Triumph Over Temptation

Memory Verse: 2 Peter 2:9 “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished…”

Matthew 4:1-11 1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’ ” 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’ ” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

Jesus was tempted. Satan thought that he could get to Jesus when he was in a weakened physical condition out in the desert with Jesus not having eaten food for 40 days and 40 nights. He thought he could find a weakness in Jesus that he could tempt Jesus to sin, thus demolishing God’s plan to save mankind through Jesus. Even when He was so weak physically, He was strong spiritually. You CAN resist temptation in your lives by doing what Jesus did. He faced the evil decisively. He didn’t argue with Satan. He acted immediately to let Satan know that He (Jesus) wasn’t deceived. Jesus saw right through what Satan was trying to do.

Satan cannot make you sin. Satan can only put the idea into your head. Sin starts in the mind. We cannot allow sin to remain in our minds. We have to take ourselves out of the temptation. We have to learn to say “NO” to ourselves and ask God first if this is something that is going to glorify Him or will it bring shame on His name.

You are not answerable to Satan. You are answerable to God. God created us, Satan didn’t. We give too much power to Satan. Although he is a powerful spiritual being, Satan is a created being. God created Lucifer and Lucifer, in his pride and arrogance, rebelled against God, becoming Satan (the adversary) in the process. You are answerable to God for your choices. You are responsible for the harm that your choices inflict on others.

In our lesson we read about a high school girl giving birth to her baby in the restroom at the prom, putting it in the trash and then returning to the dance floor requesting a song be played for her boyfriend. Who would like to tell us how you felt when you read that story?

How do you feel about a poor helpless baby being dumped in a trash can and left to die? Why do you feel that way?

Was that baby less of human being than the girl who gave birth to it? Was that baby’s life just as important to God? Why do you think the girl chose that course of action?

How did she get herself into this mess? What are the things she did that were wrong? (sex before marriage, not marrying the father so the child would be raised in a family; going to the prom so close to delivery; not calling for help to deliver and take care of the baby; putting a helpless infant into the trash can to die; returning to the dance floor when she and her baby should have been taken to a hospital; thinking of herself and not her child)

How many people were affected by the irresponsible actions of the father of the baby and this girl? (the girl, the baby, the father of the baby, her boyfriend, her parents and family, his parents and his family, the parents of her boyfriend and his family, everyone at the prom, everyone at her school)

How long do you think this boy’s and girl’s actions will affect other people? (As long as anyone remembers what happened and tells about it to others)

Do you think it was worth it for them to give into temptation?

Can you think of a Scripture that promises you that God will always provide a way for you to escape temptation?

(1Cor 10:13) 13 "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

What must you do if you are tempted? (Look for the way out that God has provided for you through His promise; remove yourself from the source of the temptation immediatlely; ask God’s help to resist)

Jesus quoted a Scripture to Satan every time Satan tempted Him. What other things did you notice that Jesus did when Satan tempted Him? (Jesus didn’t argue with Satan. Jesus was decisive. Jesus acted immediately)

What does this tell you about what you should do when you are tempted that can prevent you from sinning? (Jesus gave us a plan that worked for Him. It will work for you too)

Can you think of a sin that carries no consequences? (There is no sin that carries no consequences -- there are always consequences for sinning -- even when they are not obviously apparent)

What part does impatience play in yielding to temptation? (We want everything now rather that wait for God’s time)

What difference would it have made if this teenage couple had deferred their gratification until it was legal and right in God’s sight? (They would have waited until after they were married to have sex. Their baby would have lived and been brought up in a family. The girl would not have murdered her baby by leaving it in the trash. She would not have had to go to jail. No one would have been hurt).

What temptation have you ever had that compares with Jesus being offered bread when He was extremely hungry?

Have you been offered power over every nation in the world? Jesus was. Have you been tempted to jump off the Temple, as Jesus was, to prove that He was the Son of God?

These are very big tests and Jesus passed them all with flying colors!

What steps can you take to ensure that you will stand each test when you are tempted? (Don’t argue with Satan; be decisive; take immediate action; remove yourself from the temptation; trust that God knows what He is doing and can take care of any situation working it for our own best eternal good)

Every time we resist temptation it makes us stronger to resist other temptations coming later on in our lives.

James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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