1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,080 Matthew chapter 4 will begin verse 1. 2 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:22,440 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 3 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,480 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights afterward he was hungry. 4 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:32,840 But when the tempter came to him he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these 5 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,280 stones become bread. 6 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,560 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 7 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,920 word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 8 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,240 Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and 9 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:53,160 said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. 10 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:57,120 For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall 11 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,200 bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 12 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:07,320 Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. 13 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:12,640 Again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms 14 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,160 of the world and their glory. 15 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:20,080 And he said to him, All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship 16 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:21,480 me. 17 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,400 Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan. 18 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:31,120 For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. 19 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,840 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. 20 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:40,240 Let's pray. 21 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,400 Father Lord, what an important passage of scripture. 22 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:49,800 Lord, it is here we see the captain of our salvation absolutely. 23 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:57,240 Lord, stand against the wiles and temptations of the evil one, and procuring righteousness, 24 00:01:57,240 --> 00:01:58,240 Lord. 25 00:01:58,240 --> 00:01:59,760 Lord, He has triumphed. 26 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:05,620 Lord, we rejoice in that triumph this morning, His defeat, not only at Calvary, but even 27 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:06,620 beginning here. 28 00:02:06,620 --> 00:02:12,400 Lord, as He was stood the onslaught of the enemy, and Lord, we rejoice in that this morning. 29 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,920 Father, help us to see Lord Christ and His glory, and in Him our salvation. 30 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,120 And we pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. 31 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,400 You may be seated. 32 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,000 In Ecclesiastes chapter 7, Solomon writes this. 33 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,040 He says, In the day of prosperity, be joyful. 34 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:41,520 But in the day of adversity, consider, surely God has appointed the one as well as the other. 35 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:46,040 So what Solomon is saying is what you and I know to be true by experience, that life 36 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,080 is a mixed bag. 37 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:56,120 There are sunny days and there are rainy days, cloudy and exceedingly clear, hot and cold. 38 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,280 There are good days and there are bad days. 39 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,160 There are days when one is on the mountaintop rejoicing in the goodness and greatness of 40 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:06,780 God. 41 00:03:06,780 --> 00:03:12,600 And yet we also know that there are days when God's people finds themselves in the valley 42 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,560 doing their very best to cling to God. 43 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:21,440 And the scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes 7 that God ordains all these events, all of 44 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:25,920 them, both the seemingly good and the seemingly bad. 45 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:30,240 Matthew 3, chapter 3, ends on a gloriously high note. 46 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,080 We saw there the end breaking of heaven on the banks of the Jordan River. 47 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,440 We heard a confirming word from heaven. 48 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:44,920 The Father Himself said this, This is my beloved Son, and whom I'm well pleased. 49 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:50,040 But from there, immediately we go to a difficult moment in the life of our Lord. 50 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:55,240 And I want to always say there were no chapter and verse divisions in the early manuscripts. 51 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:56,240 That came much later. 52 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,040 So 3, 17, then we go to 4, 1. 53 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,080 Then, so now just this is my beloved Son, and whom I'm well pleased. 54 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:10,800 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness, and that is a desert wilderness, 55 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:16,480 to be tempted, that is to be tried, tested by the devil. 56 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:24,400 So we have the mountaintop to the valley at God's direction and in God's timing. 57 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:29,760 Now the passage is instructive here because it explicitly tells us it was the Holy Spirit, 58 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,200 the third person, the blessed Trinity. 59 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,200 He was the one who led Jesus into this wilderness desert. 60 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,960 Why? 61 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:39,840 Why would He do that? 62 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:45,400 They're told so that He might be tested, tempted by the devil. 63 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,560 He must be tested just as Adam was tested. 64 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:55,400 Now in this passage from verses 1 through 11, we see three names that's used for Satan. 65 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,640 In verse 3, He's called the tempter. 66 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:04,000 The tempter is the one who entices you, the one who makes sinful things look appealing 67 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,560 and look good. 68 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,000 He will tempt you in this way. 69 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,720 Verse 5, He's the devil, that simply means the accuser. 70 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:17,160 Once you fall for the tempter scheme, He then turns on you and accuses you. 71 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,980 How could you have done such a thing? 72 00:05:19,980 --> 00:05:24,640 You call yourself a Christian, how could a Christian do, and then you fill in the blank? 73 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:26,920 He's the tempter, He's the devil. 74 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:32,120 In verse 10, our Lord calls Him Satan, which means adversary. 75 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,200 He's the enemy, the enemy of our soul. 76 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,960 He is the one who will disguise Himself as an angel of light only to seek to destroy 77 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:41,760 you. 78 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:46,940 Ligon Duncan says, evil is more than psychological. 79 00:05:46,940 --> 00:05:49,160 It is more than sociological. 80 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,220 It is more than environmental. 81 00:05:52,220 --> 00:05:54,280 Evil is personal. 82 00:05:54,280 --> 00:06:01,960 There is a one, he says, in the universe whose sole purpose of being is to wreck you eternally. 83 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:09,360 It's a state of purpose, to destroy you, to damn you, to condemn you. 84 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,600 Now, friends, let me just stop and say there, just knowing that in itself ought to sober 85 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:19,000 us for the life we live because most of us are far too trivial, far too trifling with 86 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,200 things that are eternal. 87 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:27,320 There is one who has been on your destruction, you do well to know who He is and His schemes. 88 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:33,600 Now here we see there had to be a face-off, an encounter between the Lord Jesus and this 89 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,480 hideously evil one in that desert wilderness. 90 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:41,900 Jesus, if He was going to save His people, had to prevail. 91 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:46,600 He had to earn back all that Adam lost. 92 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:53,600 The scriptures call our Lord the last Adam in 1 Corinthians 15.45. 93 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:59,760 So it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving 94 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:00,760 spirit. 95 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:06,640 But two verses later, He is also called the second man, a last Adam, a second man, verse 96 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:07,640 47. 97 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,240 The first man, that's Adam, was of the earth, made of dust. 98 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,640 The second man, that's Christ, is the Lord from heaven. 99 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:20,000 Now why is it that the Lord Jesus is referred to as the last Adam and the second man? 100 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,560 You and I know that there were lots of men who lived between the time of Adam and the 101 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,360 time of the Lord Jesus. 102 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:30,300 So how is it that the scriptures call Jesus the second man? 103 00:07:30,300 --> 00:07:39,960 Because God in His wisdom chose two men, that's Adam and Jesus, to be the covenant heads, 104 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:41,920 the representatives of their people. 105 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,780 Now that theme is clearly developed in Romans 5 and several years ago I preached on that. 106 00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:51,280 So what that means, they're the covenant heads, the federal representative. 107 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:59,360 Their actions, whether good or bad, will affect all those whom they represent corporately. 108 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,920 Christ Jesus is called the last Adam, meaning there's not another one to come. 109 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,800 There won't be a third Adam, there won't be a fourth Adam, there are two. 110 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:09,920 You have the first and you have the last. 111 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,920 So what the scriptures are pointing to and calling our attention to is all that Adam 112 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:20,440 did, the Lord Jesus came to undo. 113 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,040 Adam lost everything in the fall, Genesis 3. 114 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,800 Christ came to restore everything in redemption. 115 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:36,400 So we find in Genesis 3 a fallen and corrupt humanity follows Adam in his transgression. 116 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:42,840 But when we come to Christ, we see a new and redeemed humanity following Christ in His 117 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,320 obedience. 118 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,080 Death reigned through Adam. 119 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:52,440 Life reigns through Christ. 120 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:58,720 The first Adam caused us to be alienated, estranged, separated from God. 121 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:03,420 The last Adam came to bring us back to God. 122 00:09:03,420 --> 00:09:08,640 The first Adam's disobedience brought death. 123 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:15,400 And today the last Adam's obedience brings life. 124 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:19,920 Adam the first Adam was tried, he was tempted by Satan. 125 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,680 So must also our Lord the last Adam be tempted by Satan. 126 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:28,400 But as we look at their trials, we see a stark contrast between the two. 127 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,040 Adam was tempted differently than Christ was. 128 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,360 First of all, the location. 129 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,880 Adam was tried in the lush garden of Eden. 130 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,200 It is a place of paradise, unspoiled beauty. 131 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:42,920 Everything was perfect. 132 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,680 Sin had not entered into the dominion. 133 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,560 Sin had not entered into creation. 134 00:09:46,560 --> 00:09:52,200 So we have Adam being tempted in a garden paradise that he enjoyed in unparalleled joy 135 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,840 in unhindered fellowship with God. 136 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:56,800 That's where it was. 137 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,800 But not the last Adam. 138 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:07,440 Jesus would be tempted not in a garden, but in a desolate, harsh desert wilderness. 139 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:08,920 Why? 140 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,240 Because the paradise of Eden had long been lost. 141 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,040 It was now a hostile environment. 142 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,240 It's a fallen world. 143 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:21,400 And we think about the Judean desert, it was not a friendly, if a hospitable environment. 144 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:28,440 In fact, it was a home to scorpions, hyenas, and other foreboding animals. 145 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:36,360 One writer said the desert is a kind of symbolic place of danger, of emptiness, of godlinessness, 146 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,160 of where the demons actually reign. 147 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,760 Do you remember when Jesus tells us about the demon that was cast out and he goes looking 148 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,720 for places and he's looking for waterless places? 149 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,360 So there's always been this thought that somehow the desert, it was a symbolic place of demonic 150 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,320 activity, the home of demons, if you will. 151 00:10:54,320 --> 00:11:00,800 And it is into this enemy territory that the Spirit of God leads Jesus right after his 152 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,480 baptism to be tested by Satan himself. 153 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:10,160 Now let me just say this as a side note, this is not the central thesis here. 154 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:19,040 The Spirit of God who lives within you, church, will also lead you into the desert to be tested. 155 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,920 Your faith will be tested. 156 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:25,800 Peter writes about that. 157 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:27,400 Be loved. 158 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:35,040 Do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, to test you, as 159 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,800 though some strange thing happened to you. 160 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:45,400 But rejoice in this fiery trial, is what he's saying, to extent that you partake of Christ's 161 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:52,560 sufferings so that when his glory, Christ's glory is revealed, you also may be glad with 162 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,560 exceeding joy. 163 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:58,080 What is Peter writing about? 164 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:06,840 Christian, you're going to face trials that are designed to test you and refine you. 165 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,160 You are going to be tested. 166 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,740 Is your faith genuine or is it inauthentic? 167 00:12:12,740 --> 00:12:15,040 This is the reason that testing comes upon us. 168 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:20,480 Jesus, will he prove to be a faithful son or an unfaithful one like Adam? 169 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,080 So let's look at our text today and we'll see how we should respond as well. 170 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:29,780 Christ, the true man, the God man, in Greek, the Anthropos, God man, literally. 171 00:12:29,780 --> 00:12:31,840 He was tested just as Adam was. 172 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:36,400 Adam, though, was tempted while having access to all the trees of the garden but one. 173 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:38,400 It was not in the desert, it was in a garden. 174 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:44,360 He could eat to his full whatever he wanted, but there's one tree that was off limits, 175 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:45,940 but not our Lord. 176 00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:53,280 This temptation took place while he was severely hungry having fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. 177 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,440 He's physically weak. 178 00:12:55,440 --> 00:13:02,160 He's in a desert environment having only water, no food whatsoever, but he has been spiritually 179 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,160 strengthened. 180 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:04,960 He has been fasting. 181 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,140 Why was he fasting? 182 00:13:07,140 --> 00:13:10,160 Because he's preparing for the battle he was to endure. 183 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:12,880 When we think of Adam, he had companionship. 184 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,760 His wife was present when he was being tested, not our Lord. 185 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:20,320 He would face the tempter alone. 186 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:21,920 But what is Matthew driving at? 187 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,340 Why is he writing about this? 188 00:13:24,340 --> 00:13:30,960 Because what is taking place is that this last Adam, this second man, a new covenant 189 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:40,920 head has come and his obedience will be the answer to Adam's disobedience. 190 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,520 Now both Adam and the Lord Jesus are called sons of God. 191 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:50,520 In Luke 3, they give the genealogy of Christ and it goes all the way back to Adam. 192 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:52,120 And look at verse 38 of Luke 3. 193 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:59,600 It says, the son of Enoch, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. 194 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,020 So we see here, here is a parallel. 195 00:14:03,020 --> 00:14:10,200 Adam is referred to as a son of God, yet he has proven to be an unfaithful son. 196 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:11,200 How do we know that? 197 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:16,660 Well, our cursed fallen world clearly reveals this truth. 198 00:14:16,660 --> 00:14:24,120 Because of his sin, the whole entire human race, all of humanity is plunged into sin, 199 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,920 ruin and misery. 200 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:27,920 This is what sin does. 201 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,760 This is what our federal head, Adam, did. 202 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,920 So we fail with him and his sin. 203 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:41,400 And God sends another Adam, the last Adam, the second man, the true son of God. 204 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:43,640 Adam was called a son of God, Luke 3.38. 205 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,360 In Matthew 3.17, what did the father say? 206 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,560 He said, this is my beloved son, the one standing in the muddy waters of the Jordan River. 207 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,080 This is my beloved son. 208 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,140 He's the one in whom I am well pleased. 209 00:14:57,140 --> 00:14:59,160 But what type of son will he prove to be? 210 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:01,360 He has not been tested yet. 211 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,200 Is he going to be faithful? 212 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,320 Or will he be unfaithful like the first one was? 213 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:14,200 But not only is Adam called a son of God, Israel in Exodus is also called a son of God. 214 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,800 So is Jesus, will he be unfaithful like Adam? 215 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:18,720 Will he be an unfaithful son like Israel? 216 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,360 Remember, they too were tested in the desert. 217 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,340 They didn't pass the test. 218 00:15:24,340 --> 00:15:30,840 So our Lord's testing here is going to prove what type of son will he be? 219 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:36,640 In this desert trial, he will show, he will clearly demonstrate his faithfulness. 220 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:37,720 Satan will do his very best. 221 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,720 He will throw everything in his arsenal at him to get him to compromise. 222 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,000 But he won't do it. 223 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,000 Why? 224 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,000 Romans 5.19. 225 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,320 For as by one man's, that's the first Adam, by his disobedience, many, that is all, were 226 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,460 made sinners. 227 00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:57,440 So also by one man's obedience, this is Christ, the last Adam, the second man, by his obedience, 228 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:01,560 many, all those in Christ, will be made righteous. 229 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,440 All those in Adam, you're made sinners. 230 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,000 All those in Christ will be made righteous. 231 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000 What's the point? 232 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,000 Jesus is the source. 233 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,200 He's the root of a new humanity. 234 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,700 It's a redeemed humanity that follows him in his obedience. 235 00:16:15,700 --> 00:16:20,300 And that last part is very important, that follows him in his obedience. 236 00:16:20,300 --> 00:16:23,840 For his sheep hear his voice and they do follow him. 237 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:29,000 Now the testing of Christ, in essence, was the very same thing that Adam had to face. 238 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:34,040 And here's what the testing boils down to, and it's really the testing all of us face. 239 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,800 Will you trust God? 240 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,120 Will you really believe God? 241 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:46,120 Will you trust the Father or will you choose your own way? 242 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,740 The first Adam was tested in a very light manner compared to Christ, but he failed to 243 00:16:50,740 --> 00:16:52,100 trust God. 244 00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:53,980 He failed to trust the Word of God. 245 00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:57,480 He failed to trust the goodness of God. 246 00:16:57,480 --> 00:16:58,760 What about this one here? 247 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,280 Is he also going to fail? 248 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,240 Look at verse three and four. 249 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,720 So when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the Son of God, command that these 250 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:10,280 stones become bread. 251 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,720 But he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 252 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,600 word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 253 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:21,760 If you are the Son of God, now this is a conditional if, and in Greek it doesn't always mean if, 254 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,640 but Satan is not doubting who he is. 255 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:24,960 He knows who he is. 256 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:26,120 The demons know who he is. 257 00:17:26,120 --> 00:17:28,160 So the if in this case means since. 258 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,240 It's a perfectly good translation. 259 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:36,320 So since you are the Son of God, you really shouldn't be in this situation, should you, 260 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:37,320 Jesus? 261 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,100 I mean, you as a Son of God, you should not be hungry. 262 00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:44,840 You should not be having to suffer in this way. 263 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:45,840 Turn these stones into bread. 264 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,560 You're the Son of God, do it. 265 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:54,080 Now this temptation comes after 40 days of not eating. 266 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,680 Jesus is ravenously hungry. 267 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,680 And here's the trial. 268 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:05,160 Is he going to trust his father and his father's provision and his father's timing, or will 269 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:06,800 he take matters into his own hands? 270 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,040 It's not a hard thing for him to do. 271 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:11,540 Where is he? 272 00:18:11,540 --> 00:18:12,540 He's in the desert. 273 00:18:12,540 --> 00:18:16,120 There's not a lot of food in the desert. 274 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,820 So is Jesus going to depend on himself or on his father? 275 00:18:18,820 --> 00:18:24,640 So this temptation, this first one, is to distrust his father's providence, to distrust 276 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:29,320 what his father was doing, to distrust his father's goodness and his father's timing, 277 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:34,240 because keep in mind, he has always enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father in eternal 278 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,200 bliss. 279 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,660 Now he's suffering. 280 00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:39,660 So what does the Lord do? 281 00:18:39,660 --> 00:18:45,160 In this temptation here, he prevailed how by he hit, he threw a haymaker at devil, hit 282 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,940 him right the face with the word of God. 283 00:18:47,940 --> 00:18:51,520 He comes back, he said, it is written, man does not live by bread alone. 284 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,000 Well, what does man live by? 285 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,960 By every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 286 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,040 He's quoting Deuteronomy 8.3. 287 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,080 By the way, that's very important because Deuteronomy 8 is in reference to Israel being 288 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:06,520 tested when they failed. 289 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:07,840 Satan doesn't stop. 290 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:10,160 The tempter comes at him and again. 291 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:11,160 Verse five. 292 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,400 Then the devil took him up to the holy city, that is Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle 293 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:16,400 of the temple. 294 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,520 You don't have the pinnacle without a wall, probably 400 feet high. 295 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,160 Said to him, if you are the son of God, well, throw yourself down. 296 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:24,160 It's written. 297 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,880 He, that is God, shall give his angels charge over you and in their hands they shall bear 298 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,920 you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 299 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:32,920 Why this one? 300 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,000 This is interesting. 301 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,600 What had the word Jesus just said? 302 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,760 Man does not live by bread, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 303 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,840 So he's just declared his trust in God's word. 304 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,840 So he said, in essence, I'm choosing to live by the word of God and I'm refusing to take 305 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:49,500 matters into my own hands. 306 00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:53,880 So now the devil comes insidiously and challenges him on that very point. 307 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:54,880 Really? 308 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,240 You want to talk about the word of God? 309 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:58,240 Okay. 310 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,680 Since you're the word of God and you trust God's word so much, I mean, every word that 311 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,600 proceeds out of the mouth of the father, why don't you just jump off the temple and prove 312 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:06,600 it then? 313 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:11,640 I mean, God's word says that the angels will not allow you to even dash your foot against 314 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:13,480 a stone. 315 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,400 Jump off. 316 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,440 Satan is quoting Psalm 91 verses 11 and 12. 317 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,440 Let me read them to you. 318 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:25,560 For he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. 319 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,440 In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 320 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:31,720 Satan knew it. 321 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:32,720 He knew the Psalms. 322 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:38,920 See, you're telling me, Jesus, that you live by every word that proceeds from God's mouth? 323 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,560 Well, jump off the temple and let's see if angels really do rush to catch you. 324 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,240 Now, here's the thing. 325 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:52,040 If Jesus were to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, that would be a violation of the 326 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,720 very word he said he's trusting in. 327 00:20:55,720 --> 00:21:00,960 The word of God forbids putting God to the test. 328 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,900 Jesus replied, hit him again through another haymaker with the word of God. 329 00:21:04,900 --> 00:21:08,100 It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. 330 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:10,760 Now he's quoting Deuteronomy 6 verse 16. 331 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:15,000 Same, he's in that wilderness testing passages there. 332 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,240 So he's quoting scripture in the face of severe trial. 333 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:25,240 It's worth noting, again, that all these scriptures are from Deuteronomy and this is where Israel, 334 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:32,760 another son, is being tested in the desert, but they keep failing over and over miserably. 335 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,880 So the Lord Jesus is proving to be a faithful son. 336 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:41,360 He's not like Adam and he's not like Israel, but the devil's not done. 337 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:48,240 Verse 8, again, the devil took him up on exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms 338 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:53,800 of the world in their glory, and he said to him, all these things I will give you if you 339 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,120 will fall down and worship me. 340 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:00,820 Now this last temptation, as I said, is the most insidious of all of them. 341 00:22:00,820 --> 00:22:02,760 The gloves are off here. 342 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:04,380 There's no pretense here. 343 00:22:04,380 --> 00:22:08,680 The devil doesn't say, since you're the son of God at this point, he simply tries to go 344 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,360 a direct approach. 345 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:14,200 He desires to get Jesus to render worship to him. 346 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:20,640 So what the devil does, he comes and he offers Christ a kingdom and he offers Christ glory 347 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:25,600 without a cross, without the cross. 348 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,840 In God's plan, Christ will inherit the nations. 349 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,400 Psalm 2, we looked at that last week. 350 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,480 The nations are yours for inheritance. 351 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:40,120 Christ, Jesus will be given a name that is above every name, but that will come because 352 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,080 of his obedience. 353 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,720 Here Satan offers a shortcut. 354 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:53,360 He offers Christ a kingdom and pseudo glory in exchange for worship. 355 00:22:53,360 --> 00:23:00,200 Satan tells him, you can have the kingdom and you don't have to endure the cross. 356 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:06,040 Several chapters later, Peter would have the same exact thought and be rebuked sharply. 357 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,280 Look at Matthew 16. 358 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:13,640 From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many 359 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,640 things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third 360 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,320 day. 361 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,160 Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 362 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:24,160 How? 363 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:28,480 You just think, que pantalones in Espanol, what arrogance here. 364 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:33,880 Say, far be it from you, Lord, and this will not happen to you. 365 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:39,320 But he, our Lord, turned and said to Peter, now notice, get behind me Satan. 366 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:40,320 Why? 367 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:47,280 You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things 368 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:48,280 of men. 369 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,400 Where'd that thought that Peter had come from? 370 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,200 It's satanic. 371 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:59,560 To bypass the cross of Calvary is a satanic temptation. 372 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:06,720 Our Lord's route to glory will be through the path of extreme humiliation. 373 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,800 His crown will not come until after the cross. 374 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:16,020 And friends, I thought about this and I think so strongly here. 375 00:24:16,020 --> 00:24:22,040 This same satanic perversion is still with us today. 376 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:27,720 There's an idea that is pervasive that you can have a kingdom and you can have heaven 377 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:34,360 and you never have to take up your cross and follow the crucified one in obedience. 378 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:41,000 Satan himself is behind shallow, easy, believism that appeals to the sinner's lust while at 379 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,080 the same time leading them to damnation. 380 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:51,360 There is no crown without a cross and there is no glory without suffering first. 381 00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:52,920 That's the way of man. 382 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:54,680 It's not the way of God. 383 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:01,160 In Satan's temptation, here our Lord once more is going to respond and reply with scripture, 384 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:02,160 verse 10. 385 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,360 Jesus said to him, away with you, Satan. 386 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:11,280 It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. 387 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,480 There is no easy path. 388 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:18,160 The Lord Jesus will not seek to shortcut what his father has already determined for his 389 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:19,880 mission to be. 390 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,240 He's not going to bypass the cross. 391 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,400 He's not going to skip the suffering at all. 392 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:30,440 His fidelity, his trust were resolutely with his father to whom alone he would offer worship. 393 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:31,720 That's it. 394 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,840 He's trusting, said listen, my father has laid out a plan and whatever that plan is, 395 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,680 it is good and I will endure it. 396 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,720 He's not going to fall for some easy shortcut, but we do this. 397 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,880 Evangelists all over the world today are telling people you don't ever have to follow Christ 398 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:47,880 in obedience. 399 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:49,080 He never has to be Lord. 400 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,000 You simply pray this prayer, you're in the kingdom and welcome. 401 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:58,240 Friends, that's a satanic perversion of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. 402 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:04,080 Verse 11, then the devil left him, that is Jesus, and behold angels came and they ministered 403 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,740 to him. 404 00:26:05,740 --> 00:26:10,040 The devil left him, but Luke tells us in his gospel in chapter four, until an opportune 405 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:11,600 time. 406 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,440 This isn't the last time these two will face each other. 407 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:18,880 This is not the only face off between Christ and Satan, but the pattern of obedience and 408 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:22,000 trust has been firmly established. 409 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,980 Christ will not be deterred. 410 00:26:23,980 --> 00:26:26,720 He is the faithful son. 411 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:32,260 He is the one who would not believe the enemy's lies and he would not compromise his mission 412 00:26:32,260 --> 00:26:34,620 given to him by his father. 413 00:26:34,620 --> 00:26:39,840 He knew his father was good and if his father said the cross, then he would go to the cross. 414 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:43,760 His father said suffer hunger for 40 days, he would suffer hungry for 40 days. 415 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:49,400 Our Lord proved to be the faithful son unlike Adam and unlike Israel. 416 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:54,360 Adam failed, he failed in the garden when everything was perfect and yet our Lord, the 417 00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:58,840 captain of our salvation, he prevailed, he succeeded in the desert where nothing was 418 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:00,600 perfect. 419 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,560 He's the faithful son, he's not like Israel. 420 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:05,440 Israel was the unfaithful one. 421 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,640 Christ is the true and faithful Israel. 422 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,840 Christ is the true and better Adam. 423 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:14,320 So after their exodus, remember through the Red Sea, that's their baptism, immediately 424 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,360 when they get out of the Red Sea, where do they go? 425 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:18,880 Into the wilderness for what? 426 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:20,880 To be tested. 427 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,200 Israel like Christ was also hungry in the wilderness. 428 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,800 Remember all the time they're hungry. 429 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:30,400 Israel like Christ was tempted to doubt God's goodness and provision, but Israel, their 430 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,400 testing showed what? 431 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,160 They're unfaithful. 432 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,400 What were they always guilty of? 433 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,600 Grumbling, complaining. 434 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,400 God has not been good. 435 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:47,200 God you brought us out here to die in the wilderness, but our Lord's in the wilderness 436 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,440 and you don't hear a word of complaint, you don't even hear a murmuring or a grumbling 437 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:51,440 at all. 438 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:58,880 His testing revealed that he had a faithful, perfect, trusting, obedient heart. 439 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:00,760 He's the true man. 440 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,960 He's what all of us should have been and what none of us are. 441 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:09,120 Christ is the faithful Adam and Christ is the faithful Israel. 442 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:15,160 And friends, I can't stress that as much that he is everything we should have been. 443 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,080 That's why we need him. 444 00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:19,480 He alone rendered perfect obedience. 445 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:25,760 He alone sat aside the justice of the law, for he alone rendered absolute fidelity and 446 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:26,760 trust to God. 447 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:28,440 You're like, well, he was a God man. 448 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:30,440 He lived in the Philippines too. 449 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,520 He laid us, he sat aside, he didn't use his divine prerogative. 450 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:36,560 He lived as a man because he was a true man. 451 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,520 That's why he was hungry. 452 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,720 Matthew tells us at the end that angels came and ministered to him. 453 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,760 The word ministered, it's actually always in reference to food. 454 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,400 So Jesus would not make stones from bread. 455 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,880 That wasn't his father's plan. 456 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,000 But later angels came bringing him food in the desert wilderness, much like Elijah was 457 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,640 fed. 458 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,340 The father did provide for his son, didn't he? 459 00:29:00,340 --> 00:29:04,740 His father provided the son, and he didn't have to jump off the pinnacle of the temple 460 00:29:04,740 --> 00:29:06,360 to prove it. 461 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:11,280 Jesus knew that his father was perfect, and he knew that his father was trustworthy, and 462 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,660 he knew that whatever his father ordained was right and good. 463 00:29:15,660 --> 00:29:18,600 You might be saying, so what then? 464 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,120 Matthew in his gospel, he wants everyone who reads this to see the victory of our Lord 465 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,120 in his testing. 466 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,720 Friends, this is not some simple biographical sketch in the life of our Lord. 467 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:33,160 We are supposed to see something important and take notice. 468 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:34,920 Something important happened here. 469 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,360 Here it is. 470 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:44,000 We should see that our elder brother, Jesus Christ, did for us what we could never do 471 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,400 for ourselves. 472 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:53,680 He alone rendered perfect obedience and overcame all temptation. 473 00:29:53,680 --> 00:30:01,560 And because of that, he secured a perfect, righteous record before God. 474 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,160 From the very beginning, from the very beginning, this is the beginning of his public ministry 475 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:11,320 right here, we start to see him put his heel on the head of the old serpent to put an end 476 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:13,240 to his evil reign. 477 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,760 You start to see it here. 478 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:20,760 The victory in the desert, it's a preview of the victory that Christ would have over 479 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:22,920 Satan at the cross. 480 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:24,960 It is there where sin and death will be defeated. 481 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:26,680 How ironic. 482 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:28,880 How unlike man. 483 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,560 Jesus will defeat death by succumbing to death. 484 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,760 See, this is the thing. 485 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:38,780 The ways of man and the ways of God are diametrically opposed. 486 00:30:38,780 --> 00:30:41,720 Life in the kingdom and life in the kingdom of man are two different. 487 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,000 That's why we'll start to see that in Matthew 5. 488 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:45,520 We'll start to see the Sermon on the Mount. 489 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,200 What's life in the kingdom look like? 490 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,020 But this is so very important, friends, and I want to stress this. 491 00:30:50,020 --> 00:30:54,800 His victory is our victory because in him we are victorious. 492 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,000 Christ is our captain. 493 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:59,920 He blazes the trail and we are united to him by faith. 494 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:02,440 This is how we stand before God. 495 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,760 You and I don't have any righteousness to offer to God. 496 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:09,680 We have all failed and sinned in miserable ways even today. 497 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:11,280 Not Christ. 498 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:15,560 And so we need him and we desperately cry out to him and in faith the spirit unites 499 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,080 us to him. 500 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:21,160 So what is true of him is now true of us. 501 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,580 Now what? 502 00:31:23,580 --> 00:31:29,640 You must trust the one whom the Father has sent for he alone has eternal life. 503 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,040 There is no other righteous one out there. 504 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:38,480 So that means there can be no salvation apart from the one who endured the desert testing. 505 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:45,960 I would also say to you, all who are gathered this morning, do not fall for the devil's 506 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,120 lies. 507 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:55,320 Many people come to church seeking things from God rather than seeking God himself. 508 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,160 That's satanic deception. 509 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,440 Part of this deception is to get people to hope for things from God. 510 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:03,760 God restore my marriage. 511 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:04,920 God take away anxiety. 512 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:06,440 God help me with depression. 513 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:10,600 Instead of what God promises to give, which is himself. 514 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:12,120 That's the gift. 515 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,800 He gives himself and with himself you get eternal life, you get freedom, you get truth, 516 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,240 you get love, you get adoption, you do get peace. 517 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:22,760 But all that's in Christ. 518 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:24,160 Don't seek other things. 519 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:25,640 Seek him. 520 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:31,500 And sadly many people fall for the devil's lies, which is to bypass the cross altogether. 521 00:32:31,500 --> 00:32:32,680 Let's bypass suffering. 522 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,280 Let's bypass praying. 523 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,520 Let's bypass praying, not my will but thy will be done. 524 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:45,280 Friends, Jesus said, all who will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. 525 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:49,120 I don't think he was lying and I don't think he was speaking hyperbolically. 526 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,160 He's telling the truth. 527 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:55,780 We must, we pray like our Lord prayed, Lord not my will. 528 00:32:55,780 --> 00:33:01,460 And for those of you who have come to know Christ, look to him as our example as well. 529 00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:04,080 How did he defeat Satan's temptation? 530 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:09,200 So he had a resolute trust in his father and he had confidence in the word of God. 531 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:10,640 So I'm not gonna fall for it. 532 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:11,640 Things might look different. 533 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,200 There might be a thing that appeals to my flesh, but the word of God contradicts that. 534 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:19,400 I'm choosing to believe the will of my father revealed in his word and saying no to what 535 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,240 is offered. 536 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:22,280 Young people hear that. 537 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:26,240 I don't care how many people say sexuality or sex before marriage is okay. 538 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:27,880 It is not. 539 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:33,200 Fornicators and adulterers, God judges regardless of our promiscuous society. 540 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:34,920 And we need to hear that. 541 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:40,120 Jesus trusted completely in the Father's provision. 542 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:45,240 That could be in the desert or it could be leading him to the cross. 543 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:52,160 Dear brother, sister, I realize today some of you may be in the desert even now. 544 00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,080 So here's the choice. 545 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,440 Will you trust him? 546 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,600 Truly trust him. 547 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,720 Or will you seek to take matters into your own hands? 548 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,760 We're gonna look for everything horizontal to try to get out of this. 549 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:09,880 Again, I think of the African, one of the African Christians said, you American Christians, 550 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:10,880 we're very different. 551 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:12,720 You all pray for God to take away the trial. 552 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:15,240 We pray for God to strengthen our backs. 553 00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:18,120 Friends, sometimes God wants us to suffer. 554 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,920 Philippians 1, verse 20, I believe. 555 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,320 And to you it is granted not only to believe on his name, but also to suffer for his sake. 556 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:27,720 Trusting, it's not fun. 557 00:34:27,720 --> 00:34:32,640 But I don't know a Christian that God has ever used ever who did not endure hardship 558 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,240 and suffering at some point in their lives. 559 00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:37,680 Read through, that's one thing that's helpful to read through biographies. 560 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:39,360 You're not alone, Christian. 561 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:40,360 You may be in the desert. 562 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:41,920 Listen, we live in a land of affluence. 563 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:42,920 We live in a land of ease. 564 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:46,040 And so sometimes we think God would never have us to endure difficulty. 565 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:49,920 I don't read that one sentence in scripture. 566 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:50,920 Trust him. 567 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,040 You're in the desert, trust him. 568 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:57,840 He may have you in a wasteland right now, but that wasteland is designed to test you, 569 00:34:57,840 --> 00:34:58,840 as Peter said. 570 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:00,840 Will you pass the test? 571 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:01,960 Is your faith genuine? 572 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:02,960 Is it authentic? 573 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:04,800 You'll know. 574 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,600 Stay there until he's done his perfect work in you. 575 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,000 No one likes it. 576 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,400 Help us not to become the grumblings and the complainers that Israel was. 577 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:16,680 We're united to Christ. 578 00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:20,480 Look to Jesus and don't grow weary in your own heart. 579 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:21,480 Look to him. 580 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:22,480 He never lets you down. 581 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:23,480 And you know what? 582 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:24,480 I know this. 583 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:28,320 Even if you're in a desert or you're in the wasteland, he gives grace today to you. 584 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,040 His grace is sufficient. 585 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:31,560 He will see you to this end. 586 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:37,720 For the one who has begun a good work in you, he'll be faithful to perform it and complete 587 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:40,400 it until the day of Christ. 588 00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:48,480 Look to your older brother for grace, for strength, and for the divine example to follow. 589 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:51,440 Christian, may we see this. 590 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:54,520 Learn to deny ourselves. 591 00:35:54,520 --> 00:36:04,600 Take up our cross and follow him absolutely and anywhere that he leads us for he is faithful 592 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,640 and he is wise. 593 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:09,640 Let's pray. 594 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:19,400 Father, there are things that are sometimes hard to hear and hard to process. 595 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,120 Hard suffering can be bewildering. 596 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,600 There's the fog of war that comes to us. 597 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:27,520 We don't have clarity in the midst of it. 598 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:30,400 We're kind of caught off guard. 599 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,040 And we wonder how this could possibly be good. 600 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:36,600 Lord, I have questioned you. 601 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:37,960 I have questioned your goodness. 602 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:42,320 Lord, I said by faith I believe you're good and I know that, but in the midst of it, I'm 603 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:44,080 like, how is this good? 604 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,800 And Lord, I know my brothers and sisters, I'm not alone in this. 605 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:51,720 Lord, we're caught off guard when difficulty arises in our lives. 606 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,360 And it does arise. 607 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:58,040 We're not to be surprised that the fiery trial which has come upon us as though some strange 608 00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,920 thing happened to us. 609 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:03,480 Oh, Father, we look to Jesus. 610 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,200 We see in him the perfect obedience. 611 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,200 We see in him a pattern, but Lord God, we still cry out because we fall short. 612 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:15,240 Lord, full God, forgive us, have mercy upon us, and we look to Jesus for salvation and 613 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:17,000 strength and grace. 614 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,080 Lord, I pray for those who are here and Lord, perhaps they believe a false gospel. 615 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:22,480 It's a gospel without a cross. 616 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:24,280 It's a gospel without suffering. 617 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:27,480 It's a gospel without having to take up their cross. 618 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:32,600 God, would you show them the truth of Christ and the true, glorious, blessed gospel of 619 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:33,840 union with him. 620 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:38,160 God, bring them into the fold, open their eyes, and Lord, may you grant the gift of 621 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:41,200 repentance to them. 622 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:42,200 And Lord God, help us. 623 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:43,840 Lord, I pray for strengthening. 624 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:47,680 Lord God, even as you have us in the crucible, Lord, God, would you strengthen us? 625 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,840 Would you help us refine us, Lord? 626 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:55,120 But God, of all things, I pray, be with us, Lord. 627 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:59,720 For your presence, we can endure anything, and we have your sure word that you will not 628 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,280 leave us and you will never forsake us, Lord. 629 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,700 You're never going to turn your back upon us. 630 00:38:05,700 --> 00:38:09,440 We have the promise from Jesus, our Lord, that lo, he is with us always, even to the 631 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:10,760 end of the age. 632 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:12,720 Father, thank you. 633 00:38:12,720 --> 00:38:17,540 Lord, help us prove to be the children of God that you've called us to be, shining 634 00:38:17,540 --> 00:38:24,080 his bright lights, offering hope, and offering this message of mercy and salvation to a lost 635 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:27,040 and dying world who really needs to hear it. 636 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:31,320 We pray this in Jesus' blessed name and for his glory alone. 637 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:32,640 Amen. 638 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,620 Church, let us commune with our God. 639 00:38:35,620 --> 00:38:36,620 Let us commune with our God.