Episode Transcript
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The Gospel of Luke again this morning, the exact same text that I read
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from last week. Luke Chapter Four. Will be reading the first thirteen verses
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here. God's Word and Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned from
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the Jordan's and was led by the
spirit in the Wilderness for forty days,
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being tempted by the devil, and
he ate nothing during those days, and
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when they were ended he was hungry. The Devil said to him, if
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you are the son of God,
command a stone to become bread, and
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Jesus answered him it has written man
shall not live by bread alone. And
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the devil took him up and showed
him all the kingdom, to the world
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in a moment of time, and
said to him, to you, I
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will give all this authority and their
glory, for it has been delivered to
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me and I will give it to
whom I will. If you then will
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worship me, it will be yours. and Jesus answered him. It is
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written. You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only you
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shall serve. And he took him
to Jerus slum and set him on a
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pinnacle of the Temple and said to
him, if you are the son of
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God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written he will command
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as angels concerning you to guard you, and on their hands they will bear
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you up lest you strike your foot
against a stone. and Jesus answered him.
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It is said you shall not put
the Lord your God to the test.
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And when the devil had ended every
temptation, he departed from him until
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an opportune time. Thus ends the
reading of God's word. You may be
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seated. We looked at the beginning
of the temptation of Jesus last week and
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we looked at some inductor introductory materials
and then we looked at the first temptation
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and that was to make bread out
of a stone. And I told you
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there was too much material there to
do it in one message. I need
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to do it and too. But
as I was preparing the message this morning
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I found that there still was too
much material. But I wasn't going to
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go and in this another another week. So I just had to pare down
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a few pages out of the message
and I got it down to which I
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think is a manageable size. Uh
this morning, but you'll be the better
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judge of that. One of the
things we noticed last week is that in
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looking at the two natures of Christ, Christ has man, had to be
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tempted because he was a man and
he was a human, but Christ,
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as God, could not sin.
And so we have one of those mysteries
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that is solved by the two natures, even though we do not fully comprehend
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that mystery. But nonetheless we understand
that he had to undergo temptation but also
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that it would be impossible for him
to fail in that temptation. So I
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want to begin with versus five through
eight this morning. Now, you may
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know this or maybe not, but
Matthew and Luke transpose these two temptations.
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So what is the second temptation in
Matthew becomes the third in Luke. And
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what become what is the second in
Luke becomes the third in Matthew. And
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so in Luke the second temptation is
where Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of
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the world and says they would be
his if he would worship him. But
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in Matthew the second temptation is that
Christ would cast himself down off the pinnacle
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of the Temple, which of course, is the third temptation in Luke.
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Now we don't take from that that
there's contradictions in the Bible at all.
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That doesn't mean that, no matter
what, the gospel writers are telling US
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The story of Christ in a way
that suits them and that really is rarely
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chronological. There is some kind of
chronology to the Gospels, that's certain,
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but they are none of the writers
are concerned to give us the order of
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everything in exact sequence. That isn't
what they're doing. And when we look
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at Matthew and Luke, it seems
clear from Reading Matthew that Matthew's giving us
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the chronological order where Luke is not. And the reason we know that is
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because Matthew uses time marker were words, words like then afterwards. And so
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we see that matthew is giving us
a sequence where Luke simply says and and
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and and, and that's all he's
doing here. And so he can note
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in these verses, in nine of
the eleven verses from three through thirteen,
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the verse begins with the Word and
might not in your Bible, but,
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but, but it should. But
Anyway, Matthew again uses those other words.
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So Lucas saying, Um, I
want to I want to emphasize something
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here. I'm gonna tell it in
this way, John MacArthur says, has
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he often did with the material in
his Gospel. Luke arranged the temptations thematically
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rather than chronologically. So in verse
five we're told what happens in the temptation,
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but it isn't exactly clear to us
how it happens. We're not sure.
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Says the devil takes Jesus up to
a high place and shows him all
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the kingdoms of the world. Now, how does that happen? The Satan
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U UH somehow take on a human
form and end up there in the wilderness
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with Jesus and walks with him up
a high mountain? Is that whether it
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takes place or or is this a
vision of some kind that Satan is showing
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to our Lord? Well, we
don't have to answer that question definitely today,
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but the fact that it says in
a moment of time he showed Jesus
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all the kingdoms of the world it
seems to indicate that it was in a
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vision. I found it interesting here
what Calvin says. He says it is
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asked was he actually carried to the
elevated spot or was it done in a
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vision? There is no absurdity in
supposing that this took place by the permission
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of God and the voluntary subjection of
Christ, provided we hold it within that
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is, in his mind and souls, he suffered no delusion. What is
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next? Added that all the kingdoms
of the world were placed in the view
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of Christ, as well as what
Luke relates, that he was carried to
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a great distance in one moment.
Agrees better with the idea of a vision
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than with any other supposition. In
a matter that is doubtful and where ignorance
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brings no risk, I choose rather
to suspend my judgment than to furnish contentious
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people with an occasion of debate.
Sometimes Kelvin is just so humorous the way
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he does it, and here he
shows a rare moment of diplomacy. Is
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is his writings are not always the
most diplomatic, is some of you might
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know if you read Kelvin. But
I found that kind of a humorous quote.
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So anyway. But both these,
e q and John, also were
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carried away to a high mountain,
apparently in a vision that seems infected.
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In at least one case it has
said it happens in a vision. So
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it seems like perhaps that is the
right way to go. But the greater
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question that has asked here on this
temptation is does Satan have the power to
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deliver what he's tempting Jesus to in
other words, Ken't Satan, if Jesus
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were to worship him, would he
really be able to give Christ all of
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the Kingdoms of the world? Of
that's a debating question and the various commentaries
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that I read in preparation for this
sermon I found authors on both sides of
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this question. There are scriptures that
seem to indicate he does indeed have that
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power. Ephesians two TWOS, that
calls the Prince of the power of the
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air. Later in six twelve and
Ephesians Paul says we do not wrestle against
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flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over the present
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darkness, against the spiritual forces of
evil and heavenly places. And Second Corinthians
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for four, Paul Calls Satan the
God of this world. Jesus even refers
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to him that way in John Twelve
thirty one, where he says now is
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the judgment of this world. Now
with the ruler of this world be cast
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out. And so we also have
John at first, John Nineteen. The
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whole world lies in the power of
the evil one. But aren't all the
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kingdoms of the world ultimately in God's
hands? Aren't they really up to God
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to the suppose of as he would
see fit? Some would say the devil
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had the power during the time of
the temptation to do this, but after
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the Christ's death and resurrection they were
delivered to him, and they would quote
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Collossians to fifteen. He disarmed the
rulers and authorities and put them to open
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shame by triumphing over them in him. Others would ask the question, well,
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if if Satan couldn't deliver and Jesus
knew that, what kind of a
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temptation is that? It's like well, well, I'm not gonna do that
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because you don't have any power to
do that anyway. Um, so those
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are the questions. I I kind
of personally, and this is not inspired,
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but I hold the decide that I
think Satan did have this power,
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at least at this time. But
if you want to hold the other side,
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you certainly welcome to do that.
But let's move on to the answer.
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First Aid. It says it is
written, you shall worship the Lord
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your God, and him only shall
you serve. Now those words aren't precise
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be found anywhere in the Old Testament
where Jesus is quoting. It has been
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noted, however, that the closest
scripture is probably Deuteronomy six thirteen. It
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is the Lord Your God, you
shall fear Him, you shall serve and
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by his name you shall swear.
And so, although it's not an identical
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word for word quotation from the Scriptures, it is certainly the intent of that
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scripture as Jesus is giving it,
especially when we add the next verse.
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You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the People's who are
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around you. And really it's also
a perfect summation of the entire Old Testament.
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That happens again and again. You
should worship me and not these other
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gods, although Israel continued to do
that, and Jesus is proclaiming he will
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only worship God. Well, we
move on to the third temptation and verses
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again. This would be the second
one in Matthew and the devil begins with
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the same words that started in the
first temptation. If you are the son
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of God, and we find the
same questions here that we find in the
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last temptation is all of this in
a vision that Satan is is doing this
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as well. Are they going?
Are they actually physically going up to the
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pinnacle of the Temple and the Satan
put Jesus there? And we're not even
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sure where this particular place is.
Some have suggested that it might have been
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on the edge of what was called
Herod's Portico that overhung the Kedron Valley,
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where you could look down four hundred
and fifty feet. Joseph has called it
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a dizzy height to be that high. There's a tradition Um that is given
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in Eusebius and in other places,
that James, the brother of Jesus,
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was actually thrown down from that particular
spot or spot like that, to his
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death. But again, we don't
have to know. We don't have to
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know exactly where it takes place.
But there's a couple of interesting things we
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do want to note. Up until
this time we've noticed Jesus has met the
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temptation of Jesus by quoting scripture.
So now it seems that Satan says,
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well, you've been quoting scripture,
so why don't I quote a scripture Um
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origin said the devil, like heretics, is quick to quote scripture, and
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if you've ever dealt with people in
cults, you know they're very quick to
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to quote scripture, but they only
know a few they don't know, and
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if you bring any other scriptures into
the equation, they're very confused. But
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they still love to quote scripture.
And the devil quotes out of Psalm Ninety,
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one very familiar song, one of
the most familiar psalms, I would
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guess, of people. And he
quotes versus eleven and twelve, for he
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will command his angels concerning you to
guard you in all your ways. On
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their hands, they will bear you
up unless you strike your foot against a
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stone. Now I am quoting the
words out of the SAS, and you
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might notice, but wait a minute, that's not exactly what he quoted,
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and it isn't now. I told
you that Jesus didn't quote exactly the words
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out of Deuteronomy, and that's also
gonna happen later Um and we might say
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so. Is that a big point? And there are those who think this
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is a big point and those that
do not think it's a big point.
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Again, I lie on the side. I think it is a big point.
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I think it's important that the PSALMIS
says he will guard you in all
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your ways. That's what Satan leaves
out, because in the psalms from the
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very beginning we are taught that the
godly walk in a particular way. Remember
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that in Psalm one we're told you
know that he does not stand in the
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way of sinners, because if you
stand in the way of sinners, I'll
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tell you, you'll get run over. So you don't want to do that.
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But again, it begins with the
ways, which is often called the
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two ways, that go throughout the
psalms and proverbs and other places in this
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scripture and and deal with that.
So by saying this, by leaving that
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out, it's like saying I don't
want you to think about you know that,
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that he wouldn't guard you if you're
not walking in the way that God
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has commanded. So I'M gonna leave
that part out and I think that is
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uh specifically left out. I mentioned
in the one. I think it was
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the UH. I just get confused
in my directions. Northwest Fellowship group Um
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that years ago there was a little
Christian humorous magazine that was out there.
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Pre dates most of you. Nobody
probably heard of it's called the Wittenberg door.
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But they ran a contest for a
while about what they thought were the
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worst lines in any him and I
don't remember if this one one or not,
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but but it was up towards the
top and it was my sin.
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Oh the bliss of this glorious thought. Now, if you take that line
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by itself, it's it's a pretty
bad line, but if you go to
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the next line it all makes sense
and it comes together. So again it
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is important for us to come through
the entire passes of scripture. But there
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is a great temptation, you know, when when people um come against us
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and say, Oh, that's not
true. Immediately, what do we want
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to do? Oh, I'm going
to prove to you it's true. I'm
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gonna tell you it's true. You
you can't doubt my word. You can't.
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You can't doubt what I'm saying here. And so of course there is
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a great Satan says, if you
are the son of God, and and
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and Jesus be could have said,
if I'm the son of God, I'll
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show you what the son of God
I am, and I'll but but he
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doesn't do that. William Hendrickson says
he realizes that for him to do what
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Satan is urging upon him would amount
to substituting presumption for faith, effrontery for
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submission to God's guidance. G Campbell
Morgan says the moment we do something to
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prove God, we are proving we
are not sure of God. That that
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was very interesting. Calvin again says
we cannot rely on his promises without obeying
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his commandments. And so once again
our Lord quotes from Deuteronomy and he says
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from Verse Twelve it has written you
shall not put the Lord your God to
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the test, which is quoted from
Deuteronomy six sixteen. Not to be fair,
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he leaves out the end of that
verse two, but it wasn't really
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part of the message. It simply
says the end of it in Deuteronomy says
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as you tested him at Massa.
So it's not it doesn't really change anything
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what he's saying. In that case. Those words are just telling about a
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particular instance. And in verse thirteen
we read when the devil had ended every
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temptation, he departed from him until
an opportune time. However much Jesus had
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been tempted in those forty days.
And again the Gospel Writers need to indicate
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he had been tempted throughout the forty
days, not just at the end,
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but however much the tempt patient at
this point ends. Calvin says. His
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phrase of Luke means that no truce
or relaxation was granted to Christ until he
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had been fully tried by every species
of content. And the devil, probably
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angry and upset that he had not
been able to tempt Christ to any sin,
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leaves him and depart until an opportune
time. So let me make some
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applications this morning and again we remember
the Christ was truly tempted. Yes,
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has God, he could not sin, but again he still felt the force
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of these temptations. Was He tempted
constantly? In his human nature, he
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endured temptations greater than any of us
have ever endured, and I'm going to
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talk about one in particular in a
moment. All of those temptations, it's
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as great as they were. Did
he ever fail? No, not once.
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Never. Leonard Coppiss puts it this
way. From one perspective. As
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a man, Jesus, like Adam
before the fall, was capable of sinning
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and subject to temptation, but as
God he was unable to sin. The
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fact that Jesus possessed in one person
these two natures resulted in a real temptation
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to sin, but an inability to
succumb to that temptation and the ability to
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overcome the temptation totally. I want
to look particularly at the third temptation and
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application. This morning we weren't across
something that actually and I don't know if
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you've had this, I've had it
happened several times in my life and and
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maybe some view of will where people
are you talking to someone about your particular
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view and your reformed view of Scriptures
and your reformed view of salvation and and
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the reformed view of God's ordaining all
things and all all those kinds of things,
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and, uh, you have people
say something like this. I've I've
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had this. He said, well, if you believe God ordains all things,
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why don't you just go out in
a freeway and lay down and then
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if God wants you to live,
you'll live. Well, our answer to
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that Christ has given to us right. But it is written you shall not
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tempt the Lord your God, and
that kind of temptation can come to us
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in various ways. When I was
a teenager in my assembly of God's Church,
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we were taught, we were exposed
to a teaching in our youth group
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that said that if you want an
answer from God, you ask God the
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question. You have your closes Bible
and you open your Bible and you don't
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look and you point and then you
look to see God's answer, uh,
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to whatever your word is and uh, you know, that's great. Until
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you do that and you point,
you look and it says thou shalt surely
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die. Uh and that, and
you know, you Oh, two out
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of three Lord, two or three. But you know, if the old
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story is you know, the Guy
Opens it up and says Judas went out
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and hung himself, and he says, oh no, and so he opens
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it up again and says go thou
and do likewise. He opens it again
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it says what they'll do us new
quickly. So yeah, it can be
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a little dangerous to do it.
But again, that is that is tempting
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God. That is not the way
God teaches us to get guidance from him.
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It is a temptation of God.
It is a false confidence, which
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is the other thing. Jesus could
have said, I'll go ahead and cast
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myself from this tempo because God will
protect me. But that would be a
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false confidence and and a lot of
times people do that, and Christians will
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do that, and they'll even use
the concept of faith as a way of
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getting out of doing something. Well, if God wants me to have a
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new job, he'll open one up. Well, maybe you should send out
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some res Amazed. How about that? That might be an idea. I
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had a friend years ago that said
that he believed that he didn't need to
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get a job, but God was
going to provide all of his needs.
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False confidence, because the scripture says
if a man doesn't work, it should
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need we can even use it as
a concept, as a way of avoiding
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obedience to God. I'm going to
marry this person even though I know they're
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not a believer, because I believe
God can convert them. or You could
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just obey God's word that says do
not be unequally yoked, and so we
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can use this in many ways.
A little over ten years ago I was
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sitting up in my deck and I
got a call from my man. I
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hadn't hearn from for for a few
years and he called me up and he
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said I wanted to talk to you. He said I gotta tell you something
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and I said okay, what is
that? And he said, uh,
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I want you to know I've been
diagnosed with prostate cancer. And UH,
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so we're talking and he said here's
what I'm struggling with. He says,
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I don't know should I go to
a doctor or should I trust God in
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this? And he said I'm struggling
in that. It always amazes me that
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Christians react to health issues differently than
they do two car issues. Christians don't
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go AH, you know, my
car's broken down. I don't know if
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I should just pray and trust God
or go to a mechanic. You know
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we always go to mechanics. And
so I said to him, I said,
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should you go to a doctor?
You should not only go to a
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doctor, you should go to the
absolute best doctor that you can find the
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deals with these things. I'm not
saying don't pray, I'm not saying don't
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trust God, but a lot of
times we want to sound so spiritual and
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all as we're doing is sounding foolish
and we need to be careful again trying
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to put a false confidence or falling
into Satan's temptations. About that? Or
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how about this one? I've heard
this many times. I bet you have
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to. I know I shouldn't gamble, but nonetheless, people say, I'm
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a Christian, but I don't think
I need to attend church. You ever
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heard that? Um, yes,
you do, because if not, you're
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neglecting the very means of grace that
God is elected to confirm you and strengthen
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you in the faith. Oh then
you hear this, but there's so many
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hypocrites there. Yeah, and there's
room for one more. So it's okay,
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you can come and you know what, you never say I'm not going
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to work because there's a lot of
hypocrites there. But God has ordained it.
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And so again we need to be
careful, because this temptation comes upon
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us and meant these ways and many
others. But let's look about as we
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look at what Christ did, let's
look at for also our own edification and
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our temptations. The first thing we
can fast and agree upon is we are
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never ever tempted by God. God
never tempts us. As I quoted in
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James one thirteen. Let no one
say when he's tempted. I am tempted
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by God, for God cannot be
tempted with evil and he himself tempts no
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one. He tempts no one.
But the second thing we have to understand
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is in temptation we are facing an
enemy who is greater than us. Our
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Savior triumphed in the wilderness. He
overcame the evil one. But if you
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and I trust in our strength alone, we will be overcome. But if
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we trust in Christ we can endure. So the scripture gives us things we
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must do. Number one, we
must pray, as we will pray this
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morning. Lead US not into temptation. That's not just a prayer for Sunday
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folks, that's a prayer for every
day of the week. That's why it
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says give us this day our daily
bread. Lead US not into temptation.
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But when we are brought into temptation, we need to flee Satan and flee
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to God, as James Four seven
says. Submit yourself therefore to God.
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Resists the devil and he will flee
from you. G CAAMPBELL Morgan says.
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God never intended man to face temptation
in his own strength, and that is
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our first step. Fleeing to God, resist him in the faith, as
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we read earlier today, we must
ask the Lord. Lord, you have
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promised in First Corinthians ten thirteen,
that you will, with the temptation,
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also make a way of escape,
that we may be able to bear it.
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Lord, show me what that way
is. Hebrew's forces. We do
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not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
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one who, in every respect,
has been tempted as we are. Yet
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without saying let us then, with
confidence, drawn near to the throne of
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grace that we may find mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.
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I found a quotation in Kent Hughes
that I don't know. I mean,
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I can't prove this quotation. Sometimes
stories get told over and over again,
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but but he quotes Martin Luther saying
says, when Martin Luther was asked
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how he over overcame the devil,
he replied well, when he comes knocking
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upon the door of my heart and
asked who lives here, the dear Lord
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Jesus goes to the door and says
Martin Luther used to live here, but
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he's moved out. Now I live
here and when Christ feels our lives,
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Satan has no entrance. Well,
it's an interesting story. Again, I
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can't I can't prove that luther actually
said that. I tried to find proof
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but I wasn't able to do that. But again, as long as there
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is life, there'll be temptation.
Temptations will come, temptations will go.
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Your temptations will change as you get
older, as John Seems to indicate.
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It is classifying the people in the
church in the three groups, and so
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some of the things that are temptations
of youth are not temptations of old age
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and temptations of old age are not
the same temptations as youth. And Satan
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will seek to destroy you, but
he will not because Christ has overcome.
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When Jesus, or when the scriptures
give us the story of the temptation of
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Jesus, I said, there are
correlations we are meant to see. One
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is the forty days of wilderness corresponding
to the forty years in the wilderness of
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Israel. But the second way we
need to see this is that Jesus,
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Christ is the last Adam and where
Adam failed in temptation, Jesus overcomes and
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look at the difference in the temptations. Adam was tempted in a beautiful garden,
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a paradise of Paradise. Jesus US
was tempted in one of the most
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barren wilderness possible. Adam was in
a state where he was able to eat
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any fruit that you deserved and and
probably not suffer from any hunger whatsoever.
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Jesus was tempted because he hadn't eaten
for forty days and forty nights. Adam
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was tempted in a world where sin
did not even exist per se, but
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Jesus was tempted in a world where
sin reigned in all of its inhabitants.
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Adam fell at the very first opportunity, but Christ endured everything. For we
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do not have a high priest who
was unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
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but one who, in every respect, has been tempted as we are.
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Yet without sin, Jesus triumphed.
We need to turn to him, flee
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to him in your temptation, pray
to him, ask him not to lead
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you into temptation and, when you're
in temptation, asked him to show you
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the way of escape. But I
want to finish this morning with an application
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concerning that second temptation where Jesus was
shown the kingdoms of the world and whether
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or not he actually had that power. Satan had that power to do that,
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and I want to deal with that. But I want you to notice
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in all the temptations that Christ endures, there is one temptation that I would
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say is above all others, and
it's found here, I think, in
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the second temptation. Luke is mentioned
it. For that reason, let me
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take you to another story and another
one after that to help you to understand
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it. I'm sure you all know
this. In Matthew six, from that
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time, Jesus began to show his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem,
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suffer many things from the elders in
chief, priests, inscribes and be killed
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and the third day, be raised. Jesus knows what's going to happen and
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he clearly tells his disciples what's going
to happen. But I want you to
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notice what happens next, because I
think it's very important. In Verse Twenty
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Two, Peter took him aside and
began to rebuke him, saying, far
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be it from you, Lord,
this shall never happen to you now.
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Remember this is the Peter who just
said you are the Christ, the son
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of the Living God, and Jesus
said flesh and blood is not revealed that.
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My father has revealed that to you. Peter has uttered words that the
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father has revealed to him. So
now he thinks Whoa I'm a spokesman,
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you know. So I'm going to
give another one. But in this case
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Jesus identifies the author of this to
be Satan. He says he turned and
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said to Peter in Verse Twenty Three, get Thee behind me. Satan,
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you are a hindrance to me,
for you're setting your mind on things of
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God, not on the things of
God, but on the things of man.
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What is so horrendous about what Peter
says there that Jesus even seems to
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violently attribute it to Satan? I'm
going to make it clear, I hope.
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Luke twelve fifty, Jesus said,
I have a baptism to be baptized
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with, and how great is my
distress until it is accomplished? Here that
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how great is my distress. Matthew
Nine and taking with him Peter and the
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two sons of Ebite, he began
to be sorrowful and troubled, and he
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said to them, my soul is
very sorrowful, even to death. Remain
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here and watch with me going a
little further. He fell on his face
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and prayed, saying, my father, if it be possible, let this
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Cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you
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will. Let me link them together
in the garden. What is the cup
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that Jesus desires to pass from him? It's the cross. What is it
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that Peter Implies in Matthew Sixteen that
the Lord does not have to undergo?
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It's the cross. What is the
baptism that Jesus has straightened with? It's
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the cross. And what Satan's saying
to Jesus? You can have all this,
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but without the cross. The temptation
of avoiding the cross is so strong
403
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that Jesus must rebuke Peter and the
strongest words possible. The temptation is so
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strong in the garden that Jesus fights
against it by sweating, as it were,
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drops a blood. The temptation is
so strong that in John Twelve,
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Jesus says now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father
407
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saved me from this hour but this
purpose I have come forth. Father,
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glorify your name. The temptation is
so strong. You say, well,
409
00:32:08.279 --> 00:32:13.160
but it went. He went to
the cross, he conquered. Yes,
410
00:32:14.039 --> 00:32:19.880
but you know that temptation wasn't done
as he's on the cross. Matthew,
411
00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:27.599
if you are the son of God, come down from the cross. I
412
00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:32.559
wish if I were there, I
would have said in this condition I am
413
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:37.599
now Jesus, if you are the
son of God, please, please,
414
00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:45.720
don't come down from the cross.
I can't afford that. You have to
415
00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:51.839
stay. That was the temptation.
We're going to come to the Lord's table
416
00:32:51.880 --> 00:32:57.480
in a few moments and we're gonna
remember the cross and what he did there.
417
00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:02.720
But that was a temptation, above
all else, that the Lord constantly
418
00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:06.920
had to face. He knew it
was coming from the very beginning. He
419
00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.759
knew it was coming, but he
faced it for us that if we will
420
00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:16.119
trust in that cross that he stayed
to die on, we also can have
421
00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:17.920
eternal life. Let's pray
