Matthew chapter four, and we will begin reading in verse one as we follow our Lord through his earthly ministry. So Matthew chapter four and beginning in verse one. As I mentioned last week, Jesus started his public ministry with his baptism and his public identification, thereby as the Messiah and the son of God. And then immediately following, this is what happened next. Matthew four one, then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

One of the things just when you see wilderness in the King James version, think desert because it is a barren desert. Okay? Verse two, and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. Fasted, meaning he did not eat anything for forty days. How hungry would you be?

Verse three, when the tempter came to him, that would be Satan, and said, if thou be the son of God, command these stones to be made bread. But he answered and 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 devil taketh him up into a holy up into the holy city, that would be Jerusalem, and setteth him on a pinnacle or the spire of the temple, and saith unto him, if thou be the son of God, cast thyself down for it is written he shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands, they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. That is Satan quoting out of context from Psalm 91. Verse seven, Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and say it unto him. All these things will I give thee if thou will fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, yet thee thence, Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him and behold the angels came and ministered unto him. Let's pray once more.

Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you Lord for this time. Thank you, Lord, for our savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for the temptation that you endured on our behalf in this passage today that we might learn from it and that we might grow in our faith, assurance that you are indeed the son of God and the savior of the world. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Today, Jesus faces temptation. The Bible says he was tempted in all points like as we yet without sin. But Jesus did not have a sin nature like ours. We do not need Satan personally to come and tempt us most of the time.

We're told, reminded in James that we are tempted by our own what? By our own flesh, by that own that nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve. Jesus Christ did not have that sin nature, so his testing had to come from without. And it came at the hand of Satan. Over forty days in the desert, while Jesus physically only grew weaker day after day after day as he faced the enemy and the temptations that he brought upon him.

A few things are certain in this life other than death and taxes. One is that we will be tested and tempted many times over. Unlike Christ, we will not always pass with flying colors, but the ability to do so as God's children is apparent in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ who overcame and gives us the ability to overcome the wicked one in his strength and power. In John sixteen thirty three, we read, these things have I spoken unto you that you might have peace.

In the world, you shall have tribulation, trials, and testings, and temptation. But be of good cheer. I have what? I have overcome the world. Two aspects of that.

First of all, Jesus Christ by his death and resurrection on the cross has overcome the plan of Satan to destroy us and to rip us from the hand of our loving heavenly father, And we have been redeemed through faith in Christ, and we have, in Christ, thus, overcome the world. We have a place in heaven awaiting for us, and there's nothing Satan can do about it. Nothing. But God not only saved us to take us to heaven, but God also saved us through Christ Jesus and gave us his spirit that we might also see victory where? Here today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

And we can we can, in Christ Jesus, see victory. And we must not listen to the lies of the devil. Be of good cheer, he says, I have overcome the world and you can too. A few things to note from this passage on overcoming temptation, passing the test, learning from the test. Let's learn look at a few things here that we can learn from the experience that Christ went through for who?

For us. Yeah. Number one, a mountaintop experience is often followed by a valley. Expect it. Expect it.

Christ had just been baptized. Christ, the crowd, and and John the Baptist had just seen the the spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven say, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He launched his public ministry. It was great. It was incredible.

And immediately, the spirit whisks him off into the what? Into the desert. To be what? To be tempted by the devil and tested. Satan often will attack us when we've just had a what?

A mountaintop experience. Everything boy, we just it's went great. It's wonderful. And then here comes the what? Here comes the valley.

Satan lowers the boom. Satan is not happy when we succeed. Is that true? Satan is not happy when we succeed? Certainly, that's true.

Because when we succeed, we bring glory to who? We bring glory to God. He's not happy about our success in following the Lord. And so he attacks. Out of frustration and maybe hope that he will catch us off guard, he attacks.

He hopes that in our arrogance, we might not sense our vulnerability. What does the scripture remind us? If you think ye stand, if you think ye stand, be careful lest ye, what? Lest ye fall. Be careful of that mountaintop experience we feel invulnerable and sometimes we forget to give all the glory to who?

God. We think, oh, man. I'm pretty good. Boy, I've got that licked. Watch out.

If you've got that licked, Satan's going to Gang's going to see that and he's going to he is going to jump on you. We see that here with Christ, not arrogance, no, but mountaintop experience for sure following his baptism. Christ's mountaintop experience is followed by a difficult time of testing to say the least. Number two, not Satan does not only attack often after mountaintop experiences, but Satan often attacks when we are at our, what, weakest. Sometimes both spiritually and physically or mentally or emotionally because those all things are tied together because we are a physical being.

We are a mental being. We're emotional being. Those things are all tied together. And Satan is gonna attack. He's going to attack us at our what?

At our lowest, at our weakest. He is aware. Our flesh is aware. He's going to attack us when we're sorrowful. He's going to attack us when we're hungry.

They invented a a word I noticed a few years ago, and that's called hangry. What is hangry? Ever heard of that? That's the first time I heard of hangry. What does that mean?

Hangry. Well, that means that you're you're hungry and you're physically weak and it sets your emotions on edge and you're more likely to get what? Angry. So, they they put those two together angry, alright? He attacks us when we're sorrowful, when we're hungry, when when we're sick, when we have been hurt, when we have suffered loss and betrayal and defeat, these are oftentimes when Satan jumps on us, when the flesh jumps on us.

But remember, when we are weak, God says, I am strong. We do not have to succumb to the temptations of the devil even when we are weak because God is strong. And if we will learn to rely on him when we are weak, he will make us what? He will make us strong and Satan will fail. We see that obviously in Job.

In Job. What did Satan do? Satan asked pointed out to God. Well, you know, God, you you you point out all these, you know, you know, all these people that are serving you and and God says, yeah, what about Job in particular and Satan says, well, you know, Job, you know, look, he's healthy, he's wealthy, he's got all this, you know, big family. Look how you blessed him.

You know, of course he worships you. Of course he glorifies you. You let me take all that away and his faith will crumble and he will curse you. So what did Satan do? He took it all away.

Why? To make Job, what? Weak. But who was strong? God was strong, and he kept Job.

And, yes, Job was sorrowful, and he was hungry, and he was sick, and he was hurt, and he suffered the loss of his family. He was betrayed at least for a time by his wife and his friends, and he felt defeated. But greater is he that's in us than what? Than he that is in the world. And don't forget that.

When we are weak, he is strong. But watch out because Satan is going to try to use that weakness for him. We see that here with Christ. He has been fasting for what? Forty days.

He hasn't eaten in forty days. He is extremely hungry and and physically weak. There are very few people that have managed to fast for forty days. Unless you are incredibly healthy to begin with, you won't live forty days without food. He was physically very weak, and that's when Satan came to him.

We're reminded, as I mentioned just a few minutes ago in Hebrews four fifteen, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities was in all points tempted like as we are yet without what? Sin. We do not have a savior who does not know what we're going through. He purposefully put himself in that place. He purposefully made himself weak to show that the grace of God is greater and that the son of God is greater than the enemy.

He was pointed in all tempted in all points as we we yet without what? Sin. He has been touched with the feeling of our what? Infirmities. He knows what it's like to be sick, to be hungry, to be weak.

And he put himself in that place for who? He put himself in that place for us, and he came out victorious. So watch out. Satan likes to attack when we're coming down off the mountaintop. And watch out.

Satan likes to attack us when we're weakest, meaning that we just need to learn to rely on who? On the Lord to help us. And that's that's what Jesus did as we follow along. Let's keep going. We read here that Jesus was immediately driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, the desert where he was proven tested for forty days before he set off on his earthly ministry.

This was purposeful on the Father's part, on the Spirit's part, on Christ's part. They were all involved as we see many times in Christ's ministry. It was all part of what he needed to endure to make it both to the cross and back to heaven as the victor. He needed to face the test. He needed to prove that he was one with the father and that he was superior to the enemy.

He needed to become like unto us to suffer in our place. All of this was needful for the cross and for the victory. He chose to submit to it, and submission is key as we will see moving forward today. Submission is key. There there seems to be some pattern in scripture regarding the number of 40.

I don't know if you put that noticed that. It rained in the flood how long? Forty days and what? Forty nights. Did Noah and his family endure a trial during that period of time?

You try living in an ark. Okay? And with all those animals. Okay? While the earth is being destroyed by a flood and the things being tossed about.

And then after the forty days and forty nights ended, it was almost it was over a year after they got on that they actually got what? Got back off the ark. Moses lived in the Desert Of Sinai for forty years before God called him back to take the people out of Israel. Moses went up on Mount Sinai with God for forty days after he led Israel out of Egypt. Israel wandered in the wilderness for how long?

Forty years. Elijah was tested of God in the same area of that desert, ended up back on Mount Sinai while God tested him for forty days. Seems to be a commonality there between forty days and forty years and temptations and trials and testing. In each of these cases, these were being tested and were going through a trial in these time periods, which only made them what? Which only made them stronger.

Made Elijah stronger, Moses stronger, Noah stronger. Now, it is whose turn? It is Christ's turn as we're reading here in Matthew four. Unlike as Christ who was not in danger of failing the test, though I'm somehow Satan thought maybe he was. We know that Satan is no match for God and we see that here as Jesus, despite the physical hunger and exhaustion, so easily dispatched with the temptations of Satan.

We expect our test to be brief, don't we? Yeah. Just today. But not always. Sometimes they last what?

Sometimes they last a little longer. Sometimes forty days and sometimes forty years. In either case, God hasn't forgotten his children. God will not abandon his children, and God has a purpose in the testing. Was there a purpose in this test?

Yes. Is there a purpose in ours? Yes. We'll come back to that in a few minutes. This testing in the life of a new Christian will come.

And throughout the Christian life, it will continue as we move forward with the Lord. As we grow in our faith along the way, we will be tested. It's good to have Anthony with us this morning. I'm not okay. He he's waving over there.

Alright. Anthony comes on Wednesday nights, and he he decided to come and join us this morning. And I'm glad to see him. But Anthony's still in school. And every now and then, Anthony goes into class and they give him something called a what?

A test. Right. And he has to take tests. And and why? Well, tests are hard.

Tests are difficult. Harder for some of us than others. But they're there for your what? For good. Why?

Because the test helps us to learn. It tests how we're doing. It helps us to see where we are. Tests are good in school. So why are tests not good in life?

Okay. Sometimes we fail. Yes. But they are good, particularly for the child of God. God allows tests in our life for our good and even sometimes for the good of others.

Jesus is enduring testing not so much for his good. He knows who he is. He doesn't have to prove it. But he endured it for whose benefit? For for our benefit because it was needful needful to us.

God does bring testing into our life as well. We're reminded in James. I'll I'll move ahead here. I got this a couple slides later but I'll hit this now. In James one two to four, we read, my brethren count it all when you fall into diverse temptations knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience but let patience have a perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.

James writes, Christian said, when you when you're facing temptations, when when the trials of life are overwhelming, when you're weak, and when you're struggling, don't get all down in the mouth and go, oh, life's terrible and oh, how can I why me? And, you know, and that that that is human nature, by the way. Don't tell me you've never done that. But but James reminds the Christians, you know, this isn't all bad. You know, if if you want your child to learn to walk, you pick them back up when they fall.

And, yeah, they're going to fall again, but guess what? You pick them back up. You want em to learn to ride their bike, you put em on the bike, you give em a push, and the first time they do it perfect and they never fall and they never get hurt. That's not true. Usually, they fall once, twice, three times.

They try to do it in the grass first so they don't fall on the concrete and hurt themselves but but we keep why? Because we hate our kids and want them to get hurt? No. We want them to we want them to grow. We want them to grow strong.

We want them to enjoy life. And so we put them back on the what? We put them back on a bike. We give them another push, and eventually they learn. Eventually they learn.

So James says, count it all joy when you when you go through these tests. Why? Because they're for your what? Good. Even when you fail, you learn.

You should learn. You can learn from the what? From the failure. Beware, child of God. You do have enemies.

Temptation will come. We need to be what? We need to be ready. We need to know how to win the battle, particularly over the temptation to sin and the temptation of Satan. The devil will attempt to destroy your faith.

He will try to start you out weak and discourage you and convince you you are a failure. Do not listen. And do not think that you have no power against him. First Peter going back to the first Peter five eight nine, be sober, be vigilant because your adversaries, the devil roaring as a roaring lion, walk with the bounty seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same affections are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. You know, guess what?

You're not alone. You face temptation. Guess what? So does everybody else. Even who?

Even Jesus faced temptation. You're not alone, but you will face temptation. It is it is a fact of life. Luke twenty one thirty one and thirty two, Jesus said here, he said to Peter, he said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy thy faith fail not. The devil wants to get you early when you're distracted or weak or young in the faith.

Watch out for the temptations of the flesh and the enticements of the world and worldly fans are strong and they are enticing. But remember again, greater is he that's what? In you than he that is in the world. If you will learn to walk in the spirit, to rely on the Lord, your failures will be fewer. Your victories will be greater.

And Jesus will be what? And Jesus will be magnified. But even as Satan is tempting, the Lord is testing. Testing you to prove and strengthen the child of God, you will grow in faith and character so you will grow in faith and character and endurance. The Bible says that God does not tempt any man to sin.

That is, God does not entice any person to do wrong. That is the prerogative of the flesh and the devil. But God may choose to let it happen to strengthen and teach and mature us as we read here in James just a moment ago. Satan has his plans. God has his plans.

Who wins? We already know that. God is the one who wins. God is the one who gives victory. Greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world.

He will allow certain temptations to come our way like he did Job, but if we are walking with the Lord and submitted to him, we will see victory. And we can know this. We look at the we look at the book of Job, and we see something in the book of Job that Job didn't see at the time. And that is we know the what? We know the ending.

We know that in the end, Job got more than he started with. Right? Most importantly, greater faith and joy and and a closer relationship with God. Those were the things that were the greatest value that Job learned in this book. But Job didn't know that in the middle, but we we know the end.

And if that was true for Job, it's also gonna be true for who? It's gonna be true for us. Job wrote, Job twenty three ten, but he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, I shall, what? Come forth as gold. How do you refine gold?

How do you get rid of the impurities? You melt it. You put it to the fire. And the fire burns off the dross or the impurities. And then the gold is purified and it's more pure than it was to begin with.

Now, it's hard for us to, as James said, to to joy and to count all joy when when we're going through temptations, when we're struggling, when we're failing, and when hard times and tribulation come, it's hard for us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I understand. More importantly, Jesus understands. But we do not have to fail, and we do not have to be overcome. And we can look in God's word and see over and over and over and over again how that the trials result in glory and blessing in the end.

And we can learn, and we can grow in our faith. Let's take a closer look just for the last few minutes at exactly the temptations that Christ endured and how he won in every instance. So look if you would back in Matthew chapter four. When the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But Jesus Anderson said, is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then, the devil taketh him up into a hole. Okay, that's that's number one. So, verses three and four. I got carried away there. So, temptation number one.

Satan brings Jesus, comes to Jesus. Now, I don't think that he was only tempted three times. It would indicate in us and the other gospels, Jesus was tempted for the whole forty days and forty nights. We just have the last what? The last three recorded here for us.

So but but the first of the last three, Satan comes to him and he says, I know you're hungry. I know boy, forty days you've been without food. You know, the father didn't want you to eat. You know, but but if you're really the son of God, you don't have to wait for him. Look, there's a stone right there.

If you're really the son of God, if you really have power, just turn the stone to bread and eat. Why do you choose to go what? Why do you choose to go hungry? That was the temptation of Satan. And he starts out by saying in this one and in the second one, if you really are the what?

The son of God. If you really have all this power, if you really this now, did Satan know who he was? Sure he did. Did Jesus know what who he was? Sure he did.

But Satan's trying to find some crack, some leverage to use, and so he tries. He's sly, and he tries to appeal to Christ's pride, but there's no pride, no sinful pride to appeal to, No need to prove himself. Christ would not demonstrate his deity by turning stones to bread. He would prove his deity by not turning stones to bread, but entrusting who? But entrusting in the father, demonstrating that he was in sync with his father and not acting on his what?

Not acting on his own. And Jesus countered with the verse from Deuteronomy that it is not bread alone by which we live, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. It was not bread that would sustain him, but submission, obedience to the will of the father that would sustain him, and the same is true of us. God's word and God's son are the source of our strength and life and overcoming power, not bread, pizza, coke, steak, or vegetables or Snickers. Yes.

I put vegetables in there so, you know, there's something it's not even the vegetables. Okay? That that's good for you. But you're not gonna conquer Satan with vegetables. You're not gonna conquer Satan with Snickers.

And you're not gonna conquer Satan with with steak and potatoes. You know, there's there's a huge industry out there today telling you, if you will just take this drug, if you will just follow this diet, if you will just be thinner, then then life will be wonderful and you'll never have any troubles. Yeah. Thanks, Anthony. But you know something?

You don't don't win over Satan by being thinner or by having bigger muscles. You defeat Satan by learning to rely on who? Rely on Jesus. That's right. Now there might be some of those things that might be good to be a little thinner, might be good to be a little stronger, but you're not gonna get victory over sin.

That way, you're gonna get victory over Satan and sin by following by following the Lord. Jesus demonstrated on swerving devotional obedience to the father. When he had the power to turn the stone under the bread, he said, no. I'll wait. What does the Bible say?

They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with with wings as eagles. They shall walk and not be weary. They they shall run and not be weary. They shall I can't name the next word.

But the point is, they shall walk and not faint. They shall run and not be there. He shall walk and not faint. We as Christians need to learn to submit ourselves in faith to our father as Jesus did to his. And in doing so, he will strengthen us.

He will strengthen us in our battle against sin and Satan. He will give us joy. He will give us peace. That's where these things come from. It's counter to the world that says, I did it my way.

Do your own thing. Don't listen to those people that just they just wanna hold you back. No. God wants to pick you up and give you wings if you will just learn to what? To trust in him.

The second temptation, Satan said to him, verse four, but he answered and said, it's written, man shall not live. Verse five, then the devil taketh him up in the holy city and said it him on the pinnacle of the temple, say it unto him, if thou be the son of God, cast thyself down for it's written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands, they shall bear thee up lest thou dash thy foot against the stone. Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Satan said again, if you're really the son of God, just go up on the highest point of the temple. Just jump off and prove that you believe that God will save you.

Did Jesus need to prove that? No. He didn't need to prove that. Matter of fact, you don't need to prove that. Just trust in the Lord.

Satan is always telling us, well, you gotta prove this and you gotta prove that and you gotta do this and you gotta do that. And oftentimes, we end up doing the wrong thing trying to prove something we don't have to prove. Trust in trust in the Lord. Jesus would not have shown faith in God by jumping. He would have shown doubt.

There was no need to jump or test the father's faithfulness. It needed not to be proven or tested. Again, Christ quoted from Deuteronomy to shut Satan's mouth. And by the way, Satan is not against misquoting scripture. False prophets do it all the time.

Thus, we're told to try the spirits to compare what we are taught to the scriptures and to the savior to see if it's actually what God is telling us or just what another soul is telling us. Remember Paul said to the to the Bereans? He said they were more nobler because when he told them the word of God, they actually went to the scriptures to what? To check it out. So Satan is not against misusing scripture.

But Jesus used it aright. He said, thou doubt not tempt the Lord thy God. There's no need to test God. It is not us who test God. It is God who what?

Tests us. You see, the pharisees had it backwards too. The Pharisees were going around judging Jesus. They're not the judges. Who was the judge?

They weren't the judges of Jesus. Jesus was the judge of them. We need to be careful not to get it upside down. God is the judge. God is the tester.

It is not our prerogative to judge or test God. We need to learn to what? To trust and submit to him. He's got it. Do you know who you are in Christ Jesus if you're saved?

Do you need to prove that to Satan? No. No. No, you don't. And then number three, he said this finally in verse eight again, the devil, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, show with him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them say it unto him, all these things will I give thee, if thou will fall down and worship me, Then say it Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve and the devil leaveth him.

The first, it is absurd for Satan to offer Christ the kingdoms of the world. They are not his to offer. You are not his to offer. They are not his to offer. Satan often makes offers.

He does not have the power to keep or does not intend to do so. Sin in general offers many wonderful things, but instead leads to addiction and suffering and heartache and death. Don't be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever man soweth that shall he what?

He will will also reap. God Satan is not in charge of this world. God is. Satan is at best a meddler. He has no real power or wisdom to outsmart God.

He cannot stop God's plans from coming to pass. But he can, as a meddler and a deceiver, convince people otherwise. Secondly, the victory is not in bowing to Satan, but in bowing to who? In bowing to the true God, the true and living God, and the savior, Jesus Christ. The key to getting the victory is in submission.

Submission to the will of God, which requires a growing faith and a trust in the Lord. Submission to the will of God. Trusting that God knows what he's what? What he's doing. And that God is always right.

And that God will never leave us astray. What does James say in James four seven? It says this, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. It's interesting. There's a couple other verses that talk about resisting the devil.

But before resisting the devil, here is that one phrase that comes before. What is that? Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from is that what Jesus did? Yeah.

Why why did he quote scripture? He was demonstrating his submission to the word and the will of God. That's why he quoted scripture. There is no magic in just quoting words of sometimes we think, well, if I just quote this scripture and quote that scripture, if you're not submitted and if you don't believe it, then it's not going to protect you. The key is not just in knowing the words, it is in submitting to the will of God behind them.

And when we submit, when we place ourselves under the protection, submission of our father which is in heaven, then he quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked. And Satan will what? And Satan will flee. And we will have victory. The key is in submission.

Not my will, but thine be done. Jesus demonstrated that here when he went into the wilderness, when he quoted the words of God with authority. He demonstrated that in the garden when he said, not my will, but thine be done. He sub he he demonstrated that on the cross, and the devil did flee. Jesus going back to scripture again and again tells us that the words of God are powerful weapons against the enemy and temptation, but the key is our submission to them and faith in them.

Simply writing verse simply quoting verses will not suffice. We must believe what they teach and then submit our will to gods if we wish to overcome temptation in our lives. And you can. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. With God, all things are possible, including winning versus temptation.

But only when we choose to trust and rely upon the Lord. One of my favorite verses passage in the Old Testament, Proverbs three five and six, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall what? Direct thy paths. Galatians five twenty two says, walk in the spirit and he shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

That means if we yield ourselves to the spirit and to the word of God, we will get victory and see the victory in our lives that Christ that our father in heaven desires to see and so do we. It begins with submitting to Christ as savior. If you have not done that, then you are not his. And you do not have his spirit, and you do not have his promise. You must first submit to Christ as savior.

Romans ten nine, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, that Jesus is who? Lord, the Lord, your Lord. Thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be what? Saved. The victory is yours in Christ, but you must be in Christ.

First, you must be willing in faith to submit to him, to repent of your sins, and to trust in his forgiveness. And it continues as we choose the will of the Lord in our lives daily. That's why in Luke it says, if any man will be my disciple, Jesus said, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. It continues as we choose the will of the Lord in our lives daily. We celebrate when we win.

We confess. When we fail, we continue to learn and grow and trust. Salvation is an event. Sanctification is a process. A process of confessing and rejoicing, getting back up, learning to trust Jesus more, submitting to his will, and seeing the devil what?

And seeing the devil flee. And flee, he will when we submit ourselves to the word of God, when we submit ourselves to the son of God, when we submit ourselves to God's will, the devil will flee because greater is he that's in you than he that is in the world. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Today, for the example that Christ gave us, for the the temptation and the suffering he endured, to show us how to gain victory over the enemy by putting our faith in the Lord and trusting you.

Lord, we pray if there's one here that is yet to trust Christ and submit to him as a savior of their life, I pray they'd come as we give this hymn of invitation or they'd come and see me after. But Lord, I pray they would come to you and that they would come soon. That you might save them from the penalty of sin and the bondage of sin and from the enemy who wishes to destroy them. And I pray as children of God, Lord, that you would strengthen us against the enemy in our daily battle. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to see greater victories as we learn to trust and submit to you, and that we would recognize that the battle is won in surrendering to the God who made us and to the savior who saved us.

And watching him tear down the walls and give us the victory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We take