Luke's Gospel

Luke chapter 4 verse 1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness where for 40 days, he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days. And at the end of them, he was hungry. The devil said to him, if you are the son of god, tell this stone to become bread.

Jesus answered It is written. Man shall not live on bread alone. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and he said to him I will give you all their authority and splendor. It has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to If you worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered.

It is written worship the lord your god and serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the son of god, he said, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. Jesus answered.

It is said do not put the lord your god to the test. When the devil had finished all this tempting, He left him until an opportune time. Or good evening. My name's Paul and, I'm part of Fight Club, which is, our men's ministry group here at Cornerstone. And, some of us, from White Club have been doing this, this summer series in Luke's gospel, and it's, it's great.

Really exciting. And, we've arrived at chapter 4. If you if you've missed any of the sermons so far, any of the talks, you can you can find them on our website and download them from there. Let's pray. Father god, this is your word.

We just sung that it's living and it's sure this is the way in which you speak to us. But we know that the devil is active and he would have us not listen. He would have us be distracted by other things. He would have our minds be elsewhere. So that we don't hear what it is you have to say to us.

Please help us now. We pray. Help us to listen. Help us to hear and help us to respond in a way that honors you in Jesus' name. Our men.

We'll keep chapter 4 of Luke's gospel open. But just for a moment, cast your eyes back to chapter 3. And versus 21 to 23. What we're seeing here is sort of the beginning of a new season. In the life of Jesus here on earth.

He's now about 30 years old. And, we were seeing last time we heard, Daryl preach in in Luke's gospel. That Jesus is baptized in the river Jordan, by John the Baptist. And as he's baptized, He's announced from heaven to be god's son. You can see it there in verse 22 chapter 3.

A voice came from heaven. You are my son, whom I love. With you, I am well pleased. Jesus is publicly identified as the son of god. That's what we were seeing.

God the father declares it from heaven. And at last time we were that that declaration from god links back to old testament verses that mean Jesus must be god's king from Psalm too and god's servant prophesied about in in the book of Isaiah. Then we saw that Jesus is properly connected as the son of Adam. His family tree, you can see it there, in in in chapter 3 again, verse 23 onwards, goes all the way back firstly to King David, It goes even further back to Abraham and right the way back to the first man Adam. And we were seeing that that means all the promises to those figures, the promise to Adam and Eve that their offspring would crush the head of the serpent, the devil.

The promise to Abraham that through his offspring, all peoples on earth would be blessed. And the promise to King David that his offspring would establish God's kingdom forever. All those promises apply to Jesus. In Word and on paper, Jesus is the son of god uniquely and perfectly qualified to be our savior. But And this is the cliffhanger we were left on last time.

What about in practice? The question still remains Can Jesus succeed where everyone else has failed? Can he succeed where everyone else has failed? Last year as a as a family, we watched a program called, ninja warrior UK, you may have seen it. Don't think we've particularly planned to watch it, but we we all got sort of hooked into it.

For anyone who hasn't seen it, a whole load of strong and athletic men and women who who fancy their chances, take on a grueling assault course 1 by 1. Trying to complete it in in the quickest time. And most of the the course seems to involve hanging on to bars and swinging sort of from point to point all above water So if you fall off, you get wet and it's it's game over. And as you're you're watching the contestants going through this course, 1 by 1. You you kinda get familiar with it.

You remember the point or or the challenge where the last person slipped off or gave up and surrendered themselves to the water. And you find yourself asking, really sort of drawn in. Can anyone get past this, that challenge on the course? Will anyone be able to jump that distance has anyone got the strength to hang on for that long? Will anyone complete the course?

You know, there's tension in the air? And the situation at the beginning of Loop chapter 4 is in some ways similar. Look again at verses 1 and 2. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness, where for 40 days, he was tempted or tested by the devil. This is familiar territory.

Familiar territory. In these same circumstances, other sons of god, have failed. SUN of God that came before Jesus have been tested in this way and have fallen. So who are we talking about here? Well, if we know the Old Testament part of the Bible, these verses refer to at least 2 other scenarios in bible history where sons of god were tested and failed.

Firstly, notice that Jesus is led by the spirit into the wilderness, where for 40 days, he was tempted by the devil. Those words, wilderness, and 40, in this case, 40 days deliberately refer back to god's Old Testament people, the nation of Israel, who were described collectively as god's son being led through the wilderness for 40 years after god rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Do you remember that? Listen to what it says, in the book of deuteronomy chapter 8, spoken to the people of Israel. Remember, it says, how the lord your god led you all the way in the wilderness these 40 years to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

Back to Luke chapter 4 verse 1, Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness. Jesus, the son of god, is being led by god into the same test given to god's son, the nation of Israel. A test in order to expose what's in his heart and whether or not he'll keep god's commands. Is familiar territory. Israel, the son of god, have been here before and failed.

Then what is it that happens to Jesus during the test? Look at verse 2. He was tempted by the devil? Well, who else was notably tempted, by the devil in history? His name is written right at the end of chapter 3.

Adam, the son of god. Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil in the garden of Eden, weren't they? They were tested, and they failed. They were disobedient. The word temptation means making trial of a person, putting him to the test, proving his quality.

Jesus is tempted by the devil during 40 days in the wilderness. He's undergoing the same tests, those before him, have failed, can he pass? Will he be any different from Adam? From Israel? And everyone else before him, or will it be the same story all over again?

Is history gonna repeat itself? Can Jesus succeed where everyone else has failed? He's gonna be tested. So let's see how the scene unfolds. Here's the first test.

If you're taking notes and you want a heading, here's the first test. The first test, we'll call it obedience. Obedience. It's in verses 3 to 4 But let's go back to verse 1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry. The devil said to him, if you are the son of god, tell his stone to become bread. So Jesus is in the wilderness for this 40 day period, is nearly 6 weeks, and we're told that he ate nothing. During those days. Now why doesn't Jesus eat anything?

Well, food was almost certainly scarce in the wilderness. We know that, the Israelites grumbled against god because of a lack of food and water when they were in the desert. Jesus may have been fasting because he knew these would be really testing days during which he would need to rely solely on god in prayer. So he doesn't eat anything, and then Luke pops in that little phrase. At the end of them, he was hungry.

Well, why on earth do we need to be told that? I mean, it would seem unnecessary, wouldn't it for us to be told that? Surely it's obvious. Well, it's really important that we know that Jesus felt physical hunger. We need to know that Jesus knows what it's like to have gone without food and be hungry, that he didn't go through that 40 day period without food and not no hunger.

Jesus is the son of god, but he's also fully human. Feeling the same hunger we feel. He felt what we feel. And it's into this hunger that the devil makes an attractive suggestion. If you are the son of god, tell this stone to become bread.

To anyone who's hungry, the idea of food is attractive, isn't it? We know we know that. Jesus knew that. Having nothing during those days, the thought of food, the thought of bread would have been attractive. This is the way Satan works.

He wants to make anything other than god. Anything other than god seem attractive to us. He wants to convince us that we need anything other than god. He's a liar. We've been singing about it.

He's a liar. He did it to weave in the Garden of Eden. Remember, god had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, hadn't he? When the devil in the form of a serpent questioned Eve and challenged what god had said inviting her and Adam to to doubt god's goodness and faithfulness to them, They noticed that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom. And of course, they took some at Nate.

Disobeying god's command. The devil is is doing the same thing to Jesus here in the wilderness. He's hungry in a difficult environment, and he's been led into this situation by god. It's it's the spirit who leads Jesus into the wilderness in verse 1. So so the devil is saying, God doesn't really love you.

I mean, if he did, he wouldn't have brought you here, would he? Don't need to go through this. You don't need to suffer in this way. If you are the son of god, tell this stone to become bread. I mean, you have the power to do that, don't you?

You could conjure up a 3 course meal right now. It'd be such an easy way out of this, wouldn't it? Prove you're the son of god by turning that stone into bread. Use your power for yourself. I'm sure that's your right, isn't it?

And of course Jesus could He could do this. We know from the rest of Luke, don't we? And and the other gospels that Jesus has the power over nature and can create plenty of food to feed you know, over 5000 people from 5 loaves and 2 fish, he could easily have created himself a loaf of bread to eat. But what is at stake here is not whether Jesus the son of god can meet his own physical need. But whether Jesus, the son of god, will be obedient to his heavenly father.

That's what's at stake. So what does he do? Verse 4. Jesus answered, it is written Man shall not live on bread alone. Man shall not live on bread alone.

He's quoting the Old Testament, you look at the footnote to that quote, you'll see that it's, taken from deuteronomy chapter 8. And I think it's it'd be worth us going back and just reading verses 1 to 5 of chapter 8. They're on page hundred and 87 of the church bibles. Just flick back to deuteronomy chapter 8. This is Moses, relaying to the people of Israel.

What god has said to them about his law. Due toonomy chapter 8 verse 1. Be careful. It's says to follow every command I am giving you today so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the lord promised on oath to your ancestors remember how the lord, your god led you all the way in the wilderness these 40 years to humble and test you. In order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manner, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word, that comes from the mouth of the lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years. Know then in your heart but as a man disciplines his son, so the lord your god disciplines you. This is what's happening to Jesus now. He's being tested.

He's knowing that hunger. He's being disciplined. In the same way the nation of Israel was. His heart is being exposed in the same way Israel was in the same way Adam and Eve's hearts were. Except the result is different.

The wilderness is is like a heart scan, but with Jesus's doesn't reveal selfishness. And rebellion towards god. Doesn't reveal disobedience. It reveals obedience to god's commands. Jesus refuses the devil's suggestion because it goes against the word of god.

And it's too small. The devil's suggestion tell this stone to become bread. It's only focused on the here and now. Jesus knows we're made for for something greater than satisfying our physical hunger. His vision is bigger.

Real life is found in god. In knowing him, he offers his eternal life. To understand this, this temptation, better, it's worth our asking ourselves to what extent we're ruled by our appetites and not not just for food. You know, we are we chasing after things? We think our bodies need.

The food, the pleasures, indulgences, stuff, or are we listening to the word of god? The 1 who made us who knows our needs before we even ask him. Or if you find yourself in a time of testing like this, a trial of some kind, a hardship. Do you immediately think that god must have abandoned you? Or failed you in some way.

Do you find yourself concluding that there's nothing for it but to take matters into your own hands to to to get through it, to trust in your own abilities, your own strength, your own resolve. Or are you gonna trust in him and his promises, knowing he disciplines those he loves, like a father disciplines his child. That's the test that Jesus faced here. It's a test that everyone else fails. But Jesus is obedient to god.

So that's the first test. Obedience. Let's move on to the second test, worship. Versus 5 to 8. Let's read from verse 5.

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant, all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours. So the devil leads Jesus up to a high place and in some way presents to him a vision of all the kingdoms of the world.

Now, we don't know if that only consisted of kingdoms of that age, like the Roman Empire, or whether he would have glimpsed future kingdoms perhaps or the Greek empire or the British empire, America, China. We don't we don't know. What we do know is that the devil offers to surrender dominion over the world to Jesus on 1 condition. It's a conditional offer. If you worship me, it will all be yours.

If you worship me, it will all be yours. If Jesus will worship the devil, acknowledging Satan as his higher authority, he'll be given power over the kingdoms of the world. It's no coincidence. I think that that here in the wilderness, the devil shows Jesus, the kingdoms of the world. Gives him this this vision.

He appeals to the senses. Hoping Jesus will be taken up with this glorious sight before him pleasing to the eye, desirable for gaining power and authority. So, so the devil is saying Why would god withhold this from you? Listen to me. Follow me.

Do things my way. Worship me and you can have it now. The path, to glory that god has mapped out for Jesus goes via the cross. Satan offers Jesus a shortcut here, a shortcut to power, which is tempting. The way of the cross is hard, It's the way of rejection.

It's the way of suffering. Death and resurrection. Shortcuts are attractive. The devil is all about offering shortcuts to glory. Seduccing us into serving ourselves and our own selfish desires, feeding our own pursuit of fame and glory.

Here and now. Eat the fruit. Ignore what God has said. He doesn't love you. He hasn't got your best interests in mind.

He wants to keep things from you. That's the lie of Satan. So how does Jesus respond? To this conditional offer from the devil verse 8. Jesus answered it is written, worship the lord your god and serve him only.

It's absolutely clear. Non negotiable. Worship the lord or god and serve him only. Jesus is quoting from deuteronomy again. This time it's chapter 6 verse 13, where, Israel are exhorted to love the lord their god as they enter and take possession of the land he's going to give them.

They must not lose sight of god and forget the lord who brought them out of Egypt out of the land of slavery. In deuteronomy, the the the verse Jesus quotes actually reads fear the lord your god serve him only. We were hearing about the fear of the lord last week, weren't we from Arnie? And his definition of it went something like being wise in the face of great power. We're to fear god, knowing he is powerful, knowing what he can do.

We're to revere the 1 who created all things, who created us. And who alone deserves our worship. Adam didn't fear god. Try to do away with god and his commands. Israel didn't fear god.

The law was summarized for them, love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, but they didn't. They rejected god. They worshiped a golden calf instead. Jesus is different. Doesn't give an inch.

He's absolutely committed to submitting to god and serving him only. He's not going to bow to the devil because that's incompatible with serving god alone. He wouldn't be loving god with all his heart, soul, and strength. He can't serve 2 masters. And the author, the author of Satan here is actually, empty.

It's yet another lie. He is allowed power by god, Jesus refers to him as the prince of this world. But all authority in heaven and on earth and under the earth is meant for god's king. If Jesus is the obedient perfect son of god and goes to the cross, He will be exalted to the highest place. At his name, every knee will bow.

Satan will have no authority in god's kingdom. His power and his time is limited. But he's still at work for now. We need to we need to be aware. He'd love us to be taken up with this world and the pursuit of our own glory now so that we forget god and distracted from him.

You can see that so clearly in the age that we live in. We were hearing about it this morning. People are lovers of themselves, lovers of money. We've got to be aware of the things people around us are going for, the things that can take us away from worshiping and serving god. We've got to ask god to help us look at the things he's given us and and think, you know, with everything that we have, how can we How can we use it to to worship and serve?

God. So Jesus has shown himself to be obedient where everyone else is disobedient. And now he shows himself to be 1 who worships god alone, committed to serving him only. Let's look at the third part. Of the test.

The third test is trust. Let's read verses 9 to 11. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the son of god, he said, throw yourself down from here for it is written. He will command his angels concerning you to guard you care flee.

They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. The devil leads Jesus up to the highest part of the temple in Jerusalem and asks him to throw himself off, to jump off. Why? Because god will protect him. The devil who's been overcome by Jesus quoting scripture in the first 2 tests Now tries to quote it to his own advantage.

2 can play at that game. He thinks. It would have been a long way to fall. From the top of the temple, possibly into the the kidron valley below. But come on Jesus.

How much do you trust god? If you are the son of god, your father will save you, won't he? He said he will. Try it. How much do you trust him?

So has Satan caught Jesus out here? Is, is Jesus gonna be forced to go along with what the devil wants rather than deny the word of god. The verses that Satan quotes are from Psalm 91. You can see that, from the footnote again. And he hasn't misquoted it to, to try and, catch Jesus out or see if he'll notice.

You can check. It's word for word. So what's Jesus going to do here? Well, as the saying goes, a text without a context is a con, and Satan is a con man. He's the father of lies.

This is the danger of taking bible verses out of context. People do it all the time. You may have done it yourself in discussion with other people. So common error. Satan has quoted 2 verses from Psalm 91, which, as a whole, is all about, trusting god.

All about trusting god. It's about god being a refuge, a fortress, and a shelter providing protection and salvation for his king. It's all about trusting god. Satan is trying to use it to say. God has said he'll protect you.

So are you gonna prove that you take him at his word? So what's Jesus gonna do? Well, we can read what he says in verse 12. Jesus answered, it is said, do not put the lord your god to the test. Jesus is saying, I do take god at his word.

Therefore, I don't need him to prove himself to me. I mustn't put into the test. I trust him. That verse that Jesus quotes do not put the lord your god to the test is from deuteronomy again, chapter 6 for 16. Moses, is teaching the people of Israel about how they're to live as as they move into the land god is giving them.

And he says, do not put the lord your god to the test as you did at Masa, which was a place in the desert where Israel had grumbled caused they had no water to drink, and they ended up challenging god by saying, Is the lord among us or not? Even though he'd clearly shown them that he was by rescuing them from slavery in Egypt and leading them in the desert. Moses is saying you you should know that god is with you and that he loves you. So don't test him. Trust him.

Try and explain this another way. If I know that Dean here is has unrivaled strength and, is lightning quick. Perhaps he's the ninja warrior. If I then said I'm, you know, I'm feeling faint and weak and I could fall off this stage any time. So if that were to happen, I know that that Dean will will catch me.

I know that he's He's strong. He's quick. He's the ninja warrior. I know he'll catch me. I have complete trust in him.

But if I then say, can we just have a quick practice just to make sure? That undermines my trust in him, doesn't it? I'm saying actually I need to see it to believe it. We don't need to test someone in whom we have absolute trust. Especially when it comes to god.

We shouldn't ask god to prove himself to us. We have all the proof. We should need. It would have been an act of unbelief for Jesus to agree to Satan's suggestion. It would have been a betrayal.

He would have displayed doubt in in Jesus about whether he really was God's son. And a lack of, an uncertainty in Jesus about whether his father was trustworthy. Adam and Eve didn't trust god and his command to them They rejected him and disobeyed. Israel didn't trust god. They grumbled in anger and tested him.

Jesus, the son of god, trusts his father completely. Jesus is the son of god, qualified to be our savior. So can he succeed where everyone else failed. That's the question that we began with. Well, the answer is yes.

Of course it's yes. Yes, he has succeeded where everyone else has failed. As we come to verse 13, We see that this particular test is is now over, and Jesus has passed it. He's come through it. When the devil had finished all this tempting, He left him until an opportune time.

The devil withdraws. This was a test in order to expose what's in Jesus' heart and whether or not he'll keep god's commands. No 1 else has passed this test, but Jesus succeeds. No son of god, no man, no human being, has overcome Satan like this before. But this son of god, the son of god is altogether different.

He's altogether different to Adam. He's perfectly obedient to his father in heaven. There's no rejection of god's command, no disobedience in his heart. This son of god, the son of god, is altogether different to Israel. He's perfectly faithful to his father in heaven.

There's no rebellion. There's no unbelief. There's no unfaithfulness in his heart. There had been centuries of disobedience and unfaithfulness to god before. Jesus came.

Centuries. 1 of the cows that we sang at Christmas, Christmas declared there have been 2000 years of wrong since Jesus came. Freight's really stuck in my mind. Sobering, isn't it? 2000 years of wrong since Jesus came?

But this 40 days, here in the wilderness, at the start of a 3 year earthly ministry and journey to the cross, At the end of a 33 year life of perfect obedience and faithfulness to god changes everything. This testing in the wilderness has been an openings or skirmish, you could say, in in Jesus' war. Against Satan. It's not yet over. It won't be over until Jesus says it is finished on the cross.

But it's already clear who is stronger. If you know the, the chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, I've been reading them to Isaac, our 7 year old son. And I've had this, this scene from the lion the witch and the wardrobe in in my mind. You know the story, you'll remember that it's it's been winter in the land of Narnia. 4 years, the whole country has been under the rule and curse of the white witch who represents the devil in the story.

And there's a son of Adam, A young boy named Edmund, who has been taken in by the witch. He couldn't resist the food she offered him and the power she promised him. He was tempted, and he gave in, he was tested, and he failed. But there's this wonderful scene where Edmund is being driven through Nania with the witch on her sleigh. She uses a sleigh because it's it's winter.

There's there's snow everywhere. And as they're being pulled along on the sleigh, Edmund notices that the snow is getting wet all the time. The sleigh isn't moving. Smoothly, begins to skid and jolt, eventually gets stuck and they can't use it anymore. Then he begins to hear sounds that haven't been heard in narnia since before this long winter began, bubbling water, joyful birdsong.

The snow is melting, the mist is clearing, The greenery is appearing, and the flowers are growing. The sky becomes blue, and there are delicious scents in the air. And then come the words from the witch's servant that she'd dreaded ever hearing. This is no 4 This is spring. Your winter has been destroyed.

I tell you. This is Azlands doing. And who is Azilane? The great lion, King of Nanya, who's come and brought all this about? He represents Jesus.

In the story. I think that's what's going on here. I think that's what we're seeing. Satan's winter is being destroyed. The king has arrived, and he's going to war.

Satan's powers, all focused on pulling people away from God have been overcome by Jesus. And this is wonderful good news for us. Because the truth is that we failed the test, 2, The Bible makes it very clear. And we know deep down in our hearts that we disobeyed god. We've not always feared and worshiped him.

We've not always trusted him. But Jesus went through this test, representing us. He could easily have wielded his power. But he doesn't. Philippians tells us that Jesus didn't consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage.

Instead, he gave it up, paid himself poor, to be our servant, our representative, our substitute counted among sinners to win a great victory for us. And that's why I think he quotes, quotes deuteronomy all the way through this. He subjected himself to god's rules for his people. He lived a perfect human life on our behalf. He went on from the wilderness 3 years later to die on the cross And at the cross, that wonderful swap takes place.

Jesus offers us his perfect life. With all his obedience and faithfulness to god, and takes on himself our imperfect disobedient, unfaithful life. Bible pictures it like clothes. We get to put on Jesus' pure, perfectly clean robes. And he puts on our filthy racks.

Takes our punishment. If we'll accept it, Jesus' perfect performance in the wilderness, his perfect life, counts as ours. See, Jesus not only died for us, but he lived for us as well. Put your trust in Jesus' life for he who, not just his death. So how can we apply this?

Here are a few things. Firstly, I wanna ask, is Jesus your savior? Is Jesus your savior? He's proved himself to be the son of god, the perfect man. He's overcome Satan.

He's the only 1 who can save us. Who's camp are you in? Who's camp do you want to be in? Is Jesus your Savior or are you still believing the lie? The lives satan that we don't need god.

That god doesn't really love us and care for us that we can live our lives in our own strength and do as we please. Don't miss this opportunity to make Jesus your savior. Don't carry on trying to live on bread alone. Come to Jesus, the bread of life. He's the 1 that truly satisfies.

Secondly, ask god to help you stand against the devil's lies. Ask god to help you stand against the devil's lies. We're not yet free from temptation, even if Jesus is our savior. We still live in a world where he he's at work. The wonderful thing here is that in in representing us in the wilderness, Jesus didn't rely on anything that we don't have.

We've got the same resources he had. He relied on god and his word. So ask god to help you. It's only by the power of his holy spirit that we can resist the devil. Satan's tactics haven't changed.

He's still a liar. Trying to pull us away from god, questioning what god has said, suggesting god has lied, suggesting he doesn't love us, suggesting he's abandoned us, Doctor Martin Lloyd Jones writes this. If it were not for unbelief, even the devil could do nothing. It is because we listen to the devil instead of listening to god that we go down before him and fall beneath his attacks. Without god, we're helpless.

Ask god to help you stand against the devil's lives. Thirdly, get to know the Bible. Get to know the Bible. Get to know what God has said so that when the devil is whispering his lies, we can listen to god instead. It's the truth, isn't it?

We were hearing that this morning. This is the word of truth that we can hold out against the lies just like Jesus did. Fourthly, give the devil as few opportune times as possible as a bit of debate about what the the opportune time at the end of verse 13 is, whether it's the cross or the Garden of gethsemane or another time of testing in the life of Jesus. But we know, don't we that there are times situations we can get ourselves into that don't end well for us. Give the devil as few opportune times as possible.

Now, there are there are gonna be times of testing that god takes us through. But be wise. We need to know our weaknesses and the dangerous situations we can get in to avoid them. Don't flirt with sin. Don't flirt with wrongdoing.

Don't give the devil a foothold. Finally, don't forget Jesus has done it for you. When Satan's powers are sale me, I remember the cross. When you fail, call out to him. He knows what you're going through.

He succeeded where you failed and that's what counts at the end. Let's pray. Father god, we thank you so much for the lord Jesus and for this beautiful portrait of him here as this perfect man. Father we thank you that if we'll accept his life, and, his performance, his righteousness, then our standing before you is is based on what he has done. When god looks to us, he sees Jesus perfect record.

Please help us to trust in him. In Jesus, know, amen.