Thor loves to be close to Beth.  He doesn’t let his 80 lbs. stop him from jumping up on the couch, getting close to Beth, and laying his head down on here lap – or there is when we go to bed; he jumps up, lays down next to her, and then puts his paw out on Beth’s leg.

He has got to be close – you and I need to kind of have that desire.

Jesus was close to the Father wasn’t He?  And in the Gospel we have heard read today (Luke 4:1-13) we see how Jesus handles temptations – temptations that are trying to draw Jesus away.

We all face temptations, and temptations, based on how we handle them, will put us closer or further away from God.

Have you ever succumbed to a temptation, when it’s over do you feel close to God?  I don’t!

So by looking at how Jesus handled temptation we might be able to learn how to handle it ourselves.

When we study Scripture I always encourage us to “know where we are in whatever we are reading” – or in other words – to “set the context”.

If you would look at your hand out I’ve outlined the context for this 4^th chapter of Luke’s Gospel.

• In Chapter 1 Jesus’ birth is foretold; in Chapter 2 Jesus is born; in Chapter 3 Jesus is an adult and is baptized.

• At the end of Chapter 3 Jesus’ family tree is provided that connects Him to Adam.

• It’s interesting that Luke’s puts this connection to Adam at this point in his Gospel – why might Luke be connecting Jesus to ADAM?
• Adam was the first human wasn’t he?  And Adam was subjected to temptation wasn’t he?  And Adam succumbed to that temptation.
• What Luke is showing us is that Jesus is fully human – and to be fully human means that:
• You face temptation, don’t we, and
• Succumbing to temptation actually makes us less human,
• I’m not saying we must be perfect, that isn’t the point, the point is the more we can overcome temptation, by God’s Grace, the more “fully human” we become.
• Think about what it is like when we overcome those personal and intimate enemies that tempt us.
• So often as Christians we have all the public aims without having our interior life in order.
• Luke is showing us what it will take Jesus – the One who is Fully Human –what we should strive for – and that brings us to:
• Chapter 4 where Jesus is led or driven (Mark’s Gospel says the Spirit drives Him) into the desert as He starts His ministry and mission!

Jesus is about 30 years old and He is setting out on his ministry, on His Mission.

• You and I have God-given missions, and we are going to think about those in a moment, but let me tell you THE MAIN POINT OF THIS MESSAGE:

Giving into temptation draws us AWAY from God – when we RESIST temptation we find how close God is to us.

It’s not that when we RESIST “we” get closer – it is that we find out how close God has been all along – as if we can see Him more clearly.

So let’s look at the temptations that Jesus faces.

At the end of verse 2 Jesus is hungry – the first temptation is physical.

• Have you ever been tempted by something physical – something you want?  It might even be something you need.
• Here we see Jesus having fasted for days – certainly He needed food.
• Certainly He might rationalize that God wouldn’t want Him, His own Son to starve.
• But here is the way you evaluate fulfilling a need – WHAT IS THE COST?
• You see if the Holy Spirit, the 3^rd person of the Trinity had driven or led Jesus into the desert, it would seem reasonable that God would take care of Jesus – certainly God wouldn’t be delegating it to the Devil!
• Because to choose the Devil is to chose opposite of God – to take our loyalty from God and give it to His enemy.
• Would Jesus have been “closer” or “further” from His Father if he had relied on Satan’s advice?
• Do you see how giving into temptation draws you away.
• The question to ask is what is the cost of fulfilling our personal needs – in fulfilling our needs do we give away our loyalty to God?

• Physical needs are important, but loyalty to God is MORE important. 

In verses 5 & 6 Jesus is offered all the kingdoms of the world – the second temptation is psychological.

The Devil offers Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” – now isn’t that what Jesus is going to get anyway?

Don’t we call Jesus “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”?

So what is Satan trying to do?

What is the driving force Satan is trying to appeal to? It’s the ego by appealing to:

• The human desire for “status”, and
• The human desire for “control”.

Status:

• Did Jesus ever seek “status” – did He ever ask people to call Him by certain titles, or do we find stories of Him asking to make sure He got the best seat in the house?
• Quite the opposite.
• But Satan is tempting Him with title and position.
• Jesus will gain that position and title, but it is not His focus – His focus, His mission is to serve
• Do you see how if Satan wins this temptation it changes Jesus’ mission from “Serving” to “Being Served”? (Matthew 20:28)

Our status is found not in worldly titles, but as sons & daughters of God. 

How about Control:

• Satan is saying, “Here Jesus, it’s all yours, without the Cross” – because that is how Jesus will achieve it in God’s plan.
• For Jesus to fulfill His God-given calling, He will have to go to the Cross.
• Satan if offering Him a short cut.
• If Satan wins there is no Cross, if Satan wins not only does Jesus lose, but you and I lose.

Our life is best lived by giving control to God and following His Plan and not by cutting corners.

So we’ve discussed two of the temptations, and I don’t know about you, but I can relate to them.

We now come to verses 9 – 11 where the Devil tempts Jesus to throw Himself off the Temple to show that God will send His Angels to rescue Him – this third and final temptation is spiritual – it is to test God.

Certainly Jesus is God’s Only Begotten Son and certainly He has the spiritual power to necessary to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple.

The question to ask is: “What is the purpose of spiritual power?

Satan even uses Scripture – is the Scripture wrong?

• Can you hear Satan talking to Eve in the Garden, “Did God really say that?” as he says to Jesus, “Well the Scriptures say…?”

How dare Satan quote Scripture to Jesus; to Him who wrote – to Him who is the Word!

To show you have devious the Devil is lets read two verses from Psalm 91:

10

There shall no evil happen to you, *
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

11

For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
to keep you in all your ways.

“To keep you in ALL your ways; hmm, looks like Satan is doing some selective reading of the Bible.

Jesus knows His mission, and He knows the purpose of His spiritual power.

• Jesus’ power is not for a cheap stunt, but to serve others.

These temptations are not random.  Jesus is on a mission to be the Messiah.  Physical strength, Psychological status (knowing He was the Messiah), and Spiritual Power are all things He needed.

And while He needs all those things the most important things He needs is to TRUST and OBEY His Father.

You and I have a mission – God has placed you on this earth for a purpose.

What is your God-given mission? Are you a parent, a spouse, a disciple, a ___________?

• What Physical distractions to this mission do you face?

• What Psychological distractions?

• What Spiritual distractions?

You and I will face these “distractions”, these “temptations”, and so I want to give you three lessons for dealing with temptation that we’ve learned from Jesus today.

• Don’t argue – all that does it let you continue to entertain the idea – emotionally and mentally walk away.
• You don’t need to debate with Satan – train your mind to refocus on something else.
• The more you think about it, the more it entices you, and that enticement allows sin to be conceived it says in the letter of James (chapter 1:15)

• Rely on God’s Powers through His Word use Scripture.
• That means we need to memorize Scripture.
• Some people say “I can’t” – if you know the Lord’s Prayer you’ve already got some memorized.
• So learn the ones Jesus used today.

• Remember your status and your mission – keep your focus on being a son and daughter of God and Serving.
• It is so easy for us to forget who we are and why we are really here.
• At the heart of our resistance to temptation is love and loyalty to God who has already called us his beloved children in Christ.

You can do this, you can overcome temptation.

Overcoming temptation isn’t about “hating yourself” – it’s about hating the sin.

Some people get so fed up with what they think or do that they literally hate themselves.

Don’t be filled with self-hatred where you end up rejecting parts of your God given humanity.

Rather celebrate your humanity, much like learning to play a musical instrument – you don’t hate the instrument – you work at it until it plays beautifully.

Or it’s like a sport, as you love it you work at it until you get better and you enjoy it.

I love that I’m a child of God, a son in Christ; love being a son and daughter of God in Christ – so let’s show God how much we love Him by working at being more and more the person that God has called us to be. 

Let’s pray.