2819 Church - THE KING IS HERE | Overcoming The Tempter | Matthew 4:1-16 | Courtney McClendon

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

In this compelling message, Communicator Courtney McClendon gives us tools to resist temptation. Welcome to the official Youtube channel for 2819 Church. This channel features powerful and life-impacting messages from Philip Anthony Mitchell and guest communicators. As you listen to these sound biblical messages you can expect to be challenged, stirred, matured and inspired in your faith and walk with God. For more information about us visit 2819Church.org.

What's going on family? What's going on? What's going on? Hey 2819, what's up? Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God. As you can see, I'm not pastor, but I am grateful just for his poor, just for his yes. And sometimes people see things in you that you don't even see in yourself. And when I met Pastor, he started pulling on things and pulling things out of people. And he just says, just be a willing vessel. So with that being said um let's just honor just just honor the angel of this house pastor miss lena definitely just honor them

just honor them yes amen amen amen amen so i have the honor and the privilege to be one of the communicators here at 2819. Woo woo! Come on 2819! My name is Courtney McClendon. Alright, alright. Yeah. Yeah. So as you know, this is week five.

We've been in an amazing series since the beginning of this year. I don't know about you, but it has been amazing. We've been going through the book of Matthew. And we're going through that through the whole year. Like, yo, like, that's dope. We're going through the whole book of Matthew this whole year. So I am just honored and privileged to be bringing the fifth installment of The King is Here. Amen.

Amen. Amen. So before we jump into that, let us pray. Just bow your head. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord God. We thank you for this day. We thank you, Lord God. We thank you for this day. We thank you, Lord God, that you are good. You're better to us than we've been to ourselves, Father.

Lord God, we invite you into this place, Father. Have your way in us. Individually, uniquely, and corporately, have your way. In the name of Jesus Father God decrease me Lord God minimize me Lord God so that you may be maximized you may be increased Lord God I'm simply your vessel Father God I pray Father God that you Lord God will speak to each and every one of your children Lord God in the way in which they need to receive it best. Father God, we thank you for this time. We invite you in. Sit and dine with us. Sit with us and meet us here. We love you and we honor you

and we praise you and we thank you. It is your Jesus matchless name. No other name above your name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Y'all can be seated. Sorry. Y'all can be seated. Have a seat.

So, as I was putting together this message, I'm just going to be honest. I just got a little nervous. I'm just going to be honest. I just got a little nervous. I'm just going to be honest. But as I was putting together this message and what we're talking about today, I realized that all of us have a common struggle. We all have a common struggle. And if you've been following on, you may know where I'm going with this. But each and every one of us have a common struggle. Now, because we're in a fallen world, we're the fallen nature, there's a struggle that each and every one of us go through a challenge and a test. Now, some folks may not want to admit it, but if they don't admit it, they're lying. Each one of us has this struggle this test that is familiar we've all

faced it whatever your fill in the blank is as elder eric likes to say whatever your fill in the blank is you have faced this common struggle i think about my own life when i got saved and i started walking with christ listen i was super saved and I was like listen you gotta like I was super saved okay telling everybody don't do that that's a sin that's a sin that's a sin you can go to hell don't do that please don't do that please do not I do not recommend don't do that but as I began a journey this common struggle it reared its head, okay? It's gonna come. And I was faced with challenges in my early days of being single, not single anymore, shout out to my boo. But in those days, there was a struggle that I had. And I'm not afraid to admit it, it was a

struggle that I had, because I was used to always feeling people and guys to fill voids in my life, right? I was always running to somebody. I felt like I had a basketball team. If this one won't work, I'm going to jump to this one. I'm just putting my business in the street. Yeah, but this was the struggle for me. That was my struggle, and each one of us was trying to walk out this thing of holiness and trying to be blameless and all this it was a struggle and it was a test I don't know if any of y'all know what this test is that I'm referring to being tested and stripped this test is called temptation now everybody's temptation looks different and I'm tell you, in every season of your life, that temptation may come looking different and dressed differently.

And it may not look like what it looked like in the prior season, but it's going to come, right? Because we are in a fallen world, and so we all have to deal with this struggle called temptation. But guess what? I find comfort in something. I find comfort in our Savior, Jesus Christ. He too was tempted. He was tempted as well. And I want to make something clear. Temptation, temptation is not the the sin that's not the sin it's the aftermath of what we do with the temptation that can potentially become the sin having temptations we are human we're going to be tempted to do things the things that we want to do we don't do and the things that

we hate we do we have those temptations that's what Paul talks. We have those temptations. That's what Paul talks about. We have those temptations. But it's something about our Lord Jesus Christ giving us a blueprint, as I was putting this together, of what to do when we're faced with temptation. Your temptation may not be my temptation. And I'm sitting up here, I'm not perfect, because I deal with my own temptations. And you can look, just look straight ahead. If you dealt with a temptation, you can raise your hand if you want to. But I know what it's like to deal own temptations. And you can look, just look straight ahead. If you dealt with a temptation, you can raise your hand if you want to. But I know what it's like to deal with temptations. But thanks be to God.

Jesus, he set the tone. He set the blueprint of what to do when you're faced with temptation. The title of this message is called. Overcoming the tempter. Overcoming the tempter. So let's go to chapter 4. Matthew 4. Y'all go with me please.

So if you haven't been here, these past series, Pastor Preach from Matthew chapter 3. And at the end of chapter 3, it talks about Jesus being baptized. So John the Baptist, I'm just going to give you a brief little overview. John the Baptist, his cousin, has to give you a brief little overview. John the Baptist, his cousin has been preaching about this soon coming savior. He's been paving the way for Jesus. Okay. He's been paving the way for him. And so Jesus comes up and he said, Hey, cousin, I'm just, I'm very pictorial. Hey, I need you to baptize me. Right? John's best. Like, I'm not even worthy. I'm not worthy to baptize you. You're the Messiah. Me? Baptize you? Sometimes we feel inadequate. Me? You want to use me?

Right? Have we been there? Okay. And so John the Baptist says, okay, I'll baptize you. I'm just trying to give you just an overview so you can know where we're going, right? And so John the Baptist baptized Jesus and it says that as soon as he was baptized the heavens opened up and the spirit of the Lord descended down and he said this is my beloved son whom I am well pleased now before he had done anything before he had feed the 5,000 before he had done anything, before he had feed the 5,000, before he had cured anybody of blindness, before he had even called the disciples, God affirmed Jesus. I think that's so beautiful. He hadn't done anything yet. He hadn't even began his ministry, but he affirmed him and he built him up.

He said, this is my son whom I love. This is my son whom I am well pleased. Yeah. So verse, chapter four, excuse me, verse one. Right after this, y'all, listen. It says then. Then is a transitional word, right? Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting, listen, for 40 days and 40 nights, it says he was hungry. He just got baptized. He just got like the Lord just affirmed and said, this is my son who I will please. And then he's led up into the wilderness. So many times, like us, we just are just coming into a relationship or God has just done a thing, right?

And then we're met with being in the wilderness. I don't know if they have the picture, but I want to show you. I'm very pictorial. I want to show you a picture of what the wilderness looked like for Jesus. I'm not sure if they have it. Let's see. This is the wilderness. like for Jesus I'm not sure if they have it let's see this is the wilderness it was hot okay it was hot it was dry y'all he was there for 40 days and 40 nights fasting we did a fast for a week imagine doing a fast for 40 days and 40 nights y'all listen and it said he was hungry and then he was tempted by the devil what what in the world but I want to tell you that when

the Lord begins to use us he'll sometimes take us to places and he'll isolate us he'll get us by ourselves he'll strip us of a few things he'll get us alone just so it can be you and him him and you he'll start to pull certain people away from you that you used to love and he's like I'm doing a new thing in you baby you can't you can't stay in that same place. So we may not be in a wilderness, but it may feel like a wilderness spiritually, right? And then here comes his adversary, the devil. He's been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, and he was hungry. Yet and still, there was a perfect plan. This wasn't, you know, something like, oh, the enemy doing this.

No, no, no, no. This was the spirit of the Lord leading him. This was not the enemy. This is not the enemy. Even in our own life, the spirit of the Lord began to do a thing. Pastor often says that a faith untested is a faith that cannot be trusted. If you ain't been tested for anything, yeah, you're going to be like, yeah, the Lord is good. Until you get into a dry place like the wilderness.

Then you're like, okay, Lord, Lord I'm gonna learn you for myself I can't just say it with my mouth but this thing gotta be in my heart okay so for 40 days and 40 nights no food he hungry and it's him and the Lord. Here comes the enemy trying to entice him, provoke him, and tempt him. So here he comes. Verse 3. It says, And the tempter came and said to him, Listen, if you are the son of God, command these stones to come loaves of bread. You hungry, right? That's the way I see it. You hungry, right?

But he answered answered it is written man shall not live by bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of god jesus could have easily have turned those stones into bread easily that wasn't a thing for him, but it was the mode in which it came, that was not God's plan, that was not God's plan, so then he was like, you can eat, yeah, I could eat, but that's not what God has missioned me for, and assigned me for, his allegiance overall was not to the devil, man, what you mean, it was not to the devil, it was to God. The enemy wanted to get his mind off of what the plan was, what the plan at hand was. So he tried to appease to the lust of the flesh. Right?

Right? Even in that vulnerability, even in that weakness, he said, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word, every word that comes from the mouth of God every word that edifies me every word that purifies me and penetrates me not food because that cannot sustain me like the word of God okay Jesus confronted his adversary in his weakest moment he was cunning what y'all know about that? He was crafty. God's objective was to demonstrate the character of his son by exposing him to Satan. Sometimes God is like, I just want you to see how the enemy may try you. You have to be aware of your temptations. If you know you an angry person and you know you may cuss a little, you may go off on somebody, you have to be aware of your

temptations. If you know lust, perversion, drinking, smoking, whatever your feeling the blank is or it has been, the enemy may try and come to test you in those places. Are you really a believer? Are you sure? That's what you say? You going through all this? Are you sure? So here he comes again with the test number two, the lust of the eye.

It says, then the devil, transition word, so he going to try again. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle, the highest point, the highest level of the temple. And said to him, if, if you're the son of God. Now, mind you, if. Listen, he tried it. He really tried it, right? The Lord had just affirmed him and said, this is my beloved son, whom I'm well pleased. He had already said that in the chapter prior. So you're trying it.

You know I'm the son of God. Come on. He says, throw yourself down. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you. And it says, on the other hand, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Psalms 91.12. So he tried to use the word against Jesus. He tried to use the same word that he knew that he had grown up on as a Nazareth boy.

He tried to use that word against him. If you're the son of God, you know. The angels, they're going to take care of you, right? The tempter will attempt to even to manipulate the word, to entice Jesus to prove himself to the devil. If you're the son of God, then you know. Show me. Show me. But remember, that was inconsistent with his mission. You have to know what the plan is at hand. You cannot get off track

trying to prove to other people that you're really saved, trying to prove to other people, oh, I really love the Lord, trying to, you know, Pastor's talking about that performance, trying to put on that performance. You have to know the mission at hand. You have to be straight and focused on the call that God has on your life right so here he comes back with the full word because he he what the enemy did was he left the first part off the first part was this what he was supposed to say but he didn't he tried to mix and mangle he said if you say the lord is my refuge and you make the most high your dwelling your safe place your home it says no harm will overtake you according to matthew i'm sorry psalms 91 12 and no disaster will come near your tent for then he will command his angels concerning you.

He will command his angels concerning you. No harm is going to overtake you, Jesus. No harm is going to overtake you as sons and daughters of the most high God. If we make him our dwelling, if we make him our safe place, he will command his angels concerning you. Listen. Then he said, this is Jesus' response. He used the word in the Old Testament to come against the enemy.

He said in 7, Jesus said to him, again, it it is written you shall not put the Lord your God to the test he didn't have to demonstrate anything to the devil he knew who God has said he was and who he claimed to be he already had the dominion he knew who he was to be. He already had the dominion. He knew who he was. Don't put your Lord God to the test. I'm not going to throw myself down for you. Again, here he comes back, verse 8, again. Aliyah says, verse you don't see, dust yourself off and try again. He tried it again.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain mountain and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and he said to him all these i will give to you if you will fall down and worship me then jesus said to him be gone satan for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only he never denied that the kingdom or the dominion was given to him it was already given to him but he always rejected the mold by which it was attained he didn't need the devil he didn't need the enemy to give him earthly things but he had the kingdom things he didn't need the devil. He didn't need the enemy to give him earthly things, but he had the kingdom things. He didn't need the enemy. He did not need him.

How many times do we see people trade their souls for riches? Trade their souls for fame? Trade their soul for money, for jewels, position, titles, notoriety? Those things will not last in the kingdom. Those won't last. Those will not sustain you. Those will not edify you. I want a crown of life, not the earthly things of the world. I don't want things from the enemy because he will try and entice us and provoke us to think that what he can provide is better because it may be quicker it may be faster but are you willing literally to to turn to turn away your soul to lose your soul

you shall worship the lord your god and him only shall you serve we're not willing to trade our souls for earthly things. Jesus being fully God and being fully man made a decision to deliberately resist. It says, then the devil, verse 11, left him. He left him. He left him

alone. And behold, angels came and were ministering. Here came angels came and were ministering. Here came the angels and were ministering to him. Listen, he was totally dependent on God. He was totally dependent on God. And so many times, Satan, he comes with patterns. I want y'all to remember back in Genesis, Genesis 3. He came to tempt Adam and Eve.

But ultimately, they ate the forbidden fruit that they were not supposed to. That same way, he tried to come and provoke Jesus. But Jesus used the word, it is written. It is written that man should not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He used the word against him. He used the word to fight. He was totally dependent on God. He was totally dependent on him.

He tried to appeal to the lust of the flesh. He tried to have him to do something apart from God's will. He appealed to the lust of the eye to have him to do something apart from God's will and his desire. And then he appealed to the pride of life, the desire to be something apart from God's will. He was totally dependent on his father so i want to tell you when the enemy comes to tempt us because he will call us to doubt the calling on our life his plans for our life he may try and get us to rebel or disregard god's word because we're in a tough time we're in a hard season of our lives instead of listening to satan we should speak to him reiterating the word what god has said for example james 4 7 says submit yourself then to god submit yourself resist the devil and he will flee from you submit your ways submit your ideologies

submit your perceptions submit even your understanding submit all of it to god not just the cute stuff submit the real stuff submit the stuff that's really deep in the inside of you that you've been struggling with submit that thing to God don't hide it from him because he already knows submit that thing to God resist the devil when he tries to come at you and he will flee from you first Peter 5 9 says resist him standing firm the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kinds of sufferings. You're not alone in this fight. You're not alone in this journey journey because you have a family of believers

all of us all of us who claim Jesus Christ as Lord undergoing the same sufferings you know what really began to change something in my life I got in the squad a small group and I remember people talking about having issues with alcohol and pouring out alcohol bottles in the sink. That's real. I remember people talking about having issues with weed and having issues with pornography or having issues just doubting and not trusting God. They started to talk about their sufferings and not keep them to themselves. Man, the enemy lose a hold of you when you do that. He loses a hold of you when you begin to expose the wiles and the temptations and the struggles

and the issues, the deepest places of your heart. When you start telling people, he's like, oh man, he ain't keeping it to himself anymore. Listen, in Ephesians, it talks about the full armor of God. It talks about the helmet of salvation. Having the breastplate of righteousness. The shield of faith. The belt of truth. Coming with the feet of the gospel. And it also talks about the sword of the spirit.

The sword of the spirit is the word. Every time Jesus did not negotiate with the devil, he said it is written. He took him back to the word. He took him back to the word he took him back to the word we got we have to use that word that's where the spirit cuts stuff i told you i'm pictorial it cuts stuff the word when you get that thing in your heart it helps you attack the wiles and the cunningness and the provoking of the enemy when we use that word against him if God before me who can be against me God does not give me the spirit of fear but power love and a sound mind

I got a sound mind I don't care what it looks like but I got a sound mind that's what the word says me let's go on down to pat to um 12 the next chapter is jesus began his ministry so what does that mean that mean he passed the test he had passed the test now when he had heard that jesus had arrested, he withdrew into Galilee, leaving Natharist, and he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, he's fulfilling prophecy, might be fulfilled. Go to 15. The land of Zebulon and the land of Nepphilim by the way of the sea beyond the jordan

galilee of the gentiles the people dwelling in the darkness has seen a great light for those dwelling in that region in the shadow of death on them a light has dawned. So you're like, okay, what does that mean? After being tested, Jesus began his ministry. He began his ministry. That was the purpose of going through the test. He began his ministry to show you and I, him being fully God and being fully man, that we too as sons and daughters of the most high God,

that we can overcome temptation too he was there for 40 days and 40 nights being tested that's no easy feat man that had me messed up 40 days and 40 nights what does that say to me Jesus kept going Sometimes when the enemy comes for us, we sit in a fetal position. Let's be real. Because he's tried. He's tried us. But what this says to me is Jesus kept going to be light and darkness for the people. He had passed the test.

Jesus, the devil's aim was to persuade Jesus. Satan wanted to break Jesus' perfect trust in his father's good care. And thereby, alter the course of salvation, the history of salvation. Jesus passed the test. We too can pass the test of temptation. Oh, whatever those temptations are. It says it is for this reason that he is the example for us of one who successfully endured temptation. And it is this victory that qualified him to become our great high priest.

That means he passed the test. And if he can pass the test, and if God before us, who can be against us? That we too can pass the test. He used the word to fight the wiles of the enemy and his demonic tactics. He used the word to fight back. I want to tell you that temptation is going to come. No matter how you cut it, slice it, in whatever area of life, you're going to be tempted. You may be tempted to lie, do a little white lie. You may be tempted to allow people back into your life that you

said you were going to keep away. Whatever your temptation is, everybody's temptation is different. But you know, and I know, I want to tell you something. The more that we resist the temptation, the enemy flees. Then it builds muscle memory. So when the enemy comes, like he did last time, coming for my faith, coming for who I am, trying to bring anxiety, depression, whatever it is, back. And he tries to get us back on that old road. You be like, yo, you did that last time. Oh, you did that last time. Oh, you tried that pattern every time with me. It may be in a different fashion.

It may look different. But you did that last time. It builds muscle memory. It builds your strength and your trust and your reliance and your dependency on God's good care. Because if he did it for you last time, he can do it for you again. He will help you in your fight as a believer we must understand the temptation will come like I said we must not be oblivious we must not be naive or thinking that we've arrived we must be fully aware that he will try and come

back again. He may come with something a little bit more craftier. It may look a little different. It may be dressed a little different. But he's going to try and come again. But do not be oblivious or naive. It talks about how to be watchful and control yourself. Because the enemy, the devil, he's like a roaring lion looking for who he can devour and swallow up.

He doesn't want you to win this fight. He doesn't want you to win. He wants those temptations to kill you and destroy you. That is his desire. So we must not be naive or oblivious but be aware and watchful and the last one I want to encourage you when it comes to temptation hide the word in your heart I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against thee growing up as a little girl that was a song we used to sing, and that's always stuck to me. Hide that word in your heart, and if you're sitting

here, and you're like, I hear you, and I'm still trying to learn that word, I want to tell you that's okay, and there's grace for that. There's a grace where everybody's in different parts of their journey, but the more we begin to learn that word, regurgitate that word and stand on that word if we were talking about the price is our firm foundation he's a rock on which we stand as we begin to stand on that word that thing is alive this is the word is alive and active it's alive so you're like so what can i do if I try and learn the word? You sitting here, right? Keep coming.

We are a sound doctrine church here. We don't do all that fluff. We teach you the word. And the more you sit or as you date in us, whichever one of the one you are, you begin to learn that word. That word begins to permeate your heart. And you begin to walk that thing out because begins to permeate your heart and you begin to walk that thing out because it's real and it's authentic and you begin to learn the lord for yourself or get in a squad we got to put arsenal in our toolkit get in a squad get around other people that are in different walks of their life. I look for accountability. When I began to find accountability, there are people that would help me, guide me in that word. So this fight was

never alone. I want to tell you, if you're sitting here, it sometimes seems easy just to gratify our but at the end of the day it doesn't reap a reward our trust is in God I encourage you on today win the test win the test we may fall I've busted and bruised my knees many of times and there was grace for that but as I began to walk with God and as you begin to walk with God and temptations come and you know that it's the attempt is to rob steal kill and destroy we have to win some of those tests and those temptations use that word to fight that if God before you who can be against you we are more than conquerors for those who are in Christ Jesus so I want to pray for you as we all will we face temptations but thanks be to God Jesus he set the blueprint that we too can overcome the tempter let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father,

we thank you, Lord God, that your word is alive and it's active, Father. We thank you that it's sharper than any double-edged sword, Father. Lord God, we thank you, Lord God, that we have relationship and we know you. For those who have explored the claims of Christ, Lord God, I pray that on today, Father, Lord God, that there will be a surrenderance. As we open our hands, that's a sign that we surrender, God, that we cannot do

this on our own or in our own right or on our own agenda, but our dependence and our trust is in you. Lord God, you say the more we seek you, we find you God so I pray father that as we seek you we shall find you as we submit ourselves our ways our issues our struggles our temptations the things that have tried to jolt us the things that have tried to shaken us as we submit those things to you Lord God that you will teach us how to fight and resist the devil. In the name of Jesus, Lord God, that you are working in the inside of us and that you are for us and that you have a good plan for each and every one of our lives, God. We surrender. We repent and we ask you to forgive us, Lord God, of the times we missed the mark. We thank you that your grace is sufficient.

Sufficient means it's good enough. We thank you that your grace is sufficient for each and every person that is sitting here in this auditorium. And for those that may watch online, your grace is sufficient. Your power is perfect your goodness and your mercy and your love and your kindness shall keep us all the days of our lives Lord God help us to walk in the assurance that you are for us and that you love us and not only do you love us you equip us to fight against the craftiness and every demonic agenda, every demonic strategy, every lie, every false burden. We come against it in the name of Jesus. That we are more than conquerors for those who are in Christ Jesus.

We are more than conquerors. So we trust in you. Forgive us for anything that we have tried to do on our own we lift our hands up to you and we look to you as our help and our source in our time of need thank you lord god that you've never lost a battle you've never lost a war and that you won the test you passed the test and if you are in the inside. You passed the test. And if you are in the inside of us, if the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling in the inside of us, we too can pass the test. In Jesus' name, amen.