The Way of the Master: Fighting Temptation (1 of 2)

Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 14:6

Last week we learned about how our baptism finds some of its symbolism in the splitting of the Red Sea. Just as the Israelites were freed from slavery and fled through the sea, we are freed from our sins and we walk through the waters of baptism but what happens next? 

Israel found themselves in the wilderness. 

It was in the wilderness that we are told God “tested” Israel to see if they were truly repentant but God wasn’t tempting them, he was testing them like a jeweler tests and refines a metal.

“You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 1:6-7

Israel wandered the wilderness and we also wander the wilderness of our lives and just as Israel was tested and refined through their trials, we are also refined and improved through our own but, unlike Israel and us, Jesus was not thrown into the wilderness, he chose to go in.

4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. ² After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry. ³ Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ But He answered, “It is written:

Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” [Deut 8:3]

Matt 4:1-4

⁵ Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

He will give His angels orders concerning you,and they will support you with their handsso that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” [Ps 91:11-12]

⁷ Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” [Ex 17:2–7, Deut 6:16]

Luke 4:5-7

⁸ Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

Matt 4:8

⁶ The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. ⁷ If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.”

⁸ And Jesus answered him, “It is written:

Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” [Deut 6:13]

Luke 4:6-8

¹³ He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him.

Mark 1:13

So how do we learn to fight temptation like Jesus? We must follow the way of Christ. For the Jewish nation, this meant finding a teacher and following his ways: meaning doing life like he did. Many cultures have this concept. Japan calls it “heiho” or “the way” and this is actually why Christianity was originally called, “The Way” and the first thing you do in the way of Jesus is,

1. Sharpen your sword

“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12 

The word of God is the sword of the Spirit and it is our primary weapon against temptations. This is why Jesus quoted Scripture as a response to every temptation we read about. The problem is that Satan also quoted Scripture, so how do we know the difference?

You have to sharpen your sword. Sharpening your sword means making an effort to sharpen your knowledge of your weapon because we are at war, not just with the devil, but with ourselves. 

Sharpening your sword means intentionally learning more about God’s Word because scripture is not merely information; it is a weapon and we are at war with the devil and our own sinful nature. This is why God encourages us to study and remember.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Ps 27:17

The sword of God’s word is not just our first line of defense, it is also how we attack evil desires when we are tempted. This comes from study because it allows you to pull God’s word to the forefront of your mind in order to use it to protect yourself and attack the advance of the enemy.

This is also why we read several times that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was listening and hiding all of the things she witnessed in her heart; it was so that she could pull it out, remember, and reflect on it when she wanted to.  Ex: After she saw the shepherds telling everyone about Jesus,

“...Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.”

Luke 2:19

Mary is an amazing example of a godly person and she knew that every good and precious moment in our lives must be stored in our hearts and dwelt upon because temptations and suffering will come to all of us. But sharpening your sword doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to use it. You must also,

2. Train & Practice

As a Jewish person, at the time of Jesus, you would find a teacher, study God’s word with him, and then you would engage in discussions with a small group of people to sharpen your sword. 

Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you…Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.

1 Timothy 4:13

This is what Jesus did with his disciples and this is why small groups are so important to your spiritual walk. It is in small groups that you get to discuss, ask questions, and struggle through topics….the discussions and debates are where you get to practice.

Such practice and training protects you from the misinterpretation and misuse that the Devil tried on Jesus. This is why Paul warns his disciple, Timothy, to trust in God’s word alone and to,

7 …have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, 8 for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come…In fact, we labor and strive for this, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:7-10

Study helps you to just know God’s word but training and practice happens when you actually apply it. If you don’t train and practice, you could misuse God’s word and hurt yourself and others. Like a gun, knife, or any weapon, God’s word is dangerous so it must be handled correctly. This is why scripture says, in a very real way,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Proverbs 18:21

There are so many examples of people misusing scripture or, worse yet, using it to abuse people. A simple example of misuse are the snake handlers of Appalachia….Mark. “...they will pick up snakes…” Despite their claims, these preachers go to great lengths to drain the venom from the snakes before they are handled, but people still actually die from this…

They go on to tell you that God wants you to be rich and, more than this, Jesus died to give you everything you ever wanted: money, cars, and everything else but there is one catch, you have to donate to their ministries to unlock these blessings. It is evil. 

It is also demonic because this theology destroys the image of God and creates an evil self-centered purpose for human life. It makes God a sky-daddy who lives to please you and it makes everyone who is struggling from pain or disease wonder why God hates them. It is evil.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

John 16:33

When it comes to the way of OUR master, Jesus tells us it has nothing to do with being rich,

“If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Matthew 16:24

This means that the way of Jesus is paved, not by riches, but by sacrifice. If you do not embrace the cross, you are not following the Way of Christ. We must protect ourselves from the misuse of Scripture through study and application; by practicing and training in the Way of the Lord.

3. Go on the Offensive

Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away. 

Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24b-27

Paul did not want to be disqualified, he wanted to fight and persevere.

This is one of the reasons Jesus modeled the practice of fasting for us. Fasting is a chosen struggle that disciplines your body by teaching it that you are in charge. Fasting forces your body to submit to your will as you submit to the will of God. Jesus had likely been practicing fasting since he was 13, so when temptations hit, he was well prepared through practice. 

We read that Jesus responded to temptations with God’s word but what we don’t see is the training Jesus had done to prepare to fight and, just like Him, we do this by choosing to practice spiritual disciplines. In fact, just doing difficult things in general is like an inoculation to suffering because it teaches us self-control under pressure and science has finally caught up. 

Ex: When researchers have studied incoming college freshmen, they took note of their grade point averages, physical aptitude, and other abilities. When they followed up after graduation they found that the most important factor was “grit,ˮ which they defined as the tendency to work “strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.ˮ This is what Paul was talking about.

Paul taught us to train our bodies for righteousness which means doing the difficult things God has called us to do. Paul goes even further by telling us the purpose of God’s word and our real purpose,

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete [perfect], equipped for every good work.

2 Tim 3:16-17

This is the perseverance Paul was talking about: making the truth of Christ a reality in your life. When practiced your righteousness takes the things that are normally difficult and makes them natural and easy. This is because self-control or grit is not just a skill, it is a muscle that must be trained. In fact, studies show that your willpower gets tired but it can be trained to be stronger.

This is why people who follow the Way of Christ take the initiative and actively train. Godly people do not wait for suffering and temptations to come, like Jesus, they practice through spiritual disciplines like bible study, meditation, bible memorization, silence, tithing, and fasting. 

For you this week, I want you to practice the simple, but extremely difficult, art of gratitude through depriving your heart of complaining. This may sound trivial but it was actually one of the major reasons Israel failed in the wilderness; they constantly complained.

“The people complained openly before the Lord about hardship in their hearing, and when the Lord heard His anger burned.”

Numbers 11:1

“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.”

Philippians 2:14-15 

Compare this to Jesus. Jesus chose to go into the wilderness and he did not complain, he fasted. Unlike the Israelites, He did not make excuses, he leaned on scripture. When the devil attacked with his fiery darts and twisted scripture, Jesus parried with the sword of the spirit. 

This is important because this was not a one time event: the temptations did not end in wilderness for Jesus. In the same way, your temptations will never end but with every bit of practice, it will become easier, because it is through self-discipline that you go on the offensive. Practice well this week. 

Finish your Booklet. 

Find a small group.

Take a break from complaining.

pray