I wasn't on. Alright. Two of them headed out this morning. I thought my mic wasn't on. I guess it was on.

I turned it off instead of turning it on. Alright. Matthew chapter four. Matthew chapter four this morning. Facing temptation and winning.

There is a way of escape. The Lord tells us so. We do not have to be defeated in the Lord. We have victory in Jesus. Greater is he that's in us than he that is in the world.

First Corinthians ten thirteen, once again, there is no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Dearly Father, thank you, Lord, for this day that you've given us.

Thank you, Lord, for Jesus Christ, our savior, most of all, and the opportunity we have to be here today to praise your name together, to look into your word. We pray that you might use it to conform us more to the image of your son, that you would soften hearts, to their need of a savior. And then if there's one here today that has yet to receive you, that today will be their day of salvation. We thank you, Lord, for the victory that we do have in Christ. Pray, Lord, that we will not neglect that opportunity, that privilege that you have so graciously given us to be the children of God, to represent you and to live for you here.

Lord, thank you. And we pray that you would be honored and exalted in all that is said and done here this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Matthew four. Who is our great example?

Jesus is our great example. When you gave your life to Christ, did you mean it? Most of you here this morning, I know, and most of you profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of your life. Did you mean it when you gave your life to Christ, when you accepted him as your Lord and savior? Are you real?

You will be what? You will be tested. You will be tested. How will you respond? Is your loyalty?

Is your faith true? The Bible says to examine ourselves to make sure that it is real and true. And we will be tested. We will be tested. Whenever we make commitments in this life to a person, like in a marriage relationship we talked about in Sunday school, or to a cause, faith, our loyalty, our commitment, it will be tested.

With every decision and every commitment comes a time of proving as we're about to read about in the life of Christ. Will you stand or will you fall? Will you conquer or will you cave? I am no longer surprised that the trials that particularly new Christians find themselves in after they've trusted Christ as savior. In their job, they get saved, they're on fire for the Lord, and then all of a sudden, financial crisis, crisis at work, a crisis in their home with their parents.

I was a youth pastor for twelve years. I still teach the youth on Wednesday nights. Oftentimes, I've seen a youth come to Lord Trust Christ as savior. And their parents aren't happy. And their parents aren't overjoyed.

And their parents make it more difficult for them. Several times, particularly when I was in youth ministry, I would see a young person come to know Christ as savior and a week or two later, I'd get the news, we're moving. We're moving. And I don't think that's entirely maybe coincidental because it happens so many times. The devil isn't happy when Christians, when people trust Christ and become children of God.

The devil isn't happy when you commit in your heart to follow the Lord in some area of service or obedience to His word. Sometimes the crisis is in an illness or the death of a loved one. Mountaintop experience is often followed by a valley. Expect it. Testing will come.

Temptation is always right around the corner. Don't get complacent. Don't think, oh, well, I've I've got it man. I've got it conquered now. Take heed if you think ye stand, lest ye what?

Lest ye fall. Whether it is bad or good depends on your response to it. Faith or doubt, faithfulness or compromise, victory or defeat. How did Christ face his temptation here in Matthew four? How did Christ face the test that was put before him?

He is our great example. If we want to know how to defeat the enemy, if we want to know how to pass the test and grow in our in our relationship with the Lord, no better example than the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew four verse one, then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. That is an understatement.

Forty days and forty nights. He was the son of God but he was also son of God in a human body. He was hungry. Verse three, and when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered, Jesus 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 the holy city and setteth him on a pinnacle 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 in their hands. They shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and saith unto him, all these things will I give thee if thou will fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, 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. Who had the victory? Jesus did. He had the victory over the devil in temptation, and he passed the test with flying colors.

It tells us here in chapter four, following Jesus' baptism and his public announcement of his ministry basically, that Jesus was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was proven tested for forty days before he set off on his earthly ministry. So he was publicly identified as the Messiah at his baptism. And then immediately, he faced forty days of temptation in the wilderness before beginning actually his public ministry. It was the devil that did the tempting because that is what the devil does. But it was the Holy Spirit that drove him into the what?

Into the wilderness to be to be tested. Because part of growing, improving is testing. You might say, well, as kids often do in school, well, I know all that. I don't know how many times I've got two boys. I don't know how many times I've heard them say, I know it.

I got it. Well, you're going to take a test tomorrow and we'll see. And sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Sometimes we're the same way. I got it.

I got it. And the test reveals we don't have it quite as well as we think. Jesus had it. The test proved, showed who he was and that he was a sinless son of God and he was worthy of taking our place on the cross. There seems to be some pattern in scripture in regards to the number 40 in testing.

It rained forty days and forty nights. Moses lived in the Desert Of Sinai for forty years. Moses was up on Mount Sinai with God for forty days. Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Elijah was tested of God in the same area, Mount Sinai, for another forty days.

Now, it is Jesus' turn to be tested, to prove is who he is. At any rate, forty days is a long time to be without food and water. And Jesus suffered the hunger pains and the weakness and the frailty because he was human. He was human. He thought it not robbery to people with God, but he took himself of no reputation.

He took upon him the serve the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. He was tempted in all points yet as we are, but without sin. He hungered. He was tempted. He had to be tempted from without because he had no sin nature, but he was tempted.

Forty days, he was tested. Forty days, he fasted. We expect our tests to be what? Grief, to be short. You know, it's easy for us to deal with and maybe to understand, Lord, yes, I've got to handle this test, but Lord, please get me out of it really, really, really, really quick.

That's not always God's what? God's will or God's plan. Sometimes our testing is forty days. Sometimes even forty years. But in either case, if you are his child, God has not forgotten about you.

There is a purpose in the test And there is victory in who? There is victory in Jesus. This testing in life of a new Christian will come and throughout the Christian life, will continue As we move forward in the Lord, as we grow, as we learn, along the way, we will be tested just like our kids in school. Beware child of God, you do have enemies and temptation will come. Are you ready?

Do you know how to win the battle? God drove his son into the wilderness to be tested, to prove, to show, to demonstrate, to be an example of how to win over temptation. But why was the devil there? Well, the devil was there because he was Christ's enemy. The devil was there to trip him up.

The devil was there to try to prove the what? The opposite. As the devil was with Job to try to prove the opposite. God said, have you considered my servant Job? Satan said, oh.

Oh, he only does that. Look what you did. You give him all this stuff. You're so good to him. No wonder he's so loyal to you.

He'll he'll curse you. Just just take away the stuff. God said, okay. Now, did God take away Job's stuff? Did God tempt him to sin?

No. But he did allow who to do it? Allowed Satan to do it. Satan had one purpose, God had another. What does Satan what is Satan's purpose?

He wants to destroy you and he will attack. He will attack often the youngest and the weakest. He wants to get us when we're down. He wants to get us when we're young and weak. I'm afraid there's a lot of Christians that are struggling and suffering.

They weren't ready. They need prayer. They need encouragement. There is a way of escape in Jesus, in His Word, in His example. But beware there is an enemy and that enemy is out to get you.

That enemy wants to destroy your testimony. That enemy wants to destroy your joy. First Peter five:eight:nine, Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. The devil isn't just out for you, he's out for every one of us that know Christ as savior. But greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world.

Watch out. Be careful. Be ready. Be prepared. Trust the Lord.

Follow him. He will lead you through. There is a way of escape, but there is an enemy as well. Luke 22 verse 31, Jesus said, the Lord said to Simon, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. Getting a little bit ahead of myself, but, you know, sometimes it does happen, we fail the test.

Is that the end? If your kid goes to school and they're learning math and they fail the test and they want to stay home and say, I don't want to go to school anymore. I don't learn anything. You say, oh, that's okay. Yeah.

You failed the test. We'll just give up. You don't do that, do you? God doesn't want us to do that either. Sometimes we do fail.

Sometimes we stumble, but God is still there. Peter stumbled. But in the end, in Christ, Peter got the victory and Satan lost the war. With Peter and with all of us who are in Christ, we will win the war. But today, let's focus on the what?

On the battle. There can be victory there also. Our enemy, the devil, wants to destroy us, to trip us up, to entice us. He will use the temptations of the flesh, the enticements of the world and worldly friends to do it. Particularly for young people, he'll whisper in their ear by some friend, it's no big deal.

No big deal. You're young. You can get it right later. Everybody does it. You're gonna miss out.

And he doesn't just whisper in the ear of young people, he also whispers in the ear of older people too. Well, look, they're a Christian. They're doing it. It must be okay. Watch out.

There is an enemy, the devil, and he is fast at work trying to trip us up as he did the Lord here. The Lord, however, will test you to prove the strength, to prove and strengthen the child of God so you will grow in the faith and character and endurance. The Bible says that God does not tempt any man to sin. That is, He does not entice you to do wrong, but He will test you to prove your love and help you grow. James one:two-four.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or trials or tests. Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and entire wanting or lacking nothing. In other words, when you face the test, when you face a trial, when you face a temptation, don't throw up your hands and go, oh, no, the sky is falling. The sky is falling and give up. God's God is somehow in this.

If you are a child of God, He is watching you. He is there for you. And He will help you through. And if you will trust him, stumble as you might, if you will trust him, you will come out the other side better person, stronger person for the Lord Jesus Christ. How many people do we know stories of that have suffered greatly, lost much, and have come out on the other side, testimony of the Lord and Jesus Christ.

That could be you. That can be you. That should be you. God will allow certain temptations to come your way like he did Job. But be ready and don't give up.

There are good things coming. Job twenty-three 10, he said, but he that is God knoweth the way that I take. And when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job didn't say this at the end of the temptation, at the end of the trial and the suffering. Job said this in Job 23 right in the middle of the mess.

Job was asking God questions. Job was frustrated. Yes. But Job said, I know this. I know this.

He knoweth the way that I take. He's not watching me from a distance. He's right here with me. He knows the way that I take. And when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

That is true in our life as well. Job was better off after the testing than he was before. It was painful to watch, to read about, and even more so for Job, But it was worth it in the end. And what a testimony. Not of the power and the strength of Job, but in the grace of who?

And the grace of God that carried him through. Satan was wrong. God was stronger. Job didn't give him. I would like this morning to take a quick look, so much at the specifics of Jesus' temptation, but the nature of it, and then finally, how he succeeded.

The devil tempted Jesus to sin using the desires of the flesh against him as he does us. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the the flesh, the desires of the flesh, and the pride of life. First John two fifteen and sixteen, Jesus John wrote, love not the world, neither things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world.

Get your eyes off of those things. Get your eyes on who? Get your eyes on Jesus. Don't listen. Don't put these desires over your desire to please God.

Because you can't be pleasing God and pleasing these desires at the same time. You must make a what? Make a choice. Your choice will be what? Tested.

It will be. Jesus was primarily tempted to disobey who? Who was he tempted to disobey? His father in heaven, which, by the way, is a very good definition for sin in general. What is sin?

Sin is disobeying who? Our Father in heaven. Sin is going contrary, rebelling against the will of our Creator. That's what sin is. Satan tempts us to ignore and to disobey and to rebel against the will of our God and of our savior.

In Jesus' case, he tempted him to give to give in to his hunger pains. Now, God gave us hunger pains because we need to eat so we can what? Be strong and accomplish much. But at this time, in this case, God wanted Jesus to go what? To go hungry.

That was God's that was the will of who? The will of the father. Jesus Christ left heaven. He submitted himself unto the will of who? The father.

Over and over again, his ministry said, I came not here to do my own will, but the will of the one who what? Who sent me. That was the father. It was the father's will for him to be hungry. When the father's will for him to eat came, he would tell him, not Satan.

Satan said, well, you're God, so you say. Satan knew he was. If you're God, if you're the son of God, then, you know, why why are you hungry? Just say the word. Think the thought.

You can turn that stone right there to bread and you can eat your fill. Nothing wrong with bread, nothing wrong with food, but there is something wrong with going contrary to the will of who? The will of the father. God called me into ministry. God called me to preach his word.

If I refuse to preach it, if I refuse to do as he has asked me to do, then I am what? I'm sinning. Now he hasn't called all of you to be pastors. He hasn't called you to go to a particular place and maybe be a formal missionary or He calls us to different ministries. But it is our responsibility to be sensitive to listen and to what?

To follow him where he lives. If God wanted Jesus to have food, he would have told him. So Satan tempted him to go contrary to the will of the father. Satan knew what he was doing. He tempted him to give in to desire to be worshiped and applauded and recognized.

What would have happened if Jesus jumped off the pinnacle of the temple and floated down and landed in the middle of the temple mount? Everybody would have immediately fell on their face. The Messiah has come. That wasn't the will of the father at that time, was it? The will of the father was for Jesus to die on a what?

Cross. You see. So what did Jesus what did Jesus say to the devil? He said, thou shalt not tempt or test the Lord thy God. I won't do it.

You do not have that privilege, that prerogative. He tempted him to avoid the cross and have it all. All he had to do was what? Just a quick bow before Satan. Acknowledge that Satan is the God of this world and Jesus could have had it all at least.

I don't think Satan would have honored his end of the deal, do you? I think Satan was going for broke at that point. Going for broke. Jesus didn't give in. Satan, all the time, was trying to get Jesus to to do was to disobey, to go against the will of the father.

As much as Satan hates you, he hates him more. And that is his goal, to get you to go against him. Ultimately, he doesn't want to hurt you. He wants to hurt him. But if hurting you hurts him, then he will certainly do that.

The devil tempts us similarly to obey the cravings of the flesh, to eat drunk, to eat junk, to drink alcohol, to do drugs, to do what feels good, immoral, just being lazy. The devil tempts us to obey the desire for honor and acceptance among our peers, to be noticed, to be famous, to be patted on the back, to seek the love of man over the love of who? The love of God. He tempts us by what we see, to lust after riches and wealth as he tempted Jesus and said, look at all the kingdoms of the earth. Just bow to me.

I'll give it all to you. He tempts us with sensual and alluring things to take our eyes off the savior to live for and trust in the things that we can see. How did Jesus defeat the temptation? According to Hebrews, he was indeed tempted. He was tempted like as we are.

It was not a formality, but he won. Jesus faced the devil and won by his unrelenting knowledge of and commitment to the will of the father. Jesus did not hesitate for one moment to declare his commitment to the will of his father, where? In heaven. And he got the victory.

He expressed that knowledge and commitment by quoting what? By quoting the words of God. Now, we often just call this the Bible, but other times we call this the word of God. And we say that, I think, without thinking what we're saying. This isn't just a nice instruction manual.

This just isn't a book, a list of doctrines and do's and don'ts. These are the actual words of who? God. When we read these words, God is speaking to us just the same as if he was standing right there in front of us saying, don't do that. Do that.

Don't do that. Saying, I love you. Saying, I trust you. Saying, I died for you. Saying, I will help you.

These are his words. They're powerful. They're true. And we need to submit ourselves. If we're going to win over temptation, you've got to be submitted to what?

To this. Because if you're not submitted to this, you are going to cave to who? The devil. Jesus expressed his submission, his commitment to the will of his father by quoting scripture. David understood this when he said, thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against God.

Jesus declared this when he said in John eight thirty two and you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. Free from what? Free from sin and Satan. God's will was for Christ to survive only in accordance with the instructions of his father. So he said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every what?

Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. How will you beat temptation? How can we beat the test? Embrace what? Embrace the word of God.

Commit your way to what it says. Proverbs three, five, and six, trust the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. How do you acknowledge him? Listen to his word.

Trust it. Submit to it. And when Satan comes calling, say, well, nope. Can't do that because God's word says, thou shall not. God's word says, I should be doing this.

God's word says that I'm to love my neighbor as myself. Embrace by faith your father in heaven and his way by embracing his word. Joshua one eight, this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua was about to lead 2,000,000 people into a land with walled cities, with armies that had far exceeded them in weaponry and number.

I mean, it's just a job to lead 2,000,000 people, nonetheless, to lead them into battle against a superior enemy. Well, not really because God was on Joshua's side. But what did God say to Joshua? Don't don't panic. Just just follow my word.

Do my will. Submit yourself to my authority. The Bible says submit to the Lord. Resist the devil and he will, what? Flee from you.

But first, you need to, what? Submit to the Lord. Choose you this day whom you will serve. Submit to the Lord. Submit to his word.

He won't fail you. You will succeed. Just trust in his word. Hide it in your heart. Walk in the spirit.

Don't cave to the lust of the flesh. Because if you'll submit yourself, Lord, if you'll walk in his spirit, you'll walk according to his word, you will have what? You will have victory. You will have victory. Despite all that you've been through, you will have victory.

Despite the number of times you have failed, you can have what? Victory. Just submit to the Lord. Trust him. Trust in his word.

Walk in his spirit. And he will give you the strength to say no to the world, the flesh, and the devil. If you fail, get up and try again. If you're trying to teach your little kid how to walk and they're old enough to walk and they're trying and you you pick them up and and they take a step or two and then what happens? They fall.

And so then you just give up. No. What do you do? You pick them up and you say, let's try again. And as patient as you are with your children, God is more patient with you.

Praise the Lord. And the Bible says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighted in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. If you'll just keep trusting the Lord, if you'll keep if you'll submit yourself to the Lord and to his way, if you will keep trying by God's grace and you will draw close to him, you'll see victory. For there is victory in Jesus.

Do you know Jesus? Do you have Jesus? Have you received him as many as received them to them? Him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name. Have you done that?

Because if you haven't done that, you may have a lot of knowledge, but if you don't have Jesus, then you don't have victory. But he'll give you victory, but but you need Jesus. If you're not sure you have Jesus today, please come as we sing a hymn of invitation in a moment. If you have Jesus, will you listen to him? Will you follow his example?

And will you trust in his word? You'll be like a house built on the rock. And the rains will come, the winds will blow, and you'll stand strong. You'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of what? Water that brings forth his fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Just trust in the Lord. Follow the savior. You will see victory. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for his example. Thank you, Lord, for a savior who conquered sin and death, died on the cross for us, and is risen again at the right hand of the father where you are making intercession for us even today, even when we fail. You are our advocate. And we pray, Lord, if there's one here today that is yet to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of their life, I pray they'll come as we give this hymn of invitation today.

And I pray we that know you will be in prayer for them and for us that we might see more victories in our life for you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.