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Mar 01, 2020

Encounters: Our Enemy (Click here for Resources)

Passage: Matthew 4:1-11

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Encounters with Jesus

Category: Grace Brevard

Every temptation boils down to who we worship: God or ourselves. During an incredibly physically weak point, Satan offered Jesus a “way out” of his weakness...all he had to do was put himself and his desires ahead of the Father’s glory. In his temptation Satan twisted scripture (mis-used Ps 91 that actually references how the Messiah will trample the “adder” (i.e. Satan)), offered reprieve from discomfort and ultimately offered fame, power and glory if Jesus would simply bend the knee to the devil. But Jesus perpetually fought back temptation not with mere will power (though we are called to be “self controlled” Galatians 5:23) but with Scripture itself. In the end, once again, Jesus’ fight against sin was successful and we see two things: 1) Jesus was and is perpetually sinless, 2) The devil didn’t stop his evil intent, and would return to try to bring down the Messiah...but he has been and forever will be “crushed underfoot” (Ps 91)

Order of Worship

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 99:1-3

READING: 1 John 2:16-17 & 1 John 4:4 

MUSIC: 

RESPONSIVE READING AFTER PRAYER OF CONFESSION: Hebrews 4:15-16

MESSAGE: Encounters: Our Enemy

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11

ILLUSTRATIONS: 

RESPONSE: The Lord’s Prayer 

BENEDICTION: 1 John 4:4 & John 16:33

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • Genesis 3:1
  • James 1:12-15
  • Romans 16:19-20
  • Revelation 20:9a-10
  • John 10:28-30
  • Ephesians 6:10-13
  • 1 Peter 5:8-9

MEDIA:

3.01.20 GBV Album

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1) The War Being Waged

What are your thoughts on “spiritual warfare”?

    - Angels and Demons?    - The Devil?

Describe the ways our enemy is called in our passage:

    Devil = “accuser”

    Tempter (4:3) = “tester or tri-er”

    Satan (4:10) = Adversary

What is our enemy’s goal?

    What does he offer us...what does he want in return?

    Put that in real life...where do you see this happening?

    What lies does our enemy tell us?

    What accusations does he tell us?

Our enemy is trying to convince us that God isn’t good, we aren’t loved and satisfaction comes when we indulge our flesh

2) The Weapons of War

What weapons does enemy use?

How does he (like he did in Genesis 3) call into question our identity, God’s character and where “life” is found?

What did Jesus use to fight back?

    What weapons do we have to fight back?

    (think “armor of God” in Eph 6:10-18)

Ultimately it is Jesus fighting for us by the power of the Spirit. How does this impact how we engage the battle?

3) The Victor of War

What does it matter that Jesus remained sinless?

    How is it that Jesus won the battle on the cross?

    How does this impact our daily spiritual battle?

How do we (should we) deal with our temptation failures.

    Reflect on how God sends his caregivers to heal our wounds.

QUOTES: 

  • THERE are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world- either by a demonstration of the world's vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one -  Expulsive Power of a New Affection, Chalmers
  • “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

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