We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve.

Today we are looking at Matthew chapter 4 and in particular verses 1 to 11, which you have just looked at in our Scripture reading.

When I was growing up, I used to love kung fu, Chinese kung fu shows and serials. How many of you like kung fu movies, drama serials? Can I see by a show of hands? So few aah. Well, I love Chinese kung fu stories, serials, movies and they all have a very typical storyline.

There will always be this evil but very powerful kung fu master, and he will rule the pugilistic world. Everyone is scared of him; he is absolutely undefeatable. But besides this evil, powerful kung fu master, there will also be this hero, this hero who has been hiding for a long time in his cave and he will train and one day he will come out and the two of them will have an epic battle.

Timestamp 0:02:29

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS

That is what I think of when we read Matthew chapter 4 verses 1 to 11, in the temptation of Jesus. You have this bad guy. You say who's the bad guy. Satan. Satan is the bad guy. He rules the world. The Bible calls him the prince of the power of the air. He has caused all of us to be slaves to sin. He is undefeatable; none of us could defeat Satan. But one day, our hero emerges. Jesus Christ enters the public ministry and in Matthew 4, we see a battle between Satan and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In those kung fu shows, the battles can sometimes last very long. You watch, huh, hah, huh, hah, they fight for long time ah, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, and in this case, there is a long battle. Many of us, we look at the temptation of Jesus and think that it's just about three temptations. No, it's more than that. In Luke chapter 4, we are told that:

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
(Luke 4:1,2 ESV)

Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. So this is a long drawn process, not an easy process. But in Matthew 4, in Luke 4, we now read of that last three blows the devil would have. You know in kung fu shows again, they fight long time, right? And at the very end where they cannot distinguish who is superior, they will come up with their last moves, their last strikes [or in Chinese] 最后几招 (zuì hòu jǐ zhāo). Huah, huah, huah and if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. So this is the last three strikes we're going to look at. The first strike is this statement that Satan made:

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
(Matt 4:3 ESV)

Jesus has just fasted for 40 days. Now that's a big deal I think, for sure. And so you when look at this and say, wah, this seems very reasonable. I mean Jesus is hungry, probably starving and would die if he doesn't have any food soon. And what is suggested is very simple. It’s not asking for steak or roast duck or shark’s fin, it's just asking for bread. So you say, what's wrong with this suggestion or why would you call this a temptation?

Well, I think the reason is this: whilst there's nothing wrong to eat, Satan is suggesting to Jesus to take His own action, to take things into His own hands, to do it His own way and to do it His own time. In other words, Satan is saying to Jesus, you are the Son of God, you can go about providing for your own needs, you don't have to wait for God. And so the very heart of this is to cause or to tempt Jesus to act apart from the Father's will. Look at the second strike. The second strike comes:

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
(Matt 4:6 ESV)

So Satan tempts Jesus a second time and he now brings in the Bible, he brings in the Word of God. Now Satan knows the Bible very well, I think. How many of you know which verse this is taken from? Anyone here? Satan's Bible knowledge beats all of us in this room. His Bible knowledge is excellent. He knows this verse and he can quote it. Now the problem with Satan, of course, is he knows it but he doesn't believe it, neither will he ever want to obey it. But he knows, and he brings in Psalm 91 verses 11 and 12.

Timestamp 0:06:32

Again, it would not seem very unreasonable because it is true that the father will always protect the son, that's true. But the temptation, again, is for Jesus to take things into His own hands, to act on His own way and in His own time, apart from God. It's trying to obligate, force God's hand to do what the Son wants the Father to do. Strike number three:

“All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
(Matt 4: 9 ESV)

So now show hand. This is what Satan really wants, this is his last stroke, his 降龙十八掌 (xiáng lóng shí bā zhǎng, a supreme kung fu technique in a novel). It's his last stroke that comes up and what he really wants is Jesus to bow down and worship him and he promises Him all the glories of the kingdoms of the world.

Now he, like I said, is the prince of the power of the air. The Bible also calls him the god of this world. So in a sense, he owns this world and he says, I will give all this to you, Jesus, if you will now bow or fall down and worship me.

So what Satan is saying to Jesus is this: you don't have to follow the Father's plan, you don't have to go to the cross, you don't have to suffer, you don't have to go through the pains and agonies that is spoken of in the Bible. You can have all these right here, right now; it's in your hands. Just do this and they will be yours.

As you look at these three strikes, there's one common thread that ties them all up. You say, what is this? I believe this tells us what sin is all about, what temptation is all about. There's nothing wrong with eating. There's nothing wrong with desiring the kingdoms, it is legitimately for Christ to reclaim, there's nothing wrong with Christ desiring the kingdoms. But what Satan is doing is to tempt Jesus to get all these things on His own, apart from God, taking matters into His own hand. So you say, what is sin? I believe the ultimate essence of sin is independence from God. That's what these three temptations are all about.

Satan is tempting Jesus to believe that His own will is superior to God's will. He’s tempting Jesus to believe that there is greater good and joy and fulfilment and meaning in doing what I want and not what God wants. So Jesus, you need food, do it your way. You need to show that you're the Son of God, do it your way – jump. You can have all these kingdoms without pain, without cross, without suffering; do it your way. And that is the very heart and essence of sin.

In verse 3, we are told that the devil is called the tempter, very important because all he wants to do is to tempt us to independence from God. Notice the devil didn't change the stones into bread and force it down Jesus' throat; he didn't do that because that would be of no use to the devil. He didn't push Jesus off the pinnacle because again, that will be of no use. What he really wants is the heart of men, the heart of Jesus to be peeled away from the Father, independence from God.

Timestamp 0:10:26

Not only is he called the tempter, in verse 7 or verse 5, he is called the devil. The word devil is the Greek word diabolos which means slanderer or accuser. So in a subtle way but very real way, Satan, in these temptations, is subtly suggesting that God is not worth following. He doesn't love you enough to provide you bread so you got to do it yourself, He doesn't love you enough. His ways are not great because I can offer you a simpler way, an easier way to get all the glories – just bow down. But these are very subtle insinuations, accusations against God.

And in verse 10, he's called Satan, Satanas, which means enemy or adversary. So he tempts men, by casting doubts on God's character before others, so that we may be separated from God, alienated from God and he is therefore the enemy. The ultimate essence of sin is independence from God and Satan knows it. He wants men and women to live apart from God, to desire things apart from God, to do things apart from God. That's what he wants and he is very con…

One thing you must give to Satan is that he's very consistent, he doesn't change very much. Back in the Garden of Eden, the serpent came along and seeks to get Adam and Eve into sin. He doesn't force the fruit down Eve's throat; that would be pointless. But he will go about tempting her so that she will now choose to act independent of God's Word and God's will. So he comes along and suggests to her and accuses God before her. He suggests to Eve that God is not trustworthy, you need not listen to Him because:

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
(Gen 3:4 ESV)

He said to her, you will not surely die. Eve said when I eat of this, God said I would die. Satan says, no, no, no, no, no, you will not surely die. You don't have to listen to this God. He's not looking out for your interests. He doesn't really care about you. He's really self-centred because:

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
(Gen 3:5 ESV)

For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like Him. That's why He doesn't want you to eat – the diabolos at work. And Eve chose to follow that temptation, believe that accusation and acted independent of God's Word. She took of that fruit, ate of it and the world is then plunged into sin. The ultimate essence of sin is independence from God.

So let's apply it today. Is sex sin? Is sex bad? Is sex dirty? Well, many people think sex, in and of itself, is bad, is dirty. So there are religious groups that say a holy person will never have sexual relationships, but do you know something, the Bible doesn't teach that at all. The Bible tells us, sex is a gift from God. It's a beautiful thing, it's a good thing, it's a wholesome thing, nothing wrong with that.

Marriage bed is honourable but you see, it's meant, God's will, God's Word tells us, sex is meant to be in the confines of marriage. But it becomes bad when we choose to act independent of God's will, when we say oh, I want premarital sex. You say, what's wrong with that because it's just between two consenting adults?

Timestamp 0:14:41

Now, that's where the problem lies. It's like that bread, that stone to bread. Bread is not wrong. It's not wrong for Jesus to eat but when you want to do it your own way, your own time, apart from God's will, that's when it becomes wrong. That's what it is for sex, premarital sex, extramarital sex, pornography or same sex relationships. It is outside God's will, that's why it becomes sinful.

The heart of it is independence from God, believing that if I have premarital sex, that's better for me than God's way for me, believing that if I satisfy myself with other women, it is what is better for me than what God wants me, fidelity in marriage.

Sin is independence and you can apply it the same for money. Money is not a bad thing, money is not a bad thing. Some of you may cheer, yay. Money is not a bad thing, it's not evil, it's not wrong, but it's the love of money that is the problem. When you look to money to satisfy you, to be your ultimate fulfilment, when you look to money as if it's your God, then that's where it goes wrong. It's independence from God.

Power is not a bad thing, money is not a bad thing, influence is not a bad thing. So Satan knows this well and he comes to tempt Jesus to live apart from God. Those are his three strokes, hoyt, hoyt, hoyt. But you know our Saviour dealt with it really well. He dealt with it with ease, as it were. I mean He was at no point in any danger really of succumbing to those temptations. I think it’s remarkable if you consider how weak He must have been.

Imagine fasting for 40 days, I don't think any of us have tried that long, forty days. Some of you maybe one, two days, very few four days. Some of us can't even fast for four hours. Wah, very hungry, no lunch, very hungry. But Jesus fasted for 40 days. Can you imagine the physical and mental state He must be in? It’s absolutely difficult, but He fought against those temptations and was absolutely victorious.

HOW JESUS OVERCAME THE TEMPTATIONS

You say, how did He do it? How did Jesus overcome these temptations? Three things or three essential elements I think He had to have victory over it. Very simple.

1. The Spirit of God

Number one, He had the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God enabled Him. I see this in Luke 4…

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
(Luke 4:1 ESV)

… that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, then He was led of the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. So He was first anointed with the Spirit, remember in Matthew 3? And the next event we read of is the temptation in the wilderness by the devil. So He had the Spirit of God. He did this, He went through this because He was helped by the Spirit.

Timestamp 0:18:04

2. Word of God

Number two, He was able to do this and every commentator, every commentator who comments on Matthew 4 would all agree, He did this because He had the Word of God, very simple. The first strike, turn these stones into bread, and Jesus said:

… “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
(Matt 4:4 ESV, a quotation from Deut 8:3).

Then when He was tempted to jump off the pinnacle, He answered:

“Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
(Matt 4:7 ESV, a quotation from Deut 6:16)

The third temptation came, bow down and worship me and all these things I will give to you. Jesus then said:

“Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
(Matt 4:10 ESV, a quotation from Deut 6:13)

So all three quotations from Deuteronomy. But the consistent pattern is this: “it is written” [Matt 4:4], “it is written” [Matt 4:7], “it is written” [Matt 4:10]. Jesus chose to hang on to God's Word and not to live independent of God and His Word.

3. Love of God

The third essential element, this needs some developing and I think, I hope you will give me some time to explain that. I believe Jesus was able to have victory over temptation because He had the Spirit of God, He had the Word of God, and very importantly, He had the love of God. I think this is crucial and a lot of times, I think we may not see that in this passage, and indeed it's not so obvious but let me try to develop it for you. Elsewhere in the Bible, we are told:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(1 John 2:15 ESV)

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions [life]—is not from the Father but is from the world.
(1 John 2:16 ESV – should be ESVUK)

Well, the word [“possessions”] there in Greek is the word bios, from which you get the word biology. It's actually better translated, I think, as “life”, as in the King James and in other versions.

All these three things – the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world. Now these three are buttons that Satan loves to use to get us tempted into sin. Why do we sin? Because we are indulging somewhere in these three buttons: desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes or the pride of life.

And if you think about it, the three temptations Jesus [pastor meant Satan] gave correspond to these three buttons. Stone to bread – desires of the flesh; kingdoms of the world, show you all the kingdoms of the world – desires of the eyes; jump down and prove that you're the Son of God – the pride of life.

So the devil knows what we… what triggers us, what activates us to even desire to live independent from God. And again, this is not very unique, this is not the first time we see this. Back in the Garden of Eden, why did Eve take the fruit? Same trio:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate,
(Gen 3:6 ESV)

She saw that the food was good or the tree was good for food [lust of flesh], it was a delight to the eyes [lust of eyes], it was fruit desired to make one wise [pride of life].

So I don't think I'm the first to see this; many have gone ahead of us and have pointed out the parallels in these three passages – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. And Scripture tells us, this is not from the Father but is from the world (1 John 2:16), and if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).

Timestamp 0:22:17

So let's bring it all together. If you love the world, you do not love the Father. The corresponding argument is also true: if you love the Father, you will not love the world.

Thomas Chalmers, as I've mentioned before, talks about this expulsive power of a new affection. He says, before a man comes to know God, he doesn't love God. He doesn't know the love of God and so it is inadvertent that he would love the world, right? If you're not a Christian, if you do not know God, you will love the world. What else can you love?

But when you came to know Jesus in the Gospel, when you know how much the Father loves you, He gave His Son for you and you really believe that to be true for you, Jesus died and rose again, you know what? You know the love of God and God gives you a new heart that loves God. So now you have a new affection, a love for the Father and there is expulsive power in this new affection.

When you love God, you will not love the things of this world. The best way to get rid of air from a cup is not to suck it out, the best way to get rid of water [pastor meant air] in a cup is to pour water into the cup – expulsive power of a new affection. And so if you love God, if you know the love of God, you will not love the world. That's why I say, in the case of Jesus, He chose not to indulge in any of these things because He knows the love of the Father and He loves the Father.

Remember how at the baptism of Jesus, the Father says, you are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased? Remember how Jesus subsequently will say, my meat, my food, my satisfaction is to do the will of my Father. The Father and Christ is in such a love relationship, He's filled with the love of God, no wonder He will have victory over temptation.

So once again, Jesus had victory over the temptations because He was filled with the Spirit, He was filled with the Word, and He was filled with the love of God. So I’ve described to you a Chinese martial arts scene in Bible form. There is first the three strikes of the devil after a protracted period of temptation. Our master, our Saviour, He repelled all these so there were the strikes, there was the swats away.

PURPOSE OF THE TEMPTATIONS

And finally, I want to ask or I want to share with you the significance of it all, because this whole story is not an accident. It's not as if Jesus was filled with the Spirit, He was walking around and aiyoh [oh dear], jialat [severe to a great extent in Hokkien], I got into the wilderness; aiyoh, I didn't know the devil is hiding there. No, it was not an accident. I say to you, this is very, very intentional; it was all part of God's plan. I know that because in Matthew 1, we are told that:

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
(Matt 4:1 ESV)

It was an intentional process. Not only Matthew says this, Luke tells us:

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
(Luke 4:1 ESV)

Jesus was led by the Spirit. And not only did Luke say this, Mark tells us:

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
(Mark 1:12 ESV)

Jesus was driven – this one not Uber or Grab of course, but it speaks about the force, it speaks about the urgency with which this has to be done. So it was not an accident, it was intentional but you say why, what is the purpose behind it? What does the Bible say about the intention of this temptation?

Timestamp 0:26:15

There are three reasons why, I think, I can find in the Bible. They all start with “ex”, Gospel Light style. Would you want to guess what they are? In the first service, one guess was right… Okay, I guess as much. Alright, let's go to the first one, alright? After the first one then you try the second and third one.

1. Example

The first reason, I think, it's the most obvious why God would bring Jesus to be tempted by the devil, is so that He will be our example. Very simple, He will be our example. It is so encouraging when we read verse 4, man shall not live by bread alone; He's talking about Himself.

Now Jesus is fully God and He is fully man, but in this story He puts himself in the position of man and says, this is how I'm going to resist temptation. Man, I, shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus meant this, I believe, to be an example for all of us, because we all know resisting temptation is not easy, it's hard.

A story is told of a pastor's wife who went to the mall and got herself a dress. She got home and her husband, the pastor found out that she got a new dress and asked her how much that dress costs. She said, “Oh, it cost $500.” The pastor was very upset, “Wah, $500. How could you spend so much on this? Don't you know it's wrong?” Some of you ladies laugh, because I think it's very cheap for you. You probably have more expensive ones.

But anyway, he was upset that she would spend 500 on the dress. She says, “I know it's wrong but you know, throughout that process as I was looking at the dress, I was almost hearing Satan whisper to me, ‘You look good in that dress, buy it.’ I just have no choice but to be tempted and I bought it.” The pastor says, “How could you do this? Don't you know the Bible? Don't you know that there are other verses you could use to not buy this? Don't you know that Jesus said, ‘Get it behind me, Satan’? You could have said that.” “But dear, I said that. I said, ‘Get it behind me, Satan.’ Then Satan whispered to me, ‘It looks good from the back as well.’”

It is extremely difficult sometimes to resist temptation, maybe sexual temptations, maybe pride, maybe covetousness – loving the things of this world, maybe bitterness, anger – you just won’t let go of your hurt because you believe that being angry with someone, hating someone is good for you. Or maybe the sin of laziness, you may work very hard in your office but you are lazy spiritually, you’re lazy for the kingdom. These are sins we all groan and struggle under, and sometimes you feel like, I think I need to give up, I just can’t resist those temptations.

Oscar Wilde, he's an author, British author, he said two statements about temptation, which is really revealing about man. He says number one, the best way to face temptation is to give in to it, because he said a second statement; his second statement is, I can resist anything except temptation. But I think he is being honest.

If you're not a Christian, if you do not know God, I really think you have no choice but to give in to temptations, over and over and over and over again. Why, because your evil master Satan holds you in sin’s grip, we are slaves to sin. You're powerless, really.

Timestamp 0:30:31

But for the Christian, for the man who knows God, it's entirely different story. I believe in Christ, in God, we can have victory over temptations. You say, how? I'm a man. Well, Jesus says man shall not live by bread alone but by every word. He says it is possible. The same three factors that enabled Jesus to have victory over sin are the same three factors a child of God has.

Number one, the believer has the Spirit of God. This is the amazing thing about the Christian teaching on our relationship with God. It's not just a debt that is settled, it's not just that I have a ticket to heaven but the reality is, when I repent of my sin and believe in Jesus, God sends His Spirit to live in my life. The Bible calls us the temple of God, the dwelling place of God; the Holy Spirit lives in me.

Now you may know this intellectually but practically it makes very little difference in your life because you don't understand what this means. Let me tell you what it means. It means that the Holy Spirit is in you, not for show but to help you live a holy life. He's here to help you. He's your partner in life. That's why I think He's called the Holy Spirit and elsewhere in the Bible, He is called the Spirit of Holiness. His work is to change us into Christlikeness, into holiness and the Holy Spirit lives in you.

Now in the past, you don't have the Holy Spirit; you're dead meat. But today, the Holy Spirit lives in me, factor number one. Factor number two, the child of God today enjoys and has access and understands the Word of God. The Word of God, it's so beautiful that we can live not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The Word of God keeps us from sin.

Many of you have Bibles, right? I didn't bring a Bible but imagine this is a Bible, I borrow Josh keyboard again. Imagine this is a Bible. The Bible helps you against sin but for many of us, we don't know how it works, so we buy 10 Bibles. We think the more Bibles we have, the more spiritual we are and we put it on our shelves as if like amulets to ward against the evil one. So you put a lot of Bibles, at night I can sleep better. But do you know that is not the way the Bible works?

The psalmist says, thy word have I hid on my shelf that I might not sin against thee. Did the psalmist say that? Your word have I hid in my shelf that I might not sin against thee. No, he didn't say that. What did he say? Thy word have I hid in my… in my heart [Psalm 119:11]. You see, the Bible is not something you possess externally but something that you need to ingest internally. You need to have it in your life.

I watched a little clip of John Piper talking about the Bible and how it is not just about having it outside, you need to understand the truth, the grammar and so on, you need to internalize it. He did this, he took a Bible and says, many of us think that knowing the Bible is taking the bible and put here, put here, put here, put here, rub here all over and rub off its spiritual power on our body. No, it doesn't work this way. You got to read it, you got to study it, you got to understand it, you got to hide it in your heart.

Timestamp 0:34:29

And I pray Gospeliters, you will be students of the Word, you will be like that baby that is hungry and will drink God's Word in. Some of you are so proud that on your phone, you have 10 Bible apps on the Bible, you see I got so many versions. What's the point if it's in your phone but not in your heart?

Some of us have been Christians for long time and you still do not know the fundamentals of the faith. When sexual temptations come, you do not know what you can stand on. When pride comes, you do not know what you’re to believe in. And so you’re absolutely vulnerable, don't you think?

You can’t stand on the Word of God. But this is an encouragement from the Saviour: hey, I went through temptation, extreme temptation; I had the Spirit's help and the Bible is the secret to my success. You have the Bible, I've given you the Word. Study it, embrace it, receive it.

Well, not only the Word of God, but thirdly, Jesus knew the love of God. And you and I know the love of God in the Gospel. You know God's love for you in the message on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday just past, how while we were yet sinners, when we were rebels, when we were dirty, filthy and we do not want God, God so loved us He gave His Son to die for us and to save you and I from our sins.

That is the love of God and the more you read the Bible, the more you understand the Gospel, I pray the more you will appreciate and grasp the love of God for you. All of us can know God's love in the Gospel. All of us can go deeper, dive deep in the ocean of God's love in the Gospel.

So what does this mean practically? This means, my brothers and sisters in Christ, please don't just come to church on Sunday to hear a sermon and say, that's all I need to know about the Bible. Get more in, really get more in. 45 minutes of preaching, I think it’s good but it’s not going to be enough. Drink more, drink more in your own study, drink more every day reading the Bible. Don't just read Straits Times and Stomp and whatever, but read the Bible. Get someone to help you understand, read the Bible.

Go for classes. So scary when we are so happy joining trading classes or baking classes. Nothing wrong with these things. I mean they are good things, badminton classes, but would you prepare yourself for the most important thing, which is growing to be like Jesus, go for Bible classes?

Would you be in Gospel communities where you can provoke one another to love and good works [Heb 10:24]? Or do you think yourself, I already am so good, the devil no chance against me. Now if you’re really like that, then okay lah, you don't need lah but you need to serve others. Reality is we need one another, that we may be provoked to love and good works.

Timestamp 0:38:03

Now would you pray, would you pray for God, would you pray that the Spirit will help you know God's love better? The love of God is not just something that can be grasped intellectually by mere study alone. I think it’s something that we get when we pray. I get that from Ephesians 3, one of the key passages I always refer to or remind myself in, that in order for me to comprehend the love of God, it's got to be prayed for. For it to go from the head to the heart, it’s got to be prayed for, because that's what Paul prayed for, for the Ephesians. I pray that you will know the love of God, that's what he prays for.

You say, I don’t really get the Gospel. I don't really see God's love. I say, maybe you should start praying intentionally because most of us pray for my son's PSLE, my wife has a toe surgery, I'm going to job interview, oh God, bless me in all these things but do you know what? You need to pray, “God, help me know your love, really, really know your love, that I will be filled with the love of God, that I will not fall into temptation.”

I want to give one more thing about fighting temptation, independence on the Spirit and it is this: when the Spirit comes to or when the devil comes to tempt you or when you feel tempted, what do you do? This is really practical, alright? So before temptation, what do you do? You read, you get in community, you pray that God will be real, His love will be vibrant for your life. That's what you do before. But when temptation comes right before you, what do you do?

You are tempted to surf more of unworthy sites you shouldn't be surfing, you're tempted to make a career choice that will lead you away from God towards materialism, what would you do? You're tempted to continue to hate someone, you know you shouldn't but you’re attempted to bear that grudge and you just won’t let that go, what would you do? What could you do?

What does it mean to depend on the Spirit? Well, the old-timers put it this way. They call this the mortification of sin, that is, the killing of sin. And I think, J.I. Packer puts it very simply, he says go to your knees and pray. You say, what is prayer for? Prayer is to depend on God to deal with these temptations of life. Go to your knees and say, “God, these are temptations, help me through them.” Keep praying, he says, keep praying until the desire, the grip of sin loosens from your life.

So don't just face temptation and grit your teeth and say, ahhh, I’m not going to. No, that’s self-effort. But go to your knees and pray, “God, keep me pure. Keep my eyes pure, remind me of Your love, help me to stand upon Your Word, may Christ be seen in me. I don't want to pollute my soul. Lord, may Your grace enable me to glorify You. Help me.” I think that's what prayer is about when you meet with temptation right in front of you.

Well, I’ve spoken a lot for the first “ex”. I believe Jesus went through temptation to be our supreme example. Wow, okay… whatever that means... Second “ex”, what would that be? Eh, how come you know ah? Now, were you at the first service? No, right? Alright, excellent.

2. Experience

The second reason, besides example, absolutely spot on – experience. You say, what experience? Jesus had to go through this experience. Why? Isn't He God? Why does He need to learn anything? Well, in a sense, yes, it is God's will for Jesus to experience human suffering in temptation because Hebrews 2:18 tells us:

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
(Heb 2:18 ESV)

One of the reasons we know we can come to Christ, even after we sin, is because we know He understands, He feels it. He is not far, He is not disconnected, He is not disinterested, He feels for us.

Timestamp 0:42:51

By the way, we learn and we are comforted by people who have gone ahead of us, right? If this certain person has experienced far more than I've experienced, I'm glad, I feel comforted when I go to him. Jesus has experienced far more than anyone of us could ever experience. He resisted temptation to the very end.

Very few, I don't think there's any one of us who has resisted temptation to its very end, we give up very quickly. A little bit of temptation, a little bit of temptation and we fall into sin. So we can't say we have experienced the force of temptation to its max. Jesus had. He’d experienced it all, and therefore He is able to help those who are being tempted. The Bible tells us:

… so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
(Heb 2:17 ESV)

God is putting Jesus through this experience camp, as it were, so that when He emerges from it, He is the perfect, ideal, compassionate, faithful, merciful high priest and you don't have to doubt it because He really experienced it.

A king saw a painting of a storm and was amazed how realistic it looked. He asked the painter, how did you do it? The painter said, sir, many months ago, I hired a fishing boat and it got me out into the storm. I said to the fisherman, tie me to the mast of the boat, and that's what he did. I was in the eye of the storm and not only did I see the storm, I felt the storm. I really wished I wasn't in the storm but I went through the storm and when I got back, I went back to my room and I started to paint this painting. It was real, it was vivid because I went through it.

Our Saviour is fitted to be our high priest because He went through the storm, the greatest storm any one of us could imagine. So now, again, in Hebrews:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
(Heb 4:15 ESV)

We can go to Him at the throne of grace. Alright, the last “ex”. Sorry? Wah, you guys are excellent. Alright, you got it and the last “ex” is…

3. Exaltation

He had to go through it for exampling, He had to go through for experience, He had to go through it to show us His exaltation. The Bible tells us:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
(1 John 4:8 ESV – should be 3:8)

And here in this battle, it is clear that Jesus trumps the devil. How would you know that Jesus would be able to die and pay for our sin? How would you know Jesus can defeat the devil? Well, even way before that, it's already clear. This is not even a close battle; this is a blowout victory for Jesus. He absolutely defeated the devil, resisted the devil and the devil had to flee. That's what I think the book of Matthew is about.

Timestamp 0:46:17

Remember the book of Matthew is about Jesus as King, the Revelation of our King. What kind of a king? Well, we learned a few things about our King. We first learned about his ancestry – He really fits the bill. We learned about His arrival and the names that are given to Him – Jesus, Christ, Immanuel. Then we learned about how the wise men would come to adore Him. We learned then the ambassador for Christ – how John will prepare the way so that people will receive the King.

Two weeks ago, we learned about His anointing – how He would be enabled to sacrifice and today, we read His ascendancy – He is superior above all. Adam, in the best of environments, fell to Satan's lies. Jesus, in the worst of environments, absolutely triumphed over the devil. That is the superiority of our Saviour.

Throughout history, there is no one who could defeat the devil. He is like the evil master, like I’ve said. Only our hero, Jesus, can. My friends, there is no one who can save us from our sins, apart from Jesus Christ. And I think that is the reason, those are the reasons why the Spirit drove Jesus to be tempted.

Let me end with this statement from Spurgeon: “God had one Son without sin, but he never had a son without temptation.” Every child of God goes through temptation and we feel it. But I hope this morning, as you ponder, this is an extremely rich text, I have tried to squeeze everything within this time, but I hope this morning, you will find that Jesus is our example, and then like Him, if we are walking in the Spirit, depending on the Spirit, if we are holding on to the sure Word of God and if we are filling our hearts with the love of God in the Gospel, you can have victory over sin.

And for those who this morning, you are living in sin and you don't feel great about it and you feel ashamed and you doubt whether God is going to accept you, I want to remind you that Jesus is your merciful, faithful, compassionate high priest. This morning, there is grace. You stand upon that grace, come back to your Father, come back to your God. There is cleansing in Him.

I want to say to those who are wondering, can Jesus save. I think it's an absolute answer. He has done it in the garden, He has done it on the cross, the empty tomb proves He is absolutely victorious, you can have confidence in the saving work of Jesus Christ. And our Saviour, our conquering King will come back for us one day. He defeated Satan in the garden, He defeated Satan on the cross and one day, He will defeat Satan in His second coming.

I pray every knee shall bow, will bow before our King. I hope you will worship Him because He is truly God's king for us. Satan today has one goal: separation and independence from God. You know what Jesus came to do? Reconciliation with God and I believe if you today were to humble your heart and listen to His Word, You can come back to God. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Timestamp 0:50:05

I know this has been an extremely heavy sermon. There, I think, are just a lot of truths packed into that. But if there's one thing I hope you’ll remember is simply this: Christ is the King and every knee will bow before Him; all principalities, all powers, even satanic forces, they will bow before Him. My friends, Jesus is victorious over all. And I pray this morning, you would have this confidence in His victory that you would find salvation, forgiveness, reconciliation in Jesus Christ, God's Son.

If you're here today and you do not know Jesus, I pray this morning, you will not keep listening to the devil's lies, you will not say I don't need God, you will not say, I'll try to earn salvation myself. You know what? That is still independence from God. In God's eyes, self-righteousness is sin. But realize today, Jesus offers reconciliation through Him and He is successful. So this morning, would you repent of your sin, would you cease from trying to earn your way there and rely fully on Christ, God’s Son?

This morning, maybe you are struggling with sins in your life and if you’re trying to do it on your own, hey, you don’t have to do it on your own. Depend on the Spirit, pray, mortify through prayer. Fill your life with the Word of God, study God's Word, invest yourself in Scripture. Let God's Word be hidden in your heart that you may not sin against Him.

Whatever the Lord is saying to you this morning, would you pray to Him right here, right now? This is not a fairy tale, this is not just something someone spun up, this is real. And may these realities, these truths be real in your life.

Father, we thank You this morning for Your Word. Lord, we pray that You’ll give us a passion for You. As we discover more and more Your passion for us, may our hearts be filled with the knowledge of Your love and grace that we may turn from our sin and believe in Jesus for salvation and that we may turn from our sin and live in holiness and obedience, in response to Your amazing love for us. So bless each one this morning, may Christ increase in all our lives. We pray all this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve.