Hey, podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. And right now, your generous gift will have twice the impact thanks to the Light the Darkness matching challenge.
It's active now through December 31st. To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress.
You know, every great story has a villain. And in Genesis chapter 3, we're introduced to the ultimate foe of God and man, a serpent, more crafty than any beast of the field. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress looks at Satan's temptation of Jesus to discover how we can successfully thwart the devil's plans to ruin our lives. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. As believers, it's not uncommon to slip into occasional seasons of monotony and mediocrity when, honestly, we're not that passionate about our faith. Well, nothing can rejuvenate your walk with God any more than spending time with His Son.
That's what this study in Luke is all about. Our teaching series for the month of December is called Reigniting Your Passion for Christ. Now, in addition to these daily visits on Pathway to Victory, I've also written a brand new companion resource for you. It's thoughtfully designed to reignite your passion for Christ in 2025. I'm referring, of course, to the Pathway to Victory daily devotional. This beautiful volume contains an inspirational chapter for every single weekday in the new year. It's bound in handsome navy blue leather with gold accents.
But here's the best part. By reading the devotional, you'll rekindle a flame of passion for Jesus as you walk side by side with Him every day in 2025. And a copy is yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. Plus, when you give a generous gift right now, it's going to have twice the impact because of the Light the Darkness matching challenge taking place throughout December. Between now and December 31, your gift of $100 becomes $200. A $500 gift becomes $1,000. A $5,000 gift would be matched and become $10,000.
Whatever amount you choose to give is multiplied by two. Each gift will empower Pathway to Victory to shine the bright light of Jesus here in America and around the world. We'll say more about these opportunities later on, but right now, it's time to resume our study in Luke's Gospel.
I titled today's message, When the Devil Rings the Doorbell. Today, we're going to discover from the life of Jesus Christ what to do when the devil rings the doorbell. If you have your Bibles, turn to Luke chapter 4. We're in a verse-by-verse study of this account of the life of Jesus, and we've come now to Luke chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, and we read these words. And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, he became hungry. What I want you to notice here is the timing of Satan's temptation in Jesus' life. It was after a spiritual high he had just experienced. He had just gone through his baptism and the expression of God's approval.
He was no doubt tired after 40 days in the wilderness and no food. He was alone, no one watching him to see what he did or didn't do, and he was waiting on God. He was waiting for the signal that it was time to begin his ministry.
That is when the temptation came. God led Jesus into the wilderness in order to be tested by Satan. Now, God's purpose was to prove that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. God's purpose was good, but Satan had a different purpose. He was tempting Jesus in order to destroy him and disqualify him from being our sin substitute.
Now, we're going to pause here and take a theological pop quiz, okay? Here's Jesus being tempted by Satan. How many of you believe that it would have been impossible for Jesus to sin? There's no way he could sin because, in fact, he was the Son of God. It would have been impossible for him to say yes to Satan. How many of you would agree with that?
Raise your hand. You're not real convinced. I can tell some of you have done. How many of you believe it would be absolutely impossible for Jesus to sin? How many of you would say, well, yes, it's possible for Jesus to sin? It wouldn't have been a temptation if the test was already rigged and he could not have said yes to Satan. How many of you believe that?
Well, let me show you why you're wrong. Most theologians agree that it was impossible for Jesus to sin. We talk about the impeccability of Christ. He is incapable of sinning. God is incapable of sinning. Jesus is God in the flesh. So the truth is, Jesus is incapable of sinning.
Well, the natural question comes, well, then it wasn't a real test. If he couldn't have sinned, this was no big deal. If he was the Son of God and couldn't sin anyway.
I want you to change perspectives for a moment. The fact that Jesus could not have sinned meant that he experienced a level of temptation that you and I will never experience. And that's why we have a sympathetic high priest who was tested in all points as we are and yet without sin. Never forget the testing Jesus experienced was very, very real. How did Satan tempt Jesus?
Well, he did so in three areas in which he tempts every one of us. And it all has to do with questioning God. I want you to notice the first temptation mentioned in verses three and four was the questioning of God's care. Look at verse three. And the devil said to him, if you are the Son of God. Now, cross out that word if in your Bible and put the word sense. This is a first class condition clause in Greek.
It assumes something that is already true. Satan had no question about whether Jesus was the Son of God. That's why he was trying to destroy him.
He knew exactly who he was. He was saying, since you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread. Jesus under God's direction had been fasting for 40 days. Can you imagine going without food for 40 days? Most of us, not sure we're going to make it to lunch right now without food.
I mean, a few hours without nourishment, we think we're going to faint. Jesus had gone 40 days. And so Satan comes to him and says, hey, you're God. Why are you going through all of this? Why are you going through all of this?
Just take one of these stones and turn it into a warm loaf of bread and I'll provide the butter and you can have a great time here. It was the temptation that was based on a questioning of God's care. Jesus, it's obvious God isn't meeting your needs. He really cared about you. He would care about your nourishment. If you can't depend upon him to take care of your needs, maybe you better start taking care of your needs yourself.
There's some of you right now who know what I'm talking about. Maybe you feel this deep need for companionship, for a relationship with somebody. And Satan will say to you, you know, God doesn't want your sexual needs to go unmet. Maybe you need a premarital relationship with somebody to satisfy that need for sex, because if you don't have sex, well, you know what will happen? You'll just explode if you don't have it. Or maybe you need an extramarital affair. Maybe that's what you need. Or maybe you just need a relationship with somebody from the opposite sex to fulfill that need for companionship.
Somebody not your mate. For other people, he would say, you know, you're facing some financial pressure right now. Now, God obviously hasn't intervened and provided for you and your family. Maybe you need to pad your expense report. Maybe you need to cheat God and not give to him.
You better watch out for you, because nobody else is going to be watching out for your need. Obviously, God's not. It's all about questioning God's care. How did Jesus answer? Look at verse 4. Jesus answered him, it is written, and he quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 8, man shall not live on bread alone. What Jesus was saying is, we are more than physical beings. Yes, we have a need for significance and for sex and for companionship and money.
We have a need for those things, but you can satisfy your craving for all of those things and still be empty on the inside if you're not connected to God. Man shall not live on bread alone. And so, not being successful there, Satan tries another line of attack, causing him to question God's wisdom. His wisdom. Look at verses 5 and 6. And Satan led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, I will give you all of this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Somebody as well pointed out that the reason Satan could offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world was because the kingdoms of the world were Satan's to give in the first place. Did you know this world system, John calls it the cosmos, the world system is definitely under Satan's control. That's why Jesus said in John 12 31, Satan is the prince of this world.
Paul called him in 2 Corinthians 4, 4, the god of this age. Satan has temporary control over the political system in this world, the economic system, the entertainment world, the economic world. All of those systems are temporarily under Satan's control. That's why he could offer them to Jesus. Now, Satan says, just bow down to worship me and all of these things can be yours. Now, what he was saying to Jesus was this. He said, you know, I know God's plan and God's wisdom, Jesus.
He came up with this plan where you would, in three years, suffer this horrible death and be crucified, then rise again, and then you would go to heaven and you would wait up there for a while, and then you would come back to earth and eventually, every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that Jesus is Lord and you'd be in charge of everything. But you don't have to go through all of that. Why not bypass all of that suffering and waiting? And right now, the kingdoms of the world can be yours. All you'd have to do is just make one little compromise. We're out here in the wilderness.
Nobody can see this. Just bow down. Just bow down and worship me. You don't have to belong. Just worship me.
It's all yours right now. He was tempting Jesus to compromise his convictions. How did Jesus respond? Look at Luke 4, verse 8. And Jesus answered and said to him, again from Deuteronomy, it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
Now, Jesus, Satan said, you misunderstood what I said. Did I say anything about serving me? I don't expect you to serve me. All I want you to do is just bow down once.
That's all. Jesus understood an important principle that you and I better make sure we understand. I want you to write this down. This is the best thing I've come up with all week, okay? And it's straight from God's Word. And here it is.
I want you to write this down. Whatever we prioritize is what we idolize. Whatever we prioritize is what we idolize. And whatever we idolize is what we serve. Whatever we prioritize, we idolize. Whatever we idolize is what we serve. Jesus understood that. Whatever we make first in our life, success, money, companionship, whatever is our priority becomes our idol. And once something becomes our idol, we'll get whatever we need to to achieve it in our life. And that's why Jesus said no.
No compromise. You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. When Satan didn't succeed there, the final temptation was in regards to questioning God's timing. Look at verse 9. And he led Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple. And he says, now, since you are the Son of God, why not throw yourself down from here? For the Bible says, isn't it interesting Satan quotes scripture? I don't know if he went to Awanas as a little demon or how he knew to do that.
No, that's... He knows the Word of God better than most Christians do. So he quotes from Psalm 91, he says, for he will give his angels charge concerning you to guard you. And then he quotes another scripture, and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against the stone.
He said, Jesus, again, instead of spending three years wandering around this dusty place called Palestine and this ministry and so forth, so forth, why don't you just make everybody worship you now as Messiah? He was causing Jesus to question God's timing. Don't question God's timing.
God has a perfect timetable for your life that may be different than your timetable. And that's why Jesus answered in Luke 4-12. And Jesus answered and said to him, it is said, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
Don't paint God in a corner. Three times Satan tempted Jesus, three times Jesus said no. And so Jesus breathed a breath of relief and said, I'm glad this is over. I never have to deal with Satan again.
Is that what happened? Was he through enduring the temptation of Satan? No, look at verse 13. And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Jesus had said no three times, but that wasn't the end of it. Satan just retreated and reloaded and came back at a more opportune time. What does this passage say to us?
Beyond the fact that Jesus is the sinless lamb of God who's capable of taking away of our sins. I'm going to suggest to you two timeless truths about temptation you and I better have written on our hearts if we're going to be successful in avoiding Satan's plan to destroy our life. Number one, we have a real adversary.
You and I have a real adversary. Lucifer, Satan is a real being. Now think about this, Jesus talked to him in the wilderness. If Satan isn't real, he's just a mythological figure, then Jesus should have been committed to an insane asylum. I mean, having a conversation with an imaginary devil. No, Satan is very real.
In 1 Peter 5a, Peter said, be of sober spirit. Be on the alert for your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Satan hates you? He has a terrible plan for your life? It is a plan that is custom made to destroy everything that is important to you. His plan is to drag you to hell when you die and keep you there for all eternity. And those who don't acknowledge the reality of Satan and his plan to destroy us, those people become spiritual roadkill.
You have a real adversary, but secondly, we also have a powerful resource. Fortunately, we don't have to face Satan's attack in our own strength. In Luke 4, 1 it says, Jesus went into the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit. Now listen to me, when it says full of the Holy Spirit, he doesn't mean that God had poured his Spirit into Jesus until it was full and running over. When we talk about being filled with the Spirit, we don't mean that God pours his Spirit into us. Look, you have all of the Holy Spirit of God the moment you're saved.
1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, for with one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. We are immersed in the Holy Spirit of God. When the Scripture talks about being filled with the Holy Spirit of God, it's not talking about the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. It's talking about the power of the Holy Spirit of God. You see, when you become a Christian, you have all of the Holy Spirit you will ever have. You and I, if we are Christians today, we have all of the Holy Spirit. The real question is, does the Holy Spirit have all of us? The word fill here refers to the control of the Holy Spirit. To be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Bible is not just to have the presence of the Spirit, it is to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. And that's what we had with Jesus. When Jesus went into the wilderness and faced that temptation, every part of his life was under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. And that's why when the temptation came into his life, and Satan kept saying, yes, yes, yes, Jesus didn't respond, well, Satan, let me think about that and pray about that. Or, let me search here for a Bible. I know there's a verse in here somewhere about this.
No, he responded, no, no, no, instantaneously. Because his inner man had been strengthened. It had been disciplined to obey God.
I hope you'll never forget this. If you wait until the spiritual bullets start zinging over your head to start training yourself for godliness, to start preparing yourself for spiritual battle, you've waited too long. Once the battle starts, it's too late. No, the way to succeed and say no to Satan's temptation, the way to succeed in spiritual warfare is to strengthen yourself before the battle begins. And that's why God has given us this marvelous resource called the Holy Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit works in partnership with us to strengthen our inner man so we can withstand the external pressure of the evil one. On April the 10th, 1963, the nuclear submarine Thresher was doing some deep sea testing 200 miles east of Boston. The sub descended 100 feet, 200 feet, 300 feet. When it reached 1,000 feet, all of a sudden the radio communication stopped because the submarine experienced a violent implosion. The implosion was so radical that only small pieces of the sub were recovered. 129 seamen lost their lives. What caused the implosion?
Very simple. The external pressure on that steel hull was too much for the sub to withstand. But amazingly, at that same 1,000 foot depth, you had little tiny fish swimming around without any difficulty at all.
Why is that? Even though these little fish had membrane skins that were only a few micrometers in thickness, God had designed those fish in such a way that their internal pressure perfectly matched the outward pressure. And so they were able to swim under the greatest pressure with no problem at all. Ladies and gentlemen, God has given you and me a marvelous resource called the Holy Spirit of God. 1 John 4 says, greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. He's given us this resource of the Holy Spirit, but right now is the time for us to be partnering with the Holy Spirit to strengthen our resolve to obey God. That's why it's important we be here every week in worship. That's why it's important that we immerse ourselves in God's Word. That's why it's important that we practice saying no to Satan so when that time comes that Satan does ring the doorbell of our life, we are able to say no, no, no.
There's no shortcut to building strong resistance. Satan will find your weakness and go after you. As your radio pastor and friend, let me urge you to spend intentional time immersing yourself in God's Word every day. Surround yourself with mature Christians who will model integrity and obedience. Be prepared for the inevitable day when the devil rings your doorbell. And be certain of this. Pathway to Victory will be your companion all the way through 2025 as a source of strength and spiritual guidance.
Let me explain. You see, in addition to these daily programs, I've written a brand new daily devotional for you so that I can walk alongside you every day in 2025. From January through March, you'll begin to identify God's unique will for your life. Then in spring and summer, you'll grow stronger in Christ with insights from the book of Colossians. And in the fall and winter, you'll journey home to the Father who loves you as we examine the encouraging parable of the prodigal son. So request the Pathway to Victory daily devotional today. A leather-bound copy is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. And bear in mind, this is the perfect time to invest your giving in Pathway to Victory because every dollar you give between now and December 31st to Pathway to Victory will be automatically doubled in size because of the Like the Darkness matching challenge.
You're well aware that we're living in a season of darkness. Look back on the political strife in America and the warfare on other continents and you'll see that our world needs the bright light of Jesus. So let's leverage this opportunity together to present the gospel with strength and boldness until our Lord returns.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand-new 2025 Pathway to Victory daily devotional. Call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you our current series called Reigniting Your Passion for Christ, and you'll get that on DVD video and MP3 format audio discs.
Don't forget your donation today to Pathway to Victory will have twice the impact because of the Light the Darkness matching challenge. So contact us right now with your special year-end gift. You can give by calling 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. If you'd like to send your donation by mail, write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. That's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. In today's culture, people who reject the gospel don't merely disagree with it, they're downright hostile towards it. Find out why we shouldn't be surprised about the world's hostility. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. And right now, your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the Light the Darkness Matching Challenge. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
