["Pomp and Circumstance"]
I don't know what you're talking about.
I don't know.
When the roll is called the gunner,
When the roll is called the gunner, I'll be there.
Song of fifty-five on the second.
On that bright and timeless morning,
When the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share,
When his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the sky,
And the roll is called the gunner, I'll be there.
When the roll is called the gunner,
Is called the gunner,
When the roll is called the gunner, I'll be there.
Sing it well, sing it on the last.
Let us labor for the master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all his wonders, love and care,
Then when all the life is over and our work on earth is done,
Let the roll is called the gunner, I'll be there.
When the roll is called the gunner,
When the roll is called the gunner, I'll be there.
We'd like to welcome you to the Sunday morning service here at Radio Baptist Church.
We're glad you're with us. We have a wonderful service lined up for you today, a wonderful day.
We have a lot of guests with us and friends with us, of course.
Let's begin the service with a word of prayer, and let's bow our heads together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together today.
Lord, we pray that you would bless this service.
We ask that you meet with us as we open up your word, as we sing praises to you, as we fellowship together.
And Lord, we ask that everything that's done today would bring honor and glory to your name,
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Turn to song number 64.
Song number 64.
Song 64 on the first.
Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal-tide forever,
Growing by the throne of God.
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Together with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God.
On the bosom of the river,
And the sacred king beyond,
We shall meet in sorrows never,
In the glory of the throne.
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Together with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God.
There we risk the shining river,
Blame me every burden now,
Grace our spirits from the river,
That will guide us round and round.
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Together with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God.
Soon we'll reach the shining river,
Soon our river lives in peace,
Soon our mountain walks the river,
With the baloney of peace.
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Together with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God.
One of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up,
and we'll get one for you.
The verse this week, James 4-7,
Submit yourselves therefore to God,
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
And that's a good verse there. We like that.
If you open up your bulletin,
you'll see our service times.
Sunday morning service, 1030 a.m.
We're glad you're with us on Sunday morning
on the Lord's Day for Church Sunday evening service,
6 p.m. We invite you to come back tonight
for the evening service,
and we have a special treat tonight.
We'll talk about it here in a minute,
but we'd love you to join us.
And then, of course, our Wednesday evening Bible study
is at 7 p.m.
If you look at our sowing times,
our main sowing times on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.,
and then we have additional sowing times on Thursdays,
on Fridays, and on Sundays at 2 p.m.
So if you'd like to go sowing this afternoon,
there'll be a sowing time at 2 for you to be able to do that.
And then, of course, if you're a first-time guest,
if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church,
we're glad you're with us.
We have a gift we'd like to give you
as you walk out of the church building this morning,
as you go through our main foyer
or our secondary foyer.
By the door, you'll see a little table set up,
and on that table, you'll see these little gift bags.
Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you
for being our guest this morning.
There are several resources in this bag
that we'd like you to have,
but the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary
that our church made.
It's called Being Baptist,
and it's very educational.
It's entertaining.
We think you'll like it.
We want to give this to you as a gift.
So please make sure you do not leave here this morning
without grabbing one of these gift bags on your way out,
and if you are a guest,
we'd ask that you please take a moment
and fill out the communication card,
which is inserted in your bulletin.
If you need a pen, just raise your hand,
and one of our ushers can bring you by
a Verity Baptist Church pen.
You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well,
and we're not going to do anything odd with your info.
We'd just like to have a record of your attendance.
We actually want to be a blessing to you,
but we need your information to do that,
so please take a moment to fill the card out.
When we're done with the announcements,
we're going to sing a song.
When we're done singing,
we're going to receive the offering,
and as the offering plate goes by,
you can drop this card in the offering plate,
or you can hand it to me after the service.
I'll be standing at the main door
greeting people on the way out,
so we're glad you're with us.
If you're a guest, please take a moment
to fill that card out.
We, of course, are a family-integrated church.
What that means is that children and infants
are always welcomed in the service.
We don't separate children from their parents for any reason.
However, we do have mother-baby rooms
and daddy rooms available for your convenience.
All of the rooms have comfortable seating.
You have monitors set up
so you can watch the service and listen to it.
If you're not sure where those rooms are,
you can look at the back of the bulletin,
and it'll show you a layout of the church building.
It'll show you where the mother-baby rooms are,
where the daddy room is.
It'll show you where the restrooms are.
So if you have a child that's been distracting
during the service, so if you need some privacy,
we'd encourage you to use those rooms as needed.
If you're here this morning and you need to be baptized,
please let us know.
We'd love to baptize you.
The baptistry is filled.
The water's warm.
We have everything you need to be baptized.
All you need to do is let us know.
Maybe you'd like to speak to somebody about baptism.
You can check off on your communication card there
that you'd like information about being baptized,
or maybe you've already spoken to someone
and you know you need to be baptized.
All you need to do is at the end of the service,
after the preaching when we're singing the last song,
if you step out that door,
one of our staff guys will meet you there,
and we can get you situated for baptisms this morning.
So let us know, or tonight,
let us know if that's something you'd like to do.
If you look at the announcements and upcoming events,
of course, we're going through a sermon series
called Journey with Jesus,
and we are on a journey with the Lord Jesus Christ
as we study the gospel of Luke,
and we're making 2022 the year of Jesus.
We're walking with Jesus on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights,
and we're learning about Jesus,
and we're glad you're here for that.
Of course, if you've got one of these in your bulletin,
you can use this as a tool to invite someone with you,
bring a guest with you to church next week.
And then, of course, on Wednesday nights,
we're going through the book of 2 Corinthians,
and we're going to continue to study that.
We've been going through these lists
that the apostle Paul has given us.
There's three lists.
We've gone through two of them,
and this coming Wednesday,
we're going to be in the third list,
and the third list, I think,
is the most interesting of the three.
I'm going to be preaching a sermon
called The Dichotomy of Ministry,
and a dichotomy is when you have two things
that oppose themselves,
but they are true at the same time,
and you'll find from Paul's list
that there's so many things in the ministry
in regards to that,
and we're going to look at that,
so I encourage you to join us on Wednesday night
as we study that out.
And then, of course,
I want to invite you to come back tonight
at 6 p.m. for the evening service.
We have many friends and guests with us
for the wedding yesterday,
and you stuck around for church today,
and we appreciate that,
but we have the Jones family
and Pastor Joe Jones
from Shield of Faith Baptist Church.
They're here from Boise, Idaho,
and, of course, that's a church that we planted,
and we ordained Pastor Jones as a pastor there,
and we're very proud of them
and the work they're doing,
and he's going to be preaching for us tonight
at 6 p.m.,
so I want to encourage you to come.
Even if you don't normally come to church
on Sunday night,
I'd encourage you to come tonight.
You're not going to want to miss it.
Pastor Jones is a great preacher,
and he's a good friend,
and we're glad that they are with us.
And then, of course,
I want to let you know
about a special day we have coming up
called I Love My Church Sunday,
and if you remember,
we did this last year,
around Valentine's Day.
We're going to do it again.
You're invited for Sunday, February 13th,
and we'd love for you to join us
as we show our love
for the house of God.
We're going to have
some things to give away.
Just like we did last year,
we're going to have bags
of pink, vanilla,
and caramel Valentine's Day popcorn
for every family in attendance
at the Sunday morning service.
If you remember,
we had those bags of popcorn,
and we'll give those out
at the end of the service.
The VBC Choir,
will be singing for us,
and the orchestra will be playing
on that morning.
And then that evening,
we're going to have a potluck
after the evening service
in our fellowship hall.
So we want you to make plans
to join us
for I Love My Church Sunday,
and if you've been looking
for an excuse
to invite someone to church,
this would be a great service
to invite them to.
So I want to encourage you
to do that.
And then, of course,
we have nine chapters a day,
and I want to encourage you
to stick with it.
If you're on track,
or if you've used
a grace period day,
or two,
either way,
you should know
that you're on the downslope now.
The chapters are getting
a lot shorter and easier,
and even if you're behind,
you can catch up.
I mean,
reading nine chapters
from here on
is going to be very easy.
You can do 10 chapters,
12 chapters,
15 chapters,
the whole New Testament,
whatever you got to do
to catch up.
Just do it,
and you'll be glad you did.
So nine chapters a day,
make sure you stick with it.
And then, of course,
choir practice,
is today at 5 p.m.,
choir and orchestra.
Homeschool group,
they've got P.E. class
on Thursday,
January 27th,
at 10 a.m.
Upcoming cleaning crew,
you can check for your name there.
There's other things there
for you to look at.
Please don't forget
to turn your cell phones off,
or place them on silent
during the service,
so that they're not
a distraction to anybody.
If you look at the back
of the bulletin,
birthdays and anniversaries
for the month of January,
there's lots of birthdays
and anniversaries here.
We have Yaslin,
the director,
who's going to be here
Birthdays and anniversaries here.
We have Yaslin,
the Dios's birthday,
January 18th.
Juan Torres' birthday,
January 18th.
Moses Thompson's birthday,
January 19th.
Ms. Tomaro Cervantes' birthday,
January 19th.
Celeste Cruz's birthday,
January 21st.
Montel Johnson,
Brother Montel's
Johnson's birthday,
January 21st.
And my dad,
Felix Jimenez's birthday,
January 22nd.
So praise the Lord for that.
Praise report,
money matters.
All those things are there
for you to look at.
And then,
of course,
we've got the
All those things are there
for you to look at.
I do have a couple of just additional things real quickly.
I want to ask that you be in prayer for Ms. Denise Anderson.
She went into the hospital this week
and she was having some issues.
They had a couple of options
of doing a major surgery
that they were trying to avoid,
or doing a minor surgery,
hoping that would kind of fix the problem.
They did the minor surgery yesterday
or the day before that
and it did not take how they thought
they were hoping it would.
So she's going to probably have
that major surgery today
is what she's scheduled for.
So if you would just be in prayer
for Ms. Denise Anderson
and, of course,
Brother Ray Anderson
during this time.
And she's going to be in the hospital for a while
before she gets released
and we're not exactly sure when the date is.
But after that, we probably want to set up
a few nights of meals for them.
So if that's something you're interested in,
just see my wife after the service
if you can help with that
or if you'd like some information about that.
I also have a baptism certificate to hand out.
So please be in prayer for Ms. Denise.
And then, of course,
we have this certificate of baptism.
This certificate is awarded to Jacob Sweener
in recognition of his baptism
on the second day of January of the year 2022,
presented by Verity Baptist Church.
It has the verse there, Romans 6-4,
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,
not like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
even so we should walk in newness of life.
And we've got some pictures here for Jacob
to remember the day of his baptism.
And let's go ahead and give him a round of applause.
And I think that's it for the announcement.
So let's go ahead and take the chorus of the week,
which is the insert in your bulletin.
And we'll sing How Great Thou Art
as we prepare to receive the offering this morning.
And you've got to sing this one with some passion, alright?
So let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
O Lord my God,
when I in awesome wonder
consider all
the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
thy power throughout
my universe this way.
Good, sing it out on the chorus.
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
how great thou art.
Good, sing it out on the second.
When through the woods
and forest glades
I wander and hear the birds
sing sweetly in the sea.
When I look down
from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook
and feel the gentle breeze,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
how great thou art.
I want you to think about these words
as we sing them, all right?
They're on the third.
And when I think that God,
His Son, not sparing,
sent Him to die,
I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross
my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died
to take away my sins.
Aren't those some good words there?
Let's sing that out together
on the third.
And when I think
that God, His Son,
not sparing,
sent Him to die,
I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross
my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died
to take away my sins.
Here we go. Sing it out.
Then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
how great thou art.
When Christ shall come
singing out together,
when Christ shall come
with shout of acclamation
and take me home,
my hope is not real,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
then sings my soul,
my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art,
how great thou art.
Amen. Good singing.
We'll have the guys come up
and help us with the offering
at this time.
And let's go ahead
and bow our heads
and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord,
we do come to you this morning
asking that you'd bless
the offering.
Lord, we ask that you'd bless
the gift and the giver.
We thank you for this church,
Lord, and for the impact
that it's made
in this community.
And, Lord, we ask that
you'd meet with us
as we open up your word,
as we study the Bible together.
We do want to ask
for Ms. Denise and Brother Ray
at this time, Lord,
and she might be going
into surgery even now.
Lord, we pray that you would
give wisdom and discernment
to the doctors,
the nurses dealing with her.
And, Lord, we pray that you
would help her
to come out of it well
and that it would
solve the issues
that she needs help with.
Lord, we pray that you'd
meet with us today
and that we would draw
closer to you as a result
of being here today.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
piano plays softly
Turn your Bibles to Luke,
Chapter 4.
Luke, Chapter 4.
If you do not have a Bible,
raise your hand,
and an usher
will bring you one.
Luke, Chapter 4.
This morning we'll read
verses 1 through 13.
Luke, Chapter 4.
Just keep your hands up
and an usher
will bring you a Bible.
Luke, Chapter 4, the Bible reads,
And Jesus, being full
of the Holy Ghost,
returned from Jordan
and was led by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
being forty days tempted
of the devil.
And in those days
he did eat nothing,
and when they were ended
he afterward hungered.
And the devil said unto him,
If thou be the Son of God,
command this stone
that it be made bread.
And Jesus answered him,
saying, It is written,
That man shall not live
by bread alone,
but by every word of God.
And the devil,
taking him up on high mountain,
showed unto him all the kingdoms
of the world
in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him,
All this power will I give thee,
and the glory of them,
for that is delivered unto me,
and to whosoever I will give it.
If thou therefore wilt worship me,
all shall be thine.
And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Get thee behind me, Satan,
for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
And he brought him to Jerusalem,
and set him on a pinnacle
of the temple,
and said unto him,
If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down from hence,
for it is written,
He shall give his angels
charge over thee,
to keep thee,
and in their hands
they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time
thou dash thy foot
against a stone.
And Jesus answering,
said unto him,
It is said,
Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God.
And when the devil had
ended all the temptation,
he departed from him
for a season.
Let's pray.
Almighty Father,
thank you for this day.
Thank you for this opportunity
to come together.
Please bless Pastor.
Please bless the sermon.
Let it bring glory to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
I pray.
Amen.
All right, we're there in Luke,
chapter number four.
And of course,
on Sunday mornings
and Sunday nights,
we've been making our way
through the book of Luke.
And we're in a series
called Journey with Jesus.
And we've been journeying
with Jesus.
We started back
in the Christmas season
with a series called
Celebrating Christ.
And we went through those
chapters leading up
to the birth of Christ.
And of course,
we talked about
the birth of Christ
and the events after that.
And when the New Year started,
we started in the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible tells us that
when he was about 30 years old,
he began his ministry.
And of course,
we looked at John the Baptist
and we looked at his baptism.
And this morning,
we're going to look at
a very famous passage
of scripture,
something that happens
right after the baptism
of Christ,
right before he kind of
officially begins his ministry.
And we're going to talk
about that next week.
But this is, of course,
the temptation of Christ.
If you're there in Luke,
chapter four and verse one,
the Bible says,
in Jesus being full
of the Holy Ghost,
returned from Jordan
and was led
by the Spirit
into the wilderness,
being 40 days tempted
of the devil.
In those days,
he did eat nothing.
When they were ended,
he afterward
and hungered.
And of course,
we have this passage
of scripture,
these 13 verses
that deal with Jesus
being in the desert
for 40 days.
He's, of course,
fasting during this time.
And during those 40 days,
he is being tempted
of the devil.
In fact,
here in Luke four,
it makes it clear
that he is being
40 days tempted.
Oftentimes,
people think that Jesus
was out in the wilderness
for 40 days,
and he was fasting 40 days.
And at the end of that,
the devil tempted him.
But the Bible here tells us
that during those 40 days,
he was being tempted
during those 40 days
of the devil.
Now, keep your finger there
in Luke chapter four.
That's obviously our text
for this morning.
But go with me,
if you would,
to the book of Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter number four.
The end of the New Testament,
and head backwards.
You have the book of Revelation,
Jude,
1st, 2nd, and 3rd John,
2nd, and 1st Peter,
James, and Hebrews.
Revelation, Jude,
3rd, 2nd and 1st John,
2nd and 1st Peter,
James, and Hebrews.
I want you to know that this
is not only an interesting story
we find in the Bible,
but it's very important
to the doctrine of our salvation
to realize that Jesus,
the Bible tells us,
was tempted,
but yet he never sinned.
Hebrews chapter four and verse 14,
notice what the Bible says there.
It says, seeing then, Hebrews 4, 14,
seeing then that we have a great high priest,
and this great high priest is the Lord Jesus Christ,
you'll see that here in a minute,
that is passed into the heavens.
Notice, Jesus the Son of God, that's our great high priest,
let us hold fast our profession.
Notice verse 15, for we have not an high priest.
Who's the high priest?
Jesus the Son of God.
It says, for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
Here's what he's saying,
saying you don't have a high priest
that doesn't understand what you're going through,
what you've gone through,
that is removed from you and doesn't understand.
No, our high priest can be touched
with the feelings of our infirmities.
Here's why, it says,
but was in all points tempted like we are.
The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every point
in the same way that you and I are tempted.
The only difference between his temptations
and our temptations is that
we often give in to our temptations.
The Bible says about him that he was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
We know that Jesus was sinless, he was without sin.
He never gave in to temptation,
but yet he was tempted in all points like we.
So what we see here in this story
is the devil coming to tempt Jesus
and we see how he has victory over temptation.
Keep your finger there in Hebrews if you would.
We're gonna come back to the book of Hebrews
or near there during the sermon.
So I'd like you to be able to get there quickly.
If you can put a ribbon or a bookmark
or something there in the book of Hebrews
and then go with me to the book of Matthew,
the first book in the New Testament,
Matthew chapter number four.
I want you to notice something there in Matthew four.
The same story of the temptation of Christ
found in another gospel, Matthew chapter four.
And look at verse one.
But while you turn there, let me just say this.
Being tempted is not a sin.
Jesus was tempted.
Giving in to temptation is a sin.
And what we learn from the story
is not only proving the point that Jesus was tempted
at all points like as we are, yet without sin,
but we also learn from Jesus
how to have victory over temptation
and the fact that we don't have to give in to temptation.
And let me just say this just by way of introduction
about the temptation.
These are not the only temptations
that Jesus dealt with during his lifetime.
In fact, I don't necessarily believe
that these are the only temptations he dealt with
during the 40 days that he was tempted of the devil.
But these are three temptations the Bible highlights for us
in regards to temptations that the devil brought to Jesus
and how he was able to overcome them
and have victory over them.
Just by way of introduction as well, let me say this.
It's interesting that the Bible tells us,
are you there in Matthew four?
Look at verse one.
It says, then was Jesus led up of the Spirit.
Now wouldn't you, if we just took that phrase
out of the Bible, wouldn't you say that's a good phrase
to be led of the Spirit?
The Bible says that we should walk in the Spirit,
that we should be led of the Spirit.
The Bible says that the Spirit should lead
and guide our lives.
Here we're told about a very good thing
that Jesus was led of the Spirit.
I want you to notice it says, then was Jesus led up
of the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil.
Here we're told that the Spirit is the one leading Jesus,
the Holy Spirit, he's led up of the Spirit.
And where does the Holy Spirit lead Jesus?
He leads him into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil.
See, it's interesting because Jesus has not yet officially
begun his ministry.
We know the first step in that road was for his baptism.
We talked about that last week.
But then we see here that he's led of the Spirit.
See, if you and I were writing the Bible,
we would say then Jesus was led up of the Spirit
into a great crusade, into some major conference,
into a big multitude of people where he preached the gospel.
But that's not what the Bible says.
The Bible says, and you need to understand this,
that being led of the Holy Ghost
may not necessarily be what you and I think.
Because we think, or if you're led of the Spirit,
you're gonna preach these great sermons.
And I do think you need to be led of the Spirit
to preach great sermons.
We're gonna think you're gonna be a great soul winner.
And I do think you need to be led of the Spirit
to be a great soul winner.
But here we're told that when Jesus was led of the Spirit,
he was led into the wilderness.
He was led into isolation.
He was led into a season of life
where he was out there by himself.
What was he doing?
He was fasting, he was praying,
he was preparing himself for his ministry.
He was getting closer to God than he already was.
And here's the interesting thing.
While he's led of the Spirit,
while he's in the wilderness,
while he's fasting for 40 days.
I don't know if you've ever attempted to fast.
But fasting for 40 days is a very hard task.
I've never done it.
People fast for one, two, three days and it's pretty hard.
There's only three people in the Bible
who ever fasted for 40 days.
Of course, Jesus being one of them.
And here's what we, you know, we think,
Jesus must be on the spiritual high.
I mean, he's out in the wilderness.
He's fasting, he's praying, he's filled with the Spirit,
he's led of the Spirit.
But yet the Bible says that while he's on
that spiritual high, being 40 days tempted of the devil.
It's interesting to me that the devil will try to attack,
the devil will not try to attack those
that are already living for him.
You're out at the bar, the devil's not gonna show up
and tempt you at the bar, you're already there.
He's going to go after those that are filled with the Spirit.
Those that are fasting and praying.
Those that are accomplishing great things for God
and attempting to do things for God.
Those are the ones that he's interested in.
So here we see Jesus being led of the Spirit.
And here's what I'm telling you.
I hope that you will want to be led of the Spirit.
I hope that you will want to be full of the Spirit.
But I do want you to have every full disclaimer.
Being led of the Spirit may lead you directly
in confrontation with the devil.
So we see that Jesus here is being led of the Holy Ghost.
And he's led of the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted.
And I want you to notice if you're there in Matthew 4,
look at the last three words of that verse,
Matthew 4 and verse 1, of the devil.
In Luke chapter 4 and verse 2,
and you can turn back there, Luke chapter 4,
in verse 2 the Bible says this,
being 40 days tempted, notice these three words,
of the devil.
Just by way of introduction, let me say this as well.
The devil is known as the tempter.
He is the one that brings temptation.
And he's not the only one that brings temptation,
but he is known as the tempter because he is often
behind bringing temptation.
In fact, the very first time we meet the devil
in the Bible, if you're familiar with the story,
we meet him as a serpent in the Garden of Eden.
And what is he doing?
He's tempting Eve.
We see him here, tempting the Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan is the tempter.
And he's trying to get you and I and all of us
to sin, to fall into the temptation.
You say, why would he do that?
Here's why.
Because sin will destroy your life.
In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 8,
you don't have to turn there.
Let me just read this for you.
You can jot this down if you're taking notes.
1 John 3, 8, the Bible says this,
he that committed sin is of the devil,
for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
The Bible teaches that one of the,
the Bible says that we should not be ignorant
of the devil's devices.
And this is not his only device,
but one of the major things that the devil does
is he's the tempter.
He brings temptation to you and I.
And I'm here to tell you,
and we're gonna learn from Jesus
how we can overcome those temptations.
But let me just let you in on a little secret.
Before you get too buddied up with the devil,
realize this, that while he's the tempter,
he may seem nice, and he may look good,
and he may seem very enticing.
But the devil is not only known as the tempter,
he's also known as the accuser of the brethren.
And what the devil often does,
and what we see in the Bible,
is that he will show up nice,
he'll show up with enticement,
he'll show up as a quote unquote friend
trying to tempt you to sin.
But as soon as you do, he will then step back,
point, and say, look what he did.
He will tempt you to sin,
and then he'll humiliate you in that same sin.
He's the accuser of the brethren.
He's the adversary.
He's a lion walking about, roaring,
seeking whom he may devour.
And we have this tempter who is against us,
and against Christ,
and we see how Jesus responded to these temptations.
You're there in Luke chapter four.
If you're taking notes,
I'd encourage you to maybe write some of these things down.
On the back of your course of the week,
there's a place for you to write down notes.
There's three temptations that we see in this story.
The first one is what I call the temptation of appetites.
These are temptations that Satan brings upon us,
and they have to do with our physical appetites.
And please know this.
The devil will tempt you when you are physically weak.
Luke chapter four and verse two,
notice what it says, being 40 days.
Here we have Jesus physically, physically weak.
He has not ate for 40 days.
40 days tempted the devil.
In those days, he did eat nothing.
He was weak.
He was hungry.
The Bible says, and when they were ended,
he afterward hungered.
Jesus is physically hungry.
He's tired.
He's alone.
He's been in this wilderness.
And at this time, when he's physically weak
and physically hungry,
the devil shows up and tempts him with a physical appetite.
Notice verse three.
Then the devil said unto him,
if thou be the son of God,
command that these stones,
he said, command this stone that it may be made bread.
The first temptation we see here
is a temptation of appetites.
Jesus was tempted with a physical appetite.
And he is tempted here when he's physically weak.
And the devil will tempt you when you are weak.
And if we're going to have victory over temptation,
we have to be aware of these times when we are weak.
And please understand this.
Here, Jesus is being tempted with food.
And obviously, he has an eight for 40 days.
So this is a big temptation,
when you have an eight for 40 days.
But this is really, I believe,
just an example of all physical appetites
that people can be tempted with.
When we're talking about temptations of physical appetite,
we're not just talking about food,
although food can definitely be a temptation
and things like gluttony.
But we're talking about drugs,
we're talking about alcohol,
we're talking about pornography,
we're talking about gambling, stealing,
lust, covetousness, fornication, adultery.
All of these appetites of the flesh
are temptations that the devil will bring.
And he will bring them when you are weak.
When you deal with people and you try to help people
recovering from drugs and alcohol and things of that nature,
in the recovery world or in recovery programs,
they use an acronym called HALT.
It's an acronym for these words,
hungry, angry, lonely, tired.
And they'll teach you that you are the most susceptible
to relapse or to use when you find yourself
in one of these categories.
When you're hungry, when you're angry,
when you're lonely, when you're tired,
and they try to teach those that are trying to get victory
over these physical appetites,
that when they find themselves in one of these categories,
they need to halt, they need to stop and realize,
I'm in a place right now, I'm in a position right now
where I am weak and I am susceptible to temptation.
And it's interesting to me that we have that acronym HALT,
hungry, angry, lonely, tired.
And when Satan shows up, we could say that Jesus
was both hungry and he was lonely and I'm sure he was tired.
Been in the wilderness for 40 days.
And he's tempted of these physical appetites.
Here's another example, or you go to the book of James,
if you would, if you kept your finger right there
in Hebrews, continue to keep your place in Hebrews,
but right after Hebrews, you have the book of James,
James chapter one.
While you turn there, let me read to you
from 1 Corinthians chapter seven and verse five.
You go to James one and I'll read to you
from 1 Corinthians seven and verse five.
Here's an example of the physical appetites,
the temptations of appetites that the devil will give us.
In 1 Corinthians seven and verse five,
the Bible says this, this is a verse
that is written towards married couples.
It says defraud ye not one another.
Now when Paul says here to married couples
to not defraud one another, he's referring to
a husband and wives and the physical relationship
of marriage and when he says defraud,
he's referring to when a husband or a wife
would not give that physical relationship
to their spouse or would withhold that from their spouse.
Here Paul says defraud ye not one another,
he says except it be with consent for a time
that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer.
He says look, Paul's saying if you're a married couple,
you need to be regularly participating
in that physical relationship of marriage.
He said the only time that you shouldn't be doing that
is with consent for a time that you may give yourselves
to fasting and prayer and here's what he says
at the end of the verse.
He says and come together again,
that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
He says look, as a married couple,
you need to not be just spending a long period of time
without coming together physically
in that physical relationship.
Otherwise, you're going to open yourself up
or be susceptible to Satan tempting you
for your incontinency.
That word incontinency means you're putting yourself
in a position where you're gonna be unable
to restrain yourself or resist
or unable to control yourself.
And it goes again with this idea of halt.
Don't get too hungry.
Don't get angry.
Don't get lonely.
Don't get tired.
Why?
Because when you find yourself in positions of weakness,
that's when the devil shows up and he says,
command this stone that it may be made bread.
He tries to tempt you.
The devil will tempt you when you are physically weak.
The devil will tempt you with the appetite of the flesh.
Are you there in James chapter one?
Look at verse 14.
James 1, 14, the Bible says this.
But every man is tempted.
Notice.
But every man is tempted when he is drawn away
of his own lust.
You see the word lust there?
The word lust simply means desire.
The word lust is not simply in a connotation
of a physical relationship between a man and a woman,
although obviously that's a way that it can be applied.
But the Bible talks about people lusting after food.
The Bible talks about people lusting after money.
He says, the Bible says, but every man is tempted
when he is drawn away of his own lust.
Notice, and enticed, and attracted.
Someone said this, temptation is bait on a hook.
And I'm here to tell you something.
The devil knows how to bait your hook.
The devil knows exactly what it is that he needs to do
to tempt you that you may be drawn away
of your own lust and enticed.
1 John chapter two, if you would, you're there in James.
Go past verse and second Peter to 1 John.
Continue to keep your place in Hebrews.
1 John chapter two and verse 16.
The Bible says, 1 John 2, 16,
for all that is in the world.
Notice these things.
We're gonna see all of these in the temptations of Christ.
Not in Christ but in the temptations
that Satan brought to Christ.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.
Listen, you and I need to understand
and you and I need to be aware of the fact
that while we are in this world
and while we are in this physical body,
there is the lust of the flesh,
there is the lust of the eyes, there is the pride of life,
and the devil is gonna use that to tempt.
Every man is tempted when he is drawn away
of his own lust and enticed.
You need to be aware of that.
It's interesting because Satan understands physically
the best time to tempt.
He goes to Jesus when he has not ate physically
for 40 days and 40 nights and tempts him
with physical appetite.
But let me just say this, Jesus was ready.
Obviously we know he's ready because he's the son of God,
but he was also ready because at the same time
that Jesus was the most physically maybe susceptible
to the temptation of food,
he was also the most spiritually ready
to deal with temptation because he just,
he's spending 40 days and 40 nights fasting
and in prayer with God.
The best way to get power over the desires
of your flesh is to pray and fast
and to weaken the grip and the strength
of the flesh in your life.
If you deal with, you have problems with character
and discipline, it's because your flesh is too strong.
It has too much control.
And we see that Jesus, I believe he knew
that he was going to be tempted of the devil
and he prepares by weakening his flesh
in the same way that Satan uses that
to tempt him in a weakened state.
He has weakened his flesh,
but he's not just weakened his flesh,
he's also strengthened his spirit.
He's led of the spirit and he's ready to face this.
So we see this first temptation, the temptation of appetites.
Satan brings a physical appetite.
Why don't you notice Jesus' response to the temptation?
Luke chapter four, if you would, go back to Luke chapter four
and keep your place in Hebrews.
Because look, when it comes to temptations,
we need to be aware, I believe that God put this
in the Bible because God wants you and I
to be aware of the fact that the devil
is gonna tempt you with physical appetites.
Maybe it'll be food, maybe it'll be lust,
maybe it'll be adultery, maybe it'll be fornication,
maybe it'll be covetousness, you know,
whatever it'll be, it'll be the lust of the eyes,
it'll be the lust of the flesh,
it'll be the pride of life.
He's gonna tempt you with these things.
You and I need to be aware of the temptation
of physical appetites.
But I want you to notice the response from Jesus.
How do we deal with that temptation?
Luke chapter four and verse four.
The Bible says this, and Jesus answered him, saying,
it is written that man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word of God.
See, the temptation is you have a physical appetite.
The response, I want you to notice from Jesus,
is this, there's more to life than physical appetites.
Here Satan says, hey, you haven't ate in a while,
why don't you command this stone that it may be made bread?
And Jesus says, man shall not live by bread alone.
He says, you have a physical temptation,
but the response from Jesus is this,
the devil comes and says, hey,
you've got a physical appetite here,
let me entice you and try to draw you away
with your own lust, and Jesus' response is this,
yes, I'm hungry, but there's more to life than hunger.
It's more to life than physical appetites.
He says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone.
You're trying to tempt me with bread,
but that's not all I need.
He says, man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
See, the response to the temptation
of physical appetites is this,
there's more to life than physical appetites.
Go to Matthew chapter six if you would.
Matthew chapter six, let me show this to you,
kind of tease this out for you in the Bible.
Matthew chapter six, verse 25.
Matthew six, 25, the Bible says this,
therefore I say unto you, this is Jesus speaking.
He says, take no thought for your life.
Notice what he brings up.
What ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
What is he talking about?
Physical needs.
I physically need to eat, I need to drink,
I need to have raiment and put on clothes.
But here's what he says.
He says, is not the life more than meat?
The word meat is a word in King James Bible
that simply means food.
He says, you think of your life
and you think about what you're gonna eat
and what you're gonna drink
and what you're gonna put on your body,
but he says, is not the life more than meat
and the body more than raiment?
He says, isn't there more to life
than just fulfilling your physical appetites?
Go to John chapter four, if you would.
John chapter four, look at verse 31.
You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
You're gonna go past Luke into the book of John.
John chapter four and verse 31.
Notice here we have Jesus while he's been waiting
for the disciples to bring him lunch.
He's, while they left, he of course is
with the woman at the well
and he's given her the gospel.
At this point, the woman of the well has left
and the disciples come back and notice John 4.31.
The Bible says, in the meanwhile,
his disciples prayed him saying, master, eat.
But he said unto them, now keep in mind,
when they left, he was physically hungry.
Now they left, he meets the woman at the well
and he does a little soul winning.
He gets her saved.
Now they come back and they said, master, eat.
He's trying to teach them a lesson.
What's the lesson?
That man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.
That there's more to life than just the fulfilling
of our physical needs.
They said, master, eat.
But he said unto them, John 4.32,
I have meat to eat that you know not of.
They said, we brought you food, we brought you lunch.
He said, I've got food that you don't know about.
Therefore said the disciples one to another,
hath any man brought him out to eat?
Did somebody else pick up lunch for him?
And Jesus says unto them, my meat is to do the will
of him that sent me and to finish his work.
You know, what is he saying?
Here's what he's saying.
Man shall not live by bread alone.
We're not simply animals living to fulfill
our physical needs.
There's more to life than just the physical need.
So when the devil shows up,
at times when you're maybe susceptible to sin,
when you're hungry and angry and lonely and tired,
we have to remember like the Lord Jesus Christ
that when he shows up and he says,
turn these stones and make them bread,
you're hungry physically, you've got a physical appetite.
Let me tempt you with that appetite.
The response that we should remind ourselves
and tell ourselves and remind the devil is this,
that there's more to life
than just fulfilling physical needs.
Man shall not live by bread alone.
Now let me give you kind of a tip for temptation.
There's three temptations he gives us in this passage
and there's three tips I wanna give you
connected with each of these temptations.
It's interesting to me because in this temptation,
you'll notice, you see the response from Jesus,
there's more to life than bread.
But I want you to notice that we can also learn this,
that we can use the word of God to fight against temptation.
See here, Jesus said, it is written,
and he quotes the word of God,
man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Now you don't have to turn there,
you stay there in Luke chapter four.
Let me read this to you,
but he's quoting from the book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy chapter eight and verse three,
let me read this verse to you.
The Bible says, because when Jesus said that quote,
that quote is in connection with a very famous,
well-known story in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 8, three, the Bible says,
and he humbled thee,
this is God speaking to the children of Israel,
and suffered thee, the word suffered
means he allowed thee to hunger.
Is that interesting?
Because Jesus is hungry right now.
In fact, Jesus has been in the wilderness for 40 days,
not eating, and he's hungry,
and he quotes from a passage in the Old Testament
where God is speaking to the children of Israel saying,
yeah, God allowed you to go into the wilderness,
just like Jesus was in the wilderness,
and to be hungry in the wilderness,
just like Jesus was hungry in the wilderness.
And he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger
and fed thee with manna.
Remember, God sent down manna from heaven,
which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know
that he might make thee know
that man doth not live by bread only,
but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
And I don't have time to preach on that passage,
but when God would send down manna, bread, from heaven,
first of all, that was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, I am the bread of life,
but because Jesus is the word,
that's also a picture of the word of God,
how man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
And if you remember that story,
God would send bread down every morning,
and every morning they would get up,
and they would have to go find the bread
that was needed for that day.
Give us this day our daily bread,
they would pick the bread that was needed,
and they would eat that bread for that day.
But if you remember, they were not allowed
to get more bread than was needed for that day.
It's not like they were allowed to go out there on Monday
and say, well, I'm gonna get enough bread
for Monday and Tuesday or Wednesday.
The Bible says that if they did that,
then whatever was left over,
whatever they ate on that day,
the next day they would wake up,
and that bread had bread worms,
and it had gone moldy, and it had gone bad.
Why?
Because God wanted them to go out every day
and find bread.
Why?
Because he was teaching them a lesson
that man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
There's a lesson there on Bible reading, and it is this.
You need to open up the word of God,
the bread of life, and feast on spiritual bread every day.
And don't get this idea where you say,
well, I'm reading nine chapters today,
and I'm gonna read the whole New Testament
in the month of January,
and then I'll be done with Bible reading
for the rest of the year,
because I've read so much in January.
No, no, no.
That's gonna bread worms.
You need to read every day.
Every day you need to be reading the word of God.
Every day you need to be feeding yourself spiritually.
Every day.
And here's what we learned.
We learned that Jesus used the word of God
to fight against temptation.
That's why the Bible says,
thy word have I hid in mine heart
that I might not sin against thee.
This is why the Bible says,
wherewith also a young man comes his way
by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
This is why the Bible says,
sanctify them through thy truth.
Thy word is true.
I'm just telling you, maybe you're here this morning,
and you say, man, I'm struggling with smoking cigarettes.
Well, you know what?
You know what you should do?
You should go home and find yourself a three-by-five card
and write a verse on there
to help you with smoking cigarettes,
maybe something about your body as a temple of the Holy Ghost
and you oughta memorize that verse
and you oughta put that verse in your pocket
or in your purse or wherever you normally keep your cigarettes
and every time your flesh wants you to reach
for that pack of cigarettes,
you pull out that verse and you quote it to the devil.
And you respond, it is written,
man should not live by bread alone.
I do have this physical appetite that wants to smoke.
I do have this physical appetite that wants to drink.
I do have this physical appetite
that wants to commit adultery or fornicate
or gamble or whatever it is.
I do have this physical appetite,
but there's more to life.
And just physical appetites.
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
So we see this first temptation.
It is a temptation of appetites.
And we see this tip from Jesus
that we can use the word of God to fight against temptation.
But I want you to notice secondly,
not only do we see the temptation of appetites,
we see a second temptation that the devil brings to Jesus.
Go back to Luke chapter four.
We see first the temptation of appetites.
I want you to notice secondly, the temptation of ambition.
We saw the temptation of appetites,
then we see the temptation of ambition.
What is ambition?
It is a strong desire to do or achieve something.
Here we see the devil bring his temptation to Jesus.
Notice what he says.
Luke four and verse five.
And the devil taketh him,
because he tempted him with bread,
Jesus said, it is written,
man shall not live by bread alone.
But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the Bible says this in verse five,
and the devil taketh him up into an high mountain
and showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world.
Notice, in a moment of time.
By the way, I believe that this is something
supernatural the devil did.
There's not a high enough mountain
for you to see all the kingdoms of the world.
He takes him on a high mountain,
and he takes him on a high mountain.
He takes him on a high mountain
probably to see the kingdoms of that area,
but then the Bible tells us in a moment of time
he showed them the kingdoms of the world.
And the devil said unto him,
all this power will I give thee and the glory of them,
for that is delivered unto me
to whomsoever I will give it.
Here, the devil shows up and he says,
he says, look at all the kingdoms of the world.
I will give you the power and the glory
of all the kingdoms of the world.
He said, I will give it.
Now, I want you to notice a couple things.
Look there at verse six.
And the devil said unto him, all this power.
Remember, he just got done showing him,
he showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world
in a moment of time.
The devil said unto him, all this power
will I give thee and the glory of them for,
don't miss it, for that is delivered unto me.
Do you know that the devil is in charge of this world?
I mean, the devil's telling Jesus,
hey, you know the kingdoms of this world
and the power of this world and the glory of the world,
it's been delivered unto me.
And notice Jesus doesn't say,
that's not true, devil, that's not true.
No, no, no, the devil is in charge of this world.
Go to John, let me just show you a couple verses.
John chapter 12, you're there in Luke.
Go to the next book, John.
John chapter 12, verse 31.
John 12, 31, the Bible says this.
John 12, 31, now is the judgment of this world.
Now shall, notice, this is a reference to Satan.
Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
The devil is referred to as the prince of this world.
You say, I don't like that.
Okay, well, you're really not gonna like this one.
Go to 2 Corinthians chapter four.
2 Corinthians chapter four, you're there in John, Acts,
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians chapter four, look at verse four.
2 Corinthians 4, four, notice what it says.
In whom the God, you see the word God there?
It's a lowercase G God, not a capital G.
This is not referring to the real God, the true God,
the God of heaven, Jehovah God.
This is a false God.
In whom the God, lowercase G, of this world,
who's being referred to here, Satan,
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Notice that the devil is referred to as
the prince of this world.
He's referred to as the God of this world.
I'm here to tell you something.
He's the God, the lowercase G God, in charge of this world.
And he goes to Jesus, and he says,
if you will worship me, I will give you,
all these kingdoms have been delivered unto me,
and I will give you the power and the glory
if you shall worship me, and I'm here to tell you something.
This is why some of you Fox News Baptists
need to stop being so excited
about who's running for president.
You say, well, what's wrong with a president?
Hey, let me tell you something.
A president doesn't become a president in this world,
and especially not of the most powerful nation in the world,
without the devil allowing him to.
Because the kingdoms of this world,
and the power of this world, and the glory of this world,
has been delivered unto him, and he gives it to them.
This is what we often refer to,
people refer to as selling your soul to the devil.
And I'm not saying that people literally meet with Satan
in some corner somewhere and sign a contract,
but I'm here to tell you, there's many a politician,
there's many a rock star, there's many an athlete,
there's many a movie star, and there's many a preacher
who has worshiped the devil in order to get power,
and glory, and fame.
And here, Satan says to Jesus,
go back to Luke chapter four.
Luke chapter four, verse six,
and the devil said unto him,
look, can we just be honest?
Some of these rock stars, they got more money
they can spend their whole life, and their music sucks.
I mean, we sang How Great Thou Art, that's beautiful music,
the garbage the world's putting out.
And you think to yourself,
how did they make so much money with this garbage?
Are they sold?
They're sold to the devil, that's how.
I mean, Joel Osteen's the most powerful preacher in America,
the richest preacher in America,
drove to his church this morning in a Lamborghini,
and his preaching sucks!
I mean, have you ever heard him preach?
It's like, this guy, I mean, he's so boring,
it's like, who's listening?
How in the world, you know, you watch him on YouTube,
and it's like, how did 10,000 people show up to hear,
and I know they show up for the rock concert, I get that,
but the point is this,
these people have sold their soul to the devil.
And the devil said unto him,
all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them,
for that is delivered unto me,
and whomsoever I will, I give it.
And notice what he wants.
All I want is this, verse seven,
if thou therefore will worship me, all shall be thine.
Let me tell you something.
There is a temptation of ambition
that I can have more, I can succeed,
I can climb that ladder, I can get more,
and look, I'm all for being driven.
I think we, especially men, ought to be driven.
We ought to get up and work hard every day,
and have goals, and have things we're trying to accomplish.
There's guys in our church that have businesses,
I was just talking to one of our business owners this week,
and I was saying, man, every time I talk to you,
I'm just excited, I get excited about accomplishing more,
and doing more, I think that as a man,
we should be driven to accomplish more, and do more,
and accomplish great things.
There's nothing wrong with that, God put that in us,
but there is a temptation sometimes to, as a preacher,
I should be driven to reach more people, have more people.
You say, why do you wanna grow the church,
just so you can have a bigger crowd?
No, so we can reach more people
with the gospel of Jesus Christ,
so we can help more lives be discipled
and grown in the Lord, so we can accomplish more for God.
So we should be driven, but let's be careful.
You say, well, God put that driven desire.
Well, let me tell you something,
God also put a desire in you to eat,
and God also put a desire in you
to have a physical relationship with your spouse,
and God put a lot of desires in you,
but you can take those to an extreme,
and here we see Satan wanting to take them to an extreme,
and he's offering Jesus the temptation of ambition.
He began with appetites, then he goes to ambition.
Why don't you notice a response from our Savior?
What do you do when the devil says,
hey, if you cheat here, you can get that raise?
If you lie to your boss here, you get that promotion.
Hey, as a preacher, if you don't preach that,
if you cut out that part, if you don't say that part,
you know, you can have a bigger crowd,
and you can have a bigger church,
and you can have a bigger influence, you know.
I mean, what do you do
when Satan tempts you with that ambition?
You just have to tell a small lie.
You just have to forge this document.
You just have to not tell the boss about that situation,
or not tell the truth in this situation.
You just have to lie a little bit,
and the devil says, hey, just do it,
and I'll give you all your ambition.
Here's a response from Jesus, Luke four and verse eight.
And Jesus answered and said unto him,
get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written,
notice again, he quotes the word of God.
He says, for it is written,
thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
You say, what's the response?
Here's the temptation.
The temptation is, you see these kingdoms of the world?
I'll give them all to you if you worship me.
And Jesus' response is,
thou shalt worship the Lord thy God.
See, Satan says, I'll give you all these things you want,
and Jesus' response is, all I want is God.
He said, I'll give you all the things you want.
I'll give you all the things you need,
and Jesus' response is, all I need is God.
He says, you worship me, and you've got it.
You've got the glory, you've got the power,
you've got the faith, I'll give you anything you want.
And Jesus says, all I want is God.
For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
Reminds me of this famous verse,
the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
I love that song, Jesus Christ has made to me
all I need, all I need.
He alone is all my plea, he is all I need.
Wisdom, righteousness, and power,
holiness this very hour, my redemption fallen free,
he is all I need.
And when Satan shows up and says, I know what you need,
I know what you want, let me tempt you with appetites,
and you say, there's more to life than just appetites.
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
They don't say, what about ambition?
I can give you faith, I can give you power,
I can give you success, I can give you the things you want.
The proper response is this, all I want is God.
We talked about it on Wednesday night, the goal is God.
Let me give you a little tip for temptation though,
here from this passage.
Remember, in the first temptation,
the tip was that we can use the word of God
to fight against temptation.
There's another tip here for temptation, it is this.
I want you to notice this, look at Luke chapter four
and verse five.
And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain,
showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world,
notice this little phrase, in a moment of time.
In a moment of time.
You know what's interesting to me?
Is that Satan always packages his temptations
as an impulse buy, right?
I mean, you go to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs
and chicken, but right before you get out,
you see the Kit Kats, the M&Ms.
You weren't there for that.
But if you don't get it right now,
you're not gonna be able to get it.
It's an impulse buy.
In a moment of time.
He says, let me show you the kingdoms of the world,
and you gotta do it right now.
The sale will end in an hour.
If you don't do it now, you're gonna regret it
for the rest of your life.
In a moment of time.
Here's what's interesting too.
You know that Jesus, after his resurrection,
said all power is given unto me in heaven and on earth?
You know what's interesting is that Jesus
was already going to get all the kingdoms of the world.
See, there's this little period of time in the prophecies
known as the millennial reign of Christ,
where Jesus will reign on this earth, physically,
over the kingdoms of this world.
See, Satan is offering to Jesus something
that Jesus is already going to get.
He's already going to get the kingdoms of this world.
He's already going to be given the power of this world.
He's already going to be given the fame of this world.
You say, well then, what is the temptation?
The temptation is this, in a moment of time.
See, Satan is tempting Jesus to take
what he's already going to get,
but to take a shortcut to get it.
This is the temptation that he tempted Jacob with.
Remember Jacob and Esau?
God had already prophesied that Jacob
was going to take the birthright.
God had already prophesied that the elder
would serve the younger.
I don't know how God was going to do it,
but God was going to make sure that Jacob
got the birthright from his father, Isaac, not Esau.
But what does Jacob do?
He takes it into his own hands.
He cheats and lies and steals to get that birthright,
and because of that, he spends 20 years
of his life paying for it.
You know what the temptation is from Satan?
Let me tell you young people.
You know what the temptation is from Satan?
It's to go ahead and give in to that lust,
and give in to that desire, and go ahead and kiss,
and go ahead and sneak out,
and go ahead and look at pornography,
and go ahead and give in to that desire.
But I'm here to tell you something.
Do you know that God wants you to one day get married
and be able to fulfill that desire in a righteous way?
You know what Satan says?
He says, I give it to you now in a moment of time,
and I'm here to tell you that it'll ruin your life.
It'll destroy you.
You'll spend 20 years like Jacob, paying,
because you went ahead of God.
God wants you to have most of the things that you desire.
God wants you to be able to fulfill those things
in a righteous way,
and God wants you to fulfill it in his timing.
But Satan shows up and says, how about we do it now
in a moment of time as an impulse buy?
See, Satan's temptations are often presented
as an impulse buy.
Don't let him talk you into taking a shortcut
to something that God has already given you
and promised to give you in his timing.
See, Jesus, it would have been foolish
for him to worship the devil to get the kingdoms
of this world when he was already promised
the kingdoms of this world from God, from God the Father.
So we see this temptation, what is it?
It's the temptation of ambition.
We see the first temptation, what is it?
It is the temptation of appetites.
Why don't you notice, thirdly, this morning,
go back to Luke chapter four, look at verse nine.
Not only do we see the temptation of appetites,
not only do we see the temptation of ambition,
but we also see, thirdly, the temptation of arrogance.
This is pride.
You know the Bible says pride goeth before destruction?
The temptation of arrogance.
What is the temptation of arrogance?
Here's the temptation of arrogance.
It's you're so important, you can force the hand of God.
You're so important, you need to get God on your agenda.
You're so important, you need to get God
to build your kingdom.
See, in Luke chapter four, verse nine,
Jesus tempted here, and it's a very interesting temptation.
The Bible says in Luke four, verse nine,
and he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle.
The word pinnacle means the highest point or the peak.
Set him on a pinnacle of the temple and set unto him.
If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down from hence.
Now that seems like an odd temptation.
He takes him to the pinnacle of the temple,
the highest point of the temple, and he says,
if you're the son of God, throw yourself down.
Now you say, well, why would Satan tempt him this way?
Notice verse 10, for it is written.
Now I want you to notice, because we've seen this phrase,
for it is written in this passage.
But I want you to notice, in Luke four and verse 10,
this is a different, for it is written.
Up to this point, we have seen the Lord Jesus Christ
quote scripture saying, for it is written.
Luke four, 10 is the devil speaking.
Luke four, 10, we're about to see Satan quote scripture.
Let me tell you something, you know the devil
quotes scripture?
For it is written.
By the way, let me just say this,
the devil quotes scripture and he misquotes scripture.
He does not quote this passage properly.
He says, for it is written, he shall give his angels
charge over thee to keep thee, and in their hands,
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Now I want to show you how Satan misquoted this scripture.
Keep your finger there in Luke chapter four
and go with me to the book of Psalms, if you would,
Psalm 91, you open up your Bible just right in the center,
you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms,
Psalm 91.
See, here's Satan's temptation.
He says, you know Jesus, there's this verse in the Bible
that says that if you fall, God will give charge
over thee, over the angels, he will give the angels
charge over thee to keep thee, and in their hands
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Satan says to Jesus, he says, you know Jesus,
the Bible says, don't you like when the devil says,
the Bible says, for it is written that if you fall,
God has given charge to the angels to make sure
that you're okay, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
The problem is he misquotes this verse.
He changes the Bible, he removes a section of the Bible.
By the way, that's what he's been doing
from the Garden of Eden, questioning the word of God,
hath God said, changing the word of God,
you shall not surely die, he does it here.
This is what the devil's been doing since the beginning.
The Bible says that we are not as many
which corrupt the word of God.
He removes a section of scripture, by the way,
that's why there's so many modern Bible versions today
that have removed complete sections of scripture
versus from the Bible, why?
Because they're doing what the devil wants them to do,
they're removing parts of scripture.
Here's what he's quoting, Psalm 91, 11.
See if you can catch what he missed.
For, he says, for it is written, Psalm 91 says,
for he shall give his angels charge over thee.
Satan said, he shall give his angels charge over thee.
Psalm 91, 11 says, to keep thee.
Satan said, to keep thee.
Verse 12 says, they shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against the stone.
Satan said, and in their hands they shall bear thee up,
lest at any time thou dash thy foot against the stone.
What Satan left out was the last little part of verse 11,
Psalm 91, 11, for he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee, here's a little phrase, in all thy ways.
Say, what's the problem with removing that?
Here's the point, the promise that we find in Psalm 91
is this, that Jesus was not going to die
until God the Father wanted him to die.
That Jesus' death was not going to be accidental.
The cross was not accidental.
This sensationalist today liked to teach
that the cross was an accident,
wasn't supposed to happen,
the Jews weren't supposed to deny.
The Bible said, Jesus said, I laid out my life,
and no man taketh from me.
His death was not accidental.
What the Bible is saying here,
because Jesus found himself, in fact next week
we're gonna look at a story,
the very first sermon Jesus preached
they tried to throw him off a cliff.
And the Bible says that he's able to maneuver his way
around them and escape that, why?
Because the Bible teaches that God the Father
was not going to allow Jesus to die
until the appointed time when he was to die.
So the promise was this, that as the Messiah
was out ministering in all thy ways,
or in all his ways as he was doing
what he was supposed to be doing in life,
he wasn't just going to fall and slip and die
because God had given charge to the angels
to take care of him, lest thou dash thy foot
against the stone.
The reason that Satan is bringing this up
is because he's doubting that Jesus is God.
He's doubting that Jesus is the Son of God.
He's saying, if thou be the Son,
if you're really the Son of God,
well you know what God said?
God said that he's not going to allow the Messiah
to dash his foot against the stone.
So why don't you throw yourself out of this pinnacle
and prove that you're the Messiah?
That's the temptation.
The temptation is he's trying to appeal
to the arrogance of Jesus saying,
well if you're really who you say you are,
I mean if you're as bad as you say you are,
if you're as tough as you say you are,
if you could hold down your liquor,
isn't this how people tempt you?
I mean if you really mean it,
he says if thou be the Son of God,
for it is written he shall give his angels
charge over thee to keep thee.
But the keep thee was in all thy ways
as he was going through life.
It wasn't a promise for Jesus to become a daredevil
and start doing all sorts of dangerous things just to prove.
Watch, look, I'm gonna take this gun
and shoot myself in the head and it's just click, click,
click, you won't let me die.
He wasn't supposed to become some sort of sideshow,
you know, roadshow rodeo.
This is a temptation of arrogance.
Jesus, you're so important if you really are
who you say you are.
Force the hand of God.
Force the hand of God to prove to us
that you are who you say you are.
Throw yourself from this pinnacle
and let's see if the angels protect you.
The interesting thing is he quotes scripture to do it,
he misquotes scripture to do it.
Let me say this, go to 1 Thessalonians if you would.
Find the T-books, they're all clustered together.
1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Thessalonians 5.
Remember what we talked about, knowing the scripture?
Man should not live by bread alone.
Go out every day and pick up the word of God,
pick up the bread of life, eat it,
give us this day our daily bread physically
but also spiritually, read the word of God.
Why do you need to read the word of God?
We've been talking about it this whole year.
We've been talking about it for some time now.
We need to build our lives on the Bible, why?
You need to know what the Bible says,
you need to believe what the Bible says,
you need to apply what the Bible says, why?
Why should I know what the Bible says?
Because the devil's gonna try to trick you
and lie to you about what the Bible says.
He's lying to Jesus here.
He removes this part of scripture.
You know what the Bible says?
1 Thessalonians 5.21, prove all things.
Hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5.21, prove all things.
Look, somebody shows up at your door, knocks on your door,
they got a white shirt on with black pants or khaki pants
and a tie and they've got a book
that looks like a Bible in their hand
and they call themselves an elder.
They show up with a suit and a briefcase
full of all sorts of materials
that look like they've got scripture in them.
You know what the Bible says?
Prove all things.
2 Timothy chapter two, you there on 1 Thessalonians?
Go past 2 Thessalonians, past 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy.
I'm here to tell you, not everybody that quotes the Bible
is telling you the truth.
You have to prove all things.
You say, what do I do?
What do I do when I listen to the TV preacher
and he says things that don't seem to match
what I've heard in church or heard from the word of God?
What do I do when I listen to the radio preacher
and he's saying something different
than what I've kind of seen in the Bible?
What do I do?
Here's what you do, 2 Timothy 2.15.
Study to show thyself, approve them to God.
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
Hey, here's what you do, you be like those Bereans
which were more noble than those in Thessalonica
and they search the scriptures daily
whether those things were so.
Now look, I don't think you ought to show up to church
with this bad attitude, just this critical attitude
like that pastor, he's guilty until proven innocent.
You ought to come, like the Bereans,
the Bible says they came ready to receive the word.
But you know what, when the word of God
is preached to you here, you ought not just assume
that pastor Jimenez or any man is telling you the truth,
you ought to go home and search the scriptures daily
whether those things were so.
You ought to study to show thyself, approve them to God.
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
Go to 1 John chapter four, you're there in 2 Timothy,
go past Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James,
1 2 Peter, 1 John, 1 John chapter four.
1 John chapter four, look at verse one.
1 John chapter four, verse one.
Beloved, believe not every spirit.
Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God.
Because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
You know what, you shouldn't just believe
everything you hear, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits whether they are of God.
Go back to Luke chapter four, Luke chapter four.
So we have this temptation, it's a temptation of arrogance.
He says, if you're the son of God,
you know what the Bible says, the Bible says
that if you're the son of God, that if you're the Messiah,
that if you're the Christ, that if you're the chosen one,
that God's not gonna let you just die accidentally,
so why don't you throw yourself off this pinnacle
to prove that, Jesus?
He appeals to his arrogance.
Sometimes the devil appeals to our arrogance.
Sometimes instead of praying prayers like,
not my will, but thine be done,
we don't say this out loud, but this is what we mean.
We say, Lord, not thy will, but mine be done.
We don't say, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
We really want our kingdom come, our will be done.
We want God to get on our agenda.
We want God to get onto our will.
We want God to do things for us.
Here, Satan says, he says, look,
cast thyself down from hence, for it is written,
he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee,
leaves out in all thy ways, and in their hand
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against the stone.
Here's a response from Jesus, Luke chapter four
and verse 12, and Jesus answered and said unto him,
it is said, this is again a quote, it is written,
it is said, here's how Jesus responds.
He says, it is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
You say, what does that mean?
Well, the word tempt is a word that can mean several things.
It can mean temptation, like we read in James
where when a man is tempted, he's drawn away
of his own lust and enticed.
But the word tempt can also mean attempted or to test.
Like when God did tempt Abraham and he asked him
to sacrifice his son Isaac upon the altar,
he was testing him.
Here Satan says, hey, I have an idea.
Since you say you're the son of God
and the son of God is supposed to have these angels
that protect him, why don't you throw yourself
off the pinnacle to prove to see if you're the son of God?
See if God will actually do what he said he did.
And then Jesus says, you know what the Bible says?
The Bible says, thou shalt not tempt or test
the Lord thy God.
He says, I'm not gonna put God to a test
to see if God will actually do what he said
he's going to do.
See, here's Jesus' response to this temptation.
His response is this, I work for God the Father,
God the Father doesn't work for me.
I'm here to do the will of the Father.
The will of the Father's not there to do the will of mine.
I'm not gonna throw myself off the pinnacle
to see if I can get God the Father
to do what God the Father's supposed to do.
No, no, no.
See, Jesus understood that he was to be a submissive
unto the will of the Father.
And let me tell you something.
When Satan shows up and tempts you with arrogance
and says, you deserve better, you deserve that,
you should not have to put up with that,
you don't have to put up with her,
you don't have to put up with him,
you don't have to do that, you're better than that.
Hey, you oughta tell Satan, I'm not here to serve myself,
I'm here to serve God the Father, he's in charge.
Amen.
Not my will, but thine be done.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
His response was, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God.
His response is, God the Father doesn't work for me,
I work for him.
His response was, I'm not gonna test God the Father.
I don't put him to a test.
He can put us to tests.
Let me give you, quickly, I gotta finish this thing up,
let me give you a tip for temptation here.
It's interesting because in this temptation,
if you look, if you're there in Luke chapter four,
look at verse three.
And the devil said unto him,
notice this, if thou be the Son of God.
You see that in Luke chapter four and verse three?
If thou be the Son of God.
And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God.
Look at Luke chapter four and verse nine.
And he brought him to Jerusalem,
and set him on a pinnacle of the temple,
and said unto him, if thou be the Son of God.
It's interesting to me that in Luke chapter four,
Satan keeps bringing up this idea to Jesus.
If thou be the Son of God, if thou be the Son of God,
if thou be the Son of God.
He questions that Jesus is the Son of God.
Here's what's interesting, in Luke chapter three,
we just saw it last week, at the baptism of Christ.
Luke chapter three and verse 22, look at it.
Luke 3, 22, the Bible says, at the baptism of Christ,
and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape,
like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven,
which said, thou art my beloved Son,
in thee I am well pleased.
It's interesting to me that in chapter four,
Satan keeps questioning if thou be the Son of God.
He keeps questioning what God the Father
has already stated in chapter three.
In chapter three, God the Father has already declared
that Jesus is my beloved Son, thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.
But yet Satan shows up a chapter later and says,
well, I know what God said,
but if you're really the Son of God.
Here's a tip for temptation.
Don't let Satan cause you to doubt
what God has already stated as true.
Well, if you're really saved,
I don't need to prove that I'm saved.
I'm saved because I believe on Lord Jesus Christ, period.
Well, if you're really a Christian,
let me tell you something, Satan, get thee behind me.
I'm not gonna allow you to question,
I'm not gonna allow you to put a question mark
where God has already put an exclamation point.
God has already said, thou art my beloved Son,
in thee I am well pleased, so you can get out of here
with your if thou be the Son of God.
I already know I'm the Son of God.
Look at Luke chapter four.
We'll finish this thing up.
We see there's temptations.
We see the temptations of appetites.
He tempts with physical appetite.
What's the response?
There's more to life than the fulfilling
of physical appetites.
And the tip we learn is that we can use the word of God
to fight against temptation.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart
that I might not sin against thee.
Then we see the temptation of ambition,
that you can have wealth and fame and power.
And we see the response from Jesus is that
though Satan can offer you wealth and fame and power,
all I want is God.
And we see this tip that Satan always presents
his temptations as an impulse buy and as a shortcut.
Oftentimes he offers you what God has already told you
you can have in a righteous way.
You just need to wait on God's timing.
Then we see the temptation of arrogance.
He says, you're so important, force the hand of God.
Make God get on your agenda.
Make God submit to your will.
And the response is, I don't test God.
God doesn't work for me, I work for him.
God is in charge, not vice versa.
And we see this tip, don't allow Satan to cause you
to doubt what God has already declared.
In Luke chapter four and verse 13,
we see two kind of statements in regards
to just to conclude this thing and finish this thing up.
The Bible says, Luke 4, 13,
and when the devil had ended all the temptation.
Let me give you a couple of lessons on temptation, okay?
You don't have to turn there, I'm out of time.
I'll just read this for you.
If you wanna jot this down, you can put this in your notes.
The Bible says that the devil departed.
Here's a takeaway for temptation.
Something for you to remember is this,
that if you resist the devil, he will flee from you.
James 4, seven, submit yourselves therefore to God,
resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jesus resisted, and when the devil had ended
all the temptations, he departed from him.
If you resist the devil, he will flee from you.
But let me say this, look at the last part
of verse 13, for a season.
This was not the only time Jesus was tempted.
He was tempted again of Satan.
This is documented for our benefit.
But Jesus was tempted throughout his life,
and I'm here to tell you, you and I
will be tempted throughout our lives.
So the first takeaway is this,
resist the devil and he'll flee from you.
The second takeaway is this,
because we will be tempted for a season,
he will depart for a season, but he will come back
and tempt us again, you and I need to learn
to flee temptation.
The Bible says this, there hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man.
But God is faithful, who will not suffer you
to be tempted above that ye are able,
but will with, here's the key,
will with the temptation also make a way to escape
that ye may be able to bear it.
You say, what's the key to having victory over temptation?
Here's the key, whenever there is a temptation,
God promises that with the temptation,
there's a way to escape, 1 Corinthians 10, 13,
that ye may be able to bear it.
Remember when Joseph found himself
in the house with the mistress by himself,
which he should have done, been there by himself
to begin with, and she threw himself upon him?
What was he supposed to do?
What he was supposed to do is exactly what he did,
he ran, flee fornication, flee idolatry,
flee covetousness, flee temptation.
Because we're gonna deal with temptation
throughout life.
So remember, when temptation shows up,
there's a promise from God that says,
with that temptation, there's always a way to escape
that ye may be able to bear it.
So resist the devil and he'll flee from you,
but don't live in the presence of temptation,
run from it, flee from it.
Don't live in the presence of it,
because eventually you'll give in if you don't run.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word.
Thank you for this passage in Scripture
that you've given us, there's so much here
and so much that we even have to skip.
But Lord, we're thankful that Jesus was tempted
in all points like as we are yet without sin.
And we're thankful for these stories to teach us
that we can also have victory over temptation
and to teach us how to respond to temptation.
Lord, we love you.
In the matchless name of Christ, we pray.
Amen.
We're gonna have Brother Matt come up
and lead us in a final song.
I just wanna give you a couple reminders.
Mainly, I wanna encourage you to be back tonight,
6 p.m. for the evening service.
We're gonna have Pastor Joe Jones preaching for us
and you're not gonna wanna miss it.
You're gonna wanna be here, so make a plan
to be here at 6 p.m. for the evening service.
If there's anything that we can do for you,
please let us know and God bless you
and we appreciate you being here today.
We'll have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song.
Turn to song 293.
["The First Noel"]
Song 293.
293 on the first.
Have you longed for sweet peace
And hope made to gain frieze
And ever did see her with me great
But you cannot have rest
When you're perfectly blessed
Until all of the altering say
Is your all the altar of sacrifice
I say, your heart was a sinner and a jewel
You can only be blessed
And your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul
Would you walk with the Lord
In the light of his word
And have peace and protect with your ways
Give us to his sweet will
To be free from all ill
From the altar of our new state
Is your all the altar of sacrifice
I say, your heart was a sinner and a jewel
You can only be blessed
And your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul
For we never can grow
But the road will be slow
From the blessings to the gifts we have made
To our body and soul
We got fully controlled
In our alums we alter his name
Is your all the altar of sacrifice
I say, your heart was a sinner and a jewel
You can only be blessed
And your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul
Who can tell all the love
He will send from above
You can only be blessed
When your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul
And your reasons repressed
You can only be blessed
When your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul
You can only be blessed
When your reasons repressed
As you lived in your body and soul