Sunday Notes: Christians' Continual Battle Against Temptations

Today, at church, our pastor begun a series tackling on being Christlike and he focused first on how Jesus dealt with temptation since this is usually what entices people to commit sin.

Every Christian has faced struggle and temptation ever since the day that we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

We have become a target of the enemy because we are no longer treading in the middle. We have chosen the side to follow and obey which is God's ways and paths of righteousness.

Obviously, the Christian life is not an easy one as some may think nor is it a materially prosperous one just as many perceive it to be.

But on God's side, we have the right weapons to combat against the evil in this world and the desires of the flesh to have its way thereby disobeying God in the process and committing sin. It is a high price to pay in being a Christian if you have a worldly perspective and are materially driven.

You essentially have to deny your self every single day and to submit to God's will and do what is right according to what He commands.

Basically, we are at constant war against our flesh and the world. There is a spiritual warfare that always happens in the spiritual realms in which the forces of good and evil battle it out to win us over. Essentially we have the choice whether to do what is good or to fall into temptation and commit sin.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Temptation is the force that we battle against every single day and it is caused by the wrong desires and it gives birth to sin which would lead to spiritual death or separation from God.

When we take a bite out of temptation, we will never seem to refuse it especially when it becomes a habit and when we continue to allow it to enter our lives. But the good news is that temptation was no match for Jesus as He fought the wiles of the devil while in the wilderness.

Jesus has set an example for us to follow in dealing with and ultimately overcoming the temptations and attacks of the devil. In Luke 4:1-13, the Bible tells us that in the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, the devil tried to tempt Him and gave Him three tests.

Jesus overcame and emerged victorious over Satan. From here, we can learn how Jesus overcame these temptations. Our pastor gave four things that allowed Jesus to defeat Satan:

1. A Greater Power. In verse 1, we are told that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit as He was led to the wilderness. Jesus wholly depended on God's Holy Spirit to help Him and give Him the strength and direction in line with the Heavenly Father's will. 1 John 4:4 also tells us that

"You dear children, are of God and have overcome them, for greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was able to overcome the temptations and attacks of Satan.

This is also true as the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples by which they received power from God and was able to do miracles and evangelize many people in different parts of the world as Jesus had told them they would by the Holy Spirit.

2. A Greater Purpose. When the devil tried to tempt Jesus to use His heavenly position as the Son of God and to use His power to satisfy His physical desires and needs, Jesus replied by quoting Scripture,

"The devil said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone.'"

Here, we see that Jesus is representing us as He stands up against the devil. He shows us that we have a greater purpose than merely surviving and fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 which says that man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

So, we have a God-given purpose, higher than any worldly success, achievement, or fulfillment. We simply have to rely on and trust God even through the circumstances that we face because He is greater and He knows better than we do.

And as 2 Corinthians 12:9 says that God's grace is sufficient for us and that His power is made perfect in weakness. So we must learn to fix our eyes on God and His will for us.

3. A Greater Devotion. The next temptation was when the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world which was given to the devil when man lost authority by falling to temptation.

In this situation, the devil is offering Jesus a shortcut or an escape route so that He would not have to go to the cross and suffer pain, humiliation, and all the burden that taking sin upon Himself and nailing it on the cross would bring and in exchange for this, the devil told Jesus to worship him and everything will be His.

But again, Jesus overcame by the Word,

"The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.

If you worship me it will all be yours.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" Luke 4:5-8

We see how Jesus refused that offer because He knew that there is only One who is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor, and He owns and knows all things. There is only One God and He is the only true and living God who alone is worthy to be worshiped.

This shows how much dedicated and devoted Jesus is to the Heavenly Father and standing firm on the mission that He was given to accomplish and also using the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome these temptations and to stay focused on God's plan and will.

4. Real Humility. The last temptation was when the devil dared Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple so that people may see the power of God.

The devil even quotes Scripture in tempting Jesus. In this situation, the devil is trying to force the hand of God so that if Jesus jumped off the temple, the angels would come in to rescue Him from falling on the ground and hurting Himself but Jesus knew what the devil was thinking of and replied,

"It is written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Luke 4:12

Again, Jesus knew what His mission was and what the Father's will is and He will not be swayed and diverted from that path. He adamantly refused all the devil's offers and overcame temptation.

We also see here an example of true humility that even though Jesus is the Son of God and is God, He still stood firm in the mission that God the Father has given Him and submitted to His will.

In conclusion, Jesus truly is our champion for living the life that is pleasing to God and for overcoming the world and the temptations that are thrown at us. He showed us that though it may not be easy to deal with temptations, it is possible with God.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was able to defeat Satan and take the authority away from Him so that we may be free from our sin and be saved.