Pastor Jon Burgess
April 17, 2016 - W1616

Jesus makes it plain and clear to us exactly what’s up the sleeve of our enemy: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world ?? the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ?? comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."  (1 John 2:15-17)

What is sin? Sin is missing the mark.  It's missing the will of God.  And so the enemy's whole goal is to get us to sin so that we miss the eternal will of God by biting into the temporary temptation that's right in front of us.

You see, these three things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are exactly how Adam and Eve fell.  

And the quickest way to lose a battle is to pretend that there isn't one.  But in order to win the war of sin, you first have to beat the battle of temptation.

So temptation is not the same as sin. Temptation is the thing that draws us in to sin.  In order for Jesus to conquer sin, death, and hell on the cross, He first had to conquer the temptations in the wilderness. So how do you win a war?  The answer is one battle at a time. 

1. The Flesh: Say “NO” to enticements.

What are enticements? Something used to attract or to tempt someone like seduction, fascination, colorful packaging, and clever advertising. Yup, this was the first one, the lust of the flesh.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell for it. There was only one tree that they weren't supposed to eat from. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They had every other possible thing they could eat in the garden. And what's the one that they were tempted to eat?  It's always going to be the one we're not supposed to bite from.

You see, sin never looks bad. It never looks like something that we want to avoid.  It always appeals to the hunger of our flesh. So there was something about the fruit on that tree that caught their eye, and they just wanted a taste of it. And the Devil played off of that and he still does.

Accordingly, Matthew chapter 4:1-4 says, “Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 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.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”'"

Satan always tempts us when we are most hungry, when our flesh is most craving something else, when we are most vulnerable. For example, when you're hungry for love, what do you think the enemy is going to bring across your path? There might be an attractive co-worker who suddenly starts talking and showing interest in you. And your relationship with your wife is lacking love at the moment. What is happening? Temptation is calling you.

Consider Jesus looking at the rocks. What sounds better, rocks or fresh bread? The devil knows exactly how to tempt us, and he's appealing to our flesh because everyone's flesh has cravings for the things that are not of God.  But Jesus overcomes that.

Say “YES” to fresh bread.

How was Jesus able to resist the temptation of the devil to turn this rock into bread? Because He was already filled on the inside.  His flesh wasn't.  His flesh was hungry.  But His spirit was filled.  It was filled with the fresh bread of the word of God.  And that is exactly how you and I will say "no" to the enticements.

Here's the second thing and another tip about winning the war. The bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions. 

So that is why here at New Hope we encourage you to get started on your S.O.A.P. daily devotions. Because this is the weapon you need to have to defeat the temptations of the devil.

1. The Eyes: Say “NO” to  embellishments.

Did you know that the longer a lie stays in front of us, the more true it looks. Pretty soon we start hearing about other people we know eating the fruit from the tree of life, and we say after taking that first bite, maybe it's not that bad.  

“Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘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.” Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”’” (Matt. 4:5-7)

Why would the devil take Jesus to the top of the temple? Because that was the center of worship.  That was where the horn was blown to call all of God's people to attention, to call all of them to worship.  There would have been people coming in and out of the temple.  They would have been coming there to worship God. 

Let me tell you the greatest thing about sin. It always offers you a shortcut, but shortcuts are never from the Father.  The Father had a way that Jesus was to walk it out.  In fact, it wouldn't be until three years later when Jesus finds himself inside the temple and He's flipping the tables saying, “This is My Father's house.  You've made it a den of thieves.” You see, the Father's plan for Jesus was way different from Satan's.  Satan's was more expedient.  To the eyes, it made sense.  The thought may have been, “If I throw myself off of here and I'm caught by angels, everyone's going to believe.  I will impress everybody.” It was a shortcut, and to the eyes it would have worked, but Jesus didn't give in.

So how do we say "no" to the enticement temptation of the eyes?

Say “YES” to fresh perspective.

You see, the eyes lie. We think that we see what's in front of us and that's it. But what God wants to do is give us fresh perspective. The lie is immediate.  Your purpose, your God?given value is farther off. 

Jesus wouldn't be in the temple for three years. What the devil was offering Him was right in front of Him.  God was giving Him fresh perspective.  When you and I get alone with God, when we sit at the feet of the divine mentor, He starts showing us things that we could not see before.  The temptation to get away with sin, it loses its hold on me the more often I get away with my savior and let Him hold onto me.  Because when I start hearing His heart and I start knowing His thoughts and I start seeing what's far beyond this lie that's right in front of me, I don't want to sin.  It loses its attractiveness, its lure. 

It's factually why Jesus won the temptation in the desert. Jesus trusted the Father. What was Jesus trusting? He had fresh perspective. In chapter 3, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit descended as a dove. The Father spoke to Him and said, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.” 

What do you think Jesus was holding onto during this whole ordeal? It was those words. Jesus just kept going back to that fresh perspective of knowing that He was God’s Son and that God was so proud of Him.

God was proud of Him simply because He was His son. If you don't hear that from your divine mentor, you'll fall for every lie about your identity. You'll bind to it, hook, line, and sinker.

1. The Pride: Say “NO” to entitlements.

   What are entitlements? Well, it’s the condition of having a right. I have a right. I mean, this is the mantra of the United States of America. It's our privilege and we deserve this. And you must let us have this now, and we don't even have to work for it. You just give it to me. I don't even have to earn it. Just because I'm alive and I breathe that I'm entitled to this.

   And the same thing was thrown at Jesus: “Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give You,’ he said, ‘if You will 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.”’ Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.” (Matt. 4:8-11)

Every lie and temptation is to ultimately get you and me to bow to the devil instead of the savior.

And the pride of life says that it is worth it to compromise and bow to get what you want because you deserve it. But be aware that if we have a price, the enemy will pay it just to get us to bow.

So how did Jesus combat that? With the word of God.  And there's a direct connection here between worship and service.

Although the devil gave up, I'm telling you, the devil is not going to give up until he tries and tries and tries again to pound through.

The only way we are going to win is if we build layers of the Word of God in our lives so that it's not just one scripture, it's not just once a week, but it's every single day that we are in God's Word. Otherwise, the devil is going to get out, he is going to pound through, and he's going to walk around your house like he owns the place. 

So how do we say no to the pride and temptation of entitlement?

Say “YES” to fresh worship.

Do you want to beat the pride of temptation and entitlement? Start doing something for somebody where you get no recognition or thanks in return.  Join a team where you start serving where no one even notices or knows your name.   

And unless we say yes to fresh worship through these service teams, you and I are going to walk around like we're entitled. I'm telling you, the only thing that we deserve is hell and damnation.  We have been given instead the grace of Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice on the cross. 

So entitlement says to think about your title. Jesus says, “I want you to worship Me through service.”

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We're going to say "no" to the devil by saying "yes" to Jesus and His word. The answer to all the questions is, “Read the Bible.”  

Regret causes us to look backward. God calls us to look forward.  My God does not speak the language of regret.  He speaks the language of redemption.  He speaks the language of renewal.  He speaks the language of resurrection.  A restart, a refreshing.  And so I'm done with listening to the voices of regret, and I don't care how much regret you walked in here with.  You don't have to walk out with it this morning.  Regret wants to stop you right here, and Jesus is saying right here is where we get started.  He gives you and me a fresh start, a new beginning.  He erases the space and replaces it with grace. Amen.

Questions:

1. What is sin?

2. What are enticements?

3. Why should we say yes to fresh bread?

4. Why should we say yes to fresh perspective?

5. What are entitlements?

6. How do we say no to pride and the temptation of entitlements?