Joint Heirs Adult Bible Fellowship Luke, Week 18, Luke 4:1-13 October 1, 2017 Tim Powell, Teacher. How Jesus Fought Satan s Attacks-Part 2 Luke 4:1-13

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1 Joint Heirs Adult Bible Fellowship Luke, Week 18, Luke 4:1-13 October 1, 2017 Tim Powell, Teacher How Jesus Fought Satan s Attacks-Part 2 Luke 4:1-13 Introduction: What is Satan s overall goal? To do anything in his power to thwart the purposes of God. What is Satan s overall goal for you? To do anything in his power to devour you spiritually, to neutralize your testimony, to make you doubt, and to interrupt your walk with God. 1 Pe. 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. o He wants to mess up your testimony and get you to doubt God. Lesson Goal: To give you strategies to fight off Satan s attacks. Reminder: o Satan is not omniscient or omnipotent; only God is! He dies not know everything, and he cannot do everything he would like to do. He has limitations. He is not equal with God. o Satan cannot touch you without God s permission. o 1 Jn. 4:4 You, dear children, are from God, and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. o Don t fret or fear. Just KNOW and USE God s strategies! This is our lesson goal. When Satan attacks, use Jesus strategies. o Satan s attack on Jesus came right at the very beginning of Jesus public ministry and soon after the Holy Spirit came on Jesus. o Satan was trying to interfere with Jesus ministry right at the beginning. 1

2 Review: I. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. (Lk. 3:22; 4:1) A. Only the Holy Spirit can guide you. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. The Holy Spirit does the leading; we need to follow. B. Only the Holy Spirit will give you the power to resist. Being full of the Holy Spirit is vital. We fail when we try to live the Christian on our own. We cannot successfully do this on our own as we do not have the power to overcome the enemy. C. Therefore, be controlled by the Holy Spirit instead of being controlled by selfcentered desires, 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. (Gal. 5:16-17). If we are not controlled by the Holy Spirit, we think that life is all about us. God wants the best possible life for us here on Earth and for eternity. II. Know your position in God is secure. (Lk. 3:22 ) Satan wants you to doubt what God has said. This is one of his favorite techniques, and he will certainly attack you with this doubt. Your salvation is not dependent on you and how good you are, but on what Jesus Christ did on the cross. When you sin you do not lose your salvation, because salvation is not by your own efforts but by what Jesus did on the cross. o Salvation is not by our own efforts. Other religions teach that, and that is what Satan wants you to believe and get you working for. Jesus died for your sins, past, present, and future. Once truly born again, you cannot be unborn! 2

3 Eternal security: To believe in Christ for salvation is more than mere intellectual assent to the truth. Saving faith includes commitment of your self to Him. o Jn. 5:24; 6:39-40; 10:27-30 o 1 Co. 1:8 o Eph. 2:8-9 o Ro. 8: o You are a child of God. o Don t ever doubt it again! III. Be alert and see Satan for who he is and what he is trying to do to you and the world. (Lk. 4:1-3) 1 Pe. 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. o Did Jesus know that this was coming? Yes, because He knew the Scriptures which state Satan s purposes from the beginning. o We know that this will happen for us as well, so we need to be alert and know the Word. o There was a big battle going on which lasted beyond those 40 days, and we only have recorded excerpts of the worst and final scenes of it. o There is a saving faith that comes from God and another faith that trembles because it knows God is real but does not submit to God (Jas. 2:19). IV. Know and use Scripture. (Lk. 4:4, 8, 12) There is power in the Word of God. Jesus didn t fret or worry; He just believed and relied on the Word of God. Ps. 119: I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.... o This is how to keep from sinning. 3

4 Ps. 1 The person who delights in and meditates on God s Word is like a tree planted by a permanent stream. Be in church! 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10:24-25) You can only know Scripture if you really know Scripture. You can only know Scripture if you know it in your heart. o Study o Contexticate Satan loves to take Scripture out of context so as to twist its meaning. He wants to trick us into doing this as well, so we must be alert and guard against this error. o Meditate Today s Lesson: V. Physical appetites, the world, and self-glorification are not the important things to seek in life. (Lk. 4:3, 6, 9-10) The world wants us to completely focus our life on ourselves our job, our house, our enjoyment, our travel. It is certainly good to provide for yourself and your family, but that should not be our main focus in life. Mt. 16:26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mt. 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. o It is possible to have both things, so it is about your focus where your heart, what you serve that matters. o What are you serving? God or money? You cannot serve both. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Ti. 6:10). You cannot give your life to both. 4

5 1 Jn. 2: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. o One cannot love both the world (i.e., Satan and his values) and God. o This was the temptation Satan offered Jesus. (Lk. 4:5-7) o How did Jesus respond? He quoted Scripture. VI. Never presume on God to try to force His hand. (Lk. 4:9-12) Don t do something foolish and put God to the test. VII. Submit to God; resist the devil; use the armor of God; be strong and courageous; and Satan will flee from you. (Lk. 4:4, 8, 12) A. Jas. 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Jesus resisted Satan, so Satan left Him, but he was still looking for better time to return again. B. Eph. 6:10-18 C. Jos. 1:7-9 Be strong and courageous. D. Eph. 6:10-18a 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. 12 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. 13 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 have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. 5

6 VIII. Make God, His will, His plan for your life, and His Word your priority above all. You cannot serve two masters; must put God first and seek His will above all other things. Mt. 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. o There is an order to things seeking Him first comes before the things given. Do this and then you don t have to worry because God will guide you. o Putting Him and His will first will result in joy and peace and confidence in God s provision. IX. No temptation has taken you that God won t provide a way out. Trust God always! 1 Co. 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. o When tempted, look for God s way of escape because He is with you and in you. X. Know that God is with you; He loves you; He is in charge; and He will work all things out for good. Ro. 8: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. o When we go through difficulties, God is using those build out faith. o If you seek His kingdom first, you will be doing His purposes. o If you don t know that God is in control, you will be vulnerable to all kinds of temptations. Isa. 14:24 Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. o God s plans will not be thwarted. Isa 46:10 God makes known the end from the beginning. It happens exactly as He says. o Allow God to do His will in your life. 6

7 XI. Know that God loves you and will take care of your needs. Mt. 4:11... and angels came and attended Him. Heb. 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? o As a believer you have a ministering angel. Mt. 6:25-34 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. You are His! He loves you; He always has, and He always will. Application: Be alert! Satan is after the world to thwart God's goals with the world. He desires to sow evil. Be alert to what God is doing in the world. Be alert! Satan is after you to thwart God's goals in your life. He desires to sow doubt and incorrect thinking. Satan will try anything. Be alert; be on your guard. Know: God is bigger and stronger and gives us power to battle Satan s strategies in your life. 1 Jn. 4:4 Don t worry about Satan; that is what he wants you to do. Trust God, seek His will, and resist the Devil s temptations. Know: God loves you, and He will keep you. He always has, and He always will. 7