SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's great.
SPEAKER_00: I just feel like we've just done that all my application this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I just felt I wish I could have preached earlier and then we could have finished on that.
SPEAKER_00: But um God is always in charge and He knows where we're at, doesn't he?
SPEAKER_00: Uh this morning I I want to preach from uh a passage in the Bible that really relates to where I've been.
SPEAKER_00: So I I was led to this passage and I was not sure whether it was right and stuff like that, but I felt it was right, and then I had a confirmation from uh my wife as well, who says, My, you know, she was going on to me and said, Have you got a verse yet?
SPEAKER_00: Have you got a word for Sunday?
SPEAKER_00: And I said, No, no, I'm still praying, I feel God's this, and I feel God's that.
SPEAKER_00: And then I said, Why did you keep asking me?
SPEAKER_00: She said, Well, I feel I've got something, but I don't want to influence you.
SPEAKER_00: So uh she told me the passage, and it was exactly the same passage that I was wrestling with, whether it was right or wrong.
SPEAKER_00: So God is so good, isn't he?
SPEAKER_00: He's so faithful, and uh he uses other people to help us, doesn't he?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we are not designed to walk alone, we are designed to be in uh fellowship with other people, and actually, iron sharpens iron, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go straight into it.
SPEAKER_00: This is Matthew 4, verse 1 to 11.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna read it and then we'll we'll pick it apart a bit and then I'm gonna read it again.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
SPEAKER_00: After fasting forty days and nights, he was hungry.
SPEAKER_00: The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil took him to the holy city, and him stand on the highest point of the temple.
SPEAKER_00: If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against the stone.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do not put your Lord your God to the test.
SPEAKER_00: Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
SPEAKER_00: And this I will give you, he said, if you bow down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it was risen, worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil left and the angels came and attended him.
SPEAKER_00: I I would say for the last eight weeks, possibly ten weeks, I've been feeling in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: I've been feeling perhaps far from God.
SPEAKER_00: I've been feeling um alone, I haven't really sensed his presence or felt him at all as I prayed.
SPEAKER_00: I think my quiet times were not good if I'm honest, if I'm real, you know, and I just felt far, I felt the gap between me and God had got deeper and had got wider.
SPEAKER_00: And in that time, I felt quite vulnerable and quite alone.
SPEAKER_00: And I mean we can all go through those periods of wilderness, can't we?
SPEAKER_00: We can all go through those periods where stuff just gets in the way and we don't feel like, well, where am I with God and stuff like that?
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think those times are negative, but they're also positive.
SPEAKER_00: There are times when we can grow spiritually, there are times when we can stand on our faith and just press into who we believe we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: But I understand that they're very difficult, aren't they, as well?
SPEAKER_00: And they can be quite hard.
SPEAKER_00: Wilderness experiences are different for all of us.
SPEAKER_00: We can feel far from God, vulnerable and alone.
SPEAKER_00: We can feel physically and mentally weak.
SPEAKER_00: This is where insecurities and doubts can creep in.
SPEAKER_00: But our walk on with God should not be based on feelings, but rather on who we are in Christ as sons and daughters.
SPEAKER_00: Feelings are important, they are strong emotions, aren't they?
SPEAKER_00: And we have feelings and we're made with feelings, and it's what God's given us.
SPEAKER_00: But if we go with our feelings only, we can miss something.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we need to go and stand on the word of God and understand who we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We need to be led by the Holy Spirit, as Andy and Kelly have brought this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We need to be firestars, whether sometimes we feel it or not.
SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, if I'm honest, I've just felt so far from God in this season.
SPEAKER_00: I felt like, what am I doing?
SPEAKER_00: I remember Neil asked me to preach, and I sort of said, Yeah, yeah, I can do that.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm thinking, I've got nothing.
SPEAKER_00: I've got absolutely nothing.
SPEAKER_00: What am I gonna bring to the table?
SPEAKER_00: What can I give?
SPEAKER_00: And I remember um a couple of Sundays being here, and something just switched in me.
SPEAKER_00: There was a moment of revelation.
SPEAKER_00: And I went home and I said to Kelly, I admitted that I wasn't where I was meant to be to a certain level.
SPEAKER_00: But as men, we don't do that very well, do we?
SPEAKER_00: Like Kelly would come up and say, But how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_00: You you're not yourself, you're not feeling, you know, you're not who you there's something wrong.
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, I'm fine, I'm fine.
SPEAKER_00: And then she'd go on and go on.
SPEAKER_00: So you're just overanalysing everything I'm doing now.
SPEAKER_00: You know?
SPEAKER_00: Am I it's I'm not the only one.
SPEAKER_00: Please, please tell me I'm not the only one.
SPEAKER_00: No, good, good, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and um eventually I thought, you know, I'm feeling good, and you know, I'm like this and like that.
SPEAKER_00: And we have a little conversation, and she tells me how good it is to communicate, and you have more of a conversation, yeah?
SPEAKER_00: But actually, it is helpful because the devil loves to isolate, doesn't he?
SPEAKER_00: He loves to get you on your own and put his claws in and and and go for you.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, when we're in fellowship, when we're together, actually that stops a lot of that.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember I was uh at work a few about about a month ago.
SPEAKER_00: I was at work and I was talking to one of my customers, and she was telling me she was going through all this illness and she was going through all these bits and pieces that are happening to her.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, she had cancer and she had other complications, and the treatment was affecting how she could act to the other treatment, and then she had some fluid on the brain, they were waiting to do that, but couldn't do this because of that, and it was loads of stuff going on in her life, and I just thought myself, what do you want me to do about it?
SPEAKER_00: What can I do about it?
SPEAKER_00: And I found myself saying, Can I pray for you?
SPEAKER_00: Out of my emptiness, I said, Can I pray for you?
SPEAKER_00: And uh I prayed, and uh she got very emotional about it all, and we finished and we ended there.
SPEAKER_00: But I went back uh about three weeks ago and uh I spoke to her again.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, uh last week rather.
SPEAKER_00: I went back and I spoke to her again.
SPEAKER_00: I said, How's things now?
SPEAKER_00: How are you feeling?
SPEAKER_00: And she said, Oh, this has happened now, this has happened, I've got this appointment coming up, and I've got to do this, and the surgeon needs to have this in place for that to happen.
SPEAKER_00: And I just need it all all to happen.
SPEAKER_00: I just feel as if I'm all up in the air, I don't know where I stand.
SPEAKER_00: So I said to her again, just with more feeling and more commitment.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Come on, let's let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: And she looked at me and said, Thank you.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you prayed last time, something happened, something changed.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_00: I can't feel it, I don't understand it, I was not where I was meant to be.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, God is always in control, isn't He?
SPEAKER_00: He turns up, even if we half-heartedly do.
SPEAKER_00: He is always there, and I just was so encouraged with that.
SPEAKER_00: So I spent some time last week.
SPEAKER_00: I thought, no, you know, after being here at church and had a bit of a revelation, I thought, no, I need I need to go for God.
SPEAKER_00: So I said to Kelly, right, I'm gonna I'm gonna fast from Telly for the week.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm gonna spend time reading the word and I'm just gonna pray.
SPEAKER_00: Whether I feel it or not, whether I understand where I am, I'm just gonna press into God because I know who I am.
SPEAKER_00: I'm a son of God, and we stand on that foundation, don't we?
SPEAKER_00: Of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So I did that, and that it's been really good.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I feel on fire again, I feel stirred up.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, I feel sometimes in those moments where we feel vulnerable and we're away, actually, this is where the devil can come in.
SPEAKER_00: As in this passage we just read, this is when temptation can come.
SPEAKER_00: The temptation comes and goes for where we're weak and vulnerable.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to say, I had a conversation with a couple of people before about temptation, and then we're getting all confused and saying about it being a sin and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm saying, I just want to say to you, temptation is not a sin.
SPEAKER_00: What you do with it is a sin.
SPEAKER_00: When you dwell on it, when it manifests in you, when you act on it, then it becomes from temptation to sin.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there is a difference.
SPEAKER_00: Temptation is all around us, it happens all the time.
SPEAKER_00: It comes in on seasons and in waves, and other times it doesn't even affect us.
SPEAKER_00: There's an old saying, isn't there?
SPEAKER_00: You uh you can't stop the birds flying over your head, you can't stop the temptation coming in, but you can stop them nesting there.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, when temptation comes, we need to stand firm against it.
SPEAKER_00: We also have a verse in the Bible which is very handy.
SPEAKER_00: This is 1 Corinthians 10.
SPEAKER_00: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
SPEAKER_00: And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
SPEAKER_00: But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's remember that we have victory in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we have victory in Christ, we can come against temptation by the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Can't we?
SPEAKER_00: We've already had Andy talk about the Holy Spirit in us.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, Kelly, about an ember, even an ember of the Holy Spirit can resist temptation.
SPEAKER_00: We need to learn to stand firm in who we are.
SPEAKER_00: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
SPEAKER_00: But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
SPEAKER_00: Temptation can help us grow as Christians in our faith, it can build spiritual muscles.
SPEAKER_00: Temptation can often come after a spiritual high, it sorts out the emotional high from the realities of spiritual growth.
SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that you are out of God's blessing when we are tempted.
SPEAKER_00: God allows temptation to grow us in faith.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that God tempts us, but God has full authority on the earth, and temptation does come.
SPEAKER_00: We read here, God will not allow temptation to be on the what we can stand.
SPEAKER_00: We just read that.
SPEAKER_00: When temptation comes, we grow as Christians when we stand firm against it, when we stand in faith and what we believe and who we are as Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Can sharpen us, can strengthen us, and a walk with God.
SPEAKER_00: But at the same time it can seem quite hard.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at the passage again and see how Jesus handled it.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to read it out again because I think it's worth reading.
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: So this is back to the first couple of slides.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
SPEAKER_00: The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered, It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
SPEAKER_00: If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against the stone.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do not put your Lord your God to the test.
SPEAKER_00: Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
SPEAKER_00: All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil left and the angels came and attended him.
SPEAKER_00: When temptation comes we need to resist it and stand firm in our faith and who we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus temptation was real.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just an example of how Christians need to live.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was an example of Jesus going through temptation just as we go through temptation today.
SPEAKER_00: He went through the same temptations we were off we were faced with, isn't he?
SPEAKER_00: And Satan in this passage was offering Jesus an easy path.
SPEAKER_00: He could be the conquering king and bypass the cross.
SPEAKER_00: That's what Satan was offering Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to suffer and be the suffering servant.
SPEAKER_00: This was the main focus and the temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Worship me and your kingdom can be established here on earth without all the hard work.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we can pick the easy path, can't we?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the easy road is uh is easier.
SPEAKER_00: That's why it's called the easy path, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the values and uh and and our Christian faith uh comes into conflict with the world's opinion, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: And you can face that in the workplace, can't you?
SPEAKER_00: You can face that in schools, you can face that with family members, but actually the hard path sometimes is what shapes us and grows us.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, standing first to actually, what does the Bible say on this?
SPEAKER_00: What is clear from the Bible when we're when we're tempted for an easier option or an easier path?
SPEAKER_00: What does the Bible say on that?
SPEAKER_00: Because it is easier to give in to the world, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: It's easier to go along with the world view, but actually, we're called to be fire starters, aren't we?
SPEAKER_00: We are called to be flames in darkness, we are called to be the light of the world.
SPEAKER_00: That's who you are.
SPEAKER_00: You're the light of the world.
SPEAKER_00: We dance by a different tune, don't we?
SPEAKER_00: You know, and sometimes it's easier to conform to what the world is, and we need to stand firm and say, no, no, this is what I believe.
SPEAKER_00: And this is where temptation can come.
SPEAKER_00: This is where the devil comes in and whispers in our ear.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at each of the temptations Jesus faced.
SPEAKER_00: And as I said, there are the same temptations that we're just look at the first one in verse 3.
SPEAKER_00: The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus was hungry, and I think that's got to be the understatement of the year, really.
SPEAKER_00: He'd been in the wilderness for 40 days, he'd been fasting, he was physically weak, wasn't he?
SPEAKER_00: And I think this is where we can feel that actually we're vulnerable, and I think in those wilderness moments, this is where the enemy can get in and start having a dig.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was alone, he was isolated, and we are not built to be alone, we're built to be in fellowship, as I said earlier.
SPEAKER_00: The enemy loves to get you alone somewhere and whisper in your ear and tell you how bad you've done.
SPEAKER_00: Or how this is happening or how that's happening and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, we need to stand firm on who we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And actually, we got weapons at our disposal to deal with that, haven't we?
SPEAKER_00: We got weapons that can come against the lies of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Let's have a look at verse 4.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, It is written, this is her his her.
SPEAKER_00: This is Jesus' answer to the temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus could have easily turned the stones in the bread, but his strength did not come from his own ability, but from the one who sent him.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus quoted scripture at Satan.
SPEAKER_00: The word of God is a sword in spiritual welfare.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus knew the scriptures.
SPEAKER_00: We need to put God's word in our heart and stand on the foundations of biblical truth.
SPEAKER_00: The word of God is living and active.
SPEAKER_00: And when Satan comes at you with his lies, you need to be able to quote the scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Back at him.
SPEAKER_00: Now I don't mean you need to know and memory every verse in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what I'm saying about, because I would be totally no good for that at all.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, you need to stand on what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_00: When those situations come, you know, when when when when the enemy comes in and speaks to you.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus came back at him with scripture to counteract what the devil was saying.
SPEAKER_00: Because he could have easily turned the stone into bread.
SPEAKER_00: He could have easily just reached out his hand and ate at the st at the bread.
SPEAKER_00: But what's that saying?
SPEAKER_00: That's saying actually I I'm not relying on God to meet my needs.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I I'm gonna do it my way.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do it out of my own strength and ability.
SPEAKER_00: Do you ever feel like that?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I can do it out of my own strength and ability.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, I I've got a certain gift in here that God's given me, and I I can just step into that.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we need to stand on what God has given us.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Jesus did.
SPEAKER_00: His strength came from the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Our strength comes from our relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: Our strength comes from our experience and encounters with the Holy Spirit that empowers us and enables us to break free when the enemy comes.
SPEAKER_00: Our strength comes from knowing the scriptures and understanding what they mean for us.
SPEAKER_00: So when the enemy comes at lies, you can counteract that.
SPEAKER_00: Our strength comes from the fellowship of each other.
SPEAKER_00: When you can get alongside someone and say, actually, I'm really struggling here.
SPEAKER_00: Can you pray for me?
SPEAKER_00: What I like in this verse as well, if you read the chapter four, Jesus just been baptized.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus was on the back of a spiritual eye.
SPEAKER_00: He'd just been baptized, the Holy Spirit had come down on him like a dove, and an audible voice from heaven spoke out, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
SPEAKER_00: He went from that moment into temptation.
SPEAKER_00: I think for some of us, we can have amazing times at New Day.
SPEAKER_00: We can have amazing times of preaching or speaking or leading worship.
SPEAKER_00: We can have amazing times for seeing people healed and praying for someone that will have an amazing time with God.
SPEAKER_00: And next minute we can have a bang, a crash, can't we?
SPEAKER_00: You know, we can have the highs and the lows of the spiritual journey.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm not I'm trying not to be negative.
SPEAKER_00: I don't I'm thinking I'm sounding quite negative, but I just want to bring some reality of where we're at.
SPEAKER_00: As Jesus received the Holy Spirit, so have we.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit can lead us through scripture, can help us combat the attacks of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit can help us discern what is right and wrong, and the Holy Spirit can empower us to overcome.
SPEAKER_00: The spirit and the word are the weapons when temptation comes.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're our armament.
SPEAKER_00: Says in the Bible, didn't it put on the full armor of God?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we need to arm ourselves with these things regularly and not be surprised when temptation comes.
SPEAKER_00: It's not a new thing, it's not a surprise.
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes when temptation comes, we need to say, God, what are you doing in this?
SPEAKER_00: What are you teaching me?
SPEAKER_00: What are you helping me to grow at?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you leading me in this?
SPEAKER_00: Why can't I take the easy path?
SPEAKER_00: I can see A and B right in front of me.
SPEAKER_00: Why can't I go that way?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes God is moulding us and shaping us through the twists and turns and the knocks of life.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, sometimes God is strengthening us with the muscles of faith that we can stand firm.
SPEAKER_00: So that when others are going through that, we can speak into their lives with experience and with love and compassion because I knew what they're going through.
SPEAKER_00: That's why Jesus went through this.
SPEAKER_00: This is not just written as a plan for how we should live our life.
SPEAKER_00: This is testimony that Jesus knows the suffering that we are going through.
SPEAKER_00: He knows the same temptation.
SPEAKER_00: He was fully tempted.
SPEAKER_00: He was hungry, he was starving 40 days on his Jack Jones in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: We don't hear of anything that's going to says 40 days in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: He was led by the Spirit on his own.
SPEAKER_00: Didn't eat, didn't drink.
SPEAKER_00: Weak, vulnerable alone, and the enemy comes in.
SPEAKER_00: Does that sound like something happens to you?
SPEAKER_00: Weak, vulnerable alone?
SPEAKER_00: You're never alone.
SPEAKER_00: Because we have the Holy Spirit living in us, dwelling in us.
SPEAKER_00: We are the living temples of God.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit comes in us, dwells with us, wants to be with us.
SPEAKER_00: We're never alone.
SPEAKER_00: I'll start singing never walk alone in a minute.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at the second temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: The devil took him to a holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
SPEAKER_00: If you are the Son of God, he says, throw yourself down, for it is written.
SPEAKER_00: So you'll not strike the foot against the stone.
SPEAKER_00: Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Satan knows scriptures well, doesn't he?
SPEAKER_00: The problem here is Satan's put a little twist in it.
SPEAKER_00: Satan has slightly altered it.
SPEAKER_00: He's missed out a few paragraphs of it.
SPEAKER_00: He's sort of snipped and cut to sort out what it really means.
SPEAKER_00: This quote comes from Psalm 91.
SPEAKER_00: If you read Psalm 91, it is slightly different to what Satan is using here.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Satan does.
SPEAKER_00: We need to have an understanding of Scripture.
SPEAKER_00: It's our sword against the enemy, the word of truth.
SPEAKER_00: But we need to know it in the concept it's written in.
SPEAKER_00: Here the devil is taking stuff out of concept.
SPEAKER_00: He's misquoting scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we need to be careful that we don't do that.
SPEAKER_00: We need to read scripture in the context it is written.
SPEAKER_00: To understand the before and after and the bit in the middle, what was going on when they were quoting that and understanding that.
SPEAKER_00: It's really helpful if you study the word and if you look at it.
SPEAKER_00: What's the Pashage saying before and what's the Pashage saying after?
SPEAKER_00: What context is this written in?
SPEAKER_00: Puts the meat onto the bones, gives us a deeper understanding.
SPEAKER_00: The enemy can come to us and like Adam can say, did God really say that?
SPEAKER_00: He would try and undermine the word of God and twist it.
SPEAKER_00: Is that what God really meant?
SPEAKER_00: Let's have a look at Jesus' response in verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: It is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test.
SPEAKER_00: Knowing the Bible, reading it regularly is not just a good thing to do as a Christian.
SPEAKER_00: It's a weapon we can use against the schemes of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: It is a foundation for who we are as Christians.
SPEAKER_00: If we spend time with the Holy Spirit on our relationship with God, we're more in tune with what the Holy Spirit is doing and wanting.
SPEAKER_00: I've emphasized this about 20 times, and I'm not going to stop emphasizing it because I think it's a real truth and it's an understanding.
SPEAKER_00: The weapons of warfare are the Holy Spirit and the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: They're the counteractions of the devil and he all his temptations, all that he throws at us, everything that he says about us, the lies and the schemes and the thing, they all can be counteracted by the scripture, by the word, yeah, and the Holy Spirit leading us, prompting us.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at the third temptation that Jesus went through.
SPEAKER_00: Again, the devil took him onto a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
SPEAKER_00: All this I will give you, he says, if you bow down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: What is the devil saying here?
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, actually, your kingdom can be established, can't it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, come on.
SPEAKER_00: We can put your kingdom on earth.
SPEAKER_00: I will give you the kingdom, your kingdom on heaven.
SPEAKER_00: You can bring it down here on earth.
SPEAKER_00: I'm allowing you to die.
SPEAKER_00: I'm giving it to you.
SPEAKER_00: The whole thrust of this is the devil saying an easy option.
SPEAKER_00: An easy option.
SPEAKER_00: But all you need to do is bow down and worship me.
SPEAKER_00: And all these things will happen.
SPEAKER_00: You can still, people can come to you, you can still build your church, you can still see your name glorified, but actually, I'm at the top of the tree, not you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm at the top of the tree and not you.
SPEAKER_00: The easy path, there's always a consequence.
SPEAKER_00: And the easy path here would have been no cross.
SPEAKER_00: No cross.
SPEAKER_00: Just think about that for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: He was offering Jesus kingdom, authority here on earth, no cross, no sin paid for, no redemption.
SPEAKER_00: Where would we be then?
SPEAKER_00: The easy path is not always the best path.
SPEAKER_00: And when we're offered the easy way out, sometimes we need to take the hard road.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we need to go the long way around.
SPEAKER_00: Do you ever get the sat nav?
SPEAKER_00: And it gives you the fastest route.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's not the fastest route, is it?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the long way round is a bit better, really.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's only 10 miles that way, but that way's 13, 14 miles.
SPEAKER_00: But it saves you 10 minutes on your journey time.
SPEAKER_00: And actually here, Satan was offering a quick fix.
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be the suffering servant.
SPEAKER_00: You could be the conquering king.
SPEAKER_00: Just remember the journey is important as the destination.
SPEAKER_00: And how we get there matters.
SPEAKER_00: The journey is just as important as the destination.
SPEAKER_00: How we get there matters, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Satan was asked in Jesus to align with him.
SPEAKER_00: It sounds good, but at what cost?
SPEAKER_00: There should be no compromise when it comes to the word of God and what it stands for and means for us.
SPEAKER_00: The hard path is also the path that shapes us and molds us into God is calling us into be.
SPEAKER_00: Do not compromise for quick gains.
SPEAKER_00: And I love Jesus' response.
SPEAKER_00: It was swift and to the point.
SPEAKER_00: In verse 10, Jesus says, Jesus says to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.
SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes we can view our walk with God and and what goes on as if we've got no ability, we've got no how can we change things?
SPEAKER_00: What can we do?
SPEAKER_00: And and life's coming against us, and this is happening.
SPEAKER_00: But actually, here Jesus has full authority to tell Satan to go.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't even argue with him.
SPEAKER_00: He says, away from me, Satan.
SPEAKER_00: He commands him, he takes authority, spiritual authority.
SPEAKER_00: We have the same spiritual authority in us because we are sons of God.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus took the hard path and went through the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Through his blood on the cross, we are redeemed.
SPEAKER_00: We can come into that relationship with God.
SPEAKER_00: He paid the price so that we can stand firm against the lies of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, we can rebuke the enemy and say, no, we're not having that.
SPEAKER_00: Away from me, Satan.
SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes we underestimate the power we have at our disposal as Christians.
SPEAKER_00: We underestimate the authority we have been given as Christians.
SPEAKER_00: Andy brought it again this morning, didn't he?
SPEAKER_00: About underestimating who we've got the power we have in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: We need to stand in that.
SPEAKER_00: We need to realize the authority.
SPEAKER_00: And I think so often we're in the wilderness or we're in a place where we're struggling.
SPEAKER_00: We're not standing on authority, are we?
SPEAKER_00: We do not stand in a place where actually we can break the change.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that every time we do that and that things happen and things break.
SPEAKER_00: I've prayed for stuff and I'm still praying for stuff that I've not seen fulfilled.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm crying to God and saying, why?
SPEAKER_00: Why is that not happening?
SPEAKER_00: Why are we dealing with these same issues again and again?
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why.
SPEAKER_00: But I know that Jesus has full authority.
SPEAKER_00: He paid the price for my sin and the sin of the world so that we can step in to who we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That we can resist the schemes and the and the and the and and the lies of the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: And we can stand firm against those things.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Verse eleven.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended to him.
SPEAKER_00: I love this bit.
SPEAKER_00: It is such a simple sentence.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil left him because he had no choice.
SPEAKER_00: Because he was not the one in charge.
SPEAKER_00: God is.
SPEAKER_00: He is lost.
SPEAKER_00: He is defeated.
SPEAKER_00: The enemy is defeated.
SPEAKER_00: He's lost the battle already.
SPEAKER_00: We need to remember that as Christians.
SPEAKER_00: Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended him.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't need to turn the stones into bread.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't need to bow down to the schemes of the devil because he knew the Father would come back and help him.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 11 then the angels came and attended him, met his needs, looked after him.
SPEAKER_00: There's situations that you're going to face, and you're thinking, How is this going to work?
SPEAKER_00: How's God in this?
SPEAKER_00: What's going on here?
SPEAKER_00: God's got you.
SPEAKER_00: God has got you.
SPEAKER_00: God did not leave Jesus alone in the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: He met his needs and sent his angels to attend him and look after him.
SPEAKER_00: God does not leave you alone in the wilderness situation.
SPEAKER_00: Even if you cannot feel him or sense him, he never leaves us or forsakes us.
SPEAKER_00: His desire is to walk and be in fellowship with us all the time.
SPEAKER_00: I've got a verse here that um this is an example.
SPEAKER_00: I was thinking about how to end this, and I was looking at this and looking at that, and I was literally just going out the door this morning, and uh Holy Spirit just dropped this verse in.
SPEAKER_00: And I think again, it's just a demonstration of Holy Spirit just dropping verse in.
SPEAKER_00: So I think when we're tempted, when the situations we face come, allow the Holy Spirit, God, what are you saying in this?
SPEAKER_00: Allow the Holy Spirit just to drop in stuff to you that helps you to overcome and fight against temptation.
SPEAKER_00: I remember I've had situations where I've been tempted to do stuff or tempted into stuff, and I was sat in there and thought, Pro no, I'm not gonna do that, not gonna do that.
SPEAKER_00: And I was thinking, look, Lord, let's start praying in tongues.
SPEAKER_00: Just start praying in tongues.
SPEAKER_00: If you haven't got the gift of tongues, it's a good weapon to have.
SPEAKER_00: Start praying in tongues, and a minute later, there's no temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Where's that temptation gone?
SPEAKER_00: That was that temptation was all consuming.
SPEAKER_00: It was everything in my life, it was gripping me.
SPEAKER_00: Prayed in tongues and it's gone.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that amazing?
SPEAKER_00: And I think temptation can come like that, it can grab us by the throat, can't it?
SPEAKER_00: It can pin us down, it can stop us in our tracks, and we just need to pray, God, take that away from me.
SPEAKER_00: Because God always gives you a way out, and I think we need to remember that.
SPEAKER_00: God gives you a way out.
SPEAKER_00: There's always a back door from temptation, just step through it and you're free.
SPEAKER_00: And I tell you what, what that does, it produces spiritual muscle in us, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00: It produces strength in us, it produces faith in us to know actually if that comes again, I know I can just stand against that.
SPEAKER_00: But it's more on that.
SPEAKER_00: This is what uh this is Romans 8.
SPEAKER_00: It's what God says to us.
SPEAKER_00: It's sorry, there's no slide because I literally got it as I walked out the door this morning, so I quickly printed up and I'm running out to get up here in time so there's no slide, so don't panic.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Romans eight thirty-one.
SPEAKER_00: What then shall we say to you in response to these things?
SPEAKER_00: If God is for us, who can be against us?
SPEAKER_00: He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he also alone along with him gratify gloriously give us all things?
SPEAKER_00: Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
SPEAKER_00: It is God who justifies, who then is the one who condemns no one.
SPEAKER_00: Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
SPEAKER_00: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword?
SPEAKER_00: As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long.
SPEAKER_00: We are considered a sheep to the slaughter.
SPEAKER_00: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors.
SPEAKER_00: You are more than conquerors through him who loves us.
SPEAKER_00: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor neither angels nor demons, neither the presence nor the future, nor any power, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That is massive, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00: Massive piece of scripture.
SPEAKER_00: I tell you, if there's nothing else you get from me today, Romans 8 31.
SPEAKER_00: Romans 8 31.
SPEAKER_00: Put it on a piece of paper, print it out, stick it on your bedroom wall, stick it on the back of the toilet door, not the toilet, the door, stick it in the kitchen, read it, meditate on it, understand it, let it penetrate who we are in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That is a massive piece of scripture.
SPEAKER_00: So when the devil comes like that, you say, hold on, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: Trump card here.
SPEAKER_00: This is what the Bible says about me.
SPEAKER_00: This is who I am in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Away from me, Satan.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
SPEAKER_00: Because that's who we can be.
SPEAKER_00: That's who we are.
SPEAKER_00: For some of you, this message, you're thinking, I'm in a really good place, Andy.
SPEAKER_00: I'm in a really good place at the moment.
SPEAKER_00: I'm walking with God, life is good, the birds are singing, everything's good.
SPEAKER_00: I say that's fantastic for you.
SPEAKER_00: Stick this in the back pocket.
SPEAKER_00: Sit this one in the back pocket.
SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who are going through this situation where you're feeling in the wilderness, you're struggling, you feel isolated, you're not sure.
SPEAKER_00: Oh god, where are you in all this?
SPEAKER_00: What's happening?
SPEAKER_00: Verbalize it.
SPEAKER_00: Speak to someone.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants you isolated.
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants you on your own.
SPEAKER_00: The devil does not want you free from anything.
SPEAKER_00: He wants you under his power, he wants you crushed down and limited.
SPEAKER_00: He does not want you to be a fire starter in any shape or form.
SPEAKER_00: The word of God, the Holy Spirit are our weapons.
SPEAKER_00: Fellowship with each other is amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Helps break the change.
SPEAKER_00: Get someone to pray with you up with you.
SPEAKER_00: Speak to someone.
SPEAKER_00: Do not live in isolation.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna pray and we're gonna end there.