Let God be on Mission in You: Growing in the Desert (Matt 4:-11)
• The Lord wants to grow us to be more like Him and one of the primary ways He does that is through a wilderness or desert experience.
o Desert seasons are also often very long, sometimes years.
• All three Gospels contain the story Jesus’ desert experience or at least make reference to it as in Mark.
Verse 1 Matt has “then” but the book of Mark has “at once” to emphasize the immediateness.
• This happened right after Jesus was baptized and the Holy Coming on Him.
• This desert season in Jesus’ life is also right before the start of His public ministry.
• The thing that I really want us to notice here is that it says Jesus was led by the Spirit
o Desert seasons are initiated by God.
o Or at least approved by God, as in the case of Job.
• But then this juxtaposition, to be tempted by the devil.
o The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Verse 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry
o This is typical. When we press into God, the devil attacks.
The three temptations: Each one representing something that is a basic human temptation.
• First, the devil tempts Jesus through basic need and wealth.
• Second temptation, the devil tempts Jesus with self-focused identity
• Third temptation, the devil tempts Jesus with power.
Other things we need to take note of:
• In each temptation the devil mixed some truth with some subtle twisting of the truth?
• In each temptation Jesus responds with quoting scripture.
• Jesus see these things from a Kingdom perspective.
o They are already his, and God’s timing for their fulfillment is always perfect.
• Jesus was only hearing from the devil during the desert season. Same is true for us.
What are our takeaways? What is our guide to a desert season?
1. Remember you’re only hearing from the devil
2. Lean into the Word
3. Don’t react to the Devil
4. Respond to the Father
5. Faithful Obedience
6. Don’t waste the Pain
7. Remember desert seasons end
8. It may come again.
Why do desert times come? Hard to know for sure, but they make us more like Jesus if we let them.
Let God Be on Mission in You: Growing in the Desert Season
