Into the Wilderness
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The Marshmallow Test
Oh temptation....whew. Some things in life are tough!
And we parents are sooooo cruel!!!
So, which person in the video are you like?
Do you eat it?
Nibble on it?
Or wait?
Sometimes temptation just seems overbearing!
This morning we begin a new sermon series titled “Into the Wilderness”
The lenten season began about a week and a half ago with ash Wednesday.
This is a 40 day period from ash Wednesday until easter.
It is a reflection of the 40 days that Jesus was in the desert.
Typically, during this period of time, we fast something and spend more time focusing on our relationship with Jesus.
Some people also will sometimes “take on” something to grow in their relationship. - could be giving up pop, dessert, Facebook, or many other things. Sometimes people will also read a book, start a new devotion time, or many other things.
With the idea of lent in mind, we will be diving into this short series on Jesus in the wilderness.
I encourage you to think about how you can focus on Jesus more during this time.
We will be diving into the three temptations/tests that Jesus faced and discuss how those can be translated into our lives.
Here are a few questions to get you thinking:
What temptations do we face?
Can we overcome them?
How does God test us?
How does this draw us closer to Him?
As we read in our scripture reading this morning, Jesus was baptized and then led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.
There are 4 quick things that I want to touch on this morning in regards to Jesus’ entry into the wilderness.
1. Jesus was just baptized
1. Jesus was just baptized
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. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
It is important to note here that Jesus just had a great experience! Here is where He instituted the sacrament of baptism.
One of, not the only, reasons we are baptized is because Jesus was!
This is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
So, shortly after His baptism He is led to be tempted/tested.
I want to let you know this morning that sometimes after great moments in our lives is when the enemy comes.
How many times has something great happened and then all of a sudden we feel like the enemy is right at the door knocking??
I know that sometimes right before or right after God does something amazing is when the enemy is hitting the hardest!
This was a difficult week for me.
A lot of things were weighing me down, but God also showed up in some huge ways.
And, as it typically seems, Satan was right there trying to tempt.
Sometimes is blatant sin that he tempts with, and sometimes it’s more subtle things like pride and arrogance.
If you don’t feel like you are being tempted or tested often, then maybe you need to refocus and be “baptized” again by the Holy Spirit!
2. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit
2. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
So, as Jesus heads directly into the fire, He has the Holy Spirit.
In fact, it is the Spirit that leads Him into the desert.
God knew what Jesus was about to go through.
And, He equips Him for it!
Not to give spoiler alerts, but Jesus doesn’t give into the temptations.
Why? One of the reasons is that He is full of the Holy Spirit!
I’ll give you some more reasons here in the next few weeks.
So, a note for us to remember this morning is that God equips us by the power of His Spirit!
If you haven’t experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, now is the time to do so!
Here in a bit I will give you the opportunity to do so!
So, Jesus was just baptized, full of the Holy Spirit and is led into the wilderness.
The third point is:
3. Jesus was vulnerable when He was tempted/tested
3. Jesus was vulnerable when He was tempted/tested
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Notice that it was after fasting for 40 days that satan came!
Jesus was hungry, he was vulnerable!
So, why was Jesus vulnerable?
It was because He was hungry, He hadn’t eaten anything in 40 days.
Next week we will dive into temptation 1, but a preview is that He is tested with food.
You see, the first temptation comes because Jesus hadn’t taken care of His needs.
Don’t get me wrong, there is more to the story here than what we will dive into today. He didn’t eat on purpose.
But still, if Jesus wasn’t hungry, would He had been tempted with food? Probably not.
You see, when we don’t take care of the things that we need to, it leaves us vulnerable to the temptations and attacks of the enemy!
I was visiting with Carol Huff this week and we were talking about the power of Scripture.
I was sharing with here that a few weeks ago I had and interesting experience.
I was laying in bed one night before Julia had come to bed and was just struggling a bit. Not really depression, but the enemy was just trying to tell me what my value was - which wasn’t much according to him...
And then something interesting happened. Apparently, he felt like I agreed with him as it seemed like he was laughing at me.
It was a really weird experience and this cloud of fear came over me.
I began praying…and crying out to Jesus...
And then quoted scripture. Everything that I could possibly come up with. Just started speaking it.
Within a minute or two, after rattling off several verses, this peace came and settled.
It was the Word of God, both written, but also “spoken.”
There is power in the Word.
Satan is more powerful than us, but he can’t touch the word of God!
So, I was sharing this with Carol and we were just talking about how awesome Scripture is!
Derek and I were talking about awesome it is that scripture is simple enough for the person who doesn’t know anything about God to pick it up and get the gospel.
And, how it is so complex that you can study it for a lifetime and still only have the tip of the iceberg.
So, when we talk about the things that we need to do, knowing scripture is one of them!
We will dive more into this next week as this is Jesus’ weapon against satan.
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
If you go over to Israel, you will see that many still have scripture hanging above their doorframes.
Be prepared, fall in love with the Word of God!
So, Jesus was baptized and full of the Holy Spirit, was led into the wilderness.
He was tempted when He was vulnerable.
The fourth thing I want to touch on is:
4. Difference in tempting and testing
4. Difference in tempting and testing
This is something that I want you to ponder this week.
Was Jesus tempted in the wilderness, or was He tested?
What is the difference?
Tempting is from the enemy - it is always towards sin
Testing is from God - it is for obedience
Temptation is what satan does when He wants us to go against the will of God.
Testing is what God does to check our hearts and faithfulness to Him.
Judas was tempted by money when he handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Abraham was tested when God told Him to sacrifice His son.
Adam and Eve were tempted in the garden. To go against the Word of God.
Jesus was tested when He was on the way to the cross.
Adam and Eve failed the temptation, Jesus succeed in the test.
Luke 1–9: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (Behind the Text)
“But unlike Adam, whose failure resulted in defeat and death at the hands of Satan, Jesus’ success results in life (cf. 1 Cor 15:45)” (Evans and Sanders 1993, 45).
When we fail in temptation, it results in dire consequences.
When we succeed in testing, it results in life.
This morning, I want to give you a moment to reflect.
Would you be willing to draw closer to Jesus this lenten season?
Are you prepared to go into the wilderness?
Have you been baptized by the water and the Spirit?
Are you taking care of your needs in preparation for temptation?
I want to play a song before the worship team comes up this morning.
If you need to draw closer to Jesus, now is a good time to do so.
If you have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and need saved, I encourage you to do so.
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
and in
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So, confess your sins, believe in your heart and declare with your mouth who Jesus is, and be saved.
Maybe you are saved, but haven’t experienced the Spirit working in a while. You too can come and pray to experience Him!
Maybe you need to really need to commit to Him again this lenten season.
You are welcome to come up and pray or stay where you are.