FBC Morning Light – January 5, 2023

Well, a good Thursday morning to you. Hope your week is going well, this first week, first full week of the new year, and we're in that new

Bible reading plan. Today we're reading in Genesis 9 and 10, Matthew chapter 4, and the fourth

Psalm. I want to zero in on Matthew 4, and particularly the first several verses that tell us about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness for these 40 days.

I want to remind you that the chapter begins telling us that it's the

Holy Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

I remember what had just taken place at the end of chapter 3. Jesus had come to John as he was baptizing in the

Jordan River, and insisted that John baptize him, and when he did so, Jesus went down into the water, and when he came back up out of the water, the

Spirit, like a dove, descended upon him. This voice from heaven says to Jesus, you are my beloved

Son, with whom I am well pleased. Then the very next thing that happens, chapter 4, verse 1, the

Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, to be put to the test by the devil.

We are to pray, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

There are times when, for our own good, for the revealing of our own true self, we are led into temptation.

We're brought face -to -face with testing and trial, and even solicitation to evil.

We need to pray, please don't lead us into that, deliver us from it. Jesus is led into the wilderness, and he's tempted by the wicked one for these 40 days.

There's so much that we can learn from this interaction between Satan and his solicitation to evil, and Jesus' response to it, but I just want to point out two simple things.

One is that whatever Satan is promising in his solicitations to evil, no matter how delightful it may look, no matter how practical it may seem, no matter how self -exalting it may appear to be, it's all an illusion.

It's never going to be fulfilled the way that he describes, and I'm sure that you have found that out in your own personal experience.

You've been tempted in a certain way, and it looks so inviting, it looks so promising, it looks so enticing, and you yielded to the flesh, you yielded to that temptation of the wicked one.

Maybe you had a very delightful experience in the moment, but afterward, it was a pretty sour taste in your mouth.

The illusion did not come to be as Satan painted it to be.

It just doesn't work out that way. It isn't fulfilled the way he describes.

Also notice that to every solicitation, there is a biblical response to dismiss the desire and expose the false premise.

Jesus did that masterfully in each of these things. Turn the stone to bread.

You should not live by bread alone. Cast yourself down off of the pinnacle, because he's given the angels charge over you, and in your hands, he'll bear you up lest you dash your foot against.

Even Satan's quoting a portion, misquoting, but partially quoting a passage of Scripture.

Jesus says, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Don't presume upon his grace.

Then he takes him to this high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of the world. He said, I will give you all these things if you just bow down and worship me.

Jesus says, away with you, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

You see how Jesus very masterfully uses a biblical response to squelch the potential desire and to expose the false promise.

This is a tactic that you and I need to employ as well. What does Satan keep coming to you with, and enticing you with, and promising you with, and making things look so good?

Well, expose the illusion, expose it, and dismiss it with God's Word.

I trust that we'll do that. Our Father and our God, there's not a person listening to my voice that doesn't know something about the wicked one's solicitations to evil.

I pray that we would be reminded, even in Jesus' interactions, how powerful your

Word is to expose the illusions and the delusions of the wicked one, and to dismiss what he would have us to do, to dismiss those evil desires.

Help us, Lord, to use your Word as you have given it to us to do.

We pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Listen, you have a wonderful rest of your