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Ozzy Wei begins the Adult Singles Ministry semester by examining the temptations Jesus faced in Luke 4:3-4, highlighting how Jesus overcame the devil’s lies. The episode explores the first two lies of the devil: that one can live without God and that worship of God need not be exclusive, providing practical reflections on temptation and exclusive devotion to God.
Various midweek classes on wednesday nights
All right, let's go ahead and wrap up those conversations and we're gonna dive on in here. All right, who is brave enough, maybe one or two voices to shout in this full room, why they think Jesus needs to be tempted? Who wants to give it a shot? Roland? I would say that he doesn't need to be tempted because he was not, he's 100%, 100% not. He's not tempted. Yeah, there's a theological side to it, right? Yes, you're right. Anyone want to add to that or give a different perspective? The same thing, that even while we walk in our flesh, he led by example and he provided us with a tool which is scripture. We also, she and I, we also discussed that the devil also used scripture. He did not use the scripture also to say, hey, this is it, and so we were already giving it to him. That's right, that's right. That's the lesson, everybody. We can go on home, all right? Sean, were you gonna say something? I was just saying, you know, purposely, we're fasting, so we were talking about this. When you're fasting from something, you're fasting from something or whatever. So Satan, a lot of times, uses that to tempt you. Yeah. So he, you're kind of purposely putting yourself in that position to be tempted to strengthen yourself. So Jesus, may I ask you to do this, put yourself in that position to be tempted. Yeah, very good, guys. All good insights, and a lot of what you're gonna see pop up is what you guys have covered, so. Yes, what's your name? Seth Thomas. Okay, nice to meet you. Actually, the Bible is a story of ourselves. And the way Jesus is showing us temptation is a part of life, and he has an example shows us how to respond to temptation. Yes, yes, it's a part of life. Everybody goes through it, no matter what your beliefs are. And Jesus is an example of how to fight through that, like Naresha was saying. That's good. Hey, let me pray for us, and then we'll break down this text together. Father, thank you so much for every man and woman that's in this room. They are image bearers. God, you put them here on this planet for a reason, and you sent your son, Jesus, to die for their sins. Thank you, Father, for being Savior, for being Lord of the universe, and for giving us this time that we can open your word tonight. God, apart from you, we can do nothing. And so, Lord, as I teach, I pray that you would speak through me. I pray that you would soften all of our hearts to receive what it is you wanna say to each one of us. We'll give you all the glory for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So you'll see in this text that Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness, to the wilderness. He could have gone anywhere else, but why does the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to the wilderness? In the Old Testament, God's people, one of the generations, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. They disobeyed God, and as punishment, that generation was not able to enter the promised land. Instead, that generation would die, and the next generation would be the one that entered the promised land. And while God's people were in the wilderness, they were given three tests. Would they trust God for provision? Would they be exclusively devoted to God? And would they live in faith without trying to manipulate God? Similarly, like you just read, Jesus was tempted in the same three areas that God's people had failed in. Jesus did not give into the temptations, though, and that proved his identity. He is the true Israel. He is the one that we have been waiting for. That's why Luke chooses to include these temptations. Jesus passed where Israel failed. Israel did not do a good job going into the promised land. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, passed. He really is the Messiah, and that's why we need to continue listening to him. What I want you to know tonight is there is one enemy out there, and it's not any human being. That person you're thinking of, that person you might be bitter towards, that person that's hurt you, it's not them. It's the devil. He's out there to get each and every single one of us. The devil wants to turn all of us against each other, especially Christians. He wants all of us to be divided, but he is the only enemy out there. There's not anybody in this room. And like a team watches film to study an opposing team's strategies, like a military studies another military's plans, we have the devil's game plan. We have exactly how he tempts people, how he tempts Jesus. Now, these aren't all of the ways, but here are three main ways the devil likes to tempt us, and he uses them against Jesus. So, three lies of the devil. Tonight, we're only gonna be able to cover two, and next week, we'll finish it out. The first lie of the devil is that you can live without God. Now, nobody clip that and post that, all right? This is the lie of the devil, all right? The devil says you can live without God. Look with me in Luke 4, verses three through four. The devil said to Jesus, if you are the son of God, tell this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him, it is written, man must not live on bread alone. Now, I don't know about you, but if I had the opportunity to prove somebody wrong, I would be all over that. And so, Satan is giving Jesus an underhand pitch, saying, hey, you're the son of God, right? If that's the case, you should do a trick right in front of me, and you should prove me wrong. You're hungry, you have the capabilities of doing this, so why don't you do it? But rather than acting like God's people in the Old Testament, the Old Testament tells us that God's people stored away more than they were commanded to do. God tested them by giving them manna daily, but they tried to store away more food and they disobeyed God. Instead of disobeying God, Jesus trusted God's promises. And he tells us this truth, God is all you need. God is all you need. At the heart of every temptation that we face in this world is a lie. That's what a temptation is. It's not withholding a good desire. It's fulfilling that good desire in a wrong way. And so the devil is trying to get Jesus to buy into the lie. You don't need God, you're the son of God. Take matters into your own hands. But Jesus knows God is all you need. God provides everything you need. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8.3. He quotes scripture, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. And I don't want us to miss this. This is gonna be key in talking about temptation. When Jesus says man does not live on bread alone, he is making a claim about truth. So this is not a scripture you quote just because you're a Christian, just because you're religious or spiritual. Jesus is telling you something that's key about human life. And that is that none of us can be fulfilled. None of us can be satisfied apart from God. Not only do we need God, God is all we need. David says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. That's the truth that Jesus is modeling for us. Think about it. Why are some top athletes and celebrities in the world struggling with mental health? Why are businesses always trying to make more money? Why does it seem like we never have enough? Because we're trying to save what doesn't last rather than investing in what lasts. And the devil knew Jesus was hungry and he wanted Jesus to cave. So if the devil says you can live without God, but Jesus says God is all you need, how do we know we are living apart from God? How do we know we're living apart from God? When you get what you want and you still feel empty. That's how you know you are living apart from God. When you get what you want and you still feel empty. When you get the career you want and it still lets you down. When the amount of zeros in your bank account doesn't satisfy you. When you watch pornography and that's not enough for you. When you get drunk and you don't know what to do with your life, right? There's no judgment there. Those are signs. Signs that you are living outside of God's will. Use those moments as a compass to point you back towards God, who's all you need. You can find every fulfillment you can ask for in this world and the next in the Lord.
Council Timothy in 1st Timothy 6, but godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness with contentment is great gain. You know what that means? Every one of us, if we really wanted to, can be fully content. That's up to us. Doesn't matter what job you have, how much money you have, the car you have, the house you have. You can be content right now. Scripture says godliness with contentment is great gain. Now, I want to address one question, and then I want to give you guys some time at the table to discuss. If God is everything we need. Is it wrong to have possessions and provide for myself? If God is really all we need, then what do I do with all this stuff? Right? I got a good job. I got some money. I got a house. I got some nice clothing. What do I do with all that? The problem is not possessions. The problem is your perspective. I'll say that one more time. The problem is not your possessions. The problem is your perspective. If you are a good person, I would want you to have more things. Because you can do more good. Right? Bellevue is a big church, but all of it is for the Lord's glory. JJ and Bwendy, we had a gathering at their house last Friday. They have a nice house, but they'll tell you to your face. It's not their home. It's the Lord's. They want to use it for God's glory. And so the challenge you and I is take what you have right now. And use it for God's glory. That's how you're going to be on your way towards contentment. All you need is the Lord, but the Lord also loves to give you good things. But he wants to make sure you're doing the right things with him. Right? So don't go away and sell everything unless the Lord is telling you to do that, right? God wants you as a father loves his child to have good gifts. Just give it all back to him. So take some time at your table to discuss these two questions. Where do you try finding fulfillment apart from God? Where do you try finding fulfillment apart from God? And how can you begin living for God? All right, I'm going to give us six minutes and then we'll move on to the next thing. All right, let's go ahead and wrap up those discussions. And we'll move on to the next thing here. Where do you try finding fulfillment apart from God? Just so you guys can get to know me a little bit better. I want to answer this question for us. God made me a very ambitious person. I will go after something. If you set the bar high for me, I'm going to do whatever I can to get there. Sometimes in an unhealthy way. And that's how something good God has given me can be turned into poor use. And so for me personally, where do I try to find fulfillment apart from God? Accomplishments, achievements, the applause of just doing something very well. You know, that's not a bad thing. But again, this is a personal thing, an idol in my life. I can go for that rather than God's glory. And so I've heard it said, the cure for selfish ambition is not no ambition. It's selfless ambition. And I read that. I was like, that's for me. And so this is how this applies to my own life. And the struggle might be a little different in your life, but be encouraged. It may not be a bad desire that you're after. You might just be meeting that desire in a wrong way. And a very quick way to get back on track is just spend some time in prayer with the Lord and say, God, I want to do this right. I want to do this your way. And sometimes he asks you to change everything. Sometimes he just gives you a little bit of an adjustment and you continue going the path you're on. But that's between you and the Lord. So lie number one is that you can be fulfilled apart from God. Jesus says, no, God gives you everything you need. The second lie that the devil feeds the Jesus is you don't have to worship God exclusively. Worshiping God is not an exclusive thing. We get this in Luke 4 verses 7 and 8. The devil says, if you, Jesus, then will worship me. All will be yours. You're talking about the kingdoms. And Jesus answered the devil. It is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. So the devil invites Jesus to worship him. Hey, instead of worshiping God, you should worship me because of all this stuff I'm going to give you. You know, God gave the devil a measure of power over the world. A measure. As we see in the story of Job, the devil still needs to get permission from God to do certain things. But Ephesians calls the devil the prince of the power of the air. And so in this world, Satan does have a measure of control. Not as much as God who's sovereign. And so the devil's like, with the power I have, Jesus, I can give you all of these kingdoms. Why don't you worship me? Well, to answer this question, we need to define worship. So real briefly, worship is your greatest commitment. Worship is what has your heart. What you worship is something you will not compromise. You will compromise in other areas, but not this one. That's worship. So the devil wants Jesus's attention on him and not God. Not only must God be worshiped, but Jesus is saying you can't worship two things at the same time. And as I talked about in the first point, Jesus is not just going for some catchy saying. He's telling you the truth. You can't do two things at the same time. Think about multitasking. All right? You might think I'm able to do two things at the same time and I'm able to do it. Well, right? We're able to make it down the road using our phone every now and then. We didn't get into an accident. Everything's fine. I may have multiple windows open as I'm doing work. I can multitask. The reality is though, you aren't doing either task as good as you could be. Because your energy and attention is divided. You can be making it down the highway, not safely. But the reality is if you really want to be all-in, you got to be focused on one thing. We're human. We're limited and we can't do two things equally well at the same time. Here's another illustration. How about a compass? When was the last time you used a compass? On a compass, we have four directions, four main ones. I think they call them cardinal directions. We have north, east, south, and west. I can't go east and west at the same time. Nor can I go north and south at the same time. Now you might go, Ozzie, what if I go sort of north and sort of east at the same time? We have a direction for that, northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. You can only go one direction at a time. Jesus is telling the truth. He's making a point about humanity. So he's countering the devil's lies with truth. Here are Jesus' words himself. Matthew 6, 24. No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. You can't. Are you going to God or are you going away from him? Are you going to God or are you going away from him? Now, let's say you try to worship two things at the same time. Let's say you try to multitask in the spiritual realm, all right? At that point, you have made yourself the master. You're saying, I can manage this. I can worship whatever I want. I'm going to worship both of these at the same time, God and money. Can't do that. I'm not saying you can't because you don't have permission. That's just not possible. And so you need to decide for yourself. Are you going to God or are you going away from him? Jesus says God must be worshipped exclusively. This isn't just a following Jesus thing. This is true. He has to. Jesus answers the devil. It is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. You're either all in with God or not. There's no lukewarmness here. It's either a yes or no. It's either north or south or east or west. Anything that takes the throne away from God, that number one spot in your life is an idol. And God needs our exclusive devotion. So this is going to be our last time that we discuss for today. And I want to give you an option because the first question can get a little deep. All right, so I want to give you a way out. What has idolatry look like in your life? All right, so if you want to take that up, go for it. Or how have you seen idolatry hurt another person's life? Either way, I think the image of idolatry should pop up in your own life. But I do want to just respect maybe the trust that's still being built and just allow you to share what you feel comfortable sharing. All right, so let's talk for a few minutes and then we'll finish out the lesson. Yes, go ahead Piper. Which part? Idolatry. Yes. So think of something that takes up the most of your time, the most of your energy, the most of your resources. It's probably something you talk about a lot, not just you, but everybody. And it's to the point where God is not the number one.
in your life. He might be number two or number three. Some people might call them cultural Christians. I know people have different definitions of that. What I mean by that is God is kind of an extra food item on the plate. He's not the main dish. And so worshiping God exclusively, saying God is number one. I work for him. My nine to five, it's all for his glory. All the money I make, I tithe. I give generously. And so it's not saying like, hey, out of 24 hours in a day, like 23 need to go to God. But it's living 24 hours under God's authority and serving him. Does that make sense? OK. Any other questions while we're at it? All right, great. Go ahead and discuss these questions. And we will get back to it. That was a good question, Piper. Thank you.