 Mark chapter 1. We're going to look at verses 12 and 13. I'm wanting to take the first few verses a little slowly so I can lay the best foundation. We'll move on and pick up more material as we go through the gospel. But today I want to look at just verses 12 and 13. And as is my normal way of approaching studies, I'll give you some background for those of you who are just beginning to join us. And then we'll move on into our study. We're going to be looking today at testing and triumph found here in these verses. So reading verses 12 and 13, Mark chapter 1, Mark writes, immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness and he was there in the wilderness 40 days tempted by Satan and was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him. So as we've seen, as we've just begun our study here in the gospel of Mark, Mark began his gospel by very initially by simply declaring that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The first verse of Mark made that very clear. This is the gospel, he says, of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. And so that declaration needed something to follow up. And so in order to show that Jesus is Messiah, God's Son, Mark began, but he began first with a man by the name of John the Baptist. And that's because Mark wanted to reveal to his readers that Jesus Christ is the King. Now the King would normally have someone going before him to announce him during that day. Also, the road that the King was about to travel on would be prepared for him that he might travel safely. So there would be people who went before this King and they would clear the road of potholes or large rocks or any debris that might block his way. So with that in mind, Mark actually began his study by first quoting the Old Testament. He quoted the book of Malachi, he quoted the book of Isaiah. And that was intended to communicate that the King Jesus had been prophesied about. And those who were familiar with the Old Testament would have a source to refer to. And also it would have been an encouragement to those who were not familiar with the Old Testament to examine the scriptures. Because if they were to examine the scriptures, it would prove to them or demonstrate to them who Jesus was. And so he spoke concerning Malachi in verse two, but he also in verse three referred to a prophecy by Isaiah. Now Isaiah chapter 40 verses three through five says, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight. The rough places smooth. Then he said, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And so he was speaking concerning the glory of the Lord being revealed. Messiah is coming. And so the message that John was giving was simple there to prepare the way for the Lord. They're to clear the debris out of their lives. They're to provide swift access for Messiah to enter in. And to do this would require them to repent and to turn away from their sin. That would prepare the highway for God to enter in. There'd be nothing hindering him. And so even as John was saying it at that time, that is true to this day. We clear the debris out of our life, the things that would hinder his entrance. For those who want to get saved, those who want to know the Lord, there's debris. It's called sin. So we repent from that. It's cleared out through our repentance in and it opens up a pathway, if you will, for the entrance of Christ by his Spirit. Well, as this is taking place, John was preaching and baptized. And many came to receive his baptism. And as they did so, the Scripture tells us they were openly confessing they were sinners in need of salvation. When they would submit to that baptism, it was an open confession. Now for some, his baptism was confusing because Jews were not baptized into Judaism. Converts to Judaism were the ones who were baptized. You see, when a Gentile would be converted, if they were male, they were circumcised and they washed in living water. And then they offered up certain sacrifices. And baptism communicated the wash in a way of ceremonial impurities and the pollution that they contracted in the Gentile world. But Jews believed that they were automatically God's people, so they were not baptized. And so that was very confusing. And so as John was preaching, by speaking of the one who was coming to them, he was making something clear. He was saying, my calling is to direct you to the one who's coming, not myself, but to Jesus Christ. Well, John's ministry, as we've seen, was growing. And people began to come to hear him and to be baptized by him from various parts of Israel. They came to be submitted to the baptism of John. When Matthew speaks of it in chapter 3, verse 5, Matthew said that Jerusalem and Al Judea, which is in the southern portion of Israel, Jerusalem, Al Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. And he was making an impact. So as he was doing, so people began to wonder, is this Messiah? So the Jewish authorities sent religious representatives to question John about that. They asked him, who are you? That we may give an answer to those who sent us. And in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 20, John writes that he confessed, did not deny, but confessed, I'm not the Christ. Well, if you aren't the Christ, then who, who then are you? In John 1.23, he said, I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. I'm the voice of one crying. That word crying in the Greek, it's in a tense that speaks of crying out loud or loudly. I'm the one crying loudly in the wilderness. And this voice, this voice that you're hearing is God's voice revealed to you through me. And I'm crying out in a wilderness because without God, all you ever have is a wilderness. I'm a preacher of righteousness. I'm calling people to prepare to meet the Lord. And there are things that are in your lives that are blocking his entrance. So you need to clear those things out, that debris, you need to clear it out by repenting. Well, as we've seen, as this was taking place, Jesus came to John to be baptized. And John attempted to prevent him, but he finally relented. And when he baptized Jesus, according to verse 10, the Spirit descended gently upon Jesus Christ. Now I was mentioning to you that this was a kind of coronation, coronation of the King. He was anointed for ministry. And his baptism was his introduction to his public ministry. Now, when Jesus was baptized, his father spoke from heaven, verse 11, you are my beloved son. You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3 17 adds that he not only said that to his son, you are, but he also said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So not only was Jesus hearing that, but God spoke and said to those who were watching, this is Jesus. And I'm pleased with him. I am well pleased. Mark now reveals why the father would be pleased with his son, Jesus. Jesus has been commissioned and anointed for service. Now his qualifications as Messiah will be openly demonstrated as he resists Satan. Now, as I mentioned, any ancient King would have had a herald preparing his way for him, which Jesus did. Also any King would have a royal coronation, which Jesus did at his baptism. Now he's going to be revealed as a one who is powerful and wielding heaven's authority. He's about to reveal his power and authority over demonic enemies. You know, when I first got saved, I looked at Jesus in a certain way. I saw him as meek and I saw him as mild. They saw him as gentle because he is. But I forgot or didn't even have an awareness of the fact is not only is he meek and not only is he gentle and not only is he mild, but he is also a warrior. He's the warrior king. And we failed to realize that. In the Old Testament book of Exodus in chapter 15, verse three, we read the Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name. In Isaiah 42, 13 it says the Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war. He stirs up his zeal. He cries out. He shouts aloud. He shows himself mighty against his foes. So Jesus Christ is about to be revealed not only as the king who is gentle, but also as the warrior. And if the newly crowned king is to rule, he must demonstrate he has authority to do so. He must defeat any that would attempt to usurp his authority and he must crush them. And as Savior, he will exercise total control over those who oppose him. And that's what he is about to do. And so in verse 12, I want you to see this as we begin immediately. The spirit drove him into the wilderness immediately. The spirit drove him into the wilderness. Now the word immediately, I want you to notice that in verse 10, he had used the word immediately when Jesus was baptized. But here he uses the word to emphasize how quickly Jesus faced assault. Mark made it clear that immediately after a high point came a confrontation. You see in the life of a believer, it's not unusual for an attack to come after a move of God. The Lord will move in your life. You'll do something special, something wonderful. And and all and you'll be like, man, God, you're you're so much. You've done so many great things. Look at what you just did. And we used to call it a spiritual high. I guess it's still called that way. We were just so, wow, Lord, look what you did. But I discovered a long time ago, very often after a great victory will come a great onslaught. I think of Elijah, how Elijah in the Old Testament had a had a battle with with opposing forces, the various those who were worshipers of Asherah and and of Baal. And and there was a time when they had this this this confrontation and and and Elijah came out victorious in that confrontation there in Carmel. And and but immediately after he had had that victory at Carmel, the scripture tells us that he went off into a place by himself and began to bemoan and think, I'll buy myself. I'm the only one. And God says, Elijah, what are you doing out here? He says, I'm the only one who's remained true. I'm the only prophet. And and the Lord had to say there are seven thousand who have not bowed their knee to Baal. You're not alone. You're not alone at all. And I discovered a long time ago. And some of you have to that after the Lord moves in a wonderful way very often, there's a low that takes place that alone, maybe even a sense of spiritual, some would call it a spiritual depression. There was a great preacher of another another day named Charles Spurgeon, who actually wrote concerning what he called the preacher's fainting fits. And he would point out how that when God would use him, how often he'd be so empty that he was vulnerable. And so there's there's going to be an attack. Some of you may need to hear this right now. Perhaps watching online, the Lord has moved in a special way. You've seen God move. But all of a sudden it seems like there's an attack. Something's going on. What's Lord, I thought we were going to float forever. I thought it was going to be great. What's going on? Well, the enemy has a tendency of attacking after the Lord does something wonderful. He just does that. And so notice with me here. Mark says that the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness. Now, the Spirit of God drove Jesus into the wilderness immediately after the Spirit had fallen upon him. That's a way to reveal that Jesus was not only royalty. His royalty was made clear when he said that Jesus is the Son of God. His royalty was made clear when John introduced him and when John baptized him. But in this passage, he's not only royalty, but he's also the suffering servant. You see in Isaiah 53, verses four and five, it says, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed. Not only is the king, not only is he rural, but Mark immediately wants us to see he also is one who suffered. And so as a suffering servant, he's driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. When it says that the Spirit in verse 12 drove him into the wilderness, that word drove in the original language means he compelled him. He was driven out. That emphasizes to us that Jesus is fully submitted to the direction of the Father as the Spirit compiles him to go into the wilderness. Now, why did he go? Well, according to Matthew chapter four, Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted, to be tempted by Satan. Now, turn with me please to Matthew chapter four. I'm going to take you there for a little while because I was tempted myself to not teach all of this and just move on as Mark gave it to us, but I decided not to do that. So I want to show you something in Matthew chapter four. We'll return in two hours, chapter four. And in Matthew chapter four, verse one, it says Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Now, when it says that he was to be tempted, that word tempted is a word that is actually a morally neutral word. I'm going to give you a little information to help you to see this. The word tempted is also a word that is translated tested. It's the same word in the Greek. Tempted can also be translated tested. Again, it's a morally neutral word. The word can be used for good or for evil, depending on the one who devises the test. Now, Satan is the one doing the testing. And we know his intentions are evil. How do we know that? Well, we know it's not God because God does not tempt with evil. In James 1 13, it says when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. So this temptation is from the devil. The devil is the one who's initiating it. And so Jesus has been compelled or driven into the wilderness to be tested. Why would that be? Well, one would be to reveal his power to resist Satan and to reveal his absolute authority over him. But second, it would teach us his pattern of overcoming the tempter. Now, Jesus is in the wilderness. He's in the South. It's called the Judean wilderness. The Judean wilderness, we've been through that place many times. The Judean wilderness is very hot. It's very dry and it's very barren. It would be about 35 miles long. It would be from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea. It's about 15 miles wide. And this is a place that is filled with various snakes and scorpions and all. It's a very dry, very, very thirsty place. And so Jesus is driven into a wilderness. It's pointed out that Adam was tempted in paradise and yielded to the temptation. But Jesus is tempted in a wilderness, but emerges victorious. And so there he is in the wilderness and it's going to be there sometime. It says in verse 2 here in Matthew 4, he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights. So he's there for 40 days and 40 nights. And the number 40 in Scripture is a number that often signifies judgment or testing. We think of the flood. The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights according to Genesis 7. We think of the children of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years according to Numbers 14. We even know that the number of stripes that were received as a punishment was 40 according to Deuteronomy 25, verse 3. So we know that Jesus is driven into the wilderness for the purpose of testing. Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus went the full time without food. And after 40 days of fasting, his physical condition is critical. And there he is being tempted by Satan and Satan intends to destroy him. Now Satan attacks in three general ways. Let me read to you beginning at verse 3 in Matthew 4. When the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down for it is written. He shall give his angels charge over you. And in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone. And Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these things I'll give you, if you will fall down and worship me. And Jesus said to him, Away with you Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God. And him only you shall serve. And the angel and the devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to him. We're going to look at that now. That's why I'm only going to take you through a couple of verses today. I want to look at that with you as Christians. This is something that can teach us how to overcome when the enemy is working so hard to destroy. Satan attacks in three basic areas, three basic areas, less of the flesh, less of the eyes and the pride of life. In 1st John chapter 2 verses 15 through 17, John said, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love the love of the father is not in them. For everything in the world, the less of the flesh, the less of the eyes and the pride of life comes not from the father, but from the world. And the world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever, less of the flesh, less of the eyes and pride of life. Those are the three basic areas that the enemy uses against man. He's done it from the time of the garden. These are the three basic areas that human beings are tempted in. Remember when Satan tempted Eve to take the forbidden fruit and he pointed her attention to it. And as she was looking at this tree there in the Garden of Eden, something within her responded to what the tempter was saying. In Genesis 3 verse 6 it says, When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Sin has a way of wanting to be communicated to other people. When she fell, she did that and handed it to her husband and he did eat with her. So it was these three basic areas, less of the flesh, it was good for food, less of the eyes, it was pleasant to see, pleasant to the eyes, pride of life, it would make you wise. Those are the three general things that the enemy has used from the beginning. It's the three things that he used to deceive Eve into entering into this disobedience to God. And so that's why it says in verse 3 and 4 when the tempter came to him he said, If you're the son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The first temptation, less of the flesh. First temptation, less of the flesh. Use your miraculous power to satisfy your physical appetite. God provided for the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness. Didn't he provide manna by turning the dew into bread? God provides food when you're in a wilderness. He's done it before. Do you remember when God provided for the widow of Zeraphat? How she had nothing, but he provided her with oil and flour to keep her and her son from starving. Do you remember that in 1 Kings 17? Well, why can't you provide for yourself if you're hungry? What is wrong with providing for yourself? Look at you. You're famished with hunger. It would take nothing for you to turn these rocks into bread. And if God was good, if he was a good father, wouldn't he want you to be satisfied? Now look at you. You're starving to death. The scripture tells us that he was at the point of famishing. And there are those who would say that when you're fasting for a time, at first you're hungry, but your hunger begins to dull. After a while, you don't even feel hungry. And then your hunger returns with a rage. And it normally returns with this rage just before you die. And we're told that Jesus was hungry to the point of being famished, which tells us that his body was at the point of death that was at the point of weakness. And that's when the enemy says the first thing, you're hungry, feed yourself. Look at all these rocks. If you go to Israel, you'll see this kind of bread in Israel. It's here too, obviously. But they look like stones. They're small and round. The enemy was pointing out to the stones and said, doesn't that look like bread? And is there anything better than bread? And some of us would say very few things, because I like bread a lot. So look at this. All you have to do is take the stone and make it into bread. You know, man it was provided in the wilderness. A starving widow and her son were provided for. Why can't you use your power to satisfy your hunger? There's nothing wrong with it. You have a legitimate need. A legitimate need. But the temptation is to meet the legitimate need in an illegitimate way. And that's something that's less of the flesh. That is something that many are dealing with even now. They have a desire for something, but they go about trying to fulfill that desire in the wrong way. You're lonely and you want a relationship. You'd like intimacy. And so you meet somebody and before you know it, you're taking them to bed. You want these things. You'd like children. You want relationship. You don't like waking up alone. You don't like the loneliness of your life. And you meet somebody and you say, well, you know, God put it in my heart to have a desire for somebody. God put it in my heart. I'm not a eunuch. I'm not to be unmarried. I desire children. I desire company. That's a legitimate need. That's something God put in you. That's part of us. And yet that legitimate need could be met in an illegitimate way because the Word of God teaches us that sexual intimacy and producing children and raising them is intended in the bonds of marriage. And when we don't do that properly, we're actually sinning against God. And so he's saying, you have a legitimate need. You need to meet it. And to discipline yourself and to suffer needless hunger and thirst isn't right. You see, our society today is being destroyed by the desire for and the pursuit of instant pleasure. And that's what's very destructive. And so what does Jesus do? You have a legitimate need. Meet it in an illegitimate way. And what does he do? Well, in verse four, Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. A man can have the physical needs met and still be empty because the spiritual needs have to be preeminent. You see, my father is the one who cares for my needs. And he does so in all ways. And what does he do? He uses the sword of the spirit to combat the enemy's temptations. When the enemy is tempting you, that's one of the reasons why it's so wise to become familiar with the Bible because Jesus takes the sword and he uses it precisely at that moment. Well, this is something you should, and you say, but wait a minute, I've been reading in scripture and God's word says this. So if I yield to that desire and I try to meet that need in this way, I'm violating what God says. So the very first and most important thing we see is that Jesus being filled with the spirit when he's tempted by the tempter relies on the word of God. When you're walking in the Holy Spirit with the spirit, when you're walking in the spirit, you will use the sword of the spirit. And the enemy is going to come against you and he's going to say, it's all right to do this. There's nothing wrong with you doing this. Right now, there are quite a number of people in the body of Christ are yielding to that temptation. And so when Jesus quoted scripture, Satan immediately adapts and notice what happens in verse five, the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle, the highest point and said to him, if you're the son of God, throw yourself down for it's written, he shall give his angels charge over you and in their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against the stone. You know, two can play that game. You want to quote scripture? Satan knows scripture. Sometimes we need to remember that. Perhaps some of us have forgotten that or perhaps never thought about it. But Satan quote scripture, Satan knows it better than the greatest scholars. He knows scripture a lot better than I do and a lot better than anybody. He knows scripture and he knows how to twist it. He has so many people who use scripture to deceive, he knows how to use scripture. So when Jesus, the son of God, quotes scripture to him, well, he tries to return. He responds. Jesus quoted out a Deuteronomy chapter eight, so he now is responding by quoting scripture himself. So this would fall into the category of the pride of life. He's saying, gain a following without a sacrifice. Use God to attract attention to yourself. If you won't use your power to do something spectacular, well, force your father to use his. Throw yourself off of the highest point of the temple, because if you want to quote scripture, Psalm 91 verses 11 and 12 says that the angels will lift you up in their hands. So Satan is tempting Jesus to jump from the pinnacle and to be carried to the bottom by angels. And that would actually fulfill another scripture, at least the way he's twisting it. It would fulfill a prophecy by Malachi in chapter three verse one in the Old Testament, where Malachi said, behold, I will send my messenger. He shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in behold, he shall come say at the Lord of hosts. What would be faster and more spectacular coming in the temple than jumping from the pinnacle of the temple and landing lightly in front of everybody? If you go to Israel, we drive by this pinnacle, the pinnacle of that of that area. And over the years, it's been filled with dirt and debris and everything. So it's actually built up. And you wouldn't know that during the time of Christ, the pinnacle of the temple was 450 feet above the ground. It was a 450 foot drop there above the Kidron Valley. So a sudden entrance held up by angels would be quite spectacular. Okay, you want to speak about scripture? Well, the scripture says that he shall give his angels charge concerning you and their hands they shall bury you up unless you dash your foot against the stone. Jump from the pinnacle of the temple. Well, Jesus knew what kind of effect sensationalism would produce. Sensationalism never satisfies because once you've done something sensational, people want something even more sensational. And second, no matter how noble your motives may be, to test God is to doubt God. And people aren't convinced by signs anyway. In John 1237, it says, although he had done so many signs before them, they didn't believe in him. So the pride of life, this attitude, this get attention to yourself is such a great temptation. It's the desire for constant attention from others. It's the exaggerated belief in your own accomplishments, possessions in your positions. It's the unhealthy desire for glory from man at almost any cost. And many Christians have fallen prey to that. When I was in high school, we were in the pool and we had to go swimming. So I'm not a swimmer. I just held on to the edge of the pool with some friends and we talked for 30 minutes. But some kid, a freshman, I was a junior or senior at the time, got on the high dive and he was standing at the edge on the diving board and it's only 10 feet. But he started yelling and he said, he said, Coach, look at me. Look at me. Coach, look at me. And so the coach didn't want to look at him. And finally he did. And he looked up and the kid jumped and landed in the water. And all of us as juniors or seniors began to tease the kid. Oh, look at me. So we floated away from and we're splashing. Coach, look at me. And we're teasing this kid. And the Lord taught me something. He taught me one. He said, don't be so mean and two. He taught me the need for attention can be amazing. The need to be seen and to be thought to be important can be a driving thing in people. That desire to be known for your name to be on somebody else's lips because it's been said that the sweetest sound in anyone's ears is the sound of their name being spoken by somebody else. This desire for position and prestige, this desire for attention can drive us to do so many things and the enemy uses it. This need to be known for doing what we do. This need to be recognized and known is something that we have to be very careful about as Christians. And it's a terrible sin when it's practiced by a pastor. When a pastor has to have people know who he is and what he does and have people speaking of him, that's a dangerous place to be. And the enemy is here saying this is something you can have. Listen, just jump. As you jump, the angels will carry you and they will make sure that you don't dash your foot against the stone. But I want you to see something. Jesus said to in verse 7, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. You see, Jesus responded by saying you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Once again, it is written. You see, what happened with the enemy is he quoted the Psalm, but he left out a part of it. He left out a part of the Psalm in Psalm 91 verse 11. It says, he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. He eliminated the words to keep you in all your ways. You see, the Psalm was a promise that God would be with the believer in all circumstances. And though they go through difficulties, God would not forsake them. His angels will be there to provide care, even help in times of trouble. But they're going to guard you. They're going to guard you in all your ways, no matter where you are and what you're enduring. They are going to carefully guard you and protect you as you walk in the ways of God. For Jesus to jump from the temple, from the pinnacle, would have been to walk away from the ways of God and violate scripture. In Isaiah 41, 10, it says, fear not. I'm with you. Be not dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I'm the one who does that, but don't tempt me. I believe very strongly that we have a day appointed unto us to die. It's appointed unto men to die once and after this to judgment. But I can go out and tempt the Lord by jumping in front of a car to prove I'm invulnerable until that moment and get killed. You can do that. You can make decisions that actually violate what God's desire for you is and you can end up hurting yourself or even killing yourself in doing that. Well, look at, my God shall protect me. The scripture says he's given his angels' charge concerning me. They're going to bury me up. I'm not going to stumble as I walk. And then bang, you step in front of a car and God says, you came a little early, didn't you? That wasn't your appointed time. So Jesus says, don't, don't tempt the Lord your God. Don't reject the way that God has set before you. Don't tempt him in that way. Someone said it is not the way of the believer to go out of his way. He keeps in the way and then the angels keep him. Presumption is not faith. You need to learn God's word and live according to what he says. You see, when I first got saved, there were people who were talking about the rapture. The rapture is going to come at any moment. That's, that's, that was the atmosphere of my salvation. The rapture is going to come at any moment. We're all to be prepared. And I had people I knew of who were actually taking credit cards and charging them up to the maximum to leave the debt for Antichrist. Antichrist was going to pay off their, their credit cards. I think they're still paying for them 50 years later. There were guys who are meeting girls. I had a friend of mine who met a girl at a Bible, met her at the Bible study and they looked at each other and they went outside and then spoke to one another. I think God wants us to get married. He had just met her and they went and got married within two or three weeks. They got married. I thought his name was Ed. I said, Ed, oh my goodness. Interesting thing. Maybe the Lord had that one for him. I don't know. Because I was teaching and he came to church with his wife one day. He says, you remember, oh, I'll never forget you, Ed. Linda, her name was Linda. He said, we're still married. I said, whoa, but there were people who were doing that kind of thing, tempting the Lord, testing him and they were presumptuous. So we have to be very careful that you don't put the Lord in a position that you are actually tempting him. And again, Jesus said, it's written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. And verse eight, again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, said to him, all these things I'll give you if you will fall down and worship me. And Jesus said to him away with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord, your God and him only you shall serve. And the devil left him and behold angels came and ministered to him. The lust of the eyes. You can have everything that you see. It's been said that this kind of lust is insatiable. It drives us to see only the external and it drives us to be attracted to it. This desire that's all external, I want to have a beautiful mate. I want to have a beautiful home. I want a beautiful car. I want a beautiful boat. I want personal beauty. It's not that those things are wrong in and of themselves, I should say. But it's wrong when the desire for those things drives us to covetousness. The Bible tells us that the eyes of man are never satisfied. There's always the chance that something we see will begin to become that thing that drives us until we get it. And the fact is our spiritual needs will never be satisfied with material things. We can work long hours and we can work hard and we can give up everything and we finally possess it, whatever it may be and then in the end we're disappointed with it. In Ecclesiastes 1-8 it says all things are full of labor. Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing. We can be driven and pushed to achieve so many things or to get so many things to think that if I only had that, I would be happy. If I lost this much weight, then I'd be happy. If I were this tall, then I'd be happy. When I was 14, my goal in life was to be six foot four, never made it. You can have these goals and these desires and these things and what happens is once you achieve them, once you get them, you turn around and you see all of the bodies left behind that you ran over in order to get that one thing and when you finally have that one thing and you hold it in your hand you realize it really wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth it because the eyes of man are never satisfied. That's why Jesus said be satisfied with what you eat, be satisfied with what you wear. He said because in the end these are the things that are simple that don't drive you to leave everything else behind. The man who feels that if I work harder and I make more money, I can take my children and wife on better vacations, there's nothing real wrong with that of course, but when you give up your family for something you never are able to do really, let's face it. You say I want to take my kids to Disney World in Orlando. You know, Orlando during the summer. Are you kidding me? It's like standing on the surface of the sun. We're going to go and then everybody here knows that when you take your kids some place and you say oh I saved up and I want to go and this is going to be great. Everybody knows that once you're there, you start realizing I'm really not with these kids very often am I and I don't really know them do I and is all they ever do is it always complain and get angry? Is it always I got to stop? I'm tired. I'm hungry. Feed me and you know that's usually your wife. The kids are worse and so there you are in Disney World. You're on the surface of the sun and the most fun you have is when you're in your hotel room in its air condition and so that's what happens. We say oh but I wanted to give them a great vacation but the fact is what you gave them was just a memory so that later on when they have their own kids they can say you remember how mad dad was always on vacation? Now I know why so it kind of goes like that right? So these are so simple these things are so simple that that as I'm reading them and sharing them with you I'm saying well maybe I should have gone through more because this is this is so obvious and yet and yet sometimes we just need to to think about it. I can't be satisfied with these things if those are the things the enemy the three things that he always uses. It's not like he comes up with some new tactic. He did it to Eve. He tried it with Jesus. John warned us about it. It's what he does. You're never satisfied when you're not seeking the kingdom of God. You'll never have peace when you're not seeking the kingdom of God. You don't have those things if you're pursuing other things. So what he wants to do with him is he wants to say to Jesus he wants to say to him listen if what you've come for is the kingdoms of the world if you're going to be the savior of the kingdoms of the world the whole world listen I want you to see it and in a moment he shows it to him and he says all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. These are things I have control over. You see Luke says it like this in chapter 4 verses 6 and 7 the devil said to him all this authority I will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me I give it to whomever I wish therefore if you will worship before me all this will be yours. I can give these things when I deceived Eve and I was able to cause Adam to fall. He who had been dominion over the earth created in such a way that he was to actually have oversight of it to till the ground and those things that was his responsibility he yielded those things to me and now I can as a god of this age I can hand it to whomever I want you want the world you came for the world I'll give you the world I'll give it to you I only have one stipulation worship me just one worship me here's something for you never forget what a person worships what a person desires and worships is what they will always serve because you will always serve what you worship you will always serve what you worship keep that in mind it's the truth whatever it is that you think about desire plan for work hard to get that becomes your god and you will always serve that that'll be your god very subtle but it's true and when satan said I can give you a crown without a cross you want the world it's in my authority I'll give you the world I have one stipulation worship me just one well what a person worships they serve and that's why Jesus made it clear away with you satan it is written you shall worship the lord your god and him only you shall serve because whatever you worship you will serve whatever is number thing number one thing in your mind is what you go after and you desire and Jesus knew that so he refused because instead of redeeming the world he would have joined the world as the king Jesus had to show that he could defeat satan even in his weakest and he was able to quench the devil's darts and he empowers us to do so also because the way that Jesus overcame is our model in order that we might in him also be overcomers you see mark tells us in chapter one verse 13 the devil left him for a season and the angels ministered to him the angels came after Jesus said get the behind me and that they came to provide comfort and food for him the temptation is over and Jesus is victorious the newly crowned king becomes the conquering king and what do we take away from this submit to God resist the devil he will flee from you listen i'll close with this thought less of the flesh less of the eyes pride of life is what you deal with i deal with we deal with every day every day every day you wake up in the morning and you say this is the day that the lord has made i will be glad and rejoice in it and the enemy says we'll see you know that don't you if you're walking with lord you know that oh jesus i'm going to worship you all day today and you get to a stop sign somebody blows through the stop sign almost hits you and before you know it you're you're praying a prayer from the old testament psalms break their teeth oh god you know destroy them do and not hate them who hate the i mean you can go into that rage and uh you you you you walked out of the bubble of the spirit in in five minutes that's what happens you see the minute your feet hit the ground the enemy's already been awake he's been waiting he's been waiting and and that's not mythology that's if you're a believer you know that's true he's waiting he doesn't sleep he prowls he has enemy his little demonic imps that are looking to take you down and sometimes it's so easy honey where's my lunch oh honey i had to go to bed last night and i forgot to meet man i can't believe it can start out that easy it can start out with the smallest thing you get in your car i forgot to put gas in it oh man i'm going to be late so you're speeding you get a ticket i mean it starts easy it's true these are things that happen all the time and and the first thing you can do and i can do is just get angry over it when in in fact i should be prepared i should how was jesus prepared he was he was anointed by the spirit and he knew the word of god how can you overcome be anointed by the spirit and know the word of god and do not give in resist the devil he will flee from you he cannot defeat you he can do his best and he can really do it hard look at joe we just went through joe look at what he did if you touch his flesh if you take his material possession he will curse you to your face and and through all those chapters the enemy is coming after after joe and then a job just holds fast to his integrity he gets all of these things being said to him by close friends and all and finally the lord breaks in and speaks to joe and and has to bring a word of humility to him but that you see at the end god blesses him because he he held fast to his integrity even though he had a misunderstanding of some of the ways that god will work and and for us this is a very similar thing we need to hold fast to what the lord has said the lord has said it is written it is written and i that's how i that's that's one of the things that have kept me going for all these years that the enemy will say that's not true those things aren't true and i'll say it is written this is what god has said he will not leave me he will not forsake me he is with me those temptations yes i understand the desire for this a desire for that but he will not leave you gotta hold fast to those things in these last things i'm telling you the church i think is in need of awakening the church is in need of awakening we think that we can bring righteousness in without the spirit and the word we can't you have to have the word of god and the power of the holy spirit to transform societies and the transformation of society comes through the transformation of individuals within that society and what god will do is he work on you and you will touch other people and before you know it people will be touched in this giant movement where people are saying i need the lord and when the people begin to say i need the lord i need to change i repent i want to walk in the spirit and know its word then your society then your culture begins to change that's how it works that's how it's always worked be careful be careful that you don't get into the idea that anything but god's word transformed lives and the power of the spirit will make this society any better you know why because you are salt and you are light you are the one who should provide the the the retardation of the corruption of of decay and in the darkness your life is to shine brightly and that comes through knowing god's word not being a dominator not being a bully not being self-righteous somebody just lives for christ one last thought my son-in-law the other day was spent about three months now was talking to me he asked a question and i responded i gave him a biblical answer for the question and and this kind of interested in me he's he's my son-in-law he should know he goes here he's married to my daughter he ought to but he says you know you know dad you always give me a bible answer you know where it is and i looked at him like duh you're asking a question about the lord when am i going to give you something out of my imagination know the word know the word give the word live the word walk in the spirit you're going to be tempted you can overcome i can do all things through christ who strengthens me i can hold fast and guess what when i fail i also know the word where god says if that he is for me that he forgives me that his grace supersedes that he's not surprised when i have sinned and failed but his grace overwhelms the blood cleanses me from all sin and he re establishes me in right standing with him so in him i'm more than a conqueror and yes i do fail of course we all do but we don't give up because at the end of the day i know his word i will walk in his spirit and i will experience his victory and jesus showed us how to do that it is written get thee behind me satan it is written father we bless you and we thank you for as simple as this really is lord it's where a lot of us need to return that we would walk in your spirit and know your word and be able to take the sword and use it in combat so i lift up this congregation lord and even as this is a very basic study lord as we begin to move through mark i just pray that you will help us to have the foundations to be able to understand the events that we're about to be examining so we lift this up to you and there are those in this room right now we're watching online or sitting in an overflow father who who really needed to be reminded of this and i pray that you will work in them even now may they hunger for your word and may they walk in your spirit may you fill them with your presence and even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed perhaps some even right now need to get right with the lord and before we close i'd like to i'd like to pray for you if you need to get right with him would you raise your hand let me pray for you right where you're at father you see these hands you know the reason why they're being raised to you right now in jesus name i asked that you would reach down and touch them i asked that by your holy spirit you would work within them and father in jesus name that you would wash and cleanse them and lord even now as they open up that you would fill them with your presence lord the enemy is waiting to to take them down but lord you are the one who lifts them up you uphold them and i pray that you will continue to do so may they cast their concerns on you because you care for them and lord i just ask these things because it brings glory to you and may they sense your presence now in a special and sweet way and we thank you and bless you for this crazy you can put your hands down and jesus i asked that you keep moving in all of us to your glory in your name amen