The Gospel of Mark 1:12,13

E great he should have had that all done anyways e I e yeah [Music] e good morning church all right yeah if you guys want to make your way into the sanctuary and have a seat we'll get going I'd like to start off today by just giving an announcement as far as the children's ministry goes we are thinking about and planning and going to try something new for the next six weeks we're doing a trial run we are going to be bringing the checkin and worship time for the kids downstairs to this large room across from the nursery there's some various reasons why we're going to do this a big one is for child safety consolidating the kids in one room we're going to be reintroducing the parent label so this is a good time to announce that parents you need to be checking out your children we won't be allowing them to just hey my mom's in the sanctuary can I go nope mom needs and Dad needs to come in and give the parent lab the label to us as just so we know accountability that's just where we're going to be headed and it's just where we are as a society right now we need to do this so that's what's going to be happening it's going to be for six weeks because there's going to be some Kinks we don't know if there's going to be you know some big problem that's not going to work out so just so you guys know starting next week check in your children here okay now for Family Worship and for those parents who want to have their kids with them during the worship service you will still need to go

Upstairs to check out your child so Sunday school time check in here check out here for Kids Quest at the end of the service so if that makes sense I hope it makes sense if not come talk to me and we'll we'll get that square it away all right and a and a lot of that has do with just security we want to make sure that our kids are safe and that starts with checkins and checking outs and things like that if you do lose that form we will give you a child of equal or lesser value so starting with the pastor's kids just kidding there we go hey we got next week got our business meeting and that's going to be happening at 1:30 we're going to have some Q&A with the elders kind of to start everything off and then we'll get a business meeting to order don't forget that's potluck Sunday so we got a lot of bring some good food something to share and it's going to be a fantastic time sorry that looked a little off center there also be sure to check out the chili cook off information that's in just a couple of weeks in March 7th and we've got this youth parent meeting that is February 11th that's after service now that is for Rising Austin is that for Rising sixth graders as well yeah the parent meeting sure Rising sixth graders yeah for Camp information so if you've got a kid that's going to be in youth this summer this is where you get Camp information and things like that plus there's going to be some really great information in training on how to form a Godly response to the state of your youth's mental and emotional health and so appreciate Austin for putting that all together it's going to be a fantastic time and someone asked can we turn up the heat in here the answer is it's as warm as it's going to be so the

Reason for that is that this furnace it's from the 70s and so you know if you want to replace it give amen right so you know if you want to want to get it done that's what we got to do and so that's going to be happening don't forget to fill out information for the Ivory Coast trip if you want to serve on the prayer team if you want to give if you want to go fill that out dropping in the offering plate also if you're new to our church and you have not filled out a connection card be sure to fill that out drop that as well as in the offering place that goes by that' be huge in us being able to connect with you and also to connect in community groups Community groups are kind of the lifeblood of our church it's where you find your 3:00 a.m friends it's where you find your community it's that's why it's so important and so if you're not in a community group find one and get in one we've got some fantastic teachers and some fantastic people in those groups so church I love you so much how about you just find a friendly face or maybe a grumpy face shake their hand say welcome to First Baptist Church [Music] t he what's going on are believe f well good morning church now I know you heard me this mic is plenty loud good morning it's good to be here with all of you this morning it's just good to hear the Saints enjoying one another fellowshipping and I believe that the Lord is pleased whenever his people come together to worship together I don't just believe it I mean the Scriptures tell us that's not

That's really not a negotiable thing but it's good to see you all here today now is the part of our service where we like to just take a moment to Bow our heads and close our eyes and ask the Lord to prepare our hearts and Minds for worship there's all sorts of things that go on in our lives many of us this morning are hurting many of us are angry many of us are just confused ask the Lord to help you to worship through that ask him to help you to put aside the distractions and to focus on him and to rejoice in his greatness and in what he's done for you so I'd invite you now to Bow your heads and close your eyes and to do that for and so Lord we come before you today and we ask that you would prepare us for worship Lord we ask that you would help us to put aside the distractions and to focus on who you are and what you've done Lord even though we're hurting we can be sure that you are in good control even though we don't know what tomorrow brings we can be sure that you have it in your hands we can be sure that all of the Troubles of this life are ultimately for our good and For Your Glory if we believe Lord I pray that you would help us to worship you this morning it's in Jesus name we pray amen I'd invite you now to stand and join me as we sing what is our only hope in life and death that we are not our own but are bought with a [Music] price what is Our Hope in life and death Christ Alone Christ Alone what is our only confidence that are soul to him belong who holds our days within his what comes

Apart from his command and what will keep us to the end the love of Christ in which we stand oh sing Hallelujah Our Hope Springs Eternal oh singu now and ever we can bless Christ Our Hope in life and [Music] death what truth can C the TR Soul God is good God is good where is his grace and goodness known in our great Redeemer blood who holds our faith when fears arise who stands above the stormy Tri who send the waves that bring us night unto the sh for the rock of Christ oh sing high hallelu Our Hope Springs Eternal oh sing hallelu now and ever we can pass Christ Our Hope in life and death [Music] unto the grave what will we sing Christ he lives Christ he lives and what reward will Heaven bring everlasting life with him there we will rise to meet the Lord sin and death will be destroyed and we will Fe in and joy when Christ is our forever more oh sing Hallelujah our hopes bring Eternal oh sing Hallelujah now and ever we confess Christ Our Hope in life and death oh sing Hallelujah Our Hope Springs Eternal oh sing high hallelu now and ever we confess Christ Our Hope in life and death now and ever we

Confess Christ Our Hope in life and death Christ is our only hope he is the solid rock on which we can stand while all other ground may be sinking sand we can be sure that he is a firm [Music] foundation my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but holy Le on Jesus name on Christ the solid I stand all other ground is sinking sand [Music] s when darkness seems to hide his face I rest on his unchanging Grace in every High and stormy Gale my anchor holds within the veil on Christ the solid rock I stand all of the ground is sinking sand all other ground is singing [Music] sand oh his cant his blood support me in the Welling flood when all around my soul gives way he then is All My Hope and stay on Christ the solid rock I stand all of the ground is sinking sand all other ground his [Music] sinking when he shall come with trumpet sound oh may I in him be found dress in his rightous alone forless to stand Before the Throne on Christ the solid rock I stand all of the ground is sinking sand all other ground is sinking sand on Christ the solid rock I Stand All of ground is sinking sand all other ground is sinking amen you may be seated father God we thank you and praise you for this beautiful morning that we get to come into your house to worship you to Cate the thank you for this OPP toship offerings anday ask me to read a passage of Scripture today is the 40th anniversary of

Su reading from Psalms chapter that's better Psalms chapter 10: 12-15 and it says arise oh Lord oh God lift up your hand forget not the flicted why does the w Wicked renounce God and say in his heart you will not call to account but you do see for you note mischief and vexation that you may take it into your hands to you the helpless commits himself you have been the helper of the fatherless break the arm of the wicked an evildoer call his wickedness to account till you find none I just want to pray again just for this opportunity that we have to remember the sanctity of life that God has given us father we pray just as we take very seriously life and the human life that is born that is created by you in your image and I pray as Believers as this body of Christ that we would be good stewards of all the resources to support just the preservation of life I pray that you would give us wisdom as we teach our children as we engage in our community that we would have influence to change the course of direction we ask this in your name amen I'd like to read a passage out of Psalm 62 starting in verse 5 it says for God Alone Oh My Soul wait in silence for my hope is from him he only is my rock in my salvation my Fortress I shall not be shaken on God rests my salvation and my glory my mighty rock my refuge is God trust in him at all times oh people pour out your heart before him God is a refuge for us saah God is a refuge for us I'd invite you now to stand and join me as we sing as we pour out our praise to God that he is our Rock and our [Music] refuge my soul finds rest in God alone my rock and my Sal a foress against my and I will not be Shen though lips May bless and hearts

Curse and lies like arrows me I'll fix my heart on righteousness I'll look to him who hears me Oh Praise Him Hallelujah might delight and my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my [Music] God [Music] find rest my soul in God alone amid the world's tempt when evil seeks to take a hold I to my [Music] Sal no riches come and riches go don't set your heart upon them the fields of Hope in I s are harvested [Music] in Oh Praise Him Hallelujah Mighty light in my reor [Music] Everlasting ever failing My Redeemer my God [Music] I'll set my Gaze on God alone and trust in him completely with every day pour out my soul and he will prove his Mercy though life is but a fleeing breath a side to breae to measure my King has crushed the gra of death and I am his forever Oh Praise Him Hallelujah Mighty light and my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my God oh praise Him Oh Praise Him hallelu [Music] Hallelujah Oh Praise Him Oh Praise Him hallelujah hallelujah Oh Praise Him Oh Praise Him

Hallelujah hallelujah oh praise Him Hallelujah Mighty life and my reward [Music] Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my [Music] God when peace like a river attend my way when Sorrows like [Music] seow whatever my L thou Hast Tau me to say it is well it Is Well with My Soul It Is Well with My Soul my soul It is Well it Is Well with My [Music] Soul though Satan should bu Tri should come let this blessed us [Music] control that Christ hased my heless and has shed his own blood for my [Music] soul It Is Well with My Soul with My Soul It is Well it Is Well with My [Music] Soul my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole his nail to the cross and I be it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord oh my soul It Is Well with My Soul my soul It is Well it Is Well with My [Music] Soul

And Lord haste the day when the F shall be the clouds be rolled back as a scoll and the Dr shall and the Lord shall be even so it is well with my It Is Well with My Soul It is Well it Is Well with My Soul it is well with My Soul with My Soul it is It Is Well with My Soul Lord though these trials should come help us to continually Sing It Is Well with My Soul because we have been redeemed we have been purchased we have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and Lord let us not forget it even in our darkest moments we have glory to look forward to and a helper today it's in Jesus name that we pray amen if you have your Bible and I hope that you do turn with me to Mark 1: 12-13 we are talking about the temptation of Jesus Christ today and if you've been awake for longer than an hour or so you know what temptation is it hits all of us at some point in time or another and today we're going to talk about some practical steps to resist it we're we're going to find ourselves a little bit in Matthew as well also in Romans and in Hebrews and so but before we get to all that I want to introduce you to this guy does anybody know who that is anybody anybody curious this is this is Adolf ikan and he is the Brain Trust behind Hitler's final solution that man is responsible for the murder of over six million Jews he was the one who organized it he oversaw all the concentration camps he doesn't look very scary does he I mean you kind of see that him there you kind of think well that's my account but in fact you know he murdered a lot of people

Ikan his trial lasted for eight months from April until December of 1946 and there was a man one of the most powerful testimonies came from a man named yel D who he was a Jewish man who was res Ed out of aitz and he saw ikan many times because that's where ikan was headquartered six minutes into Diner's testimony he passed out and he went limp and you can watch it online you can see him get more and more agitated and then he falls out of the witness stand and why was that actually there's a 60 Minutes interview where you can hear Diner's own testimony and they asked himh did you pass out was it because of fear was it because of hatred was it because of terrible memories rising up from aitz and from DA's own words he said no it was none of these this ikan was an ordinary man I was afraid of myself and I saw that I am capable to do this that I am exactly like he that ikan is in all of us now that's a horrifying statement but I think that indeed it captures the central truth about the nature of man because as a result of the Fall we don't just have the capability or the culpability to sin but that sin resides in each and every single person ikan is just like all of us because we are all in Adam it only took one generation for us to go from eating a forbidden fruit to murder you see we are tempted by theft because we are thieves even though we may not actually steal something we are tempted to commit adultery because we are all adulterers although we may not actually commit adultery we are murderers even though we may not literally slay our brother because we have murder that resides in our hearts Paul he describes

Man's nature this way in Romans 3 it says as it is written none is righteous no not one no one understands no one seeks for God all have turned aside together they have become worthless no one does good not even one their throat is an open grave they use their tongues to deceive the Venom of asps is under their lips their mouth is full of curses and bitterness their feet are Swift to shed blood and their paths are ruined in misery in the way of peace they have not known there is no fear of God Before Their Eyes ikan is in all of us but there is also hope amen thank the Lord not only for the cross which we're going to talk about today but also for God's restraining Grace in our lives restraining Grace is what keeps us from all becoming little likan or Ted Bundy or Joseph stalins or whatever you want to insert there it's what keeps us from turning into little canes or JZ Bells we're going to learn about the hope that we have in Christ today so if you would please stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 1 vers 12 and 13 God's word says this the spirit immediately drove him that's Jesus out into the Wilderness and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels or ministering to him let's pray and so God we do ask that you would speak clearly to us through your word today we ask that our minds would understand what you would have us to learn and that our hearts would be changed through the preaching of your word God we confess that we are prone to temptation but Lord we also confess that Jesus Christ is Lord today and that even though we may give into temptation God we know that we have a

Firm foundation and a secure anchor for our souls found at the cross and at the tomb of Christ where our debts were paid for and we have eternal life forever more because of what your son accomplished God we pray that you would help us to conform Our Lives to what your word has to say today help us Lord in Jesus name amen you can be seated Mark in very characteristic fashion he gets straight to the point he does not give much of a narrative there does he doesn't even give us the results of the Temptation he writes the spirit immediately drove him see as the spirit of God descended on Christ so the spirit of God also LED Jesus to do everything that he did because Christ's goal was to obey the will of the father no other goal did Christ have except for that one goal Jesus he said that in John chapter 3 or John chapter 6 excuse me and that's a very important point that Christ only obeyed the will of the father it's going to be huge in our study today and all the way through the Book of Mark while Mark he doesn't have many details about the Wilderness encounter thankfully the other synoptic Gospels too and I'd like to read to you what Matthew chapter 4 says about this encounter because it gives some good details for us he says then Jesus was led up by the spirit Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry and the tempter came and said to him if you are the son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread but he answered him it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the Pinnacle of the temple and said to him if you are the Son of God throw yourself down for it is written he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they

Will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone Jesus said to him again it is written you shall not put oh you shall not put the Lord your God to the test again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory and he said to him all these things I will give 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 shall you serve then the devil left him and behold Angels came and were ministering to him now one of the names of Christ in the New Testament is the second Adam and if you're taking notes you may want to write that down that we're going to do a comparison between the first Adam and the second Adam this is going to be huge for us okay the first Adam in Genesis he was made in perfect fellowship with God and God gave him everything that he needed to thrive on the earth with his help made Eve but they fell into temptation they transgressed God's law and they set into motion his Plan of Redemption which was laid out from the foundation of the world so let's take a couple of comparisons here if you're taking notes right these in the margins I didn't have enough space in the notes so sorry about that but here's one comparison is that the first Adam was in a lush garden and the second Adam was in a Barren wilderness nness you see the garden it was a place for humans to thrive it was a place for them to flourish but the Wilderness it was Barren it was lifeless it was a place of death not life in that Wilderness it was a place that even people in the ancient world believed that evil spirits would reside it was where wild animals killed it was where there was no food and so in a lot of ways the wilderness that Christ was driven to was an anti-

Eden and yet Satan was still there seeking to deceive and to destroy God's plan to save Humanity the second comparison that we need to make is that the first Adam he was given all the fruit of the trees except for one and Christ the second Adam was fasting for 40 days those 40 days they were call Moses on Mount Si having fellowship with the father it reminds us of Elijah wandering in the wilderness to Mount Horeb and as time of preparation was important for Christ's Ministry because this also defined his ministry he would often times would draw to desolate places to be with the father you see all the fruits and all the vegetables they were for Adam to take and to receive except for the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil but Jesus had nothing to satisfy his hunger and his hunger was very real because Christ he was fully flesh he was fully human he dealt with the same things that we had to deal with but he was also fully God the third comparison that I want you to write is he enjoyed intimate companionship first Adam he enjoyed intimate companionship with Eve but the second Adam he experienced deep loneliness people weren't found in the wilderness not where Christ went it was lifeless it was a place where no one would willingly go they felt like going there with a place of death and a place of curses fourthly the first Adam he was at peace with creation and all the animals but the second Adam he was around the wild animals now this the Holy Spirit put Christ and drove him into the Wilderness wild animals are a sign of danger they're a sign of judgment in the Old Testament during this time in our world lions and leopards and jackals they would inhabit the Middle East during this time and this should have been and it probably was very encouraging to the Roman Christians

Because many of them under under Emperor Nero tacitus a Christian historian he writes about Nero's savagery and how Believers were and I quote covered with the hides of wild beasts and Torn to Pieces by animals you see Christ too he had to face that fear of Destruction proving himself to be that faithful great high priest even to these Roman Christians fifthly the first Adam was driven from the garden and the second Adam was driven to Wilderness you see Adam was driven from the garden because of his Disobedience and Christ went to the Wilderness because of his obedience the Holy Spirit drove Christ to this confrontation not as a proof to him per se but as a proof to us that Jesus is our perfect perfectly obedient and faithful high priest the language here is actually very similar if you read Leviticus chapter 16 you guys know what a scapegoat is that actually comes from Leviticus 16 the terminology scapegoat and if you read Leviticus 16 and I would encourage you to do that when you get home today it's it's an almost identical language about that goat going out into the Wilderness carrying Away The Sins of Israel sixthly the first Adam had a dangerous encounter with Satan leading to death but the second Adam had a dangerous encounter with s with Satan leading to major victory you see amen Adam in the garden he fell from his innocent State because the fruit looked good and the promise sounded good but Christ he is not just innocent he is also wise and he has all knowledge yet he experienced fully these human limitations and he had these physical needs and so this points out something that we need to write down which is that the Temptation was real the Temptation was real going back

To Matthew 4 we need to identify these Temptations and we have to recognize you and me that we would have given into to these Temptations if you've ever fasted you know how difficult it can be to maintain that fast and I think we need to identify Temptations the first Temptation was very practical and yet it also called for proof because Jesus he had been fasting for 40 days and he was at the point of starvation and I doubt very many of us have ever experienced this kind of hunger and Satan he comes to visit and in the garden Satan took on the form of a serpent and he slithered up and he deceived Eve and Adam remember though Satan he's not just some dark red skinned guy with horns and hoofs and all that kind of stuff that outfit was actually created in the Middle Ages to make a mockery of Satan okay he doesn't look like a creature from the horror movie although he might present himself that way very likely remember that Satan is very proud and he was also the most beautiful of all creation the most Regal and he's very deceptive and so Satan approaches his creator in Jesus's hour of greatest weakness and he says if you are the Son of God because and that's important because we've already seen twice in Mark chapter 1 that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ the son of God he's already been proclaimed by the father from Heaven that you are my beloved Son with you I am well pleased and here is Satan coming up are you really the son of God if you are and you're really hungry why don't you prove it command these stones to become bread and Satan's goal here is to tempt Jesus to meet his own needs apart from the father's will that's the goal do you see how deceptive that is do you see how sneaky that is and so Jesus he quotes Deuteronomy 8:3

If and if the father wanted to feed the son then the father would have provided food for him and so many times for Christians we think that maybe maybe the end justifies the means but I believe that God is far more concerned about the means and that he's the one that takes care of the end result God he will take care of the end result as long as we are obedient to him and we walk in his will and so this calls into question how pragmatic many churches have become in our culture I'm reading a book it's called counterfeit kingdoms I would definitely recommend it's a fantastic book and it's it's about kind of church pragmatism you see massive churches have launched children's ministries and youth Ministries that are focused on games on fun on excitement the Hy hyped up music they create atmospheres for worship as though the Holy Spirit can't move unless the lights are dimmed and there's fog machines or something like that it's a joke by the way but you know what it does is it actually develops your serotonin do you know there's an actual physical result that happens in your body that gets you addicted to it gets you the warm tinglies gives you the Goosebumps and so for many Christians they think that's the Holy Spirit but it actually it's just emotional manipulation sorry but those those people that grew up in the Children's Ministries and youth Ministries are now church leaders and so what was in the youth and children's back in the day is now in the sanctuary that's why there's there's the dim lights and the stage lights and the emotional photos and all that kind of stuff and you get the Christian talks that sound Christian but they are just as subtle as Satan's deception that doesn't mean that if a church dims their lights they're

Bad I'm not saying that but I am saying be careful church because Satan's deception here is to justify the means to an end remember that just because the church is massive or they've got a bunch of people entering the baptismal Waters or whatever it doesn't mean that's pleasing to the Lord God loves it when his people are obedient to him and they follow his plan he takes care of the results we our job is to be faithful to him Jesus was also tempted to manifest Miracles apart from the father's will Satan he takes Christ to the top of her 's Temple and Satan he says to the effect you really believe that you are the Son of God don't you okay well then prove it if you're really the son of God jump off of here in front of everyone these many thousands of people and prove it because God will protect you and we see that verse but did you know that Satan leaves out a part of that verse from Psalm 91 here's what it says and I underlined this part it says for he talk about God will command his angels concerning you talking about the Son of God to guard you in all your ways it means All Your Righteous ways right to guard you in all your ways on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone be careful because people will leave out parts of God's word in order to deceive they will try to twist it and do all sorts of things remember that as we said Jesus's will Jesus's purpose was to do the will of the father alone and Satan is encouraging to do something because of the promises of Scripture we see it there it's in black and white Obviously good would come from this right obviously this would be a great step of faith for you Jesus imagine how many people would celebrate this great miracle

How many thousands of people will be shocked in such a dramatic way that the Messiah descends from the temple arant Hughes he writes even the very highest and best ends do not justify operating according contrary to God's will even the very highest and best ends do not justify operating comp contrary to God's will see Christian you when you are tempted to take matters into your own hands and you lean on your own reasoning or you use worldly wisdom rather than Biblical wisdom then you are in a dangerous spot in regards to Temptation so pray for the Lord to open your heart pray for the Lord to open your eyes to what is happening pray for his Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you into all truth pray that God would that you would continue to hide God's word in your heart that you might not sin against him and as you do that and as you conform your life into God's will what you'll see is you'll see these deceptions and you'll grow in your maturity and you'll say you know I don't need that Temptation I can have victory over it because Christ has gained the victory already thirdly Jesus was tempted to easily maneuver to kingship apart from the father's will look at what Satan says next he says the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed them all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and he said to him all these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me and I want you to imagine you know the grander of all of the ancient kingdoms the Splendor of Rome the reign of Charlamagne Napoleon's kingdoms everything and Christ is told these will be under your Authority all of the Earth all the beautiful monuments that have been built and the honor that men and women throughout history have given to them well that honor is now promised to

Be Christ in the plan that Satan proposes means there is no cross there is no pain there is no betrayal there is no deception there is no loneliness the plan of Satan means no humiliation no mocking no scorn no having to deal with religious zealots and Pharisees and Sadducees it meant that the father would not have to pour out his wrath on the son it meant that the father wouldn't have to kill his son no pain no division none of that bad stuff but there would be in fact Satan in Christ Incarnation is still trying to overthrow the Divine godhead but Christ mastered Satan and handed him a sound defeat be gone Satan is what our Lord said and this struggle it was an inherently spiritual struggle that was revealed in very physical ways in that struggle it would continue later on at an opportune time but in the meantime though Christ had bound the strong man that is Satan and there would in Christ he reveals himself not to be a deliverer from Roman occupation or even to bring the fullness of his kingdom to the Earth at that time but to liberate us from the penalty of sin and Punishment of guilt and death so we should note here that often times we take the path of least resistance don't we Elon Musk he said you know if I want a job done I hire the laziest person because they'll get the job done the quickest and easiest way Christ Christ took the hard path Christ took the Narrow Path Amber she was sharing with me in her Bible study about how lot he's standing there before the promised land that was to be given to Abraham's descendants and lot he looked at the land and you know he had his choice between kind of the bad land and the good land and what did he choose he chose the good land immediately and

You think about that choice the Easy Choice most obvious choice and that led to the destruction of two of his son-in-laws and his sons or and his wife excuse me the Easy Choice is not always the best choice for us and he also became a father to ungodly Nations you see the easy choices that you may be faced with may be contrary to God's plan indeed they may be Temptations to cause you to walk in Rebellion to your creator but then look at what happens with Christ the father sends his angels those Messengers to his son to minister to him in the wilderness and so what do we learn about how to fight Temptation from this p Mage well first in order to actually overcome Temptation we have to be how to fight Temptation excuse me we have to be filled with the spirit of Christ you see there's some wonderful moral people who are lost but they do not have the spirit of God The Temptations that we deal with they are many and in Christ we gain Mastery over them because Christ has gained Mastery over them but it's a process isn't it so how do you gain the Holy Spirit well you have to turn away from sin ask the Lord to forgive you submit to his lordship you must trust in Christ Christ alone and so you trust in his death his burial his resurrection and when you do that he gives you his Holy Spirit you don't have to come to the pastor you go to God he's the one that gives us his Holy Spirit but he doesn't leave you with something without something very solid which is being filled with God's word you and I we need to enjoy God's word we need to Feast on it regularly so that when Temptation comes or deception pokes its head out we can do as Christ did and we can speak the truth of God's word Charles Spurgeon he said when the devil opens his mouth in slander it gives me an opportunity to Ram the sword of truth

Down his throat Christian get into the word abide in Christ and get into the word a thousand times over get into the word memorize it study it hide it in your heart and as you grow in the Lord and as you rely on his word you will grow and increase in your submission to the authority of Christ which means greater Victory against Temptation in fact Martin Luther he was asked how did how did he handle all the depression the Temptation the attacks from the devil and he said well when Satan comes knocking upon the door of my heart and asks who lives here the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out now I live here you see when Christ abides in us and we abide in Christ when Christ fills our lives Temptation has no interest entrance but that begs a question and I want to I want us to kind of camp on this for a little bit why do I still fall into temptation well to be honest sometimes we just get tired of fighting the battle sometimes that's what happens one of the passages that comes up often times in our community group is Romans chapter 7 that I want to read to you this is from Paul okay the Apostle and I love this I just relate to this so much for I do not understand my own Act actions amen for I amen for I do not do what I want but I do the very I hate now if I do what I do not want I agree with the law that it is good so now it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me you see you still even though you are in Christ you still have that sinful nature that crops its head up every time for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh for I have the desire to do what is right but not the ability to carry it out for I do not do the good I want but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing anybody

Anybody relating to this I know I am now if I do what I do not want it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me so I find it to be a law that when I want to do right evil lies close at hand you ever you ever have the temptation to give into temptation but you don't have the opportunity praise the Lord for that amen or sometimes maybe you have the opportunity but you don't have the Temptation praise the Lord for that God is at work for I Delight in the law of God in my inner being but I see in my members another law Waging War against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members Wretched Man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death thanks be to God through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen so then I myself serve the law of God with my mind but with my flesh I serve the law of sin you know we are going to constantly fight against sin all of us and as Believers we have received a new nature but we also have our old nature that we have to deal with day in and day out and this is why words like perseverance words like endurance are such important characteristics for us to develop Hebrews CH 12 veres 1-4 I know there's a lot of Scripture just write these down okay and study them later but it says therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that has set before us looking to Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God consider him who has endured from Sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to

The point of shedding your blood you know why because Christ is the one that shed that blood blood if you want to throw in the towel and give in and quit fighting don't don't give up keep fighting keep fighting the good fight in your in your struggles keep looking to Jesus and when Temptation comes are you willing to seek God's word are you willing to pray and ask him to help you are you willing to gain the victory but look this endurance that we look at there we kind of view this as like white knuckling you know just like enduring it just gritting our teeth and pushing through it that's not what the author of Hebrews has in mind here not at all this call to endurance is found by looking to Jesus so we can have that peace like a river so that we can have that endurance so we can have all of those good gifts not by our will and white knuckling but by a in the beautiful and perfect will of God we may struggle against sin but Jesus is the one who shed his blood for it so why should we do this what hope do we have Jesus's hope and joy was Resurrection in his right in his seat at the right hand of the father so what is your hope you see if your hope is a better life an easier life then don't look to Christ but if your hope is eternal life then look to Jesus as Believers it is a fact that we are now in the second adom he's the one who conquered Temptation therefore we now have hope he was as Hebrews chapter 4: 15-6 says for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect was has been tempted as we are yet without sin let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find Grace to help in time of need amen you see if you're here and you don't have a

Relationship with the Lord then today you can start one you don't have to come up here and pray a prayer we don't see that in Scripture you know what the Bible says repent of your sins repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ repent means to change your mind to turn your turn away and to believe in Christ's death burial and Resurrection for you that's how you're saved no other way and I hope that you will be today but for those of us who are already in Christ take heart that Jesus has overcome the world and no matter what temptations that may be facing you today you can gain the victory in Christ by drawing near to him by looking to his example through prayer and abiding in God's word and when we when we mess up and it will happen when we fall face first in the Sin you know what we do we come to the Lord and we receive mercy and find Grace to help in our time of need head heart hand head I want you to know that temptation is far more dangerous than you could ever imagine none of us could have withstood these Temptations from Satan and Temptation does that Temptation when we give in it leads to sin leads to death in sin it always takes us further than we ever thought that we would go it keeps us longer than we ever thought that we would stay and it costs us more than we could ever imagine heart I want you to believe that because Christ gained the victory over Temptation you can have Victory through him as well not in some health wealth and prosperity nonsense but in the true way that Christ is our Victory and that we have righteousness before the father and because of that righteousness we can with confidence approach the throne of grace we can say because Christ is our King we have the

Victory hand I want you to keep trusting in the Lord for victory over Temptation you might have addictions you might have sinful habits you might struggle in areas of Disobedience Proverbs 24:16 says that the righteous falls seven times and rises again why because God protects and sustains his people and He will see you through it let's all stand let's pray and then we'll worship together so God we do thank you for this day we ask that you would help us Lord to trust in you more and more each and every day God give us victory over the different sins and temptations that we're struggling with Lord we know before you that you're not ranking sin Lord Sin is Sin but thanks be to God that in Christ we can have the victory that we can be set free that we can be set free from those Temptations but even when those Temptations come up Lord youve given us ways to deal with them so many of them I wasn't even able to tackle today today so Lord open up our minds and our hearts to study your word that we might be able to continue to grow in our Holiness in our christlikeness not giving into temptation but by looking to you the author and perfector of our faith we love you as we worship you today we pray that you would be pleased and I pray for anyone here that maybe they don't know you as their Lord and Savior maybe they do need to come up and talk with me maybe they just need to get some something off their chest or maybe they need to make a decision public Lord I pray that they would do that now in Jesus name [Music] amen my soul finds rest in God alone my rock and my salvation of a fortress strong against my foes and I will not be

Shame though lips May bless and hearts curse and lies like arrows be me I'll fix my heart on righteousness I Look to Him who hears me Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight and my reward Everlasting ever failing My Redeemer my [Music] God find rest my soul in God Alone amid the world's Temptations when evil seeks to take a hold I'll cling to my salvation though riches come and riches go don't set your heart upon them the fields of Hope in with I s are harvested in heav Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight and my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my God [Music] I'll set my Gaze on God alone and trust in him completely with every day pour out my soul and he will prove his Mercy though life is but a fleeing breath a s to breathe to meure my King has crushed the curse of death and I am his forever Oh Praise Him Hallelujah my delight and my reward Everlasting never failing My Redeemer my [Music] God church this week as you leave from here and just know that you do not go alone as a Christian you have the Holy Spirit In You and you have everything that you need according to his word to have victory over Temptation pray for one another lift

Each other up I love you very much let's pray Lord we ask that you would help us to gain victory over Temptation today and Lord when we fall help us to get back up and to go to your throne pleading for grace and mercy with confidence Lord help us to draw close give us peace this week help us to glorify you let us have wonderful opportunities to share about the hope and the joy that we have through your son in Jesus name we pray amen now before y'all go hold on I want to tell y'all something just real quick this week Dan and Arla dial are going to be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this week so be sure to tell them congratulations love you Church think both B