LUKE 4:1-13 STOP RUNNING ON EMPTY2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 4:1-13 Stop Running On Empty

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 2017. Well, as we get into Luke chapter 4 this morning and talk about the temptation of Jesus, I would ask you to consider how big of a deal is it

when that light comes on there on the dashboard of your car. You know which light I'm talking about? It's the low fuel light. How big of a deal is it whenever that little indicator, maybe you have a little icon that looks like a gas pump, you know, or maybe it's just like a little dot, a little LED, but our cars have this indicator. We have the gauge which tells us, you know, where we're at, but when it's like really low, you know, then that light comes on and

How big of a deal is that? I would actually suggest probably some of you know how many miles exactly you can drive after that fuel light comes on, right? Because you've pushed it, you know, so many times. Oh, that light comes on. Okay, I know at least I have 20 or 30 miles still. I'm good to go. And of course, I've always felt that way. I've run out of gas many times in my life because I felt that way. And I always thought I had more time than I did.

that low fuel light on your dash, when that comes on, does that mean that you are a terrible driver? If that fuel light comes on and indicates that there's low fuel, does that mean you should never be allowed to drive again? Does it mean that you should ignore it and just keep driving and, you know, not even pay attention to it? And does it mean that you should buy a new car because your low fuel light has come on? What does that low fuel light mean?

And of course, it indicates that we're low on fuel. And it indicates to us not so much that we're a terrible driver or that we should never be allowed to drive or that nothing's, you know, the matter. We should just keep on driving and ignore it altogether. It also doesn't mean the car is totaled and we don't need a new car. It just needs to be filled up on gas. And as I look at the temptation of Jesus this morning, I think for us, it's a good reminder of a similar type of thing because, well,

When we look at the temptation of Jesus, there's a tendency to look at this and to think, first of all, well, Jesus was perfect. Of course, he, you know, was able to survive this temptation. And so, you know, it doesn't relate to me.

Now, oftentimes we look at the temptation of Jesus and we go, oh, look, all he did was quote scripture. So that's all we have to do. Just quote scripture and then temptation will go away. But oftentimes as we look at this, there can be our own sense of condemnation because, well, obviously looking at the example of Jesus, we do not measure up and we fall in temptation and we are not

resistant to temptation in the way that Jesus was. And I think many times that we over-condemn ourselves and we over-react to our failures in temptation. Now, I want to be careful and kind of strike a balance here. Of course, you know, we need to flee from temptation and run from sin and not, you know, just be okay with it and put up with it. But at the same time,

We need to be careful not to go too far the other way and to over-exaggerate when there is failure in our lives. And I would suggest to you that a failure in temptation really is a lot like that low fuel indicator on your dash.

That it doesn't mean that, you know, you should quit, you should never try again. It doesn't mean that you're a terrible driver, you're a terrible Christian. It doesn't mean that, you know, you should just start all over, give up, you know. It doesn't mean any of those things. All it means is that you're running on empty. And this morning, I want to encourage you to stop running on empty. To let those failures and temptation be for you now.

Just like the light turning on on your dash, the indicator that you need to get back to the filling station and to be filled again with the Lord, with the spirit, with the things of the Lord, because that's the real issue. It's really an indicator of, you know, the low fuel level that you have. It's not so much about how bad you've blown it. And it doesn't mean that God hates you. And it doesn't mean that God's upset with you or so disappointed with you.

In the same way as, you know, that's not how anybody feels whenever the low light, low fuel light comes on in your vehicle. And so stop running on empty as we look at the temptation of Jesus. Now, it's a little bit different as far as the message is concerned. My points are actually going to be from Hebrews chapter 4, even though our text is here in Luke chapter 4. So hopefully I'll not confuse you too much. But Hebrews chapter 4 in verse 15 and 16, it tells us this.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Here in Hebrews chapter 4, the author of Hebrews is making the case for Jesus, our great high priest, and he reminds us, he informs us that

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize. Now, that's a double negative, which makes it a little bit confusing in our minds. And so saying it just plainly, we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses because he was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin.

And so then the exhortation is to come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find help. I'm sorry, find grace to help in time of need. And so I want to reflect on this first part here in verse 15. The high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, who is tempted to

in all points as we are. And so for that, we'll be looking at here in Luke chapter four, pretty much the whole passage, but looking at the fact that Jesus sympathizes with you as we see the temptation that he endured. Again, verse one and two, it says, "'Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, "'returned from the Jordan "'and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, "'being tempted for 40 days by the devil.'"

And in those days he ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, he was hungry. Here in the first couple verses, we get the introduction. Jesus has just been baptized, and the Holy Spirit has descended upon him like a dove. And so now he is filled with the Spirit, and he comes from that experience, from the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness, into the desert area.

And being led into the wilderness, he is there tempted, it says in verse 2, for 40 days. Now what follows is three specific temptations, but what Luke is describing here is that this wasn't three temptations that lasted for 40 days, but there was 40 days of temptation, and

And the concluding temptations were these three that he records. So there was many more temptations that Jesus underwent during this time, being tempted for 40 days. These three are just the kind of like the last three or maybe even three that are chosen as a kind of a summary because they kind of touch Jesus.

a good general overview of all the areas and ways which Jesus was tempted. But again, let me remind you in Hebrews 4, it tells us he was tempted in all points as we are. And so this 40 days of temptation was, you know, not just three things that happened to him in these 40 days or three temptations that he faced, but an ongoing onslaught of temptations that were presented to him and brought to him by the devil.

And during that time, he was fasting. So he has eaten nothing, it says. And afterward, when those 40 days had ended, he was hungry. And so now at the peak of his vulnerability, at the peak of his weakness, as far as his physical condition, it's said that when you fast for 40 days, obviously, if you look at me, I haven't tried that recently. But when you fast for 40 days,

you know, you stop being hungry after a point. And when you get hungry again at the, you know, at the end of the 40 days or whatever that time period is, then that's when it's the really critical time you're, you know, starving to death. And so Jesus says as he was hungry again, this is kind of like the indication that his body's

you know, completely weak. It's at its end point. And it's saying, if you don't feed me, you know, this body is going to die. And so he is in a, you know, very serious, weak condition, having not eaten for 40 days and being tempted for the past 40 days. And that's the state, that's the condition in which he enters into these temptations that we read. Starting in verse three, the devil said to him, if you are the son of God, command this stone to become broken.

bread. And so in that weakened condition, in that hungry condition, Satan presents him this opportunity. Here's a stone. You're the son of God. You could just turn it to bread. You need food to survive. You're hungry. Your body's telling you if you don't eat something soon, you're going to starve to death. So here's some bread for you if you'll just take this stone and turn it into bread.

Now, Jesus responds to this temptation with the word of God. But the point of the temptation was, don't trust God for your provision. Don't trust God to take care of you. Take matters into your own hands and provide for yourself. And in this condition, you have to understand, you have to know that Jesus as a man was hungry. And so he can completely sympathize with you

First of all, in just being hungry, and that's not a pleasant thing. But broader than that, in those great cravings, in those great desires, in those great needs that we have, and when they're incredibly intense, and we are tempted to provide for ourselves, we're tempted to meet that need ourselves. And it doesn't have to be for food, but it can be for a variety of things that our body craves, that our body needs.

And Jesus understands what that is like. And he can sympathize. He knows what that feels like. He experienced those kinds of cravings, those kinds of urges, those kinds of desires. He experienced the body crying out for something and the temptation to, well, just provide for yourself to meet that need.

Well, it tells us then in verse 5,

As we head into the next temptation now, the appealing to Jesus to provide for his own needs didn't work. And so he takes him on a high mountain and it tells us that he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. There's

A supernatural component that's going on here. It's not just a viewpoint from a high mountain where he could see everything, but he's showing him everything in a moment of time. So some kind of vision, some kind of visual that the enemy is presenting before him. And he shows him, puts it in front of his face, look at all of these people that you love so much. Look at these kingdoms of the whole world. And he says, I will give you

All of this. I have authority to give it. He says, I can give it to whomever I want because it was delivered to me. We know from other scriptures that Satan is called the prince of the power of the air or the God of this world. He has authority here temporarily because, well, Adam and Eve had authority from God to reign over this earth, but they forfeited that. It defaulted to Satan.

The enemy has authority now. This world affected by sin, affected by the fall. But the enemy says, look, I can give it to you. It's under my authority. I could just give it to you. Now, we of course know that Jesus came for this purpose. We know from Revelation, I think it's specifically Revelation chapter 11, it tells us that all the kingdoms of the world will be called the kingdoms of Christ.

there's this objective, there's this plan of God in place for that to take place. But here he provides him a shortcut and says, if you just worship me, I'll give it to you right now. Now, how much does Jesus love the world? He loves the world enough to leave his place of glory, to become a man, to die upon the cross, enough to suffer and receive the penalty for our sin. And so this would have been

a powerful temptation in that sense. An easy way to get through, you know, bypass the suffering, bypass all the hard part, and just receive the kingdoms of this world. Jesus sympathizes with you as we are tempted with shortcuts. Things that we long for, that we love, that we desire greatly. Things that, yeah, maybe it's not exactly the right way to get it, but it's

An easy way to get what we want, to get what we need, to get what we're looking for and striving after. Jesus was presented with this opportunity by the enemy. He knows what it's like and he loved the world greatly. And so this, well, this enables him to understand, to sympathize with us as we face similar temptations. Jumping to verse nine, we see the third temptation. Then he brought him to Jerusalem and

Here the enemy takes him now to the pinnacle of the temple. It was expected by the Jews that the Messiah would reveal himself there at the temple. And so he

It seems to be, you know, linked to that concept, to that mindset, that he's here at the pinnacle of the temple and he says, hey, since you're the son of God, why don't you throw yourself down from here? Now, not trying to tempt him with suicide. He's trying to tempt him with testing God because he quotes from Psalm 91. God says, for those who trust in him, that he will give his angels charge over you to keep you.

And in their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And so the idea is, hey, if you jump off, well, God's going to be forced to send his angels to carry you. And then everybody will see that you truly are the Messiah. And so Satan here takes a passage from Psalm chapter 91, rips it out of context, and then just kind of forces it and says, look, you could...

prove once and for all to all of these people that you are the Son of God, that you are the Messiah if you just jump off right here. Think about as far as the humanity of Jesus is concerned. How hard must it have been for Jesus to be rejected and shunned by people? The people that he loved so much to come, to become a man, to be there, to be

John tells us in John 1.10, he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. I wonder what that must have been like for Jesus to

I mean, maybe you can relate a little bit, right? Have you ever loved somebody? And so you've been there for them. You've attempted to, you know, provide some help, provide some assistance to be there in their midst. And they don't even just acknowledge. They, you know, they kind of despise and reject and push you away. And in that sense, that's what's happening here for Jesus. He is the creator. He is the creator who became man, who came into the world and yet died.

He's being disrespected. He's being shunned. He's being ridiculed. He has a few followers, but even his few followers, you know, we've seen already several examples. They're kind of knuckleheads. They always, you know, misunderstand him. They don't quite get it. And that could have been, that should have been, that was a difficult thing for Jesus in his humanity to endure.

And this would have resolved all of that. As once and for all, everybody would know who he was, the authority that he had, the glory that he had. If he would just jump off and force God to do this great miracle in front of everybody, the pinnacle of the temple, it would have been publicly crowded. It would have been full of people and they would have all seen this great, amazing work. The temptation to...

exalt self, to get people to recognize who you are. It tells us in verse 13, now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. And so here we have an indication. Jesus was tempted for 40 days. Then he had these three temptations, which were

serious temptations, and then the devil departed, but until an opportune time. And so this wasn't the last temptation that Jesus experienced, but it was going to happen again throughout his life. And up until the cross, there was going to be temptation that the devil would bring to him. Now, the point I'm, you know, seeking to illustrate or to highlight here is that Jesus sympathizes with you. That we can look at this and understand, not that

oh, well, you know, he was the savior. So this was no big deal for him. You know, this was just like easy peasy piece of cake, walk in the park. The point of the author of Hebrews is that he was tempted in all points. He knows what that feels like.

Now there's a theological discussion about whether or not it would have been possible for Jesus to actually sin or not. And, you know, scholars and philosophers and theologians, you know, debate back and forth all around about that. But here's what we can know confidently for sure. The scripture tells us he can sympathize with our weaknesses because he was in all points tempted as we are.

So regardless of whatever possibilities or those theological stuff that we could discuss and fight over, the reality is when I'm facing temptation, when I'm going through temptation, Jesus can sympathize with that. He understands what I go through. He understands my weaknesses because he was in all points tempted as I am. He was in all points tempted as you are.

It's interesting that in 1 John 2, verse 16, John highlights all that is in the world, and he summarizes it in three things. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And you can, if you'd like, spend some time correlating these three things. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. You can correlate that with these three temptations of Jesus.

And you can correlate that with the temptation of Eve in the garden back in Genesis chapter 3. And you can see that these are kind of like the three main things that are in play for Eve. They're the three main areas. You can look at these and how Jesus was tempted in all of these ways. And

Again, at the end, John summarizes it and said, that's all that's in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That we go through temptations, we go through, because of our weaknesses, these kinds of things related to the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, and the pride of life.

And as we have, you know, a variety of different contexts, a variety of different temptations in different forms, but they kind of boil down to one of these three or, you know, combinations of these three, that these are the things that we're tempted with. These are the weaknesses that we have. And Jesus is able to sympathize with those weaknesses. He's able to sympathize with

where we fall short, where we are frail, because in his humanity, he faced these same temptations. Again, Hebrews 4.15, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are. And then the end of verse 15 is very important, so I'm going to put it back on the screen. Hebrews 4.15 says,

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. So there is a difference. Jesus experiences temptation just like you and I experience temptation. But the difference between Jesus and you, Jesus and me, is that he underwent all those temptations without sin. And that gives us point number two for this morning. Jesus is without sin.

And so I want to look at these temptations again and just kind of briefly reflect on Jesus's endurance and his victory through this temptation. So here in Luke chapter 4 verse 3, the devil said to him, if you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him saying, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Here again, we see the temptation. Jesus is hungry after fasting for 40 days. Take this stone, turn it to bread. You're hungry. That's a legitimate desire and craving that you have. You know, you need to fulfill that need because you're going to die if you don't eat. The temptation is really to not depend on God and not trust God. And so Jesus responds in verse 4 with a quotation from Deuteronomy chapter 8. Now, I'm not going to get into all of the context of Deuteronomy chapter 8, but

What's happening in Deuteronomy chapter 8 is Moses telling the people, hey guys, you need to remember that the Lord your God led you all these 40 years in the wilderness, and he did this to humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart and whether or not you would keep his commands.

And Moses says in Deuteronomy 8, verse 3, so God humbled you and allowed you to hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. And so there in the scripture, the context is, hey, God lets you be hungry and

in the wilderness so that he could provide manna so that you could learn the lesson that you survive by trusting in God, not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. And that God sends forth his word and he will meet your needs and he will provide for you. And so as we look at Jesus and understand that he was without sin, he was without sin here in this temptation, but

Because he's following the lesson learned from Deuteronomy chapter 8. And he's saying, yes, I'm hungry. Yes, I'm starving. Yes, this hunger is an indication that my body is about to just completely fail. But I will trust in the Lord. And I will rely upon the Lord. And I'm not going to cave in and try to meet my own needs when God has promised that he will provide for me.

And so here Jesus is without sin as he goes back to the word of God, relies upon the promises of God and trust in the provision of God. Well, then in verse seven, as he presents to Jesus all of the world and offers to give it to him, he says, therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours. So he,

Here's the world. You love them. You came for them. You know, you're about to die for them, but you don't have to. If you'll just worship before me, I'll give it all to you. In verse 8, Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind me, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. Here Jesus quotes again from the book of Deuteronomy. This time it's Deuteronomy chapter 6.

This is still Moses talking to the people of Israel as they're preparing to head into the promised land, reminding them of all the history that they experienced in those 40 years in the wilderness. And Moses tells the people, when you go into this land and things start going well for you, and all of a sudden you have houses which you didn't even have to build, and you have vineyards which you didn't have to plant, and you have a house which you didn't even have to build,

And you have these olive trees that you didn't have to plant and maintain. And then you're able to eat and be full. He says, beware at that point that you forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. Watch out that you don't forget the Lord when you're full, when things are good, when things are going well because of God's blessing in your life. And then he gives him the warning, you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him.

You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people who are around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God. And so as the enemy brings to him this opportunity to have all the world, Jesus goes back again to the word of God, to the instruction from God's word to worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. When there is the temptation to forget God, when it seems like

God is not as necessary as he once was. Don't forget to serve God only. And so Jesus is without sin because he is making sure, I'm not taking the easy way out. I'm not going to just like shortcut and get around the suffering to worship you instead of worshiping God. Well, first of all, we know the end result would be far worse. The promises of Satan are never as glamorous as they appear to be. But

Even without that, recognizing that even though Jesus is the rightful heir to the kingdoms of this world, he will worship the Lord in obtaining those kingdoms according to the way that God has prescribed in God's will. That it's not just the end result that God cares about, but the way that he gets there is part of his worship of God, his faithfulness to God.

And so Jesus is without sin because he will worship God in the way that he lives, in the way that he suffers, in the way that he dies to obtain what is rightfully his. Well, then in verse nine, it says, he brought Jesus to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down from here. And Jesus answered and said to him, it has been said, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.

So again, they're on the pinnacle of the temple. Why don't you show yourself? They don't recognize you. They don't know who you are. They're not honoring you or respecting you. They're disregarding you, disrespecting you. They're fighting against you. Why don't you prove to them once and for all that you are the Messiah and throw yourself off this pinnacle of the temple? But Jesus, in responding to that, quotes again from Deuteronomy 6, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.

Now the context here in Deuteronomy chapter 6 is Moses reminding them of what happened at the waters of Meribah. This place called Meribah, also called Massah, because here Israel tempted the Lord. It was the place where they were thirsty, where Moses in Exodus chapter 17 took his staff and struck the rock at God's instruction. And then the water poured forth and the thirst of the children of Israel was quenched.

But it was named, this place was named Massa or Meribah because, well, the way that the children of Israel behaved in their thirst was a tempting of the Lord. In Exodus chapter 17, verse 7, you can check this out later. It says,

So when it talks about, you shall not tempt the Lord your God, this is the idea, this is the attitude that God is talking about. It's that attitude that says, look, if God's among us, then prove it. If God's among us, then, you know, this needs to happen. It has to be, you know, it's kind of like, if God really loves me, you know, then he'll give me $400 today or whatever. You know what I mean? That this like,

God has to prove himself, his presence, his love, whatever, to you on your terms when you want, and not the other way around. And that's a tempting of God. That's a testing of God. And for Jesus to throw himself off would be that. The quotation in Psalm chapter 91 doesn't say, whenever you do something foolish and crazy, God will bear you up and, you know, your foot won't dash against the stone. No.

Whenever you do something without, you know, counsel from the Lord, you know, God's going to protect you and preserve you. It doesn't say that. It's as you're trusting in God, as you're walking with God, he's going to protect you and preserve you. But to just throw yourself into a situation without God's instruction, without God's, you know, guiding, well, it can easily be a place of tempting the Lord your God because you say, well, he...

where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. So might as well go ahead and just keep on sinning because there's grace. I would suggest that's a tempting of the Lord your God, because God, you have to show grace. So I'm going to keep on sinning. You know, again, not your terms, God's terms. And so Jesus here again is without sin in that he, well, he would not tempt the Lord.

He would not force God or try to force God to prove himself or show himself or to reveal himself as the Messiah. Jesus is without sin. Now, for us, temptations many times are very strong, very powerful, but we get relief when we cave and give into the temptation. Jesus never caved. And so in one sense, you can understand that Jesus experienced temptation way more powerful than

than you and I will ever experience because, well, we give in way before Jesus ever did. In fact, early this morning, just a few minutes ago, I caved. George left his phone unlocked in the sound booth and I sent some messages on his behalf. I just, I couldn't, I tried to resist like for 30 seconds and I couldn't take it anymore and I caved. And so if you get a message that says George is going to a Skinny Grandpa beauty pageant,

Thursday afternoon. That's actually from me. What's interesting about Jesus being without sin is when you consider John chapter 8, when they brought this woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery before Jesus. They threw him in their midst and they said, look, the law of Moses says you must, we must stone her. What do you say? And in John chapter 8 verse 7, it says, when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said to them,

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. So here's the important thing about Jesus being without sin. It doesn't put him in a position or an attitude of, I'm perfect and you're not. And so I'm going to be the first to throw a stone at you. He, even though he's without sin, he can sympathize. He knows what it's like. And instead of throwing stones, Jesus shows compassion.

And that brings us to the third point, and that is that Jesus offers to help you. Jesus offers to help you. That comes from, again, Hebrews chapter 4. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. And then verse 16, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

So understanding Jesus can sympathize because he was tempted in all points and yet without sin, let us therefore come boldly. It's the invitation. It's the offer that Jesus gives for us to come to God, to find grace, to find mercy, to find the help that we need in those times of need. Jesus offers to help you.

And here's what I would ask you to consider this morning, that Jesus gives you access to the same resources that he had in the temptations that he faced. There's two main sources here that we could really identify or look at as we look at Luke chapter 4. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God. These are the two resources that Jesus relied upon that enabled him to

to be able to handle these temptations. And he gives you access to these same resources. Going back to Luke chapter four, verse one, it says, then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness. So we see that as Jesus goes into this time of temptation, one of the key factors was that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and he was led by the spirit into this season of

Now, that thought's not that exciting because, you know, we always want just to be led into easy seasons and find, you know, nice things. But sometimes the Lord has in store for us difficult seasons and times of trial and times of temptation.

And it's essential in those times to be led by the Spirit, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's a major part of the resource that God has for us so that we can endure and be victorious in the midst of temptation. Jesus was filled with the Spirit and he was filled with the Word of God.

Of course, we notice as we look at each of those temptations, Jesus is responding with the word of God. All quotations from Deuteronomy in these examples that Luke gives us. But in the temptations, Jesus is going back to what God has said in his word. And so he's filled with the Holy Spirit and he is reliant upon the word of God. And as we look to the Lord for help,

These are the same tools that he gives to us. It's the same resources that he provides for us because, well, these are the things that we need to be victorious in times of temptation. Dave Guzik points out, Jesus is hungry, but full of the spirit. And we are sometimes just the opposite, full stomachs, but empty spirits. And that is the reality sometimes. And again, so that's why I

want to encourage us this morning to stop running on empty. That the reality is that when we fall in temptation, it's not the end of the world because Jesus Christ, the sinless Savior, died upon the cross for our sins. And I would relate it to the low fuel light on your dash. Again, it's not so much that the car is totaled and, you know, you got to give up and buy a new car because the car ran out of gas. It's

It's not a complete disaster. It's not a everything is over. It's an indicator. It's an indication. It's a warning light to show you where you're at. To show you you're not filled with the Spirit and in the Word in the way that Jesus was. And that's how He indicates that to us. That's how God shows us many times issues in our lives.

It's how God reveals areas that he wants to work on. You see, many times we look at our failures and we interpret this as like God is so upset with us. He's so disappointed. He's, you know, so distraught. He probably wants nothing to do with us. It's easy for us to have this negative idea that God has towards us, but that's not the truth, right?

And we're freaking out. We're thinking the car is totaled. And God's saying, what are you talking about? It's just the low fuel light. I just want to remind you, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation. He's not condemning you. He's not beating you up. He's not yelling at you because you ran out of gas. He's not, you know, telling you how terrible of a driver you are because you failed in that. But he allowed that temptation. He allowed that

to just reveal so that the low fuel light would turn on and that you would get a sense for where you're at. It's to help you get some perspective about where you're at in your relationship with God. And so Jesus sets the model for us, showing us the way. And when we fall out of that, when we fail to measure up to that, it's just the indicator that

of what we need, and we need to go back to the fueling station to be refilled once again. J. Vernon McGee says it this way, as a man, the Son of God needed to be filled with the Spirit in order to meet the temptation. And friend, I cannot face the temptations of this world in my own strength. That's the reality for J. Vernon McGee and for

George Sedota and for Jerry Simmons and for, this is the reality. We cannot face the temptations of this world in our own strength. And when we succumb to temptation and when we fall short and fail, it's not that the car is totaled. It's that we need to be refueled. And so it's an invitation. It's an offer to help.

That Jesus is saying, look, you can come to me to find mercy and grace to help in time of need. What is mercy? Mercy is not receiving the judgment that is deserved. And then grace is receiving good things that are not deserved. And when do you need mercy the most? When you've done things that deserve judgment, right?

And it's precisely at that time when you deserve judgment that you can go to Jesus. That's his amazing mercy. That's his offer to help. And we can boldly come to the throne of grace to find mercy and help and find mercy and grace to help in time of need. We can experience the goodness of God by coming to Jesus. And so as we look at these temptations of Jesus, recognizing that he sympathizes with us,

that he's without sin and that he offers to help, it's not a place, it's not a tool for self-condemnation, for, you know, hey, just give up because you don't measure up to Jesus. It's not just, well, here's the look at the example. You're never going to get there. You're never going to be like this. You're never going to be perfect. You're never going to, you know, be able to be victorious in temptation. So, you know, just feel bad about yourself. But, you know, look at Jesus who, no, no, no. The whole idea is this is the model of,

I'm giving you access to the same resources. And when you don't measure up, when you fall short in the temptation, just understand that you're not accessing the resources that I'm providing for you. Paul tells us in Galatians 5, verse 16, See, what we need is to walk in the Spirit. And this is the help that Jesus offers.

The help that Jesus offers, it's not so much about, although the word of God is an important element in this, but don't think of it as like quoting a verse. It's not like, you know, because he knew that chapter and that verse, that's why he was able to survive that temptation. It's about knowing God and knowing the heart of God and Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit and walking with God, had the resources he needed to be able to endure this temptation.

And Jesus offers that help to you. He offers you access to those same resources. He offers to you the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples, it's better for you if I go away so that I can send the Holy Spirit to you. He offers to you the Holy Spirit to help you understand the word of God. That's part of the Holy Spirit's job in your life is to reveal God's word to, not necessarily in a memorize the scripture and know the address, not discouraging you from that, but to

whether or not you know the address, it's about knowing the God who wrote that scripture that is the key. And it's about that walk with him, that relationship with him, and knowing the heart of God along with the filling of the Holy Spirit that will enable you to walk like Jesus walked in the midst of the temptations that we face. And so this morning, I want to encourage you to stop running on empty. Stop staying away from

A walk with God, a relationship with God, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Stop staying away from the Word of God because Jesus sympathizes with you. He understands what it's like. He went through similar temptations, even more powerful temptations. Now, He did it without sin, but that doesn't put Him in a place where now He condemns you because, look, I'm perfect and you're not, and so, you know, that's not what Jesus does. He doesn't throw any stones. He's instead

That's what enables him to be our savior, to offer us forgiveness. And so he offers to help. So stop running on empty. Stop keeping yourself away. Stop putting yourself on timeout. Stop running away. But instead, let your failures be the low light indicator, the low fuel light indicator that you just need to come back and be filled again. And every time you fail, go back and be filled again. And every time you fail, go back and be filled again. Because that is

is what the Lord calls us to do. That's what he is offering to us, the forgiveness and the resources we need to live the life that he's called us to live. Adam's going to close us in a song. And as he does, I would just encourage you to stop running on empty and let's worship the Lord and let's confess our need and let's call out to him and invite him to meet us here in this place and where we're at. Let's worship him.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.