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Purpose Over Pleasure (Luke 4)

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  • This message will review the reality of temptation. In our personal fight with temptation we must remember that Jesus understands our fight. He too faced temptation (Hebrews 4:14) and we can learn from his experiences.
  • Jesus Chronicles… so far, only BIRTH / TEEN / BAPTISM… as we prepare to explore his life, teaching, and ministry, we see a preceding reality: the spiritual life is a daily battle.
  • You/we are in a battle. Temptation faces everyone. And if we dismiss this reality then we are prone to becoming victims, if not a casualty. Our enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Therefore, we need to prepare for war, and this passage give us a purpose and plan for facing life’s battles and our spiritual enemy.

EXAMINE    Purpose Over Pleasure (Luke 4:1-30)

LK 4:1 full of the Holy Spirit, and led in the desert
Following Jesus and having faith isn’t always mountaintop experiences. While Jesus was previously baptized with dramatic divine affirmation, the next acts are fasting 40-days and being led into the wilderness. There are moments God will lead you into the wilderness or desert to prepare or prune you for what’s next.  

  • After spiritual high, you need 1) time alone with God & Scripture, 2) communal encouragement. Notice where Jesus travels after this retreat and temptation experience – the temple!

LK 4:2 for forty days he ate nothing and then was tempted by the devil
40 days recalls Israel disobediently wandering in the desert 40-years. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is inaugurating a new kingdom of faithfulness to God’s covenant vs Israel’s unfaithfulness, and reversing the curse upon Adam who disobeyed God in the garden with the serpent. Here, Jesus will obey God, trust God’s word, and defeat the devil.

Devil?[1] Yes, a real enemy. C.S. Lewis said, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which [we can think] about devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”[2]

Illustration from cattle ranchers that help us to understand this principle.[3]

  • Previously herding cattle into the processing palace (slaughterhouse) was dangerous!
  • Someone invented a “squeeze chute,” which mimicked mother’s nuzzling touch to advance cattle down conveyor belt ramp with a twinkling of an eye blunt instrument producing surgical strike to transition livestock into lunch meat!
  • LIKEWISE, we can be lulled into our own slaughter and wrecked by Satan. We’re all one unrestrained stare; one impulsive decision; one irresponsible encounter; one fleeting moment from wreaking havoc in our life, wounding our family, and shaming the name of Jesus.
  • SO, how did Jesus stay alert to the enemy? Prayer & fasting.  
    • Jesus is highly aware of invisible, spiritual world – that if we saw what He saw, we would be intimidated, and perhaps dissuaded from honoring God. Each time Satan or demons appear in Bible, they deceive people (cf. Gen 3
    • Biblical fasting is refraining from an activity (food, or other) to reinvest that time for seeking God; it’s subtracting to add. You can have an absolute or partial fast.
    • Biblical fasting purpose is repentance and dependence; growing in faith and gaining clarity for God’s purposes.[4]

1) Temptation of provision
LK 4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Obviously, Jesus was hungry. Satan challenged Jesus to turn stones into bread. While Jesus’ power could have been used to meet His hunger need, it would have showed His lack of dependence and trust upon His Heavenly Father to provide. 

Instead, Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)

The first humans doubted God’s provision. Adam & Eve were surrounded by the beauty of paradise and abundant opportunities, but somehow, they doubted God’s provision was complete or satisfying.

We need reminded that our Heavenly Father is a faithful provider and promise-keeper.

  • Ps 55:4-8, 17, 22 “My heart shudders… fear and trembling grip me. If only I had the wings of a bird, I’d fly away… I want to flee far away into the wilderness… I complain and groan all day – and God hears my voice… Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”
  • To anchor in God’s provision, review Psalms. They’re poetic descriptions of feeling down, singing blues, but transformed perspective with prayer & gratitude. #PsalmADayChallenge
  • Consider fasting 1 meal 2x week for 3 months.
    Isa 58 God seeks those who fast to break from wickedness, overcome compulsions, and to minister to those in need. THEN your light will dawn and the LORD’s glory will guard and provide for you.

2) Temptation of power

LK 4:5-7 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Satan offered power and prestige, if Jesus would bow away from God’s mission. The opportunity would avoid dissatisfaction, personal grief, and physical suffering.

Again, it’s the same temptation the serpent used in the Garden. He told Adam & Eve they would have increased information and be like God. But they didn’t understand that humans cannot carry the weight of omniscience. Humanity doesn’t need more external information but internal transformation.

So, Jesus does not concede. He knows Satan promises to please but fails to fulfill. He responded, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve” (Dt. 6:13).

Today, we celebrate opportunity. But while freedom is a gift from God, it is not freedom from accountability. Every choice plants a seed that overtime will reap a harvest of consequences (Gal 6:7-8). God uses consequences not always as punishment but pruning to focus our faith and clarify our convictions. If God removed hardship and challenges as result of our choices, we would miss so many lessons and never reach the potential or purpose God has for us.

  • Where in your life are you blaming God for consequences of your choices?
  • Are you asking God to bless something He has never endorsed?
  • Are you presuming upon God’s forgiveness instead of walking in obedience?

Every choice plants a seed that overtime will reap a harvest of consequences. God uses these consequences not always as punishment but pruning to focus our faith and clarify our convictions.

3) Temptation of protection

9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Satan leads Jesus up to the temple mount, ~200’ elevation, and again challenges identity. Interestingly, Satan uses Scripture in his challenge quoting Ps 91:11-12.
And yes, the serpent attempted this deception in the Garden saying, “You will not surely die” (Ge3:4). Yet, Jesus responds to not presume upon God’s protection or disbelieve consequences for foolish choices.

Today, we believe God provides for and protects His people. The LORD is our shield and refuge. We claim God’s promises and presence to always be with us, to bless us, and even to pick us up when we fall. But too often we buy the lie that sin is little to God. We test God by pushing limitations and overstepping boundaries that we know are not wise, but we presume upon God’s protective grace to erase hardship or eliminate pain. Instead, we need Proverbs 4:25-27 “Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn you foot away from evil.”

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Until Jesus returns, earth will continue being a playground for the devil’s deceptive ploys.

LK 4:16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.

Following the temptation experience, Jesus returns home to Nazareth and re-connects in spiritual community at the synagogue. This is a reminder that integrity at home precedes outward influence. Further, Jesus’ public ministry started in a tiny town rather than a colossal city. God does not despise small beginnings (Zech 4:10; 1 Cor 1:27-31). So, if you have big dreams and vast vision, start honoring God right where you are.

  • Go to church. It’s often the difference between being an admirer and follower of Jesus.

LK 4:17-20 Jesus stood up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.

Jesus’ ministry was profoundly shaped by Scripture, reading from Isaiah 61. His ministry fulfills all these promises – yet, missing from this passage is the concluding sentence: “[He has sent me to proclaim] the day of vengeance of our God” The opportunity for grace has an expiration date that we do not know, but is promised. Until then, the church’s role is to spread help and hope to the needy poor, captives, disabled, and the oppressed (mistreated).

LK 4:22-30 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” 24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown… 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus taught with divine wisdom, spiritual impact, and revealed God’s power through miracles. Yet, many disbelieved because they did not want to follow Jesus bc of their familiarity with the carpenter’s son. LIKEWISE, people can treat Jesus as one of many good ideas bc of what they think they know about Jesus, rather than what is reality about Jesus.

* People love truth when it affirms their thinking but loathe it when it accuses their lifestyle. Christianity isn’t meant to satisfy earthly pleasure but give you an eternal purpose. C.S. Lewis said, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”

People love truth when it affirms their thinking but loathe it when it accuses their lifestyle.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

*Be filled with the Spirit by equipping ourselves with biblical truth. Our preparation in the monotony equips us when we face adversity and temptation.  

*Transform familiarity with Jesus into dynamic faith that lives out the Scriptures. Start obeying what you read… What is one action step you will take?

[1] Scripture calls him the serpent (Ge 3; Rev 12:9), satan/adversary/enemy (Job 1:8;  Mt 13:39; 1Pet 5:8), accuser (Zec 3:1, Rev 12:10), ruler of demons (Mt 9:34), evil one (Mt 13:38), father of lies (Jn 8:44), murderer (Jn 8:44; 10:10), ruler of this world and prince of the air (Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, Ep 2:2; 6:12), deceiver (Rev 12:9), and a dragon (Rev 12-13).

[2] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 1944; p.9.

[3] Illustration from Russel Moore, Tempted and Tried, p.26.

[4] Scripture references various purposes for fasting: renewal & revival (1 Sam 7; Jonah 3:5-10; Joel 2:12-13),  spiritual growth (1Ki 19:2-18), grief (1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12; 12:16), protection & deliverance (Es 4:16), direction (Ez 8:21-23; Ac 9:9-19), physical health (Dan 1:12-20), correct injustice & overcome sin (Isa 58), repentance & kingdom advance (Mt 3:4); to overcome struggles or sin (Mt 17:20-21). In 2 words: 1) Repentance, 2) Dependence.

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