LUKE 4:1-2 SURVIVING A SEASON OF TRIALS2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 4:1-2 Surviving A Season Of Trials

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. That's why I wimped out. That's why I was weak in the day of adversity. No, the reality is if you faint in the day of adversity, it's not because the trial is so big or so hard or so painful. It's because your strength is small.

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And so this period of trial, this season of trial is the proving time of this commitment, of this work that God has set before you and your agreement to walk in it. And so the timing of this study and looking at this in Jesus' life is very good for us as a body. As we endeavor to reach out to the community, the first outreach is going to be happening on Saturday. Understand there will be trials for us.

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There will be trials for you individually as you seek to participate and get involved. And they'll be testing your commitment. Are you really going to be involved? Well, what about if you lose your job? You're still going to be involved? Well, what about if this happens? What about if you get in a fight on the way over here? What if the kids, you know, start acting up? There's going to be trials that are associated with it.

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for us individually but also I would suggest to you I would not be surprised if there are trials that we face corporately you know if all of a sudden the city does start to give us a really hard time or a wall falls over from the church or something don't be surprised don't be shocked because as we seek to do what God's called us to do there's going to be seasons of testing seasons of trial so the timing is important but also consider the content

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We'll talk more about it when we get into the verses, but the content of this time, this season for Jesus was loneliness, hunger, temptation. I mean, it was very severe what he was going through. And that's important to consider. We often assume that if it's hard, if it's difficult, if it's painful, then it's probably not of God. We assume if it's hard, if it's difficult, if it's painful, it's probably of the devil.

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But we can see here in Jesus' example, he went through something hard, difficult, and painful, and it was fully led by and orchestrated by God. God does not tempt anyone, but he does allow these seasons of trial, these seasons of temptation. And it's probably during this season that Jesus experienced most pain.

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of what the author of Hebrews described in Hebrews 4.15, where he said, look, we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses because he was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. It wasn't just, we'll look at next week, those three famous temptations that were offered there to the Lord. The gospel writer here is very clear. It was 40 days of temptation. 40 days of temptation. 40 days of temptation.

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So he was tempted at all points. It was a serious trial, a serious season that was going on. And so the content is not stuff that we would normally like to link with God. It was difficult. It was hard. It was painful.

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Then I would ask you to consider the duration, 40 days. Can you imagine going without food for 40 days? That's what Jesus did. Now, for me, you know, on a Sunday morning, I can't go through a Sunday morning without two breakfasts, right? I eat one early and then I either eat one right before first service or in between first and second service. I need something because I can't eat till probably one or two o'clock and that's a long time. And so I have to eat twice on Sunday morning to get me through it.

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And so to think about going 40 days without, I mean, that's pretty radical. That is a serious, serious fast. And so Jesus here is fasting for 40 days. It's a temptation that's going on for 40 days in the midst of fasting in a lonely place. Now, as temptations go, they're the strongest when we're hungry or tired or weak. They're the strongest when nobody else is around, when nobody else is watching, when we think we can get away with it.

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In the midst of this great temptation going on for 40 days, Jesus was steadfast. Even though he was in a weakened condition, he was steadfast. How did he endure this trial without failing? Well, that's what I want to look at this morning. There's three points I'd like to highlight for you. Things that we can learn from his example on how to survive the seasons of trial in our own life.

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How are we able to follow his example? And so the first thing we see now as we jump into verse 1, the first thing we see, point number 1, to survive a season of trial, we must be filled with the Spirit. You must be filled with the Spirit. Look at verse 1. It says, "...then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan."

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Jesus was able to survive the trials that he survived or that he faced because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is first things first. If you and I are to survive, if we're to endure and remain steadfast through trials, we must, like Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Take a look at this plastic bottle of water. And I would ask you to consider how long could this bottle last?

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endure the heat of a fire. It's something I love to do whenever we're at the beach. If we're doing a bonfire, I will always take a bottle of water and set it on the fire ring, right next to the fire. You know, you put your hands there and it's too hot to hold them there. But you set a bottle of water there and what happens? Well, if there's not water in the bottle, it's gone. It vanishes. It melts. It's out of there quick.

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But it's very interesting. If there is water in the bottle, the part of the bottle that has the water will endure even the heat of that fire. I encourage you to test it out. Try it out. It's a good practical example illustration for us. See, because it's the same for us as people. If you try to endure a trial, if you try to endure the fire without being filled with the Holy Spirit, the water,

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you're not going to last. You're just going to be gone quickly. But if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, then our capacity to endure great heat, great affliction, great trial, increases. And so being filled with the Spirit, we're able to be steadfast. We're able to be faithful to the Lord in the midst of great adversity. We're able to endure much higher temperatures.

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And so we see Jesus is filled with the Spirit, and so he's able to endure this great affliction. I like what David Guzik has to say on this point. He says, Jesus is hungry, but he's full of the Spirit. And then he compares it to us. Many times we have full stomachs, but we're empty spirits. He was full of the Holy Spirit, and so he was able to endure this.

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Two weeks ago, as we looked at the baptism of Jesus, we saw how the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. At that point, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. And from there, he goes out into this time, this season of trial. For you and I, the Apostle Paul commands us in Ephesians chapter 5 to be filled with the Spirit.

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It's a command that you and I are to follow, to practice. It's given in such a way that it's not just a one-time thing, but to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. But how do we do that? How do we prepare for the season of trial? How do we get filled with the Holy Spirit? Would you turn with me please a few pages over to Luke chapter 11?

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I want to have you turn there because this is such an important part of the Christian life. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. You cannot live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. You won't last, just like a bottle won't last next to the fire if there's no water in it. Here in Luke chapter 11, I want to read to you verses 9 through 13. It says this, So I say to you,

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Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. And he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?

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Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Verse 13 is key. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Here Jesus explains how to receive the Holy Spirit. If we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to endure these seasons of trial, how do we get filled? Jesus says it's simple.

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Ask, seek, and knock. And again, it's in the tense where it means to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking so that you can keep on being filled by the Holy Spirit. But he uses a practical example. He says, look, those of you who are parents and your kid's hungry and asking for some bread, who gives them a stone? Hey, chew on this, kid. Right?

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No. The parent looking after their kid who's hungry gives them something that can meet that need. Or who gives them a scorpion? Something harmful to them. No. And Jesus says, look, you're evil and you know how to give good gifts to your kids. How much more the Heavenly Father, who's not evil, will He give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? So ask, seek, and knock.

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For you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you simply need to ask your Heavenly Father to fill you. Notice here too that Jesus was already filled with the Holy Spirit when the trial began. And I point that out to say it's much easier that way. So many times as Christians, we try to live on the edge. We want to be saved, but we also want to live in ways that we know we're really not supposed to.

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And so we're trying to live kind of in the balance, live on the edge. So if something bad happens, we can run to the Lord, but then we can come out here and have our fun and dabble in sin or live in sin. But the problem with that is, then you're not filled with the Spirit. And so you're out there and then a season of trial comes and you're like a bottle that's empty. And quickly you begin to burn. Quickly you begin to vanish. Quickly your life is destroyed. It's much harder, it's much painful that way.

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But if you're filled with the Spirit to begin with, you'll be much more prepared for that season of trial or difficulty that comes upon you. Now, I would also say, if you're in the middle of something right now, if you're in the middle of some great difficulty or trial, it's not too late to ask because your Heavenly Father is good and He will give to those who ask. So, ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and

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But to wait to the middle of a trial or a difficulty and then to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit is inviting pain and difficulty and extra hardship on yourself that God does not intend for you. So the best thing for us is to be filled with the Holy Spirit right now in preparation for whatever may come around the corner.

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And so the first thing we see in Jesus' life that we need to follow is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's how we survive a season of trials. Well, the second thing we find as we continue on in verse 1 is that we need to be led by the Spirit. Going on in verse 1, it says that He returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. So He wasn't just filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led by the Holy Spirit.

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He's returning back from the Jordan River where he was baptized. And the Holy Spirit tells him, go this way. And the way that the Holy Spirit tells him to go leads him into the wilderness. That's an important point. We'll consider that in just a moment. But it points out here, Luke indicates he's filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit.

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That's important because being filled with the Spirit does not mean that suddenly the Holy Spirit takes over and you don't have to work, you don't have to do anything, He just, you know, takes care of everything for you on your behalf. That's not the way it works. When you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you have access to the power of God in your life.

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You have access to the resources of the Holy Spirit, the power of God for what He wants you to do. But the way that you access the resources there with the Holy Spirit is by being led, by making the choice, by surrendering your will to His. You see, Jesus is led by the Spirit because He yielded Himself to the Spirit. And so He's on the way back from the Jordan and He says, okay...

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Father, what way do you want me to go? Speak to me by your Spirit. You show me the path to take. You show me where to go from here. He yields himself to the Spirit. He lets the Holy Spirit make the decisions. The Holy Spirit won't force those decisions. We have to surrender to him.

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And allow Him to make those decisions and to give the direction that is needed for our lives. If you want to survive your season of trials, you must yield yourself to the Holy Spirit.

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There's no more making decisions based on what you want or what your goals in life are or your hopes and dreams or what you prefer. No, to yield to the Holy Spirit is to give Him full control and to say, Lord, your will be done. You do what you want to do. And as you make this decision that's in front of you, you say, Lord, what do you want?

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We'll go where you want us to go. And then you come to the next decision and once again you have to yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and say, Lord, what do you want in this case? Where do you want us to go? You provide the direction. It's easier to say it than to do it, but that's what we must do.

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And it's very difficult to do because, well, the Holy Spirit and our flesh or our sinful nature are in a constant battle. I'm sure you've experienced that. Your sinful nature, your flesh, wants the exact opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants for you and to do in your life. Where the Holy Spirit wants to lead you is not where your flesh wants to go. And you can see that here in verse 1 because where did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus?

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into the wilderness. Literally, it's a deserted place. So, you know, this isn't, you know, like an outdoor adventure. Oh, great, we're going camping. That's not what this is about. It's a deserted place and it's deserted for a reason because there's nothing there. There's no provisions. There's no shelter. It's hard. It's harsh wilderness. It's also isolated. There's nobody there. There's an implication of loneliness along with this wilderness.

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And it makes an important point for us because the Holy Spirit is going to lead us into those kinds of places. Do you realize that the biggest battles that we face and the biggest victories that we can have are found in the lonely places, in the wilderness of our lives? Those battles, those victories that no one else sees are the most important. They're the biggest things that we face, the ones that nobody else knows about.

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We love our victories to be in front of crowds, right? Because then they can applaud us and tell us how great we are. And oh, yes, I know, I know. But think about the cross. Where was the victory of the cross accomplished? It wasn't there on the cross. It was back a few hours before in the Garden of Gethsemane. The disciples were there with Jesus, but remember what they were doing? They were asleep. And there Jesus, alone with his Father, he said, "'Not my will, but your will be done.'"

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And that's where the battle was won. That's where the victory was accomplished. It was shown and demonstrated as he went to the cross, but it was won. It was accomplished there in the garden. Listen, that's where our battles are. We have it backwards so many times. We give in. We don't fight those battles when nobody else is around. We think, hey, it's not that big of a deal. When people are watching, okay, I need to be a good Christian. No, no, the real battles are fought in the lonely places.

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In the desolate places. And the Holy Spirit will always lead you into those places. Into those seasons where it's just you and God. That's where real Christianity is. That's where your faith is fought. The Holy Spirit will always lead you to those places. The Holy Spirit will always lead you to die to yourself.

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That's what we see in Jesus' example. That's what we see in Paul's example as he was led by the Holy Spirit to Jerusalem. He was told all along the way, you're going to be beaten, you're going to be put in chains, you're going to be persecuted, it's going to be rough. And Paul said, look, I'm willing to die for the name of Jesus. He was led by the Spirit to die to himself.

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At this point, you might be thinking, alright, I like the being filled with the Spirit part. Being led by the Spirit, I'm not such a fan, but this isn't an optional thing. In Romans 8, verse 14, Paul says, As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. In order to be a child of God, you must be led by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will lead you to die to yourself. If you are yielded to the Spirit,

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This is a good part. If you are yielded to the Spirit, then you know that the trials you experience are part of the plan of God. And therefore you can handle them. They have a purpose. Now there's a lot of trials and difficulty that you can bring upon yourself outside of being led by the Holy Spirit. And you can go run and make a mess of your life, and we've often done that. And we bring upon ourselves trial and difficulty.

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But when you're led by the Holy Spirit, yes, there will be trials. But those trials serve a purpose. And those trials are part of the plan of God. You know, for me personally, on Wednesday when I broke my foot, it's not a matter of I was in rebellion against God. It's not a matter of correction of some type of sin or anything. I have no doubt whatsoever. Not even a little smidgen of a doubt. It is God's will for me to have a broken foot right now.

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This is where he wants me. This is for my good. I'm being tempered. I'm being strengthened. And through it, there's pain that needs to be endured. There's mobility issues. There's lack of sleep as a result. There's issues that go along with it. It's a part of what God wants to do in my life. It's a season of trials for me. Preparation for what God wants to do in me. God's not telling me, you know, okay, well, hey, you broke your foot, so just kind of kick back.

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No, he's telling me you got to go forward. You got to endure. You got to continue on. And so I have no doubt. It's comforting. It's nice. I don't have to think. Oh man, look what a dummy I did to myself. Hey, the Lord knew it. I was with him that morning. He could have redirected me. He could have done whatever he wanted. This is part of his plan. It's part of what he wants to do. I'm confident. I'm right where God wants me to be. And there's such a freedom and a strength that comes from that.

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And so the Holy Spirit may lead you into trials or spider webs, but it comes with his strength. So it's not more than you can handle and it serves a purpose. And so we must yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit. You need to learn to hear his voice and then obey him. You know, the best way to do that, to learn to hear his voice is to read your Bible every day. Read your Bible every day.

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Read the passage that you have in front of you and read it again and again and again until you hear God's voice. Until you hear Him highlight something to you, speak something to your heart. Don't leave that time of devotion until He's been speaking to you. And then do it the next day and then do it the next day.

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And look for ways to put into practice those things that He's speaking to you. To put into practice those verses that He's highlighting for you. And as you do that, you'll begin to recognize His voice. As you read through a passage and He's speaking to you. Oh, verse 39. God wants to do something in my life today from that verse. You begin to recognize His voice. And then as you're out and about, as you're sharing, as you're talking, then you begin to distinguish, to discern.

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What is your own imagination and thoughts? And what is the Holy Spirit speaking to you? So the best way, just read your Bible. Spend time with God in His Word. Get to know Him. Learn to hear His voice. And then obey Him. Be led by the Holy Spirit. So first of all, we must be filled with the Spirit. Second, we must be led by the Spirit. The third point for this morning is we must then persevere. We must persevere. Look at verse 2.

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Being tempted for 40 days by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing. And afterward, when they had ended, he was hungry. This is, of course, the hardest part. Being filled with the Spirit, we ask. Being led by the Spirit, it's difficult. But we yield ourselves to the Lord. To persevere, it's the idea of staying the course. We've handed over the reins to the Holy Spirit. You lead me.

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But perseverance is about not taking those reins back and saying, wait, never mind. I know what to do. I want to do it my way. If you were filled with the Holy Spirit to begin with, and then you were led by the Spirit into a season of trials, then what you need to do is stay there. Don't move. We see this example in Jesus. Look, Jesus is Jesus, right? He could get out of there anytime he wanted to.

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But what does verse 2 say? He was tempted for 40 days by the devil. 40 days of constant bombardment of attack, temptation. Eating nothing there in the wilderness. The Holy Spirit led him there, so he said, I will stay here. When things are hard or painful, our tendency is to look for the nearest exit, right? I mean, even as you walk in here today, you're like, okay, if this guy keeps on going...

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I need to know which way is the way out. If it starts to get too convicting, oh man, I know where the exit is. I know how to get out of here. We're always looking for that nearest exit. But listen, you must persevere. This word persevere, it means to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter-influences, oppositions, or discouragement.

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To keep on going. Again, stay the course even though there's opposition, even though there's difficulty, even though there's pain. I kind of relate it to, maybe you've experienced this. Have you ever, you know, you've printed out directions from MapQuest or something or someone's giving you directions and you're trying to get from point A to point B. And you're going along, you're going along, you're following the directions, but you're going a long time down this one road and it just seems...

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We should have already been there by now. I must have missed the turn. These directions must be wrong. Something's out of place. And so then, if you're like me, you take the wheel back. Forget the directions. I think I know how to get there. And then you end up getting lost if you're like me. See, we surrender to the directions. Okay, I got to turn right here. I got to go there. Okay, it tells me to do this. It tells me to do that. But then somewhere along the way, many times we go, never mind, get rid of that. I know a better way. I can handle it. I can do it.

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That's what happens oftentimes in a season of trial. We get into the midst of it. You know, one thing happens in your life. You're like, okay, I believe this is of the Lord. Okay, I can persevere. I can handle this. And then two things happen. Okay, okay. Oh, yeah. You know, consider it all joy. You face various trials. Okay, I can... All right, Lord, I'm going to continue unfaithful. But then a third thing happens. Hey...

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What's going on here? I mean, this is so hard. This is painful. It's not supposed to be like this. And then a fourth thing happens. Okay, this can't be the Lord. I know what I need to do. And we take matters into our own hands. Again, we take back the reins. We take the steering wheel. We say, I'm going to go the way that I think I need to go to get through this difficulty or situation or affliction. That's not persevering. To persevere is to stay the course. Listen, the Holy Spirit led you there.

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Stay there. Don't try to resolve it yourself. Don't try to run away from it. Jesus is there in the wilderness. He's not eating for 40 days. He's bombarded by these temptations. He's out there all by himself. He stayed the course. He persevered. He didn't give in just to bring the trial to an end. And sometimes, if you're honest with yourself, that's what you do. The temptation is strong and it's difficult to resist.

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So you give in just so you don't have to face that difficulty, just to bring it to an end. But he didn't make himself a hometown buffet to resolve his hunger issue. He trusted, hey, God brought me here. God will meet my needs. Even if it means I have to go 40 days without eating. I mean, that's some serious trust in the Lord.

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He wasn't like, you know, I think I'm just going to put a lock on my fridge and that way I don't have that much temptation. He had no provision for himself. The Spirit led him into the wilderness. He went into the wilderness. He trusted God, his Heavenly Father, to provide for him. And he didn't run away. I mean, he's Jesus, right? He could just vanish. He's off in some other place. He doesn't have to stick around.

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But the Spirit led him there, so he persevered. He was filled with the Spirit, so he was able to endure. He was led by the Spirit, so he was right where his Heavenly Father wanted him. So he stayed, and then he stayed, and then he stayed, and then he stayed. This season of trial shows us the strength of Jesus and his faith, his trust in his Heavenly Father.

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Later on when he gives the command not to worry about what you're going to eat in Matthew chapter 6, there's some extra weight that goes along with that instruction of not to worry. Because he lived it. He experienced it. He let God provide for him. Later on when he says in John 4, 34, my food is to do the will of my Father. And so I'm going to

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fulfill this ministry that's before me instead of eating the food that the disciples provided? He says, look, I got to do what God wants me to do. That's first, that's foremost, that comes before eating if necessary. See, this was a season of preparation, preparing him for the ministry that God had in store for him. We need to get out of our heads this idea that God always wants us to be happy. Get that idea out of your head right now.

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That is not what the Bible says. But so many Christians make decisions based on, well, God must want me to be happy. Listen, God is not primarily concerned with your happiness. He's concerned with your eternal state. And if that means that you're going to have to endure pain and difficulty and affliction, it's worth it. Because eternity is much longer than this season of life. And so God's not so concerned about our happiness.

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He's not so concerned that we always are happy and have no difficulty or problems or pain. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4.11. He said, To the present hour, we both hunger and thirst. We are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless. Now, this is a missionary of God. This is a guy who's writing the New Testament. I mean, this is a powerful instrument of God. And what did he experience? Hunger and thirst. Poverty.

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being beaten, homelessness. Why would we expect something different? Later on in Philippians, he says, look, I know how to be abased, that's to have nothing, and I know how to abound. He says, look, I've experienced the seasons of trial and affliction and difficulty of nothing, and I've experienced the seasons of God blessing and providing and having an abundance for my needs.

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And all of us will have those seasons in our lives where there'll be seasons of want, seasons of lack, seasons of trial, and then also seasons of blessing. It is going to take place. Get the idea out of your head that God always wants you to be happy. No, He wants you to spend eternity with Him.

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That's what's most important. Now there will be a day when we will hunger no more and thirst no more and he'll wipe away the tears from our eyes. But that day is not today unless the rapture happens right now and he comes back for us. But if he doesn't come back for us today, then today is not the day that we're not to hunger or thirst anymore. There will be affliction. There will be difficulty. We will face it. And so you and I need to come to grips with that.

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In order to survive a season of trials, we must persevere. We must stay the course. Don't waver. Don't give up. Don't give in to temptation just to end it. Don't take matters into your own hands just to try to resolve it. Don't run away just to get out of the pain or the difficulty. The Holy Spirit will always lead you to die to yourself. And that's as unpleasant as it sounds. It will be difficult. But persevere.

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Because we see what happens when you die to yourself in the example of the cross. When we die to ourselves, God is able to do a mighty work. That's why Jesus said, look, if you want to be my disciple, he says, deny yourself, take up your cross, that's die to yourself, and follow me. We're to follow his example. Every one of us will face trials as believers. We're going to face difficulty.

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But we can survive it. We can endure. We can make it through. We can be strong if we're filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and if we trust God to persevere. This morning we get to partake of communion together as we consider these thoughts. And so the worship team is going to come up. The ushers are going to make ready. I would ask you to consider because communion is given to us by Jesus to remind us of Him, to remind us of what He did for us.

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And at the cross, Jesus fulfilled these things that we're talking about today. He was filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit and He persevered. He endured the cross that was set before Him because of the joy that was set before Him. He endured the cross. And we have the benefit of salvation as a result. And so He gave us communion as a reminder. He gave us the bread which reminds us or represents His body that was broken for us.

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And then He gave us the cup which represents or reminds us of His blood that was shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. And so He called us to do this and to remember Him and to look forward to His return. In light of what we've been studying today, we can see how He survived this trial, crucifixion, to provide for us the benefit of salvation, of eternity with Him. And so we need to spend some time thanking Him

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for what He's done for us. But also, asking Him to help us follow His example. To be filled, to be led, and to persevere, just like He did at the cross. And so as they lead us in worship, they're going to pass out the bread and the cup. Hold both portions.

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We'll partake together at the end as a family, but let's worship the Lord and thank Him for what He has done for us. If you've never received Jesus as Savior and Lord or you need to get right with Him, I encourage you, partake with us. Receive what Jesus has done for us there upon the cross. Receive the forgiveness of sins. Receive the salvation that He offers and seek to follow Him. Let's ask Him to help us deny ourselves, take up the cross.

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and follow His example. Let's worship the Lord together.