The Atheist asserts there is no God. The Agnostic says he can¡¦t tell if there is a God or not. The Materialist boasts that he does not require a God. The Worldly fool wishes there were not God. The Christians answers that he can¡¦t do without God. Atheism says: ¡§Creation without a Creator; Design without a Designer; The universe without a Controller; Human history without a Ruler; Morality without any basis of Authority; iniquity without adequate Restraint; Death without any hope hereafter. Materialism denies the spiritual. Evolution is the matter of the cause of this world because of that there is no God no final cause, no immorality, no freedom, no soul. It is mind, life, light, heat, electricity or other physical factors that make this world what it is today. A Rationalist is a person who is guided by his opinion only. There is not supernatural revelation of God. So there is nothing of faith and can be no such thing as a miracle. Agnosticism is between faith and unbelief. One can hide in their ignorance or indifference with a belief in scientific doubts. This one can neither affirm t he existence of God or the immortality of the soul or deny such. The cry of the atheist says, ¡§There is no God!¡¨ The materialist may make great boast, ¡§I need no God.¡¨ The rationalist in his position says, ¡§M y reasoning is all I need.¡¨ The agnostic is dogmatic in saying, ¡§I do not know if there is a God.¡¨
WE ARE IN A WAR AND CANNOT WIN WITHOUT CHRIST!
Luke 4:1-2
Many of us do not remember the details of that day in history. The men and women were sleeping unawares at Pearl Harbor. Some 200 miles away Japanese fighter planes were taking off with a mission to destroy a tiny Hawaiian harbor. The date was December 7, 1941. Shortly before after sunrise the first plane was spotted but then it was too late. Before Americans could reach their battle stations the bombs were dropping with fatal accuracy. One could hear ¡§Tora, Tora! The struck again and again. Those in ships were killed with no chance of escape. Two hours after this awful event Japan declared war on America. This happening was just a part of what the world was to face in what we know as WW II. Jesus was alone in the desert spending time alone with His Father in prayer and fasting. Now we read that Jesus had been led there by the Holy Spirit so he was not there on his own. I don¡¦t know that he was expecting an attack from the enemy. The devil likes to attack us when we are not expecting him. He wants to wait until our defenses are down. How we need to make sure we are spiritually alert at all times. I. CHRIST WAS ALLOWED TO TRY AND SUCCEED WHERE ADAM HAD FAILED. Adam threw the human race into sin by his disobedience. Adam was tested by God and tempted by Satan and he failed God. Jesus was tested by God and tempted by Satan but he did not fail God and by doing so provided the way that mankind could be saved. The more spiritual a man is the more likely Satan will make him the target. Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. Christ the very Son of God was to be tempted by Satan at the very beginning of his ministry. Now he had tried to take over God¡¦s throne in IS 14:12-14; EZEK 28:11-14. Though the devil has been banned from heaven he still has access to roam on this earth. When the Word became flesh, he came to destroy him. He first used Herod to kill all boys under 2 but God had taken him away from Herod. Now some thirty years later he wanted to get Christ off tract by making him sin. For if that happened he could not be the perfect sacrifice that would be needed for the salvation of men. Christ took on the form as a man and therefore needed to filled with the Holy Spirit to live as he should as a holy man. The reason he could live without sin was not because he was God but that he kept filled with the Holy Spirit. ƒ¹ƒ¹ƒ|ƒnƒ³ƒ¸ƒÂƒ¹ƒÃƒÄƒnƒÇƒ±ƒÃƒnƒ±ƒ¼ƒ¼ƒ¿ƒÇƒµƒ´ƒnƒÄƒ¿ƒnƒÃƒ¸ƒ¿ƒÇƒnƒ¸ƒµƒnƒÇƒ±ƒÃƒnƒÇƒ¹ƒÄƒ¸ƒ¿ƒÅƒÄƒnƒÃƒ¹ƒ¾. He became fully qualified to be the Savior of the World. He displayed that he was the sinless Son of God and able to dethrone Satan from his death grip on man. Satan can still tempt but in Christ we do not have to sin. When did the Devil come to tempt Jesus? When he returned from the Jordan River. Here is was that Jesus had been baptized by John and now as to begin his ministry with God¡¦s blessing. He left his trade that his earthly father had given him. What a great occasion for Jesus this had been. For at his baptism he had heard the words of his Father say, You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.¡¨ His mission was defined and the boom the devil comes to him. One time heaven is opened up and the next hell comes at him in its flurry. Mark 1:12 it has the word, ¡§Immediately¡¨. So from the baptism of water into the baptism of fire of temptation. He went from the Father¡¦s smile to the devil¡¦s pounce. Satan likes to come after us right after we have had a good spiritual victory. He knows that when something good happens from God we have the tendency to put our spiritual lives on coast and think we can rely on our own strength. He knows that if we are not Spirit filled and Spirit controlled we are weak against his attacks on our lives. There is a story about a pastor who had been mightily used by God in a service. As he came down the isle he was met by a church member with clenched teeth and with a finger poking him in the chest speaking to him about a minute decision that the church board had made recently which he disagreed with. That happens and we need to be aware that if we are feeling good about what God is doing Satan is down the isle waiting for us and we need to be ready. It says that the temptation was for forty days and not just the three that we read of. He was tempted the whole time and it came to a peak with the three that we read of. The Devil came his hardest when Jesus was t he hungriest and weakest in his human form. Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tested. Satan used this same time to tempt him. When we read of the life of Job it was much the same. Satan said that the only reason Job served God was because he was healthy, wealthy and had no problems. God was to test Job. Satan took away his wealth, killed his children and made his body very sick. In this entire time Job did not sin. He even stated, ¡§Though he destroy me, yet will I serve him.¡¨ So this lesson is that in every temptation we are given the opportunity to show our faith in God. HB. 4:15 ¡§He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn’t sin.¡¨ Every temptation we have faced or will face Jesus faced while he was here on the earth as a man. The lust of the flesh, stone into bread, what we do. The lust of the eyes, I will give you the kingdoms of the earth, the things we want. The pride of life, Jump from the temple and the angels will catch you, our desire to be something great.1 Cor. 10:13 ¡§There isn’t any temptation that you have experienced which is unusual for humans. God, who faithfully keeps his promises, will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist. But when you are tempted, he will also give you the ability to endure the temptation as your way of escape.¡¨ III. ƒ³ƒ¸ƒÂƒ¹ƒÃƒÄƒnƒÇƒ±ƒÃƒnƒ±ƒ¼ƒ¼ƒ¿ƒÇƒµƒ´ƒnƒÄƒ¿ƒnƒ²ƒµƒnƒ³ƒ¿ƒ½ƒµƒnƒ±ƒ¾ƒnƒÅƒ¾ƒ´ƒµƒÂƒÃƒÄƒ±ƒ¾ƒ´ƒ¹ƒ¾ƒ·ƒnƒ¸ƒ¹ƒ·ƒ¸ƒnƒÀƒÂƒ¹ƒµƒÃƒÄƒ| It tells us that he is able to be there to help us when we are tempted because he has been there. We read in Ezek. 28 that Jesus defeated the devil in heaven. Now Jesus is in the wilderness. For forty days he was on the territory that Satan owned a hot barren, dusty desert. Jesus was tired, he was hungry and he was alone. Adam on the other hand was tempted in the best of conditions. He was in a beautiful garden where he had the best of this world. He failed the temptation. The lesson we learn from Christ is that when we are in the worst of conditions we can overcome because Christ did. We are Christ-like. God has the power to help us no matter where we are or what is happening in our lives. Our duty is to remain under the power of the Holy Spirit and filled with the fullness of God so we can resist the tempting of the devil. ƒ¹ƒÆƒ|ƒnƒ³ƒØƒâƒÙƒãƒäƒnƒçƒÑƒãƒnƒÑƒÜƒÜƒßƒçƒÕƒÔƒnƒäƒßƒnƒÒƒÕƒÓƒßƒÝƒÕƒnƒßƒåƒâƒnƒäƒéƒàƒÕƒnƒÖƒßƒâƒnƒäƒâƒÙƒåƒÝƒàƒØ. He is the example in how t o face and overcome temptation without sinning. We are to walk as He walked. ¡§Jesus was lead by the Spirit.¡¨ God allowed this to happen. Mark 1:12 ¡§At once, this same Spirit PUSHED Jesus out into the wild.¡¨ This start was to get Christ ready for his three years of ministry. The person who prays with fasting is giving notice to heaven that he is where they want God not to deny the request that is on their heart. Jesus spent these forty days in prayer, meditation in God¡¦s Word, personal worship and renewing His commitment to God as a man. It is said that during his ministry, ¡§Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place to pray and be alone with God.¡¨
WE NEED TO WAKE UP. WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION.
Some remember March 18, 1990. At 8:32 AM there was an explosion that ripped 1,300 feet off Mt St. Helens with a force they say was like to 10,000,000 tons of TNT. 500 A Bombs dropped on Japan. People were warned but some refused to leave. 60 people met their life end by 300 degrees of heat coming at them at 200 MPH. They were warned. They did not heed that warning. They did not prepare to protect themselves. They knew it was coming and could have done something but they let a force greater than themselves destroy them.
Difficult circumstances often rob us of our peace and our perspective. When you find yourself in adverse circumstances or in the face of frightening consequences, admit your trouble and affirm your trust in Him. Then be encouraged that God protects you and gives you peace in the midst of the storm. God¡¦s ways certainly are not man¡¦s ways. Sometimes the problem is a lack of patience. God¡¦s way are not as fast as what man wants. Sometimes the problem is a lack of imagination. Sometimes the problem is a lack of perspective. We can be impatient, think things to be impossible and not see things as God sees them. Or we can study the Bible and learn God¡¦s ways. He works things according to His timing and watches over us through even the hardest of situations. Our determination must be that God¡¦s ways will be our ways. Do not try to force God into your mold, but allow yourself to be shaped by His ways. Surrendering control to Him can be difficult but is best.
If you are without Christ you will be destroyed. We feel safe right here in this building and have good health but once we leave here if we do not have Christ there is one waiting to destroy you. You do not have to face him alone. Satan was defeated by Christ in heaven and on earth. If you have Christ you will not be destroyed. Its heaven or hell only you can decide. What is your decision?
