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August 11, 2006
Colorado Springs Sermon Notes
When we were in Colorado Springs, we went to Springs Reformed Church and heard a great sermon. Wanna read the notes? Here you go!
Sunday 16 July 2006
David Reese
Springs Reformed Church
Luke 4:1-15
Intro
Christ was tempted in all points just as we were yet was without sin. He is the one we should look to as an example.
I. The Spirit and Temptation. Luke 4:1
Jesus has been anointed--ordained into his work of redemption as prophet, priest, and king. He's driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Note that the Lord is not on the defensive but on the offensive. He goes looking for the devil, into the devil's abode, to the wilderness, to take back what is already his.
A. Power of God
Jesus underwent his trial in the wilderness. Adam underwent his trial in paradise. Jesus was hungry. Adam lacked nothing. Jesus still succeeds and is victorious! If Jesus was able to defeat Satan when He was at His weakest, how much more will He protec us now that He's glorified? And when we were sinners He guarded us--how much more will He guard us now that we're His beloved!
B. The Perfection of Faith
The Holy Spirit may drive us into temptation in order to test our faith so that it will glow all the more brightly.
C. The Son and Temptations.
Satan is heinous, vicious, without mercy. He only wants to exploit our weaknesses. Don't forget that Satan hates us as he hated our Savior.
II. The Temptations
A. Food...not Faith
Satan struck at Christ's weak spot. Exploiting human weaknesses...remembering that we are like dust. He says, "If you are the Son of God..." Since when was His Sonship ever in question? Why does the Lords need to do something to prove to Satan that He is who He says He is? That's a moot point, and remember that he's good at manipulating us by saying "if." Remember Eve in the Garden of Eden?
Satan was trying to play Christ into choosing food over faith, to do things the earthly way rather than His Father's way. We are so often tempted to cut corners and to use less than moral means to fulfill our needs. And how is Satan defeated? By the word of the Lord. "Lean not on your own understanding."
God sustains us, not bread. We do live on bread, but never by bread alone. God is the author and sustainer of life. He says 'You didn't have it and I will provide!' The passage Jesus quotes to refute Satan here (And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'") is a quote from Deuteronomy, where Moses is reminding the children of Israel that they'd been freed from slavery in Egypt only to be in the desert, hungry...and the Lord invented a brand new food for the people! He can and does sustain life, even if it means inventing manna for His people. Christ Himself is manna, too, the life giver who came from heaven.
B. Power...not Purity of Worship
Satan tries to get Christ to depart from the Lord's long range plan. "Worship me and I'll give you the nations." Hah! It's already His and Satan has no right to offer it.
We as a church want influence, credibility, etc. So much so that we are willing to corrupt the way we do things, corrupt even worship itself!. We struggle with the same temptation as Christ did--Christ responded by obeying God's commandment. Don't be conforming to worldly ways but do things God's way. The end does not justify the means--don't shortcut or justify means for ends. We already have been seated with Christ at the heavenly places--don't take Satan's offer of what's already ours in faith? What can he really offer? Nothing we do not already have.
C. Miracles...not Ordinary Means
Satan tempts Christ: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here (the pinnacle of the temple)." Christ's response: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
We should not long for and crave miraculous means at all times in the postaspostolic age. Worship services which emphasize extraordinary means distract us from what God calls us to: daily offering of ourselves as living sacrifices, meeting together regularly, reading and studying the Word of God, participating in the sacraments. This is the way of sanctificiation, the way of daily, mudane discipline.
Don't tempt God. Don't test God. We don't need to draw Him into unfair testing--spectacular miracles--Gideon's fleece--but we need to have daily, ordinary means of grace. Will we trust Him to care for and provide for and protect us?
Don't jump off a building if there's an elevator. Use the ordinary means of grace. Don't neglect them and trust God's sovereignty in providing them for us.
Conclusions
1. Jesus is our example.
a. He uses the Word as a shield and sword against the enemy.
b. When I find myself toe to toe with Satan, don't try to outquote him.
-- He's a trickster and will use even the Word against me. Note the verse Satan uses to tempt Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple: Psalm 91:11 and 91:12 ("For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.") He makes it sound like it'll be ok if he jumps but leaves out the very next verse, Psalm 91:13: "You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot." Satan leaves out the very next verse because it proves that the serpent (Satan) will be trampled by the Lord's anointed! He's a trickster and will use the Word against me.
-- He's already defeated and I'm not going to be the one to re-defeat him. Don't get drawn into the trap of debating a truth with Satan. If I know it's true that I'm one with Christ and that Christ is victorious, then I hide in that fact rather than trying to prove it to Satan. Don't get drawn out into a battle with Satan, because I'm not going to win any better and Adam did. Christ has already won the battle.
2. Jesus is our representative.
Satan doesn't quote about his own defeat (because he's a trickster and will use Scripture craftily) but don't forget--Chrst tread and trampled the serpent already!
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