When Tempted

Mark chapter 1, we're beginning a journey through the gospel of Mark.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

I began three weeks ago talking about the baptism of Jesus because it was baptism Sunday for

! us and talked about that and then we talked about the man Mark himself who was a teenager

during the ministry of Christ. Historians tell us we're heavily influenced by Peter and much

of what Mark writes is based upon the testimonies of Peter and you can see that how this book will

crescendo into Peter's great statement about you are the Christ the son of the living God. It's

right there in the middle of Mark and then when he gets to that point he just rushes straight to

the cross. Mark writes in a hurry and loves to talk about pronouncing Christ as Lord and Savior

and then to talk about the the cross and last week we looked at John the Baptist and our very first

Southern Baptist but today I want us to continue to last joke I want us to continue to look at

at Mark and see the strength of the ministry of Christ but but also to see where that strength

came from. Mark chapter 1 verse 12 and 13 says this the spirit immediately drove Christ out into the

Mark 1:12

wilderness right after his baptism and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and he

was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to him. The plan of God for the incarnation

of Christ or Christ coming into the flesh was that in Christ's sinless perfection he would die in our

place take upon himself the sin of all the world and then all who will surrender to Christ before during

our after the cross will be saved and forgiven of their sins as Christ has paid the required price of death for us.

2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 tells us for our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might

2 Corinthians 5:21

become the righteousness of God that is the plan of God but Satan wants to thwart that he wants to thwart that in

individual lives he wants to thwart that in church ministry he wanted to thwart that in the life of Christ

and you see it four different ways one is he tried to kill him as a babe with King Herod that was a

satanic attack second he tempts him in the desert our passage today later he'd try to kill him but thank God

after Christ died on the cross he rose again and ascended and is on the throne and since then his fourth way

is that he has declared war on the church

he's declared war on the people of God now today we focus on number two and that is that he

led Jesus into temptation and and wanted to tempt Jesus to get him to fail it says he immediately went

into the wilderness right after his baptism Satan hit him right out of the gate

and he hits him by trying to get him to sin he hits him early before his ministry begins he hits him

when he's most vulnerable he hits him when he's fasting he hits him in a desolate place in a dreary

place in a in a lonely place mark is brief in everything that he says but I want you to notice what he

what he speaks of when he speaks of the temptations in the wilderness one I want you to notice the source

it was the spirit of God that drove Christ into the wilderness that compelled him to go to the desert

the devil didn't drag him out there he didn't just wonder out there I talked to last week about how

John the Baptist was was baptizing and ministering in the wilderness lived in the desert ate locusts and

wild honey and all that kind of stuff and people came uh Jesus came from Nazareth 70 miles away to

to be baptized by him Jerusalem's almost was more than half of that far from from where he was and

and scripture says that all Jerusalem and all Judean country came they were coming long distances to hear

John but but but I want you to understand that Jesus and he went out there to be baptized he didn't

just kind of wander away from John and just happen to be still in the wilderness no scripture tells us

the spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness it was spirit driven

literally also notice the timing it says immediately sometimes translated straightway and uh

uh that is Mark's favorite word probably ethos is a Greek word that's used often in Mark and it's used 59

times in the New Testament 41 of those times it's used in the gospel of Mark and get this 11 of those

times it's used in chapter one it was right after his baptism and the timing of that is is crucial

I want you to also notice the location it was the desert it was the wilderness it was an arid

desolate rough area it's dusty it's dangerous there's rocky peaks there there's craggy cliffs there

there's sheer ravines there it's a difficult place also notice the occasion he was there to be tempted by

Satan Mark tells us he was tempted while he was there but Matthew tells us that he was there to be tempted

Matthew chapter 4 verse 1 says then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil

Matthew 4:1

it does not say that he was tempted by the spirit of God even though the spirit of God drove him into the

desert James 1 verse 13 tells us that God does not tempt anyone but God the father allowed this to happen

James 1:13

the spirit of God led him to it but our Lord and Savior Jesus had to deal with Satan and he had to defeat

Satan that was his mission that was his ministry and Satan hit him straight out of the gate while he was

vulnerable while he was alone while he was in a tough place and that's often the way the evil one

tempts he'll hit you straight out of the gate

if you're here this morning you get convicted

about sin in your life that you've been struggling with or maybe you've never given your heart and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ and he convicts your heart today and you surrender your life to the Lord Jesus

or you are a Christian but you know there's sin in your life and God convicts you of that and today

you repent of that and to get that right and you want to leave this place right with God doing right

watch out on Monday morning

because when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed the devil will be smiling at you

he loves to hit you straight out of the gate

some of you may not even make it to lunch

today

but he loves to

especially when we get charged

to grow in the Lord he wants to shut that down

he wants to shut that down

I mean if you're playing ball a man gets

I'm ready for football you can tell in a minute

if you're playing ball a man gets a ball in the backfield

it's best to just go ahead and hit him in the backfield

don't let him get his steam up

and that's exactly how Satan loves to do us

he loves to hit us straight out of the gate

it's a satanic strategy

he also hits us when we're most vulnerable

he'll hit us in our weak moments

he'll do it when you feel spiritually weak

he'll do it when you feel physically weak

he'll do it when you feel emotionally weak

he looks for those opportunities

he also does it when we're alone

most of our temptation will come in life when you're in your own head

when you're by yourself

and the random thoughts

or the things that you're exposed to

come about

it's often an attack

and too often the sins that people commit with other sins

are because they didn't take care of it

when they were alone

and when you're in a tough place

a tough place can be a tempting place

a tough place can be a discouraging place

a tough place can be a lonely place

but when you're out of place

Satan attacks

and God was not unaware of that

and God is not unaware of that

he never is unaware of that

he led Christ to the spot

and he led him through it

and I want you to notice how

notice the company

scripture says he was with angels

and with wild beasts

he was being strengthened

and being provided for by angels

and let me run a rabbit a minute

by the way

grandpa that passed

is not your guardian angel

nor is the cardinal that flies into your yard today

when saints go to glory

we don't become angels

you wasn't an angel when you're on earth

you're not an angel when you go to glory

actually we're above angels

we have something angels don't have

and that's redemption

scripture does not tell us

that God provides us a body guard

that will guard us

it does say in Psalm 91 verse 11

Psalms 91:11

for he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways

not an angel but angels

Matthew 19 also speaks of the angelic protection of children

when Christ speaks of

my translation

don't mess with kids

that's what Jesus says

if you cause one to sin

you'd be better to have a millstone

thrown around your neck

that's worse than a cinder block around your ankle folks

and to be thrown into the depths of the sea

Jesus said that

he was serious about it

angels protect

angels provide for

angels strengthen

and they do it all at

get this

get this

they do it all at God's command

God gets the credit

not the angels

not dead relatives

God gets the glory

and so if you leave here today

and are almost in an accident

but you're not in an accident

and you're protected

because angels envelop your car

and took care of you

don't give glory to the angels

give glory to God

because the angels wouldn't have been doing anything

if God hadn't dispatched them to be right there at the time

God gets the glory

I'll say that again

God gets the glory

give God the glory

we get distracted at times

angels ministered to Jesus

how'd they do that?

I like what one commentator said

he said and I quote

envision Jesus sleeping at night

while angels flying around him

welding swords that cut off the scorpion's tail

the leopard's teeth

the jackal's claws

the boar's tusk

and the snake's fangs

end of quote

well I don't know if that's exactly how it went down

but I will tell you that in the area in which Christ was

there are leopards

there are jackals

there are boars

there are snakes

there are scorpions

they inhabit the wilderness that he was in

and it's described that way

to let us know

that Christ was in the desert

dealing with spiritual battles

but he was also dealing with physical battles

and through it all

he was never alone

even when nobody was in the desert with him

he was still never alone

Jesus gives us the same promise in John 14

when he promises us

we will never be alone

I will not leave you alone

I will come to you

he promised he'd come to us

and that God would give us a comforter

the spirit of God

to carry us through those times

Jesus was not alone

he had angels there

he had animals there

and the devil was all mixed in there as well

and that's what Mark tells us

now Mark don't deal with the type of temptations

that Jesus faced

because he's in a hurry

he just tells us that he went there to be tempted

and that he was tempted while he was there

but Matthew 4 gives us a good idea

of what was going on

at the end of his 40 days

he gives us three temptations

that Jesus faced

at the end of the 40 days

scripture is quite clear

that he was tempted throughout those 40 days

but in Mark

excuse me

Matthew chapter 4

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1

it says this

then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness

to be tempted by the devil

and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights

he was hungry

and the tempter came and said to him

if you are a son of God

command these stones to become loaves of bread

but he answered

it is written

man shall not live by bread alone

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God

fasting in the desert for 40 days

can easily kill you

especially if you don't have enough water

and in that time of weakness

Satan comes and tempts him

to do a miracle

to find food

now Jesus was in the desert

fasting and praying

and leaning on the father

and that was the point

to provide his own bread

is not leaning upon the father

and being obedient to what the father led him

and that's the rub here

that's the problem

and that's why Jesus quoted scripture

about resting more in the obedience of the word of God

than in our basic desires

but the devil don't stop there

he says in verse 5 of Matthew 4

then the devil took him to the holy city

and sent him on the pinnacle of the temple

and said to him

if you are the son of God

throw yourself down

for it's written

he will command his angels concerning you

and on their hands

they will bear you up

lest you strike your foot against a stone

and Jesus said to him

again it is written

you shall not put the Lord your God to the test

so what the devil does next

the devil threw out the temptation

to jump from the pinnacle of the temple

we believe that probably is referring

to the highest point on the wall of the temple mount

which would be the southeast corner

and if you were to throw yourself off of that

you would throw yourself into the depths

of the Kindred Valley

that separates the Mount of Olives

from the temple mount

it's a deep crevice there

he said do that to prove that God will protect you

his main point was to cause him doubt

to not trust the Lord

but test God

instead

and Christ answered him with scripture

again he answered him with scripture

then the third temptation is mentioned

in verses 8 through 10

it says

again the devil took him to a very high mountain

and showed him all the kingdoms of the world

and their glory

and he said to him

all these I have given you

if you will fall down and worship me

then Jesus said to him

be gone Satan

for it is written

you shall worship the Lord your God

and him only you shall serve

so lastly he tempts Christ

to bow down to him

and in return he could rule the world

and Christ responded

with only worshiping the Father

now what I want you to understand

about these temptations are

I hope you see that

each one of these temptations

is about the direction

and the power

and the positioning

of the ministry

of Christ

the intent of the devil

is to make him sin

by defying God

and choosing a second best route

instead of God's best

the other intent

was to throw him off course

for his whole ministry

because the devil

was not the only one

that was going to try

to persuade Christ

to do things

that he was not led

by God to do

people would do that as well

and I believe

these temptations

kind of precede

what people would expect

out of him

as well

some people just wanted

a savior on their terms

to be able to

have God do

what they wanted him

to do for them

instead of surrendering

their life

to follow him

and trust him

others

really believed

that prophecy

proclaimed him

to be something

different

than who he is

and to do something

different than

what he's done

and this may shock you

but some people

misunderstood prophecy

in that day

and this may shock

even more

some people

misunderstand it today

they sell a lot

of books on it

but they misunderstand it

especially that guy

a great example

is the guy

that wrote the book

called 88 Reasons

Why the Rapture

Will Take Place

in 1988

it's a pretty cheap

book on eBay now

it was a hot seller

at the time

the reality is

people sometimes

want God

to be something

different than

what God is

or wants him

to do something

different for them

than what it's

his will to do

and when Jesus

came out of the desert

he had faced

that kind of temptation

he had been tested

he had been tried

and the challenges

that he faced

by people

after that

never faced him

I don't believe

because he had already

experienced all that

these challenges

were always about

defying the will

of God

and going another way

and that's always

the challenge

of temptations

and every time

we face temptation

we need to remember

some things

I'm going to give you

three

one is

we are not alone

when we're tempted

I told you

that temptation

often comes

when we're alone

but you're not really

alone when you're tempted

for one

the temptation

comes from Satan

and his powers

and principalities

of the air

as Ephesians

talks about

and I'll tell you

it is an attack

so always

keep that in mind

it's bigger

than what we see

and second

the Holy Spirit

of God

is with us

and angels

are dispatched

by our Heavenly Father

and they're there

to assist

and to strengthen

and to guide

and to drag us

out of that

we are not alone

when we're tempted

second thing is this

there's always a way out

the devil would love

for us to think

there's no way out

often I have people

tell me

I didn't have a choice

I had to give in

that's a lie

that smells of smoke

1 Corinthians 10

13 says this

no temptation

has overtaken you

that's not common

to man

God is faithful

and he will not

let you be tempted

beyond your ability

but with the temptation

he will also provide

the way of escape

that you may be able

to endure it

and that goes back

to my previous point

you're not alone

ever

there's a way out

and the last thing

when we stand

Satan will flee

you need to rely

on this passage

you need to hear it

you need to digest it

you need to write it down

put it on your dash

put it on your mirror

put it on your head

memorize it

James 4 7

submit yourself

therefore to God

resist the devil

and he'll flee

from you

draw near to God

and he'll draw near

to you

what Jesus do

he relied

on scripture

and I give you

these scriptures

today

to rely on

now notice

what happens

when this season

of the Lord's

temptation

is over

in Luke chapter 4

Luke 4:13

verse 13

it says

and when the devil

had ended

every temptation

he departed

from him

until an

opportune

time

an opportune

time

means that

Satan

will be back

now scripture

tells us

when we resist

him

he will flee

for a little

while

and the strength

that we have

against the

temptation

that we face

is the word

of God

that's what Jesus

used in the desert

it's what we need

to use

we have to stay

laser focused

on the word

of God

if Jesus

need to rely

on it

how much

more

we need

to rely

on it

and I hope

you understand

that the whole

strategy

of Satan

against Christ

was to change

his focus

on the gospel

to somehow

distort the focus

of the gospel

if he could

kill our hope

by having Jesus

fall into sin

and no longer

be a substitute

for our atonement

then sin wins

and that was his point

or if he could

change the focus

of the ministry

of Christ

from a gospel

driven reliance

upon the father

to instead

a power hungry

miracle driven

reliance

upon popularity

then sin wins

there is no

eternal difference

in a popularity

contest

but thank God

Jesus saw

straight through

his attempted

deceptions

and I'm telling you

by the spirit

of God

we need to

as well

stand

when temptation

comes

stand

stand

stand firm

on the word

of God

you're not alone

stand firm

on the word

of God

no temptation

has come upon

you except

what's common

to man

and God

will always

provide a way

out

stand on the word

of God

stand against

the evil one

and he will

flee

from

you

you can

rest in that

my friend

draw near

to God

and he'll

draw near

to you

we just

have to stay

laser focused

on the hope

that we have

and the hope

that we have

is in the word

of God

and if we

don't rest

on it

if we're not

familiar with it

if it's not

at the tip

of our tongue

when temptations

come

we'll fall

every time

our hope

is found

in the power

of the blood

of Christ

and the strength

of the word

of God

and we

rest our

life on it

now if you've

never done

that

if you've

never surrendered

your life

to the Lord

Jesus Christ

the process

of salvation

is to acknowledge

that you are

a sinner

you've done

wrong

and that you

can't provide

a way out

by yourself

that in reality

you need to

ask the Lord

to forgive you

and to cleanse

you and from

this day forward

you commit

your life

to follow him

it's a decision

that requires

a change

in our direction

that's what

repentance means

it's not just

an intellectual

engagement to it

it's saying

from this day

forward

I'm going to

live

for the Lord

Jesus Christ

I want him

to guide me

in the deserts

of my life

I want to

remember him

on the mountaintops

of my life

I want him

to guide my life

and if you've

never made

that decision

I want you

to know

scripture says

today's the day

of salvation

he'll meet you

where you are

and he'll say

if you think

you have a need

for that

I'll tell you

you didn't

come up

with it

on your own

the spirit

of God

has led you

to this point

and you just

need to follow

his lead

maybe you're

here and you

have done that

but you've

never acknowledged

that publicly

it's been a

private matter

for you

and Jesus

by his example

and by his

commission

tells us

to follow

that with

baptism

it is a

public

confession

of what

Christ has

done in

our heart

and life

you've

never been

baptized

as a

believer

I'll tell

you it's

a major

stumbling

block

in your

Christian

walk

because it's

the first

step of

obedience

and it's

something

that you've

missed

a long

way

so you

just need

to be

obedient

and follow

the Lord

in that

we won't

do it

this morning

but we'll

guide you

through that

prepare for

that in

the days

ahead

maybe you're

here this

morning

God's

leading you

to Pickens

First Baptist

Church

and you

know this

is the

place

where God

would have

you to

serve

you join

with us

let's do

everything we

can till

the Lord

returns

to uplift

his name

to lean

upon his

word

to share

his gospel

or maybe

you're like

a lot

of folks

here

and there's

stuff in your

life that you

need to lay

down before

the Lord

you need to

trust him

with it

you've been

pandering in

stuff you

don't need to

be pandering

in

you've been

dwelling on

thoughts you

don't need to

be dwelling

on

you've been

going places

you don't

need to be

going

and you

need to lay

that down

before the

Lord

you can do

that where

you stand

in just a

moment

you can do

it at this

altar

or I'll be

happy to

pray with

you through

that

but let's

do whatever

we need to

do to get

our hearts

and lives

right today

before we

leave this

place

and then

let's have

our shield

of faith

up and

ready

when the

evil one

picks his

head back

up

and we

go back

to the

word of

God

and stand

firm and

watch him

flee

that's the

goal here

let's get

right

Lord Jesus

I love

you

I thank

you for

your word

I thank

you for

the encouragement

of it

I thank

you for

allowing

Christ

to go

through

it

because he

understands

he's actually

faced every

temptation

that we

face

he

understands

our

circumstances

so God

I pray

that we'll

surrender

our lives

today

and be

obedient

give us

the boldness

and the

obedience

to do

exactly

what you

tell us

to do

right now

Father

I pray

in Jesus

precious name

amen

miracle