Class Outline:

Wednesday July 6,2022

Ephesians 6:17; Overcoming the temptation to alter God’s will and timing and enjoying life.

 

MAT 4:5-11

Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle [Greek: “little wing” - impossible to tell which part of the temple this means] of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written,

 

'He will give His angels charge concerning You';

 

and

 

'On their hands they will bear You up,

Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.'"

 

7 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

 

Temptation 1 - natural appetite. Temptation 2 - Force God to accept your own plans (presumption).

 

The sword of the Spirit (the word of God) cuts the power out of this common and very dangerous temptation. “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (DEU 6:16).

 

Say this to yourself every time you get frustrated with that person in your life or that circumstance or that thing or that situation. Remember that nothing is in our lives that God hasn’t put there or allowed to be put there.

 

Pray daily to remember the scripture that you need to face every situation and put it into practice by faith.

 

Last time we applied this temptation to our modern lives. It is the temptation to think that God will make us happy if we change someone or some material thing or some circumstance in our lives. This is the temptation to desire to mold our own lives to our own liking, rather than accept God’s ways and timing and what God has given us.

 

The devil was not done tempting Jesus after these three failures.

 

LUK 4:13

And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

MAT 16:21-23

From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." 23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

 

In another instance, using the opportunity of Peter’s ignorance and emotion, Satan tempted Jesus to not take the difficult path that the Father gave Him.

 

Rather than “Jump off” this is “Don’t go.”

 

What any believer has; their particular marriage, children, family, profession, financial situation, geographical situation, little or much opportunity for physical pleasure, their education level, reputation, etc., what they have has been given to them under the umbrella of the sovereignty of God.

 

ECC 3:14-15

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose is that people should fear him. [NLT]

 

ECC 11:5

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. [NLT]

 

ECC 7:13

Consider the work of God,

For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

 

Some things are directly from God and some things are allowed by Him, but be sure to understand that nothing in your life is outside of His will. What is also true, and this is the key to our fulfillment in and with the life that we now possess, that what we have in the Lord God is ever constant and wonderful. Our relationship with the Lord can be made closer and closer every day without riding or gaining another person or circumstance, but gradually changing our perspective of reality. We can love the people in our lives, whether it is easy or difficult to do. We can enjoy the materials they have whether they are the envy of others or simple fare. We can know beyond a doubt that the Lord will deliver them and they will taste the Lord's salvation:

 

PSA 91:16

"With a long life I will satisfy him,
And let him behold My salvation."

It is not a change of things that we are told to look for. It is God who we are told to look for. Solomon, after much searching and pondering discovered that life is very often tragic, unfair, unsatisfying. He found what is unsatisfying is looking for fulfillment in life itself rather than in life with God. We are not to remove ourselves from the things of life or remove our enjoyment of them in particular, we are to see whatever we have in life as a gift from God and enjoy it with God. Fulfillment is with your people and things, but only when we fear God and keep His commandments, meaning our fulfillment is in life lived in obedience to Him.

 

ECC 2:24
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.
 

There is significance to the progression of these statements throughout the book. The first is a plain statement. The next two have more assertiveness, “I know,” “I have seen.”

 

Eccl 3:12

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime;

 

ECC 3:22

And I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his activities, for that is his lot.

 

The next one is quite solemn - “Here is what I have seen …”

ECC 5:18-20

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. 19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

 

In one way this sounds terrible, but with a proper understanding of the entire Book of Ecclesiastes, it is the most wonderful news. It is a reward that in the midst of all that is unjust, sinful, and evil that God has given people the ability to enjoy life in simply whatever they eat, drink, and work at. It is not that God is putting us in some trance, or distracting us from reality, but that He is actually giving us joy so that our short lives and our meager provisions are not what is important to us - our relationship with God and our eternity with Him are what’s important.

 

In the next instance it is more decided, “So I commended pleasure …”

ECC 8:13
So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
 

ECC 8:15

So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

 

Mankind often wants to achieve great things, and there is nothing wrong with that if you enjoy doing it and it is not taking you away from your relationship with God, but know that you will not achieve anything that hasn’t actually been done before. We think of achievements like penicillin, and are thankful for it, but everyone still dies at some point. The length of life isn’t near as important as how it is lived, and that how comes from God - no man has ever improved on that. The achievements of a train, car, airplane are amazing, but is the quality of any life determined by how far they can travel from home?

 

The only Man who ever achieved anything was Christ. And what He achieved was not for Himself, but for us. He who was rich became poor so that we could become rich. Only He could do something that was never done before. Only He could turn a few days of His life into eternal life for many others. He is God. He added humanity to Himself but His achievement didn’t change His deity, - it changed us. We should remember this when we think of achieving things - have joy in it and do it for others in the service of God and enjoy your life for the few days you have, accepting all things from the hand of God.

 

In the next instance he changes to the imperative mood. He is now urging, “Go then …”

ECC 9:7-9
Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life, and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.
 

In the last, he sticks with the imperative, now in a personal address to the young.

 

ECC 11:9-12:1

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.