S3E137 – Luke 3-4: How To Resist Temptation

Jesus had flesh.

LifeSpring Family Audio Bible and coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting

since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb.

This is the Daily Podcast where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year.

Welcome, I'm so happy you've joined me.

Make yourself at home.

Today we're going to get right to it.

Our reading today is Luke 3 and 4, and I'm calling the episode How to Resist Temptation.

The show notes page for today's episode is LifeSpringMedia.com slash S12e138.

If you'd like to leave a comment, that's where to do it.

Let's get started.

Luke Chapter 3

It was now the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman Emperor.

Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea.

Herod Antipas was governor over Galilee.

His brother Philip was ruler over Eteria and Trachonitis.

Lysanius was ruler over Abelene.

Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests.

At this time a message from God came to John, son of Zechariah, who was living in the

wilderness.

Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people

should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be

forgiven.

Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, he is a voice shouting in the wilderness, prepare

the way for the Lord's coming.

Clear the road for him.

The valleys will be filled and the mountains and hills made level.

The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth.

And then all the people will see the salvation sent from God.

When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, you brute of snakes, who warned you

to flee God's coming wrath?

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

Don't just say to each other, we are safe for we are descendants of Abraham.

That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these

very stones.

Even now the acts of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees.

Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into

the fire.

The crowds asked, what should we do?

John replied, if you have two shirts, give one to the poor.

If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.

Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, teacher, what should we do?

He replied, collect no more taxes than the government requires.

What should we do?

Asked some soldiers.

John replied, don't extort money or make false accusations and be content with your pay.

Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John

might be the Messiah.

John answered their questions by saying, I baptize you with water, but someone is coming

soon who is greater than I am.

So much greater than I am not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of assandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork.

Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn, but burning the

chaff with never-ending fire.

John used many such warnings as he announced the good news to the people.

John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodius,

his brother's wife, and for many other wrongs he had done.

So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to as many others.

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized.

As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit in bodily form descended on

him like a dove.

And a voice from heaven said, you are my dearly loved son, and you bring me great joy.

Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.

Jesus was known as the son of Joseph.

Joseph was the son of Heli.

Heli was the son of Mathatt.

Mathatt was the son of Levi.

Levi was the son of Melkai.

Melkai was the son of Janai.

Janai was the son of Joseph.

Joseph was the son of Mathathias.

Mathathias was the son of Amos.

Amos was the son of Neham.

Neham was the son of Esly.

Esly was the son of Nagai.

Nagai was the son of Mayab.

Mayath was the son of Matathias.

Matathias was the son of Semyon.

Semyon was the son of Joe Sack.

Joe Sack was the son of Joda.

Joda was the son of Joanin.

Joanin was the son of Risa.

Risa was the son of Zrubbabel.

Zrubbabel was the son of Chialtiel.

Chialtiel was the son of Nirai.

Nirai was the son of Melkai.

Melkai was the son of Adi.

Adi was the son of Cosum.

Cosposen was the Son of Elmaidem. Elmaidem was the Son of Ær. Ær was the son of Joshua.

Joshua was the Son of Ella Ezer. Ella Ezer was the Son of Jordan. Jordan was the Son of mathat.

Mathat was the Son of Levi. Levi was the son of Simeon. Simeon was the Son of Judah.

Judah was the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of jonam.

A laikam was the son of Melia. Melia was the son of Menna. Menna was the son of

Maditha. Maditha was the son of Nathan. Nathan was the son of David. David was the

son of Jesse. Jesse was the son of Obad. Obad was the son of Boaz. Boaz was the

son of Salman. Salman was the son of Naushan. Naushan was the son of a minidab. A

A minidab was the son of Admin. Admin was the son of Arni.

Arni was the son of Hezrin. Hezrin was the son of Pérez. Pérez was the son of Judah.

Judah was the son of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the son of Tara. Tara was the son of Nehore.

Nehore was the son of Syrog. Syrog was the son of Ryu. Ryu was the son of Peeleg.

Peeleg was the son of Iber. Iber was the son of Sheila. Sheila was the son of Cainin.

Cainin was the son of our faxad. Our faxad was the son of Shem. Shem was the son of Noah. Noah was the son of Leimeck.

Lamek was the Son of Methuselah. Methuselah was the Son of Inak. Inak was the Son of

Jared. Jared was the Son of Mahalalel. Mahalalalel was the Son of Keenan. Keenan was the

Son of Inak. Inak was the Son of Seth. Seth was the Son of Adam. Adam was the Son of

God.

Luke, Chapter 4

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when He returned from the Jordan River. Then He was

led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. He was tempted by the devil for forty days and ate

nothing during that time. After that He was hungry. The devil said to Him, if you are

the Son of God, tell this stone to be made into bread. Jesus said to Him, it is written,

man is not to live by bread alone. The devil took Jesus up on a high mountain. He had

Jesus look at all the nations of the world at one time. The devil said to Jesus, I will

give you all this power and greatness. It has been given to me. I can give it to anyone

I want to. If you will worship me, all this will be yours. Jesus said to the devil,

get behind me, Satan. For it is written, you must worship the Lord your God. You must

obey Him only. Then the devil took Jesus up to Jerusalem. He had Jesus stand on the highest

part of the house of God. The devil said to Jesus, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself

down from here. For it is written, He has told His angels to care for you and to keep you.

In their hands they will hold you up. Then your foot will not hit against a stone. Jesus

said to the devil, it is written, you must not tempt the Lord your God. When the devil

finished tempting Jesus in every way, He went away from Jesus for a while. Jesus went back

to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. People talked about Him so much that He was

well known through all the country. Jesus taught in their places of worship and was honored

by all people. Jesus came to Nazareth where He had grown up. As He had done before, He

went into the Jewish place of worship on the day of rest. Then He stood up to read.

Someone handed Him the book of the early preacher Isaiah. He opened it and found the place

where it was written, the spirit of the Lord is on me. He has put His hand on me to preach

the good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent

me to tell those who are being held that they can go free. He has sent me to make the

blind to see and to free those who are held because of trouble. He has sent me to tell

of the time when men can receive favor from the Lord. Jesus closed the book, then He gave

it back to the leader and sat down. All those in the Jewish place of worship kept their

eyes on Him. Then He began to say to them, the holy writings you have just heard have been

completed today. They all spoke well of Jesus and agreed with the words He spoke. They

said, Is not this the son of Joseph? He said to them, I wonder if you will tell this

old saying to me, Dr. Heal yourself. What you did in the city of Capernaum do in your

own country. He said, a man who speaks for God is not respected in his own country. It

is true that there were many women whose husbands had died in the Jewish land when Elijah

lived. For three and a half years there was no rain and there was very little food in

the land. Elijah was sent to none of them, but he was sent to a woman in the city of Zarifath

in the land of Sidon. This woman's husband had died. There were many people in the Jewish

land who had a bad skin disease when the early preacher Elisha lived. None of them was healed,

but Namin from the country of Syria was healed. All those in the Jewish place of worship were

angry when they heard these words. They got up and took Jesus out of town to the top of

a high hill. They wanted to throw him over the side, but Jesus got away from among them

and went on his way. Jesus went down to Capernaum in Galilee. He taught them on the days of

rest. The people were surprised and wondered about his teaching. His words had power. A man

in the Jewish place of worship had a demon. He cried with a loud voice. What do you want

of us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God. Jesus spoke

sharp words to the demon and said, Do not talk. Come out of him. When the demon had thrown

the man down, he came out without hurting the man. The people were all surprised. They

asked each other, What kind of word is this? He speaks to the demons with power and they

come out. The news about Jesus went through all the country. Jesus went away from the

Jewish place of worship and went into Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed,

very sick. They asked Jesus to help her. He stood by her and told the disease to leave.

It went from her. At once she got up and cared for them.

As the sun went down, the people took all that were sick with many kinds of diseases to

Jesus. He put his hands on all of them and they were healed. Also demons came out of

many people. The demons cried out and said, You are Christ, the Son of God. Jesus spoke

strong words to them and would not let them speak. They knew he was the Christ.

In the morning he went out to a desert. The people looked for him. When they found him,

they were trying to keep him from going away from them. He said to them, I must preach

about the holy nation of God in other cities also. This is why I was sent. And he kept

on preaching in the Jewish places of worship in Galilee.

Well in chapter 4 today, Jesus gave us the perfect plan for when you're being tempted.

Remember this beloved. Jesus was fully human, as well as fully God. He was a real man.

So the temptations that Satan put before him were real. These were not theoretical. Jesus

had flesh and noticed the very first temptation Satan put in front of him. Jesus had been in

the desert for 40 days and he had not eaten and he was hungry. The very first thing the

enemy tempted him with was to turn the stones there in the desert into bread. Satan knew

that Jesus was a man, so he went after the needs of his flesh. Some people can't say

no to their flesh. I don't think I need to say that the temptations of the flesh are

more than just food, do I? The desires of the flesh are some of our most basic urges.

These are almost completely controlled by this, but humans have the ability to exert control

over those urges. And God's Word is full of exhortations to do just that. And we know

that when we have the Holy Spirit in us, as all Christians do, we can say no to the flesh.

Satan's next temptation for Jesus was what some people have called the lust of the eyes.

I think of it more as the lust for power. Satan showed Jesus all the nations of the world

at one time and he said he could have power and glory over them if he would just worship

Satan. This is hard for me to relate to, but some people have a ravenous desire for power.

I think we've seen a lot of that since the pandemic began, haven't we? Politicians

and bureaucrats around the world have taken a level of control that no one would have believed

possible before COVID hit. And now they seem to be just drunk with power. They keep

taking more and more of our freedoms away and grasping more and more power for themselves.

And then the third temptation that Satan brought was to force God to do a miracle to save

Jesus. Or one might say, Satan tempted Jesus to twist Scripture. Some people crave

signs and wonders. They'll follow anyone who claims to have a supernatural power. And

some people do twist Scripture for their own gain, don't they? The Antichrist will seem

to have supernatural powers and many will be fooled. So these were the temptations.

What did Jesus do in order to overcome each one? He correctly applied and quoted Scripture.

Yes, Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus, but he twisted it and he misapplied it. Jesus

didn't twist it. He correctly applied it. Beloved, this is why it's so important to know

and memorize God's Word. If you listen to this podcast every day, if it's your aim to

go with me all the way through the Bible, that's a great start. But unless you have a photographic

memory, going through the Bible just once will not be enough. I pray that you'll develop

a lifelong habit of reading through the Bible. I've got a Bible that my great grandmother

had. There are notes in her Bible that show that she read the Bible through three times.

But I've got to think that this was not her only Bible. I'd be shocked if she hadn't

read the Bible through many, many more times in her lifetime. She passed away before I was

really a Bible student, so I won't know for sure until I see her again in heaven, but

I'm sure she read through the Bible many times. And I myself have recorded the entire

Bible multiple times, and you know what? Even now, I'll read passages that seem completely

new to me. I don't have the best memory, so it's incredibly important for me to keep

reading. God gave us His Word so that we would learn it so well that it becomes a part

of us. Ephesians 6, 10-18, tells us, finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the

heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil

comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you've done everything to stand.

Stand firm then, with a belt of truth buckled around your waist, with a breastplate of

righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with a readiness that comes from the

gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can

extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the

sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Notice, beloved, that all but one of the

items spoken of here as the full armor of God are defensive of nature. You had the belt,

the breastplate, the covering for the feet, the shield, and the helmet. The only offensive

item, the only weapon spoken of, is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

A warrior's primary method to overcome the enemy is with his weapon. The weapon in this

passage from Ephesians is, like I said, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

A warrior has to learn how to use his weapon if he wants to be victorious, doesn't he?

And if he doesn't train with it, not only will he not be able to use it effectively,

but the enemy can actually use it against him as Satan tried to do with Jesus.

Beloved, we are in a spiritual battle. More so now I think that in any time and my life

time at least, spiritual battles are not fought with physical might. They're primarily fought

on our knees in prayer, wielding the sword of the Spirit. This humble little podcast is one

way to prepare you for the fight, and I'm really very honored to be just a very small part

of that process, and I thank you for allowing me to be in your life in this way, but it's

up to you. You've got to learn, beloved, how to handle the Word for yourself.

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment at lifespringmedia.com slash S12e138. Our

reading tomorrow is 2nd Corinthians 9 and 10.

On this date in church history, January 15, 1535, the act of supremacy was passed, in which

King Henry VIII declared himself, protector and only supreme head of the church in clergy

of England. Talk about somebody being drunk with power. Henry had broken with a Roman Catholic

church, and Clement VII voided the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Eragon, and

excommunicated him, so he decided he was going to become the head of the church in England.

And on this date in church history, January 15, 1832, Susanna Thompson Spurgeon was born.

She became the wife of Charles Spurgeon, and she began a ministry enabling the students

of Spurgeon's pastor's college to buy their needed textbooks. Mrs. Charles Spurgeon was

born on this date in 1832.

Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we again thank you for your word and for showing us how to

resist the enemy. We know that he's already been defeated, but we ask you to help us wield the

sort of the Spirit effectively. I pray, Lord, for the life-spring family. Bless them today, and thank

you for creating this group of brothers and sisters. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

You can email me at Steve at LifeSpringMedia.com, and if you'd like to help support the show,

which is badly needed, please go to LifeSpringMedia.com-support. Until tomorrow,

may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here today. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.