(#33, Big Bear, Hinkley, 1953; Imperial 1953,1959)
Read Luke 4:1-13.
The first event recorded after the baptism of the Lord is the
temptation. From a season of honor and
glory He passed in one step to a season of conflict and suffering.
On the cross Christ tasted death for every man; in the
wilderness Christ tasted temptation for every man.
The first temptation (Luke 4:1-4).
ƒ The
temptation...
w Satan
seeks to destroy faith, the mainstay of Christianity... ("If thou be the
son of God"; "Hath God said".)
w Satan
picks out the weak point. Christ was
hungry; these stones were perhaps shaped like loaves of bread.
ƒ The
answer ... Man shall not live by bread alone.
We are not to be guided by the wants of the lower nature.
The second temptation (Luke 4:5-8).
ƒ The
temptation...
w To
have yielded to this temptation would have been a short cut to the kingdom
which will some day be Christ's.
w Some
think they can take a short cut in the Christian life by leaving out prayer,
the study of the Word, giving, etc.
Satan says, "All this property, power, standing I will give you if
you will worship me."
w What
shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world?
ƒ The
answer...Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God!
The third temptation (Luke 4:9-13).
ƒ The
temptation...
w Satan
again endeavors to throw doubt in Christ's mind ("If Thou be the Son of
God").
w Satan
uses scripture (Psalm 91:11-12). He
didn't quote all of it for this Psalm implies one must be in the path of duty
and in God's will to experience this care.
ƒ The
answer ... Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Observations...
1. Satan
is a person of power and subtlety.
2. The
manner in which the Lord resisted... "it is written."
3. The
purpose of Christ's temptation: Heb. 2:18!
Christ is adequate to meet temptation.
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