The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 5: Temptation of Jesus

Episode Date: April 7, 2019

When we are tempted, God has given us His Word, the sword of the Spirit, not so that we can defeat Satan but to remind us that Jesus already has. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” - John 5:39

everybody thank you all so much you all have a see pastor joby i love this church man you guys have been so encouraging to me last service um was incredible um people actually amen in this church and and and my church in austin is full of college students from the university of texas and they just stare at me like i'm an idiot so this is really really cool um i'll tell you what pastor jovi was was partly being honest and partly not being honest. The part that he was not being honest about, he's being very humble. I am not smarter than him. He's one of the most brilliant men I've ever met, but it was being honest is that I do have better hair than him. Amen? And so it's good to be with you guys. I want to invite you to open up your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3. And we're going to be

in verse 16. And we'll be there in just a minute, Matthew chapter 3 verse 16. So kind of put your hand there. If you don't have your Bible, that's cool. we're going to have the scriptures behind me, I think, on the screen. But let me start off by saying this. You know, I've always thought about, let me talk about Pastor Jolie one more time. I've always thought that there ought to be a ranking in America for the top redneck pastor in the country. Y'all with me? We ought to have like at least a top 10 of the best top redneck pastor in the country.

And I always assumed before I met Pastor Joby that I would have been at the top of the list. I've actually caught a quail in my bare hands before while I was hunting. It's a true story. if you don't believe me, look it up on YouTube, Pastor Ketch's Quail with bare hands. So I always figured I'd sort of be at the top, but then I met Jobby Martin. And at least I write my sermons at a desk, right, in an office. And every time I call him, I'm like, hey, buddy, you know, what's you doing? He's like, oh, man, you know, writing my sermon in a deer stand, you know, and that's pretty much,

you know, he's in a duck blinds, in a bass boat, always working on a sermon, but he's in one of those things. And so, but seriously, you guys are, you guys are blessed here. He's one of the most brilliant, godly, incredible man that I've ever met. So y'all give him a hand. But you guys are going through a series called Mountains, which is really an amazing concept. I love it because one of the things that you realize that as you read through the whole of the Bible is how often God kind of shows up and manifest his presence and meets with his people on mountains. It happens over and over and over again that God, for whatever reason, seems to show up on mountains.

And what's interesting is I was studying for this sermon, I realized that that has kind of been true in my life, that one of the, probably the craziest sort of most supernatural event, maybe besides my salvation that I've ever experienced happen at the top of the mountain, of a mountain actually in Colorado. I'm going to share it with you guys. I've only shared it one other time in my entire life. I preached and told the story, this story on Easter Sunday morning a couple of years ago. It's so crazy. all aren't going to believe me, and that's okay.

I actually had a couple people in my church when I shared this one time. Accused me a lion, but I put my hand on a Bible. I'll get on a lie detector chest. What I'm telling you is the truth that's crazy, but happen. I'm going to share with you today. But a couple of years ago, I took my son and a bunch of his football buddies on spring break to Colorado. We were hanging out doing our thing, and one of those guys had the crazy idea that we needed

to climb a mountain, which I just, I hate climbing mountains. I hate the altitude. It's one of my least favorite thing to do on the planet, but I didn't want them going up there by themselves. I said I'd go with them. And we start climbing up this trail. It's an 11,000 foot, bigger than that, I think, Mountain and Estes Park, Colorado.

I think it's called Estes Cone. And so we're climbing and it started snowing. And it started snowing hard. And we lost the trail. And those idiots wanted to keep going. They didn't want to go back. So instead of doing the well-worn trail on the way up, we just took off off the side of the mountain.

And five hours later, one of the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, we finally made it to the top. and they're off kind of doing their thing and I'm sitting there inside the mountain I'm seeing some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in my life. You can see literally four miles and miles and miles, just this incredible mountain range and you could see it all. It was unbelievable. I want to tell you guys, interestingly enough, that I was going through a time in my life.

It was sort of at a weird place in my life a couple years ago, and it only lasted, honestly, for a couple weeks, and then what happened here on this mountain happened and it went away. but I was actually going through a period of my life where I was just briefly questioning the existence of God. And I know that may sound weird, coming from a guy that's a pastor of a church and written books and preached all over the place, but I was.

Maybe you've done that before. I just had this little weird kind of time in my mind and my heart. I was like, God, are you real? Did you really do all this? And I was sitting up on the top of this mountain, and I was by myself, and I'm looking at this scenery. It was so beautiful, and I just prayed this prayer. I said, God, did you?

really make all this? Did you really make all this? And right after I prayed this prayer, when this thing happened, I looked up into the sky and the clouds were kind of moving and I thought it was a storm, but this is when it gets crazy. The clouds sort of formed into this face. And it wasn't like, oh, you know, when you're a kid and you're looking at the clouds and it's like, oh, that's the state buff marshmallow man. You're like, no, no, no, it's a unicorn. That wasn't it at all. It was this really clear face. And it was sort of the picture or the image of what I'm, I'm just a I would think God would look like if I saw it. It was incredibly clear.

And so I'm sitting there. I prayed the prayer. I'm like, you got to be kidding me. What is going on here? And I'm looking at this thing. And then it sort of hits me. I'm at 11,000 feet. I'm hallucinating.

That's what my brain is oxygen deprived. This is what's going on. And I'm dreaming this. It's cool, but I'm dreaming this thing. And then sort of right as I dismissed it, this is when it gets real crazy. True story. Before the Lord.

God Almighty, God is my witness. It changed into the face of a lion. Like this crystal, clear, sharp lion looking at me. You know, here's the thing. It lasted for about four seconds, and then it went away. And here's the deal, guys. Maybe I was hallucinate. Maybe I was.

Maybe I passed out, and I dreamed the whole thing. But all I know is that God showed up with me on that mountain. and he used that moment in my life to say, I am here. I am with you. I did make all of this. And I never have doubted again. And all through the scripture, that's what happens. God will meet with his people on the top of mountains.

You see he met with Moses on Mount Sinai in a burning bush. You see that he met with Elijah on Mount Carmel where God showed up in front of the prophets of bail in power. You see it with Peter, James, and John, where he shows up in his glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. God is always showing up on mountains. And what I want to talk to you guys about today on this one particular day in the life of Jesus, Jesus met with somebody on a mountain. But on this day, he didn't meet with God.

On this day, it was actually Satan that showed up and met with Jesus on the top of the mountain. and the two of them, Jesus and Satan are going to lock horns in one of the most significant spiritual battles in all of history on top of this mountain. It's one of the most significant spiritual battles in all of history. It's going to happen on this mountain, and here's what we're going to see today, and I want you to hear this, is that Jesus victory over Satan. Jesus victory over Satan that day on the top of the mountain was not only one of the most significant, moments in Jesus' life. But Jesus' victory against Satan on the top of that mountain that day was one of the most significant moments in your life if you're a Christian.

If you're a believer, what Jesus accomplished in defeating Satan that day on the top of that mountain is one of the most significant moments of your life and your eternity. And that's what we're going to see. And so before I sort of jump into this big spiritual battle, let me set the scene just a little bit. So before Satan shows up, Jesus has just been baptized. He's been baptized. He's about to begin his earthly ministry. So let's read this together, Matthew chapter 3, verse 16.

It says, when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went from the water, and behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Okay, so listen, Jesus just gets baptized. Church, the spirit of God fell on him, and the father spoke out loud to Jesus and said,

this is my son with whom I am well pleased. This is one of the only times in the whole Bible where the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit all show up at the exact same place, at the exact same time, and you would think after that happens that Jesus would be like, that was cool? We got the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all here together. We need to go to the Fellowship Hall and eat some cupcakes.

Amen? You would think that Jesus would say something like that, but that's not what Jesus does. I want you to watch what he does immediately after he's baptized. Spirit descends. Father speaks, Matthew chapter 4, verse 1. It says, then, this is the next verse. He says, then Jesus was led by.

the spirit into the wilderness. Look at that last part there, to be tempted by the devil. Leave that up for just a second, guys. The key word there is then. It's then. So Jesus is, he's baptized, he walks out of the water, and immediately he goes into the desert for a time of being tempted by Satan.

So Dr. Russell Moore is the president of, anyway, it doesn't matter. He's a smart dude, but he wrote a book on the tempting. of Jesus, and he said this about this moment. He said, in order to understand the temptations of Jesus, we have to understand that Jesus' hair was wet when he stepped into the desert. And so Jesus has had one of these, one of the most greatest moments of intimacy in his earthly life with his heavenly father, and he walks out of the water, and he steps immediately, listen to this,

he steps immediately into a battle that is ultimately going to determine the future of all humanity. That's how significant this moment we're about to look at it is. Is this battle that he just walks into right after his baptism, the result of which is going to determine the future of all humanity, and that includes you. Okay? Now here's a question for you guys to help us understand what's going on here

in this massive spiritual battle. And it's this. Why does Satan want to meet Jesus in the? the wilderness and tempt him. Like, what's he doing? What's Satan trying to accomplish? Why does he follow Jesus into the wilderness and start tempting him? What is Satan trying to do?

Well, the answer to that question is really, really simple. What Satan is trying to get Jesus to do is he's trying to get Jesus to sin. That's what he's trying to get him to do. And that's the goal of Satan, of everybody in this room's life. The reason he brings temptation into your life is he's trying to get you to discipline, a God, go after that temptation, and sin and fall short of the glory of God. And here's the thing. If Satan can tempt you and get you to sin, that's a big spiritual victory. But he knows that if he can get Jesus to sin, that is an eternally more significant spiritual victory. Satan knows

if he can get Jesus to sin just one time, that is an eternally significant victory. It's a lot bigger than us sitting. Okay? Now, got a theological question for you. You're going to see how well Pastor Job he's been teaching you guys. Don't shout it out, but just in your head, answer the question, why is it so important to Satan that Jesus sins? Why is that such a big victory for Satan if Jesus sins?

Why is he coming after him trying to tempt him get him to sin? Well, here's the answer. In order for Jesus to be qualified to die on the cross. in order for Jesus to be qualified to die on the cross and be a substitute for us and a payment for us and all of our sinfulness, Jesus had to be completely sinless. Okay? If Jesus was sinless when he died on the cross, he was a perfect substitute. He was a perfect sacrifice for us who have all sin and fallen short of the God.

So because he's sinless and he died, if we trust into him, we can take on his righteousness and our sins are absolutely completely paid for and we take on his righteousness so that when we die and we stand before God on the last day and he looks at us, he no longer sees our sin, but he sees his son's righteousness. And so Jesus must be sinless when he walks to the cross. And Satan knows that. He knows that. All the way back in Genesis chapter 3, Satan, Tim's Adam and Eve.

They fall, sin enters the picture. God comes up to Satan and says, here's what's going to happen, buddy. There's going to be a baby born one day. His name is going to be Emmanuel. It means God with us. And he's going to be born of a virgin, which means his nature will be fully God, fully man. And he will live a perfect life, sinless life. and then his death is going to destroy you.

That's an abbreviated sort of unpack at all version of what God says to Satan in Genesis Chapter 3. So Satan is absolutely fully well. He knows that there's going to come a day. A baby's going to be born of a version and eventually going to take him out and he knew that guy was going to be Jesus. And so from Genesis chapter 1 from that moment, Satan is looking for the birth of Christ. He's watching it.

but centuries went by and there was no birth more centuries went by from Genesis chapter 3 there was nothing silence more centuries went by no birth no Jesus and so Satan gosh he probably had to be thinking well maybe God forgot you know maybe maybe God gave up but then all of a sudden one cold night in Middle East about 2,000 years ago

Satan's demons probably came up to him one night and said, Hey boss, we were hanging out near the city of David, near Bethlehem. And Satan, we heard some angels singing. And Satan, they started shouting at these shepherds. And they were talking about the Savior that was born for them in the city of David. And then they started shouting and praising God and talking about peace on earth and goodwill towards men. Those demons probably said, Satan, man, we think of it. He's been born.

And then from that moment forward, from that moment forward, here this, Satan's number one goal in his life, his number one goal in his existence is to take Jesus out and to take him out by causing him to sin. Because he knows, he knows if Jesus sins even one time, hear this, he's no longer qualified to die on a cross for our sins. and if Jesus Christ does not die on a cross, then there is no forgiveness of our sins. And if there's no forgiveness of our sins, then you and I go to hell when we die and Satan wins. So if Jesus sins, Satan wins. It's that simple. Okay? So keep in mind, that's what Satan's trying to do on the mountain.

He's going to do everything in his power to get Jesus to sin and fall short of the glory of God. Now, before I show you, like, how he tempts Jesus, how he tries to get him to sin. I want to take just a second, and I want to get kind of applicable, and I want to talk for a second about the difference between temptation and sin, because there's a big difference between you being tempted to do something, and you actually cross in line and sinning. Temptation is not a sin. It's when you're tempted and move beyond the temptation that it's actually a sin. And so if you're a young man in here, and let's say you're at the beach, and you see some girl,

And she's in a bikini, and you look at her and you see her and you find her attractive. That moment where you see a girl and you find her attractive is not a sin. It's not even a temptation. It just means you're human. That's how God wired human beings to be attracted to other human beings. But after you see her, he's going, okay, she's attractive. And then you feel this desire inside of you to keep looking at her or to look at her again, then now you've stepped into temptation.

You're being tempted in that moment to lust. And so if you continue to look at her, if you continue to, oh, let me say this, if you, that temptation of lust happens, but then you divert your eyes, you turn your eyes away, you honor the Lord with your eyes and you move on, then you've been tempted, but you haven't crossed that line into sin. Okay? But when the temptation comes, finder attractive, the temptation to look and continue to stare goes, and you don't divert your eyes. You continue to stare.

to let your mind and your eyes dwell on her body, then that's when you've crossed the line and temptation has moved into sin. Okay? I'll talk you guys that for this reason, because I want you to keep in mind that what Jesus is about to go through in the desert is a real temptation for him. It's a real temptation for him. The scripture in Hebrew says that we have a high priest that can relate to us because he's been tempted in every single way.

And yet he did it without sin. And so what's going to happen is Satan is going to make Jesus an offer. And we're going to see that it actually really tempts Jesus. He's tempted to do it. But the amazing thing is Jesus never crosses that line from temptation to sin. And that is the best news you and I are ever going to hear. And we'll talk about that in just a minute. So let's go to the mountain together real quickly here.

And let's look at how Satan tempts you. Jesus, and then we'll be done today. So go to Matthew chapter 4, verse 8. Matthew chapter 4, verse 8. It says, again, the devil took him to a very tall mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. Let me read it again. It says, again, the devil took him to a very tall mountain and showed him all the kingdoms

of the world and their glory. And guys, we saw in the video that this is actually the third temptation. The Satan hurls at Jesus. The first one, Jesus is hungry. He's in the desert. He's been fasting 40 days, and Satan says, hey, Jesus turned that bread, or rather that stone into bread.

He was trying to get Jesus to prove that he was God. And here's what Jesus does. He quotes Scripture. He says, hey, the Word of God says, you don't live by bread alone, and he dismisses the temptation of Satan, and he moves on. And so Satan tries to tempt him again.

He takes him to the top of the temple. and he says, hey Jesus, throw yourself down. Throw yourself down because, hey, I know that if you throw yourself off this thing, the angels are going to come, they're going to save you, they're not going to let you fall to the ground. And again, Jesus, that temptation comes, he quotes scripture in Satan's face and says, do not put the Lord your God to the test.

And he brushes off the temptation doesn't sin. But everybody checked us out, look at me for a second. This third temptation, this final temptation, Satan's going to throw the kitchen sink at him. He's going to throw it all at him. This is the ace in the hole. This is the big one that he's going to throw at Jesus. And I want you to hear this.

I believe this, that this temptation that Satan is going to throw at Jesus, this might be the single greatest temptation Jesus ever experiences in his earthly life. He says he was tempted in every way. This might be the biggest one. So he brings him to a really tall mountain. The scripture says Satan shows him all the kingdoms. of the world and watch what he says next. Look at verse 9.

And he said to him and Satan said to Jesus, all these I will give to you if you fall down and worship me. Check this out, guys. This thing brings Jesus to the top of the mountain. He shows him all the kings of the world and here's the thing. We think that that might have been a vision.

He might have been showing him a vision. And here's the thing is that it's clear there that Satan is not just showing him the current kings of the world, but it's the word all. It means everything. He showed him all the past kingdoms of the world. He showed him all the present kingdoms of the world. He showed him all the future kings of the world. And on top of that, he's not just talking about kingdoms. He's talking about people. Satan brings him to the top of the mountain. He shows him all the peoples that have ever lived are alive and ever going to live. It's entirely possible you are in this vision.

And here's what Satan says to Jesus. Satan says to Jesus, hey, you see all those people. You see all those people that have ever lived and have lived now and ever going to live? Aren't they the reason you came here? That's what he's saying to. Aren't all those people the reason that you came to this planet in the first place? Jesus, didn't you come to this planet

to win those people back? Satan looks at Jesus and says, Jesus, I got a deal for you. I'll make a deal with you. I'll just give them to you. You can have them. I'll give them to you. you but one condition before I give them to you, you bowed down and you worship me.

Now, here's a question for you guys. Why does Satan have the power to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world? What's that about? Why is he saying, I'll give you all the kingdoms, all the peoples of the world? Well, here's the answer real quick. Theology here. When Adam and Eve sinned and sin entered the picture, God is still in control. He's still on his throne.

God is still God. but the scripture teaches us that in that moment, God gave Satan temporary rule and reign over the world. That is why, over and over and over again in the scripture, the Bible calls Satan the ruler of the world. Have you ever wondered that? You're reading the Bible having a quiet time and talked about Satan as the ruler of the world.

That's because God gave this temporary time where Satan sort of had this time where he could wreak havoc through sin and through temptation and he got the title, ruler of the world. Now, listen to me carefully. The whole reason, the whole point of Jesus coming to this planet was to destroy Satan's rule and his reign, and God's plan to do that, listen, was through the cross.

The reason Jesus came to this planet was to break and to destroy Satan's rule in his reign and the way that God planned to do it was through the cross of Jesus Christ. And so when Jesus died, and when he shed his blood and he paid for your sins through that, he would win back the entire world for the Lord and all his children. But God's plan, make no mistake. His plan to do that was through the cross of Jesus Christ. In order for it to happen, Jesus had to die. So let's look at the verse one more time.

And I want you to watch what Satan's offering. Verse 8. He says, again, the devil took him to a very tall mountain and showed him all the kingdom. of the world and their glory. And he said to Jesus, all these I will give to you if you simply fall down and worship me. Church, you all see what Satan is offering Jesus?

Y'all beginning to see why this was such a massive temptation for Jesus and maybe it was the biggest one he ever experienced in his life. Listen, because what Satan is offering Jesus is the chance for him not to have to go to the cross. what Satan is offering Jesus is the opportunity for him to have a crossless redemption of us. Satan's saying, Jesus, listen, you don't need to die. Jesus, you don't have to shed your blood. You don't have to go to the cross.

He says, Jesus, I'll just give them to you. No death, no blood, no cross. You can have them. all you got to do is worship me it's a brilliant plan actually it was a brilliant temptation because satan again satan knows if he can get jesus to sin or if he can keep him from going to the cross he wins it's over by the way don't let anybody ever tell you that satan wants jesus to go to the cross you hear it in song and stuff talking about jesus going to the cross Satan was laughing. No, he wasn't. Satan knew that the second that the nails were driven in his hands

and Jesus' blood was shed that. It was over. It was finished. Satan did not want Jesus to go to the cross, and so he's trying to keep him from going to the cross so he could win. Now, before I go on, I want to do one quick thing. I want to talk about what would have happened if Jesus took that offer. What would have happened if Satan says, I'll give him to you. You can have him back. So why he came here, I'll give him to you. He just don't go to the cross. What would have happened? and the theologians throughout the years have speculated that, but here's where I come down on it after studying it a lot. I think if Jesus takes that offer,

I think Satan stops his reign of terror over the earth. If you really think through it, this would have been the most efficient thing he could have done. He would have stopped. If Jesus takes the offer, he stops his reign of terror. It's crazy to think about what would have happened. If Jesus accepts the offer, I think Satan gives us back to Jesus,

I think Satan disappears. I think he calls off his demons. I think he quits tempting people. I think he quits going after people to sin. I think he quits persecuting people. And a lot of scholars think this. A lot of scholars think that if Jesus would have taken the deal, that the world might have become a kind of paradise.

I mean, imagine just for a second. What would the world be like with Satan's rule and reign and terror and temptation and sin? It all went away. A lot of people think that the earth would have become this kind of temporary paradise. If Satan and his demons just completely disappear, think about it, there'd be no war. There'd be no abortion. It'd be no poverty. There'd be no injustice. If Satan just disappears, there'd be no human trafficking, no slavery, no genocide. There'd be no hate. There'd be no malice. And praise God, there'd be no cats, you know? Because cats are satanic, amen?

Satan disappears, cats disappear, there'd just be dogs. The world will be great. Cat people. I'm just joking with you. I love y'all. Some scholars think that Satan just goes away, then it's possible that a lot of disease would have disappeared too. And that we would have lived these crazy long lives like the people in the Old Testament without all the sickness. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Satan goes away.

Jesus doesn't have to go to the cross. The world's all cool. Who wouldn't want that deal? Why in the world would Jesus say no to that? Well, here's the answer. And I want you to, if you don't hear anything, I want you to hear this right here. Jesus said no to Satan because Jesus knew that if he took that deal

and he didn't walk to the cross, that this world might become a kind of paradise for a little while. But there would be one problem is that our sin would never have been paid for. Yeah, we might live 80, 90, 100, maybe 20, 100, maybe 2,000, 200, maybe 300 years in this bliss. But the problem is that we would all still eventually die. And without the cross, when we all eventually died, we would all still be in our sin.

Because it's the cross that paid for our sin. And so, yeah, everything would be great for a little while. But when we eventually died because the cross never paid the penalty for our sin, we would die and we would spend eternity in hell. And Satan would still win. he would ultimately win. And so, now before I tell you kind of how Jesus responded, I want to give you guys one more question. Was that really a temptation for Jesus?

Was Jesus really tempted to take that offer? And the answer is, you better believe that he was tempted. And we know that biblically because of the Garden of Gassimini. It was the night before Jesus was crucified that he's done the last supper, he's gone. He's gone up on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gassimini. He separates himself from the disciples, and he goes, and he falls down on his hands and his knees, and the scripture said that he's praying so hard that he's sweating blood. Now, why is he praying so hard that he's sweating blood?

Was he afraid of the cross? Was he afraid of the nails? I don't think it is. I believe Jesus, in his flesh there, I think he is struggling with the fact that he's about to walk to the cross, and he's about to become sin. A lot of songs out there that say that at the cross, Jesus put our sin on his shoulders. That's not in the Bible. But what is in the Bible is that he became our sin.

He says that he that knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And so every rape, every murder, every sexual abuse, every moment of pornography, every war, every murder, every sin that you've ever committed, he became that sin on the cross. That's what the Bible says. Now here's the thing. Here are the implications for that. Again, this is a guy who's never sinned. And all of eternity passed, and every day of his life into the cross, he's never sinned. He's never known the sting of sin.

He's never known the shame of sin. He's never known the feeling or the weight of sin. He spent eternity passed with God in a perfectly unsciful relationship with His Heavenly Father. And Jesus knows that the second the nails are driven through his wrist, he becomes our sin. and because God is holy, he is separated from his Heavenly Father for the first time in all of eternity. He's not sweating blood because of some nails. He's sweating blood because of our sin, and it's going to separate him from his dad. And that's why three times, was it a temptation not walked to the cross?

Three times, he says, God, is there any other way? You don't ask God three times, is there any other way for me to buy him back? Is there any other way for me to win him back if you're not struggling with wanting to go? And three times the father says, son, it's the only way. There's only one way to win him back. And it's with the cross. And so Jesus prays one of the most powerful prayers in the history of the world. He said, Father, it is not my will, but your will be done.

And from that moment, he stood up and he never wavered ever again. he willingly and purposefully walked to the cross and he was tortured he was whipped and he was beaten and a crown of thorns was crushing to his head and nails were driven into his hands and his feet and after he shed his blood and he cried out it is finished

and the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom and in that moment the power of Satan was destroyed forever the scripture says that in that moment, the ruler of this world was destroyed. And you and I were bought back. His blood purchased for God, people from every tribe and every tongue and every nation all over the planet. Many of us, it's you and me. Was it a temptation for Satan to give us back to Jesus? Without him going to the cross, absolutely it was. But after Satan presented that temptation, of Jesus. You know what he did again? He quoted scripture. He looked at Satan and he said, Satan,

the word of God says that I am to worship the Lord and I am to worship you only. And he looked at Satan and all he said after that was Satan be gone. And Satan didn't say another word. Jesus said, Satan be gone. Satan said, you got it. And he takes off. And that was it. And the victory was won. It was the single greatest spiritual battle in history. up to that point and Jesus won it. Church, on the mountain that day, Jesus said no to Satan and he said yes to the cross and he did it for you and he did it for me and he did it for the glory of God. Now why did Jesus do that? Why did Jesus choose the cross instead of the easy way out and here's the answer because Jesus didn't just want you back. He wanted you completely back.

Jesus said no to Satan and yes to the cross because he didn't just want to heal your earthly disease church he said no to Satan and yes to the cross because he wants to heal your eternal disease. The reason that Jesus said no to Satan and yes to the cross is because he didn't want to delay your death. Church, he came to destroy your death. And that's exactly what he did because Jesus wants you to be his and he wants he to be yours. a few years, but forever and ever. I love the song, it is well. It's one of my favorite songs in the world.

I think it talks about this reality so powerfully. It says, my sin, my sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole, was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul. and I told you guys the beginning of this message that Jesus winning this battle against Satan was one of the most significant moments in your life and your eternity and here's why

because number one if you're tempted now you know how to respond as you're living your life and Satan brings temptation into your life he's putting a temptation of your life to sin you know how to respond you'd respond the way that Jesus responded whatever sin is in your life whatever sin you struggle with you find what the Word of God says about that sin.

And when Satan brings that temptation to you, you look at Satan in the face and you go, hey, Satan, here's what God has to say about this. And then you quote Scripture, and then you look at Satan and say, Satan be gone. Because the Word of God is powerful. But in those times, but in those times where you move beyond temptation into sin,

in those times where you fail, in those times that you fall short, and the times where you walk into sin, what this story taught us today is that in those moments in your life, when you do fail and you do sin, this story is meant to be a reminder that you have a Savior that never failed.

And that you have a Savior that never fell short. And you have a savor that won every single one of those victories. And when the day you trust in him, you received his righteousness completely forever. The other thing we learned today, through this is that we're not just going to get to spend a few days in paradise on this earth and then die and go to hell, but that we get to spend eternity forever with our Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ, because of His blood. And so if you're here today and you're not a believer, there's never been a time in your life where you've trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want you to know something. I can't think of a better day to do it. then today. Jesus is offering his blood for your sin. He's wanting to make that trade, your sin for his righteousness, so that when you stand before God one day, and you will stand before God one day, that God will not see your

sin any longer, but he will see the righteousness of his son. But here's the thing. If that's not what you want, and I say this today in love, here's my advice to you, if that's not what you want. You need to leave here today and you need to live it up. You need to go all in for this world. If you don't want to trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, you need to live life to the fullest. You need to draw out all the pleasure you can from this world and soak it up because if you've never trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, this earth is as as as close to heaven as you're ever going to get. But if you are a believer here today, and you have

trusted in Christ and the completed work that he did on the cross and you traded your sin for his righteousness the battle that he won on the mountain the battle that he won in the garden the battle that he won in the cross the battle that he won at the resurrection if you're like yes Jesus I want that you've trusted into that here's the thing that I want to say to you I want to tell you hang on hang on endure the pain of this world life is going to be hard it's going to be difficult pain and suffering and disease and persecution, they're all going to come, but I want you to know something.

Keep walking, keep serving, keep worshiping, keep fighting, keep enduring the junk of this world because if you are a believer, if you've been bought with the blood of Jesus, then this world is as close to hell as you're ever going to get. And that's the promise of Almighty God. And that's the security that was bought on the mountain for you that day.

in just a couple weeks we're going to be celebrating the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ in church when that Sunday comes and it's coming fast I want you to do something for me when you come to Easter on that Sunday and you sort of stand at the foot of the empty tomb

I want you to look up and I want you to remember the mountain I want you to look up and remember the mountain that Jesus was on with Satan and he looked at Satan in the eyes and he said no thank you Satan. I'm choosing the cross. And when you look at the mountain on that Easter Sunday, and then you look at the tomb, and then you look at the mountain, and then you look at the tomb,

and you remember everything that Jesus did for you, you let those realities change you. You let them change your life, the way that you live, and you let it cause you to worship like never before. All right? Let's pray together. if you're here today and there's never been a time in your life, where you've sort of realized what Jesus did for you. Not just the world, but for you. And there's never been a time where you've said, Jesus, I pray that you would forgive me of my sin

and we have fallen short of God's holiness. And Lord, I do. I want to trade my sin for your righteousness. If that's you today, just in the best way you know how, just do that right now. I promise you, God will take care of the rest. Just tell him you love him, tell him you're ready to do. to follow him.

Tell me you want to trust in the completed work of Jesus on the cross to pay for your sin. That's all you got to tell him. And if you're a believer here today, I just want you to take a second, and I just want it to let it sit on you, everything that Jesus did. Think about what he gave up. Think about what it cost him to win you back. Let that change you. Father, we love you. God, we praise you as we stand here in just a second and worship you.

God, I pray that it would be a resource. response of the love that you have poured out for us on the cross, how in the world could we not worship a Savior like you? You are unbelievable. What you did for us is unbelievable. How could we not offer you our lives? God, we love you, we praise you. It's our joy to worship you now. And we say these things and ask these things and pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.