Get 30 FREE sermons.

TEMPTING JOURNEY (2 OF 13)

by Steve Jones

Scripture: Luke 4:1-44
This content is part of a series.


Title: Tempting Journey (2 of 13)
Series: Journey to the Resurrection
Author: Steve Jones
Text: Luke 4

Sermon Summary: The temptations of Jesus teach us three lessons, illustrated by animals. 1) Don't be a pig. 2) Don't be a sloth. 3) Don't be a lemming.

INTRODUCTION: We're in a sermon series entitled "The Journey" in which we're traveling with Jesus through the gospel of Luke on our way to his resurrection. The gospel of Luke is a mini biography of the life of Jesus. Today let's note that "The Journey" is a TEMPTING journey.

In Luke chapter four we read of an encounter between Jesus and the devil. Jesus had been fasting in the wilderness for forty days and nights. He was being tempted by the devil during the entire period, but we read of three climactic temptations.

The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. That's what happened when Jesus resisted the devil. The Lord's example is a cautionary tale to prevent us from making three huge mistakes as we resist the devil and flee temptation. What follows are three strategies for resisting the devil's temptations.

I've couched each one in terms of an animal to make it simple and memorable.

I. DON'T BE A PIG

Luke 4:3-4 The devil said to Jesus, "Since you are God's Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus replied, "No! The Scriptures say, 'Man does not live by bread alone.'"

Satan's first temptation was an effort to distract Jesus from his SPIRITUAL priorities by appealing to his physical appetites. Satan went right for the stomach. Knowing that Jesus was hungry, Satan challenged him to turn the stones to bread to feed himself. What would have been so wrong with that? I like to eat. You like eating. Jesus liked to eat. We all NEED to eat. The answer is revealed in Jesus' reply: "Man does not live on bread alone" (Matthew adds: "but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"). Jesus HAD been eating while in this desert - he'd been eatin ...

There are 18200 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.

Price:  $5.99 or 1 credit
Start a Free Trial