OVERCOMING TEMPTATIONS
(week 25/15)
OLUBI JOHNSON
Luke 4:1-13 KJV: And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, (2) Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. (3) And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. (4) And Jesus answered him, saying, it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (5) And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (6) And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. (7) If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. (8) And Jesus answered and said unto him, get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (9) And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: (10) For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: (11) And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (12) And Jesus answering said unto him, it is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (13) And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
Here, we see the Lord Jesus being tempted by the devil AFTER A 40-DAY FAST!
It is instructive to note that the temptations were ALL at the THOUGHT LEVEL: THE DEVIL DID NOT SPEAK TO HIM IN AN AUDIBLE VOICE!
In particular, there was no mountain in Israel from which the Lord could see ALL the Kingdoms of the world in a moment of time: it all happened in His thoughts. Furthermore, the temptations were in the WILDERNESS NOT IN JERUSALEM: so His going to top of the temple IN JERUSALEM (NOT THE WILDERNESS!) was in His thoughts!
Furthermore, these 3 temptations were done through:
1.The lust of flesh: IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION OF HIS PHYSICAL DESIRE FOR FOOD by using the power of the Spirit without measure that He had received at the Jordan river baptism to turn stones to bread. We KNOW He could have done it, as He later fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fishes: BUT HE DID NOT ABUSE THE POWER OF GOD that He had been given!
2. The lust of the eyes: the desire of the mind for material wealth and power.
3. The pride of life: to use the power of God for vain glory by jumping from the top of the temple and allowing angels to physically appear to catch Him in the air for ALL to see!
1John 2:16-17 KJV: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
James 1:13-15 KJV: Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
The Lord Jesus ABORTED THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH, EYES AND WILL AT THE THOUGHT LEVEL, so the lusts DID NOT CONCEIVE TO BRING FORTH SIN!
He overcame the temptations by REJECTING THE THOUGHTS and DESIRES SATAN BROUGHT TO HIS MIND and BODY WITH THE WORD OF GOD THAT WAS IN HIS HEART fulfilling
Psalms 119:11 KJV: Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
The Lord did this not only in the wilderness BUT ALL DAYS OF HIS LIFE ON EARTH:
Hebrews 4:15 AMP: For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Similarly, we can overcome ALL temptations like the Lord Jesus did: we will see HOW TO DO THIS NEXT WEEK.
