013022- “The Temptation Of Jesus Christ” Luke 4:1-14... “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” -From “The Usual Suspects”

“One of the artifices of Satan is, to induce men to believe that he does not exist: another, perhaps equally fatal, is to make them fancy that he is obliged to stand quietly by, and not to meddle with them.” -From “Quakerism Examined”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” - Ephesians 2:2 “…the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient” - Ephesians 6:12 "...our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” - Luke 4:1-2 “Then Jesus returned from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, He was hungry.” - Mark 1:12-13 “Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him.” - Luke 4:13-14 “After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time. Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity.”

Sermon In A Sentence: Our spiritual strength is increased to whatever degree of victory we enjoy over Satanic temptations.

How Was Jesus Tempted? He Was Tempted:
-To live His life independent from the Father
           Luke 4:3-4 “The Devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.’”

-To live His life unsubmissive to the Father
           Luke 4:5-8 “So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, ‘I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only’

-To live His life presuming upon the Father
          Luke 4:9-12 “So he took Him to Jerusalem, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is said: Do not test the Lord your God’”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.”

When You’re Being Tempted:
-You’re not there by chance
-You’re not there alone
-You won’t be there forever

In The Wilderness, You’ll Find:
-The Holy Spirit
-Jesus
-Spiritual victory & growth

“The same event will often be both a temptation and a trial. What God gives to us as a trial or a test, Satan almost always uses as a temptation. The very same event may be both a trial and test to you and also a temptation from Satan. God uses it to accomplish one thing in your life and Satan at the very same time is working through that event to try to accomplish something diametrically opposite. Very often God allows a trial to come for a positive purpose, but Satan tries to co-opt it for his own evil reasons” -Ray Pritchard

James 1:13 “No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God.’ For God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin”