He Overcame For Us

These are the notes from Impact on February 17, 2010.

Luke 4:1-13
Being Tempted: Jesus’ Example to Us

As we have moved through Luke’s Gospel, many principles have been shown to us. We have seen the faith of ordinary people and how God used them to do extraordinary things. Also, we have seen the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers as it leads us to the truth of God and the purpose He has for our lives. Last week we looked at where Jesus was and where He was going. Now Luke’s Gospel shifts the focus totally on Jesus and His ministry. Just after Jesus is baptized and publicly begins His earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the desert. Tonight we are going to look at why Jesus was tempted, how He was tempted, and what that means for us.

1. Why Jesus Was Tempted (vv.1-3,13) – There are many reasons why Jesus faces temptations, but do not think that Jesus was only tempted during this time. One of Satan’s missions was to tempt Christ all throughout His ministry. He even saw Satan influencing Peter’s thoughts and words in Matthew 16:23. Jesus did undergo temptation. Remember that He was a human too and faced the very things we face. One reason that Jesus was tempted was to show us this, but this is not the primary reason. Question: Who really initiates this encounter between Jesus and the devil? In verse one we see that Jesus was led by the Spirit to go to the wilderness. He was also led to fast and become hungry. This was not an accidental encounter. This was a declaration of Jesus’ mission to conquer the evil in the world. This was a move of offense, not defense. How amazing is that? Not only was this a declaration of good versus evil, but it was a way for us to see that Jesus indeed conquered all sin and endured all sin. Hebrews 2:17-18 and 4:16-18 shows us that Jesus endured the temptations in Luke 4 and all throughout His life in order to be a Savior and Priest who knows what it is like to suffer. Because He overcame, we can overcome through Him.

2. How Jesus Was Tempted (vv.4-12) – Satan temped Jesus in three ways that we see here. While each temptation has differing circumstances, all of them share common elements. What the devil is trying to do is lead Jesus to use His divine power against what Jesus as part of His divine plan. This is heart of all temptation: placing God below us, or, trying to become God. Adam and Eve fell to this in Genesis 3:1-6. We all fall to this when we give in to temptation. When we sin, we are saying, “No God, I want to do this and not what you want.” Praise God that Jesus Christ endured the temptation of sin for His glory and our salvation. The response of Jesus gives us insight to how to deal with temptations as well. We will probably never be tempted like Jesus was, but the strategy is effective all the same.

3. How We Can Face Temptation (vv. 4-12) – If we examine Jesus’ encounter with Satan, we can see a few important principles for us to adopt in order to not fall victim to temptation. First we see the very clear knowledge that Jesus has of the Scriptures. The Word of God is such a powerful tool for our lives. Not only can it be used to guide us to the truth in regards to temptation, but It also guides us to the truth in all of our life. Question: Do you ever just feel lost in life without any meaning? The Scripture can change your heart! It really can. Jesus uses Scripture to combat Satan’s lies, but Satan also uses Scripture to create a lie. Notice is the not the Scripture on its own that false but the way the devil twists it into a false context. We see another principle in Jesus’ response. Not only does He know what Scripture say but He knows what it really means. We should not only read the Bible, but we should also learn what it says correctly. Ignorance is a powerful tool that the enemy uses to guide people into lies. Also important to notice is the strong connection between Jesus with the Holy Spirit. If we are to be successful in resisting temptation, our personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit must be close. The power to overcome is found in the Trinity and not ourselves. Question: If Jesus went into the desert to face temptation and the devil head on, should we? The answer is no we should not. Our pride will often lead us to think that we can just take on the devil if we know enough Scripture, but we must remember that Jesus was man AND God. In fact the Bible teaches us to not be on the offensive but on the defensive. Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us about the Armor of God which is all defensive in nature except for the Sword of the Spirit, the Scriptures. Even then, as we see Jesus use it, it is more of a defensive weapon. Verse 10 also tells us to be strong in the power of God, not our own power. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:9 and James writes in James 4:7 says to resist the devil. We are not taught to go seeking a fight. In Acts 19:11-20 we see the story of the seven sons of Sceva who tried to take on an evil Spirit and were beaten up! This is a huge difference between Christianity and Islam. Islam teaches to confront enemies and even kill them, but Jesus taught to pray for your enemies and foretold of capture. It was in these times of capture that the Holy Spirit would move and change lives. It all comes down to this. We must remember that this is all about God and His Kingdom. We when start to think we are the biggest part of the puzzle, pride takes over and destroys. Question: Why do we want to resist temptation? Why would we even want to bother with it all? The reason we should want to live a life in Christ’s example is because He is so worthy of it. He loved us enough to live a life that resisted every temptation so we could be made right with God. Should not we want to do the best we can for Him and His glory? Do we not want to change lives like He changed ours? We can never do that if we cannot commit our lives to Him.

Discussion/Application Questions
1. How do you deal with temptation? Do you try to fight under your own power?
2. Do you really know God and the love He has for you?
3. What are things in your life that are a strong temptation for you? Are you willing to do what it takes to overcome them for Christ’s sake?

To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

These are the notes from the lesson at Impact on February 10, 2010.

Luke 4:1-2/Philippians 1:12-30

I had a lesson written for tonight, and we will look at it next week. Last night and this morning I just really had an aching in my soul. I really felt like the Spirit was moving me to share something else. There is this feeling in my soul that many of us are dealing with distraction, apathy, selfishness, and an overall lack of importance for the Gospel and Kingdom of God. One thing that is difficult for many, especially ministers, is the realization that we cannot actually change anyone or install a paradigm in someone like software. The LORD is the only one who can truly change someone’s heart. Tonight the Word of God, the Bible, will speak to us about something that Jesus did and how that caused Paul to live in an incredible way for Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus Endured On Purpose (vv.1-2) – In Luke we see here that Jesus is starting His public ministry. Right after His baptism, Luke describes Jesus as full of the Holy Spirit and is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. A mistake we can make about this passage is to think that Jesus goes to the desert to fast and pray and the devil ambushes Jesus with temptation. The truth is that Jesus goes into the desert with a purpose of taking on Satan. This is not a chance encounter. Jesus went to show Satan and all of evil that He was here to save the world. He also came to endure these temptations on our behalf. Hebrews chapters 2 and 4 both discuss how Jesus’ temptations were to bring us closer to Him and to show us that through the power of Christ, temptations can be overcome. Hebrews 4:14-16 shows us a glimpse of this. Jesus Christ did something incredible for us during this time in Luke 4, and it’s this type of living that spurs Paul on to live an extraordinary life. Paul writes some amazing words in Philippians chapter one.

2. For Paul, Everything Is About Christ, In Life and In Death (vv. 12-26) – Question: What gives Paul the motivation to live a life such as this? Paul sees every aspect of his life as part of spreading the Gospel: work, prison, punishment, suffering, life, and death. What leads him to live life like this? He knows what Jesus has done for him – how Jesus rescued Him from his sin and brought him into life. Paul knows what kind of life Jesus lived to serve the Kingdom. Jesus is a hero, and Paul is living in that same way. For Paul, the most important thing in his life is Jesus Christ and the Good News about God’s Kingdom. Everything he does fits into that and pursues that goal. Question: What does my/your life pursue? What are our lives being lived for?

3. We Need to “Man Up” (vv. 27-30) – Paul urges the Philippians and us to live the same life – a life totally committed to following Christ. We need to stop letting everything else in life take the place of God in our hearts and live like Him. All throughout the Bible the principle is taught that everything in life pales in comparison to God. All the things we think are so important are vanity compared to the Kingdom of God. We need to be heroes like Jesus is. It’s time for us to “man up” and engage in winning the world for Christ. Question: Have you ever met someone who just inspired you to live a certain way? That’s what happened with Paul when he got to know Jesus more and more, and that’s my prayer for you and me. As we know Christ more and more, I pray that the Spirit of God would ignite in us a passion to live like Him more and more. If you are hearing or reading this and do not know Christ, then you are missing out on the most incredible life. Jesus Christ gives like meaning and fulfillment. Everything else may fill, but it does not ultimately satisfy. Today is a day that you can start your journey with him. We can talk to you more about what that means if you want.

Let’s not waste our lives anymore. Let’s be heroes.


Discussion/Application Questions

1. Is the Gospel something important enough to you to share with others?

2. Do you really know God and the love He has for you?

3. Are you living in the purpose that God has for your life? Are you even looking for it?

4. What is the most important thing in your life?

Family and Legacy

Last night at Impact we looked at the genealogy of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. We talked about family and what kind of legacy we would leave behind. I read a will that my great-grandfather wrote when he was a young man in a small book. My family found these in a box full of old books and Bibles on New Year's of this year. The words really meant a lot to me in connection with this topic. I also learned a lot about my great great-grandfather who did some amazing things in his life to combat injustice, the KKK, and government corruption, even in the face of death.

These men loved the Lord and passed down some great things through my family. What will you leave behind in your life for those that come after you? Will you live a life for God that makes such a difference that people 100 years from now will be inspired by it? God made a difference in the lives of those who came before me, and God is making a difference in my life today.

Also, this impromtu will left behind by my great-grandfather, A.C. Moore, was very poignant and poetic. It seems that he knew that his time of death would be uncertain, and he was living a life not wanting to leave regrets. It reminds me of what Solomon said in Eccelesiates 9:9-10,

“Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and and in your toil at which your toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

And Paul also echoes this type of thought in Colossians 3:23-24,

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Solomon and Paul are not saying at all that our lives have no meaning or there is no hope in life after death. However, they are saying that life is precious and meaningful now. Do not waste it.

Here are the words from A.C. Moore:

I, A.C. Moore, being of sound mind, do hereby declare and proclaim this to be my last will and testament. To my dear father I will of the sunshine in the world, because he loves bright things and it is symbolic of his nature and disposition. To my darling mother I bequeath the flowers that are left in the world, because of their purity and their loveliness. To my mother I also leave a smile from the lips of her boy that she may remember me as I am. To my only sister I leave the happiness and good cheer because she is young and has longer to live and enjoy it. Last I leave to all my heirs “love,” that the whole family may have it forever and ever. Signed before God, A.C. Moore (Alamo Clay Moore)

Jesus and Storms

I have not blogged in awhile, and I need to get back on the horse. Here is some thoughts from today.

Luke 8:22-25

Jesus Stills the Sea

22Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out.
23But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.
24They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
25And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

Storms come often in our lives. Living in Oklahoma we now about storms all too well. Just the other day I was in Colorado, and when I told someone I was from Oklahoma, I was asked if I was a tornado chaser. For you who are reading this, I am not sure where you are right now in your life. We all are either in a storm, coming out of one, or in between. Do not we often respond like the disciples did in the midst of storms? Some today can weather such storms, but because they are prepared beforehand. I think a message from Luke’s Gospel is for all of us though, and today you might need it more than ever. Jesus Christ commands the winds and the water. Storms do not shake Him, nor do they take Him by surprise. If you are being tossed around today, let go. Fall into the arms of God and let His peace and power command the storm in your life. The love He has for us is truly indescribable, but during these times we can experience it. The Holy Spirit connects us brings a peace that cannot be explained. Let Jesus be your hero today. Read on through Luke 8 to see more for yourself.

Grace and peace,

Doug – John 15:13

A few bonus vids, always makes me think of Jesus as my hero in storms