, when the devil, I mean, then the devil left him, but in verse, in Luke 4, 13, it says, when the devil had finished, all his tempting, at that time, at that time, 40 days, it was quite a long time, and he left him, until an opportune time,

[31:01] I mean, don't ever think, once we have overcome, temptation, and then we're done, no, no, he'll come back, he'll keep coming back, he'll, he looks for another time, more suitable, maybe more, I mean, more, more, he thinks it's, more benefit, beneficial for him, to come and attack us again, so let us be diligent, let us be, let us keep awake, okay, you never know, he's coming back, again, but, yet, we have, the will of God, we have the, indwelling spirit, we have the noble identity, no one can take that, away from us, so a few questions, for us to, think about, in our groups, what are some of the, weaker areas, in our lives, that we often fall, into temptation, I mean, boys, we have, we have our weak, areas, compared to girls, okay, and, you know, different stages, we have different challenges, and, and, you know, sometimes, we're, we're okay, but often, we're not, so what, try to identify, what are some of the, weaker areas, and don't laugh at one another, you know, because, everyone is different, okay, some like durian, some don't, okay, some, some, some really like,

[32:29] Vegemites, all right, okay, honor, but be careful, and, and secondly, remember, an experience of, us overcoming temptations, I'm sure we all had, these kind of victories, moments, and praise God, there's nothing to brag, but, we can share it, just to, to encourage one another, and to glorify God, and, and which three, one of these three, maybe more than one, factors, that, that will serve as, good reminders for us, when we go through, temptations, in the near future, the will of God, I mean, they're all inseparable, you know, I mean, we can't have one, without the other, but, but you know, maybe one or two, that really, really, remind us, you know, oh, I need to, really, trust on the word of God, I need to remind ourselves, wow, the Holy Spirit is in me, I can overcome, because he's, he's in me, he's speaking to us,

[33:30] I need to pray to him more, and maybe, I need to remind ourselves, I have this noble identity, I'm not going to fall in the rubbish, I mean, I'm not going to, you know, if I, I have the great, great banquet, I remember, what's his name, it was a guy, he would say, I said, look, if, if you know, the sizzling steak, is, is in the, is in the grill, I mean, you won't settle with the lunch, meats, you know, the luncheon meats, I mean, wow, we have this, this great, great abundance in God, why settle with the little chicken feet, you know, right, let's, let's pray, Father God, just thank you for your promise, thank you for the power, thank you for the victory of Jesus, and in him, we can overcome as well, thank you Jesus, thank you, in your precious and wonderful name, Amen.