Luke 4:5-8

The book of Luke chapter four, reading verses 1 through 8, we’re looking in particular at verses 5 to 8. In Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being 40 days tempted of the devil. And in those days, he did eat nothing. and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, if thou be the son of God, command this stone that be made bread. Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said unto him all this power will I give thee and the glory of them. For that it is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever, I will I give it. If thou therefore will worship me, will worship me, all shall be thine. Jesus answered, 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. May God bless to us, the reading of his holy and sacred word this morning. When Joseph was working as the head servant in Potipher’s house, he was tempted by Potipher’s wife who kept saying to him, with me. But Joseph refused her sexual advances as one who feared God, one who shunned the evil of adultery. However, Potterfus’ rife refused to give up, and we read on that she continued her quest to have Joseph. She spake to Joseph day by day in an effort. to get him to finally succumb to her advances. She was very persistent. Poor Joseph did his best to keep his distance from her, refusing even to be in the house with her, if at all possible. Our text indicates to us how persistent Satan is in his temptations. Christ, having previously shooed away the fly of Satan here at the first temptation, in verses 1 to 4, found that just like a fly at a picnic, it just keeps coming back. And so he renews his temptation after a strong repulse. Satan doesn’t give up very easily. He will come at you with a new temptation. Should you reject his earlier one. He keeps looking for a weakness. He looks for a weakness. He looks for a new temptation. some type of chink in your spiritual armor, an opening to exploit. Now, if your Lord had to endure rounds of temptation, then you must realize you will not escape such temptations either. You’re going to have to face it. I want to speak tonight, or this morning, I should say, on Satan’s second. temptation of Christ. We’ll look next week at Christ’s reply to it, but let’s look at the temptation itself. And found in verses 5 to 7. The first thing I suggest you is this. You should be aware, be aware, that many temptations come through the lust of the eye. He showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world from the mountaintop in which he took Christ. You remember when Moses was on Mount Pisca and he was communing with God and the Lord showed him all the land of Canaan and so forth? Well, Satan sort of copies this and shows Moses the New Covenant meeting. mediator, the true mediator, all the kingdoms of the world. The devil likes to ape God whenever he can, and he appears that he might appear to be like him, and as we shall soon see, he even demands worship. Satan knows that the eyes are really the windows of the soul. And thus the devil showed unto him these kingdoms. in order to entice the Savior to sin. Scripture speaks of the lust of the eyes, 1 John 216, as a major avenue of temptation. And we should be aware of this. You contract far more sin through your eyes than you are aware of, because they are the inlet to your soul. Satan sets off. objects before your eyes. To leave an impression and it becomes difficult to get rid of. The eyes become the springboard for covetousness and even for evil sexual desires. Satan would keep your attention on the things of the world, setting them before you that you may not be heavenly mindeded. Scripture abounds in examples of people who fell into grievous sins through the lust of the eyes. Eve, in the garden, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, she took of the fruit and ate it. We read about Lot’s wife. She was told to escape for thy life and look not behind thee. but his wife looked back, couldn’t leave all the things that she had and sought them and desert them, looked back longingly, and it’s turned into a pillar of soul. We read about Shechem, that when Shechem, the son of Hamor, the Hevite, prince of the country, saw her daughter of Leah, named her. Dinah, he took her and lay with her and defiled her. He looked on her first, coveted her, and took her. Popifer’s wife, we read that Joseph was a goodly person and well-favored. He was handsome. And it came to pass that his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph. And then she said, lie with me. What do we read about Aiken? When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment and 200 shekels, a silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them, he said. What do we read about David? And it came to pass an evening tide that David arose from off his bed, walking upon the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof, he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look. upon, which opened the door to lust and then to adultery. What great need there is to pray with the psalmist, turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. Psalm 1197. Friends, we certainly need divine grace to look away from whatever may entice to evil. And so you see Satan trying to entice our Satan. Savior by showing them all the kingdoms of the world. Be aware that many temptations come through the eyes, the lust of the eyes. Secondly, you will find the offer of the riches and glory of the world a powerful temptation. Not only did Satan show our Savior all the kingdoms of the world, but His God, but His God, goal was, I will offer you these things if you will worship me. You can imagine Satan showing Christ all the things that would appeal to a man. When he showed these fine countries and these fine cities and maybe the wealth and the royal splendor, in short, everything that would be captivating to a human being, and all of this Satan promised to give Jesus an order to deter him from his mission. That’s his goal. He could have the riches and the glory of the world without undergoing this rigorous and difficult task that the Father had given him to do. You can have it. I’ll give it to you. Satan often uses this type of temptation with great, success. We must be aware of this ploy also. People have been lured away from the faith by means of the things of this world. They have fatally abandoned Christ in order to have the riches and the glory associated with this earth. In the Old Testament, in 2nd Kings chapter 5, we have the man Gahazi, who was Elisha’s servant. And it appears that he, for a number of years, he seemed to be a faithful servant of Gahazi, of Elisha. However, his downfall came when Elisha healed Naaman. Remember the Syrian general had the incurable leprosy. Naiman being a great man brought with him a caravan with him a caravan with all kinds of wealth. because he was hoping that he could purchase the healing of this disease that he had and pay for it. And so he brought 10 talents of silver and 6,000 pieces of gold and 10 changes of raiment were told in 2nd King’s 5.5. But after the healing, you remember, Elisha refused to take any of it. God’s grace cannot be purchased. Now, Gahazi was upset by this. And we have an idea what he was thinking. He says this, my master has spared name in this Syrian in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. Huh, he should have taken something. He, seeing all this wealth, decides, I’m going to get some of that. This harsh and sparse, sparse life. of being the servant of the prophet of the Lord doesn’t appeal to me. I could be wealthy. I could be well to do. I could have servants, vineyards, all of groves. I could live it up. So he runs after Naiman secretly. And he tells this plausible tale that all of a sudden a couple of sons of the prophet showed up at Elyce’s door and they could use some help. Could you give us anything? And Naman, of course, he’s not all too willing to give something. One talent of silver? No, take two talents with you. I’ll even give you the servants to help carry it. Take a couple changes of garments with you also. And so he gets two talents of silver, two changes of garments, which we find that he placed in his house. He hid them there, and then he shows up, slinks into Elish’s presence as if he hadn’t gone anywhere. But the difficult with dealing with a prophet is he gets revelations from the Lord. And so he knows exactly what Gahazi’s servant had been up to. And this is what he says to him. He confronts him. He says, is it time to receive money and to receive garseous? olives, vineyard grows, sheep and oxen, man servants and maid servants. Is this time to think about being wealthy? Think about being well-to-do to take it easy? Is this really the time for this Gahazi? Gahazi, are you really going to abandon the work of the Lord for this? You’re cursed. Leprosy that Naman had is now going to come on you. He cast away. the service of God. At least that was what his heart wanted to do for the riches of this world. He was stuck with Naiman’s leprosy and perished under God’s curse. In the New Testament, we have someone that did the very same thing. You remember, Demus, is mentioned. In 2. Timothy 4.10, for Demeth hath forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica. Demas was a very close. associate of the Apostle Paul in his missionary work. And during Paul’s second Roman imprisonment, it seems, when greatly needed, Demas abandoned him. Quit the work. He fell in love with what the world had to offer. And he quit. All its pleasures, all its treasures were such that he seemed to be. to cast aside his faith, whatever profession he had. Evidently, not a real one. Now, if you’ve ever read Pilgrim’s Progress, he alludes to this. When Mr. Christian and hopeful come across a man named Demas at Lugar Hill as they’re on their way to the celestial city, and there was this silver mine there, and Demas calls out to them, Oh, turn aside hither, and I will show you a thing. And he offers Christian and hopeful the opportunity to turn off the narrow way and dig for treasure of silver at the mine. You could be rich and hopeful, says, let’s go and see. But Christian is more cautious, and he says, very firmly, he is not going to turn aside. I have heard. heard of this place and how many have been slain there. And besides, the treasure is a snare to those who seek it, for it hinders them in their pilgrimage. It takes them off the narrow road, keeps them from going on their pilgrimage. We can’t do this. It’s too dangerous for our souls. So they avoided this temptation and went on. Didn’t listen to Demas who called out to them. They saw of Demas as a hindrance to the right way, an enemy to the right ways of the Lord. We have to be watchful because this lure of Satan is very dangerous. Remember that some of the seed fell upon ground where the cares of the world, the thorns and so forth, came up and choked it out. The things of this world choked out. The seed would seem to show some interest it looked like there was something growing there, but then we see it never ended up producing any fruit. It dies. It was the cares of the world that did it. So you will find the offer of the riches and glory of the world a powerful temptation. The third thing we see here. You should realize Satan often promises what he can’t deliver. In verse 6 here, he says here, and the devil said in him, all this. power will I give thee and the glory of them. Word is delivered unto me and to whomesoever I will I give it. Now he boldly claims Satan does that all these kingdoms are really his. He can dispose of them as he pleases. We should know he was a liar from the beginning. Why wouldn’t he be lying now? This claim is completely false. While Satan is a powerful being, he is under divine restriction. And he cannot do as he pleases. He has limited power. The Almighty has not abdicated the throne. He hasn’t transferred the power to Satan over the nations to do with them as he pleases. God will do with the nations as he pleases. It’s true that Satan tries to keep the nations in the dark. But God is the one who calls the Assyrian and whistles for this nation or whistles for that nation and they do his bidding. The father promised the son of God that he should have the heathen for his inheritance in Psalm 2.8. You remember that? This was the father’s gift to the son. I will give you the heathen for your inheritance. Not Satan. It’s the father’s right to give it. But Satan claims the heathen are mine. I have the power to the spoles on them. That’s an absolute lie. Satan often promise you as a reward, but he has no ability to give it. He promises you things to trick you and to deceive you. Look at Satan’s claim in the garden to Eve. Ye shall be as God’s. pretty impressive. Satan suggests that God is keeping Adam and Eve from their full potential. He’s holding you back. You could become a God just like the Lord. All they had to do was eat the fruit of the forbidden tree and instantly they would become God’s themselves. It was all a lie of Satan. Instead of being exalted, they would be degraded. They would become a slave to sin and Satan. They would lose the heavenly wisdom that God had given. The holiness that God had given. This temptation you shall be as gods. I think it’s an old temptation. It’s still alive and well today in the Mormon religion. Joseph Smith said, you have got to learn how to be God’s yourselves. Lorenzo Snow, the fifth president of the Mormon church, said this, as man is God once was, as God is, man may become. Mormonism teaches, man is a God in the making. Think about that. Brigham Young, said this blasphemous statement. Speaking of Adam, Adam is our father and our God and the only God with whom we have to do. Think about that statement. Suggesting that Adam became a God just as Satan promised. It’s a lie. It’s a lie. and it’s a lie that any Mormon would believe that what Satan said over what God said. What a deception this is. Look at all the false teachers that come along Satan’s agents. Look at the promises they make you. We read this. They promise them liberty, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. 2. Peter 2.19. They promise you liberty. You can live any way you want to. None of the this restriction by the law of God. You think the carnal Christian theory is a new theory? It’s an old theory. It is. It goes all the way back to here the apostles. False teachers promised professing Christians is freedom from the commandments of God’s law. And since the Christian is under grace, he’s not to be restricted in this way. He can do as he pleases, so it’s argued. However, this liberty that they promise is not liberty at all. It’s an enslavement to sin. Because Peter talks about those who, it seems, have once escaped the pollutions of this world are now, you know, like the dog going back to the vomit, the pig going back to the mire, they’re just sucked back in again. The scripture teaches the law as a rule of life for the Christian. It provides moral guidance for your conduct. Psalm 1-9. 1991 says, they continue this day according to thine ordinances, for all are thy servants. God’s servants follow the ordinance of God. So this ancient, carnal Christian theory still predominantly is believed today, and it’s Satan’s lie. You don’t have to have the Lord on the throne of your life. You can live any way you can just make this profession of faith. You can live any way you please. You know, I when I was in seminary, I talked to people that they would go out on these weekly excursions, you know, supposedly winning souls for Christ and, you know, they would tell me how many souls they won for Christ, and I said, well, did they come to church on Sunday? No. I told them how you know they’re converted. Wouldn’t they want to be hungry for the word of God if they were converted? Well, you know, they need a little encouragement. I said, if they were truly converted, they want to be where the Word of God was taught. There’s something wrong here. I didn’t even know all the things at that point, but I look back on it and I think, you know, it just didn’t seem right. As if you could be, you know, oh, they made a profession of faith. They’re saved. Where they dawn the door of a church again ever in their life doesn’t matter? I’m sorry. There’s something wrong with that theory. The Roman Catholic Church sold indulgences to people. and with this piece of paper you pay a lot of money for it, you could basically have carte blanche with regard to sinning or even if there was a future sin you were going to commit. And so they sold all this stuff, these indulgences. And guess what? Europe became overrun with murder, perjury, magic, polygamous situations, escalation of evil. Well, what did you expect? What do you expect was going to happen? Indulges and bold men to sin, with no consequences, at least they thought. It’s a satanic lie. God can pardon and forgive sin and remit the punishment of his broken law. You can’t sell the free mercy of God. You can’t do it. Acts 8, just asked Simon the sorcerer. It can’t be done. So you should realize that Satan often promises what he can’t deliver. He can’t. Fourthly, you may be tempted by the most vile sort of sin. Now think about this verse 7 a minute. If thou wilt worship me, all shall be thine. You know, Satan promised all the glories in the reales. the riches of the kingdoms of this earth if Christ would bow down before him and worship him. You talk about audacity. Oh, what detestable boldness there is in Satan to violate the very first commandment to have another God to worship someone beside the Lord God. Boy, was that bold. You might think, well, why did he think he would ever succeed with such a temptation is this against Christ. And yet he did it. He did it. I read in the book of Revelation that John, preparing to worship before a holy angel, falling down before him, was rebuked. See, thou do it not, I am my fellow servant, Revelation 1910. Don’t do it. That was a holy angel. Here’s a fallen angel. He wants worship. He wants Christ to bow down before him. We’re going to see in Christ’s reply. He’s burning with indignation when he replies to this one. Get thee behind me, Satan. We’ll talk about that Lord willing in another stuff. To make such a vile suggestion to the Son of God. You can imagine how angry Christ was with that kind of suggestion. But that Satan even tried, this is revealing. I tell you this. Because if you try, because if you try, something like this with Christ, do you think you’re going to get away with not having these kind of outrageous temptations? The lesson here is that the best of believers may be tempted to the most evil sins imaginable. Let it be clearly understood that all false religions are actually worshiping Satan. You remember what Deuteronomy 32 tells us in verses 16 and 17. They provoked him to jealousy with their stranger foreign gods. They sacrificed unto devils and not to God. Something similar is said in 1 Corinthians 10, 20. So you don’t have to belong to some satanic cult to worship Satan. Let’s get that clear. Whether you bow before bail in the Old Testament, Diana of the Ephesians in the New Testament, or Mary in our present time, it is of the devil. All such idol worship is satanic. I was at the DCI clinic this week and I’m sitting there getting dialysis and the head nurse is sitting right at the desk in front of me and I don’t know how she got on this but somehow or other she said something of the nature is people have wrong ideas about us Catholics and how we view how we view things and she was going on and on and on and how we don’t really worship Mary and all this stuff we’re just using the idol as help for us and I said prayer is worship if you pray to Mary you’re worshipping her and then I said if you’re not really worshiping why are you bowing before the statue think about that I think I shocked her she said well we should be working together to help these other people over here you know she’s thinking about the other people that don’t go to church at all. And I’m thinking you don’t understand. You don’t even understand your own religion. She says, have you ever studied the Catholic Church? I said yes, I have studied the teachings of the Catholic Church. She tried to tell me when they go in and say in the confession that when we say bless me, Father for I have sinned, they’re talking about God the Father. They’re not talking to the priest. I said, no you’re not. He’s the one that’s going to tell you what to do. How many Hail Mary’s you’re going to say. Needless to say. Needless to these kinds of things happen. But you can see how people are so deceived by these things. I’m not really worshiping this idol. Yes, you are. I’m not really worshipping anyone besides the Lord. Yes, you are. Now, as a believer, Satan is going to probe you with a whole variety of temptations, and some of them may be outrageous. They may be shocking. Have you ever seen a woodpecker in action? We used to have one in the neighborhood when I was growing up, and man, he pounded on. I mean, you could hear him miles away, it seemed like he was so loud. And he would pound away at a place on a tree trunk, and when you looked at the tree afterwards, you saw all these holes in the tree where he’s pounding on. He’s working in one area, and if he doesn’t find something, he moves a little bit to the right, or he moves a little bit to the left, and the next thing, you know, you have all these marks in the tree bark, where he’s been digging away trying to get in sense. That’s why Satan is. He tries here. If it don’t work, he tries over here. He tries this, he tries that. He keeps moving around. He’s trying to get to you. So you shouldn’t be surprised to find yourself tempted to the most vile sort of sin. Could you ever be tempted to be an atheist? Satan would like to, in a time of a very dark trial, to get you to deny the existence of God and abandon your Christian faith all to get. Listen to what David says in Psalm 42. We sang it this morning. My tears have been my meat day and night while they continually say unto me, where is thy God? He doesn’t exist. Wasn’t that a temptation to say there really isn’t a God or he had been helping me and not left me in this condition? Blasphemy. To curse God when a dark providence troubles you. Become bitter and angry. and turn away from it. I’m reminded of what happened with Job that his wife said unto him, dost thou retain thine integrity, curse God, and die? That came from Satan. What about murder? David resorted to killing Uriah? The husband of Bashiba, when he impregnated her while while the husband was on the battlefield, it was a way out for him. At least he thought. Suicide. You know, in scripture, suicide is a great sin. It’s committed by people far away from God, Saul, Judas, and others. But Satan could tempt a Christian in dire strait. Why don’t you just kill yourself? No true Christian’s going to give in to that temptation, because God will preserve them. But don’t think that there can’t be a suggestion to that end. That’s one of those, get thee behind me, Satan instances. Because, you know, you’re violating the commandment. Thou shalt not kill if you would kill yourself. Well, Lord, give us grace. When these types of temptations come up, you might think, well, that would, I’d never be tempted. Like, you don’t know what you’re going to be tempted with. Look what happened to Christ. You think, I mean, you would think of all the temptations, surely bowed down before me and worship me. Wouldn’t be one of them. You think it’d be more subtle. This is blatant. Blight. Well, I’ve got to stop. Just as Joseph was repeatedly tempted by Potiphar’s wife, so Satan bombards us with temptations. Like a fly, you can shoe him away, but he keeps coming back. So your master and Lord endured multiple temptations here. And so will you. And Lord willing, we’ll look at how Christ handled this. Next time we gather for study and worship. Let us close with him.