The Temptation of Jesus, Part 3

Let's pray together. Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, today as we gather together, we realize that you truly, truly are beautiful in every which way, and I pray God that we as a congregation would come to grips with your beauty today. And Father, may we marvel at your wonderful, wonderful Godhead. And may we, Lord, as a people rejoice in who you are. And may we as a people be more excited for living, or living your life today than ever before, because of who you are. We thank you in Jesus' name.

Amen. Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 4. Luke chapter 4. You know, when I say that this is going to be the greatest sermon you've ever heard, you know, I really believe that every week, okay? And maybe I've deceived myself, but I really believe that when you come each and every week, that one Sunday is better than the previous Sunday, and next Sunday will be better than this Sunday. Why? Because there's a Wednesday in between that will be better than the previous Wednesday and the previous Sunday.

I really, truly believe that. Why do I believe that? Because every time I read God's Word, I come to grips with the relevancy of that Word. God's Word is so relevant to your life and mine. And every time I preach the Word of God, I realize how practical the Word of God is for your life and for mine. I marvel at what God does. I marvel at His sovereignty. When I think about what God has done to plan out the events, so that on Wednesday nights, we gather together to talk about how we are deceived by the enemy.

And how on Sunday morning, we gather together and talk about Luke chapter 4 in the New Testament, because on Wednesday night, we're in the Old Testament, to see about how the enemy, Satan himself, has come to try to deceive the Son of Man, the Son of God. And how relevant that is to your life and mine, because whether you like it or not, the Diabolos, the slanderer, the devil, the father of lies, wants to deceive you. And maybe he's already done that. Maybe you're in the trap of deception today. I don't know.

But you see, he wants to deceive you in your family, in your relationships, in your work, no matter where you're at. He wants to pull the wool of your eyes, so you can't see the truth. So you make wrong decisions, so you compromise the truth. Oh, if he can get you to compromise, then he causes you to be weak, soft. And once you're weak and you're soft, because you compromise the truth, he just squeezes you and molds you more into his image, than into God's image. You see, Satan is very, very subtle, very destructive.

He wants to destroy your life. And we have to be aware of that. And that's why I'm so glad that God has us where he does in Joshua 9 on Wednesdays and Luke 4 on Sundays, because evidently it's a message we need to hear. I mean, just don't think that you come here and I just pick something out of the hat and think, okay, that's what we're gonna talk about today. No, it's the next verse in the text, and we're following along in the Old Testament or New Testament, and we're coming to the same part, dealing with the same issues.

What Joshua dealt with in Joshua 9, we deal with every day. What Christ dealt with in Luke chapter 4, we deal with every single day. So evidently, God has to get it through our heads to understand the enemy wants to deceive us, so that he could destroy us. Got to be careful, right? Let me give you an illustration.

I've asked this young lady if I can share this today. Her name is Evangelina Vasquez. You know who she is. Her husband, Art, went home to be with the Lord this past year. She came to see me this week and through our conversation, I asked her if I could share the things that we talked about with you on Sunday morning, and she gracefully and graciously said, sure, that's fine. I'd love for you to share that with our church. But she came to me because she wanted to speak to me concerning the relevancy of last Sunday morning sermon to her life, because she had realized that Satan was trying to deceive her and to get her to distrust God's provision for her after the death of her husband.

Remember, that's the first temptation in Luke chapter 4. About how Satan wants us to distrust God's provision for our lives. He comes and says, you know, if God really loves you, you wouldn't have lost your husband. I mean, what kind of God would take your husband from you in such a tragic way? If God was really concerned about your life and really wanted you to live a full and happy life, He'd let your husband live. And because Evangelina loves the Lord and loves the Word of God, she is beginning to understand the subtly, the subtleness of Satan on how he wants to deceive her into thinking that God will not provide for her, listen, amidst her loneliness.

You ever been there? Sure you have. We had a marvelous time talking together and praying together because she had a legitimate question and maybe it's a question that you have. She asked a legitimate question because she realized what Satan was doing and praise be to God that she she knows the Word of God enough that she's able to understand when Satan is trying to do something in her life. And she says, you know, Pastor, you know Psalm 91. I said, yeah, I know Psalm 91 about the power and protection of God.

And she asked a question, how is it, she goes, that if God is so powerful and promises to protect us that my husband wasn't protected. How come my husband wasn't rescued when he fell into the hole and and he died at a workplace? Why didn't God do that? You've read Psalm 91. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God into whom I trust, for it is he who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions and under his wings you may seek refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark. Verse 10, no evil shall befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent for the one who fears God and loves the Lord. So she asks a very legitimate question, a question that every one of us asks amidst tragedy. If God is the protector of my life, if God is the one who rescues me from evil and takes me through difficult times, why is it then I lose a loved one? How is it God allows that to happen if he's my protector?

And Satan begins to get an inroad in our lives to get us to distrust God's provision, to buy into the lie that that God doesn't care for us, that God doesn't love us truly, or God really isn't interested in our situation. He left you lonely. He left you all alone. He left you in difficulties financially. Why? Because he doesn't care about you. Is that the truth? No, that's not the truth. But you can begin to see how those thoughts begin to creep in to our minds. So I gave her this answer. I told her, I said, listen, I want to let you know that God is the ultimate protector and that God did rescue your husband.

Because he rescued him from this evil world. He took your husband home to be with him. And the Bible says precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of his saints.

God never takes anybody home to be with him unless he wants them home with him. That's always comforting to know, right? Why are you still here? Because God doesn't want you with him yet. That's why. When he wants you with him, guess what? He's bringing you home. But until that time, you've got another ministry. And so that's a comforting thing to know. Why? How do we know that? The Bible says, Hebrews 9 27, it's appointed a man once to die, right?

So your death is a divine appointment. There are no accidents when it comes to death. There are no accidents when it comes to life. No one gets pregnant by accident. It's a divine appointment by God. No one dies by accident. It's a divine appointment by God. Ecclesiastes 3 1 says the same thing. What? There is a time, an appointed time, for everything under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die. Everything is a divine appointment. And Solomon goes through and lists all the divine appointments that take place in life because God is completely in charge of everything.

So having known that, knowing that God's in charge of everything, the death of a loved one is a divine appointment. And don't think for one moment that God has ever caught off guard when a loved one goes home to be with him or a loved one dies in some tragic accident because God, as Deuteronomy 32 says, he's the one who gives life and he's the one who takes life. Revelation 1 says that Jesus Christ holds the keys to death and Hades. In other words, he emphasizes the fact that that he is in charge of who lives and who dies.

Which leads me to this. When you lose a spouse, when you lose a child, when you go through a difficulty of great tragedy, listen carefully, it's not why has God taken that individual from me. It is what does God want to teach me through taking that individual from me? Big difference. What is God teaching me? Not why does God take them because this side of eternity, we never understand the infinite mind of God and how it is he operates in this life. And yet our response is to what does God want to teach me?

Because God is in charge. He is sovereign. He rules over all. So God specifically wants to teach me something. And so I begin to realize that God takes a loved one from me, listen, so that I will be better now than I was with them. Say, well, how could that possibly be? I was married to them for 43 years. How could that possibly be that now I can be better without them than I was with them? Because God has a plan. His plan is the perfect plan. It's always plan A, never plan B, and God always has your best interest at heart.

So listen carefully, I'm gonna give you two points that you need to grasp and that you need to understand when you go through tragic experiences. Because Satan is going to use that tragedy to get you to distrust God's provision for your life. And maybe you are in that situation today, or maybe you know someone like that. They are absolutely miserable because they have completely succumbed to the temptation of Satan that says, God really doesn't love you or care for you or provide for you in your time of need because he took that one from you that was so dear to you.

And if God really loved you, that would never happen. God would never put his children in a bad situation. That's the the greatest lie that Satan tells Christians. And unfortunately, we tend to buy into that lie, don't we? So, so let me help you understand just a couple of things this morning.

I know this is a little aside from my study in Luke chapter 4, but it's part and parcel to it because it helps you understand the deception of the enemy and what it is we need to do to overcome that through the Word of God. Because you know, Satan was confronted by Christ by, by Christ saying, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, right? He said, it's not about bread that keeps me alive. You see, Satan, you think that I need bread to live. I don't need bread to live.

I need to obey my God in heaven who provides bread for me to live. You see, Christ knew that his Father would provide for him in his time and take care of him in his time. So he wasn't tempted to take matters into his own hands to rectify, listen, to rectify the felt need. Christ had a felt need, right? He was hungry. And so he was tempted to take matters into his own hands because he had the power to do that. He could act independently of his Father in heaven, but because he laid aside his divine attributes and because he decided to submit to his Father's will, he was going to follow his Father no matter what.

The temptation was to get Christ to no longer follow his Father in heaven and be obedient to him, but take matters into his own hands to satisfy his own felt need. And folks, that's relevant to you and me every single day. And you know, when we lose a loved one, when we go through a tragic experience, we feel the onslaught of temptation about why would God do this to me? Why would God do this to me at this time in my life? Why is it God, who is a loving God, a caring God, a sovereign God, allowed this plan for my life?

He knows I can't handle this. Really? You know you better than God knows you? I don't think so. God knows you a lot better than you know yourself. And so let me give you two things that you need to really sink your teeth into to understand when those tragedies happen so that you don't fall prey to Satan's temptation and begin to take matters into your own hands to meet what you believe to be a real need.

Just because it's a felt need doesn't mean it's a real need. So you've got to understand the difference between the two. Two things God is doing because he wants to teach you something. He's going to teach you two things. Number one, when you go through a difficult time, God wants you to be an exact reflection of him.

That's point number one. So that you will be an effective representation of him. That's point number two.

You go through what you go through so that you will be an exact reflection of him in order that you will be an effective representation for him. Now let me talk about that for a second.

We know, we know what the Bible says in Romans chapter eight, verse number 28, which says, and we know that all things work together for good.

It's not we think things work together for good. The Christian, listen, the Christian knows, he doesn't think, he knows that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to his purpose. Paul reminds us that this is how the Christian operates. He operates in the realm of knowing what God is doing. God is causing all things, sinful things, tragic things, good things, to work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

You can go all the way back to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter seven and read this in verse number 14. In the day of prosperity, I'm sorry, verse number 13, consider the work of God for who was able to straighten what he has bent. In the day of prosperity, be happy. But in the day of adversity, consider God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him. In other words, Solomon says in the day of prosperity, be happy. Enjoy that day while you can because in the day of adversity, you need to consider something.

You need to consider that God has made the one as well as the other. Don't think that God made the good day and he didn't make the bad day. God made the one as well as the other. Yet he makes them so that you'll be confused, so that you'll never come to grips with the reality of what's going on, so that you'll never know what's going to come after you. God does what he does so that you'll never be in your right mind. You'll always be in his mind. You'll always be trusting in him. See, the Christian life is a life about trust, right?

Dependence upon God. And so God does what he does so that you learn to trust him all the more. That's what it says over in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse number 14. I know that everything God does will remain forever. Solomon says, I know what God does and what he does is concrete. That is, it remains forever. It can't be changed. Solomon understands that. He says, there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. Solomon says, I know that what God does will remain forever.

And there's nothing that I do or anyone else does that can add to it that will make it any better than it is, or take away from it that will make it any worse than it is. I know that, Solomon says. And then he says this, for God so worked that men should fear him. God does all these things in my life and in your life so that we never understand what's happening. So that we'll trust him and so that we will fear him. So that we will be totally dependent upon him for everything. Because by nature, we want to be independent people.

We want to be autonomous. We want to be able to act our own way, right? And that was the temptation in Luke chapter 4. That Christ could act autonomously without dependence upon his father in heaven. To do his own thing any way he wanted to do it because he can meet his need now.

But Christianity is a life of dependency upon our God in whom we say we believe and trust. So God causes all these things to happen so that we won't know what's happening. So we'll trust him and so we'll fear him. But we know this, that no matter what happens, he does cause it to work together for good. Our good, his glory. But verse 29 is more important than verse 28 of Romans chapter 8. And that's this. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. You see, it's all about conformation.

You see, God has predestined you. Think about this. God loves you so much. God is so concerned about your life that he has determined the eternity past that he will mold you and shape you into the image of his dear son. You see, he wants you to be just like him. And he will spare nothing to make you so. He will do whatever it takes to make you just like him. Because he knows that that is your ultimate good. To be like him. That's why we call it an exact reflection of your Lord. Why do these things happen to me?

Why do bad things happen to me? So that I can be an exact reflection of my God. So when people see me, they see my God working in me and molding me into his great and glorious image. I like what George Whitefield said. He says, God allows trials and difficulties to better acquaint me with my wicked heart and to better acquaint me with my beloved Savior. The more trials and tribulations I face, the more I am acquainted with my wickedness and the more I'm acquainted with his holiness. And that's a good thing.

Remember Psalm 119? Psalm 119, verse 67. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep thy word. Thou art good and doest good. Teach me thy statutes. Remember, it's not why God takes someone from me. It's what God teaches me when he takes someone from me. And the psalmist says, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. Thou art good and doest good. How did the psalmist know God was good? When he experienced affliction. Thou art good and doest good. Lord, teach me thy statutes.

Teach me that I might know exactly who you are and what you're doing. And then he goes on to say down in verse number 75. I know, O Lord, that thy righteous judgments are righteous, and in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. Do you think God doesn't afflict you for any other reason? But the fact that he is faithful and through his faithfulness, he brings you to a situation so that ultimately you will have an exact reflection of his nature. And once you have an exact reflection of his nature, you then will have an effective representation of him to a lost world.

You see, he needs someone to be a representative of him. He needs you to be an effective representative of him. To do that, he must mold you and shape you into an image that looks like him. And so he wants you to speak for him. He wants you to live for him. He wants you to do for him. So he wants you to be like him so you'll better represent him. And that's why I love John 15 verses one and two. The Lord says, I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away.

And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, he purges. Every branch in me that bears fruit, he prunes. The pruning process is a painful process. The pruning process happens through sickness, disease, affliction, death, loss, persecution, hardship, you name it. That's the pruning process. That's the purging process. And Christ says, every branch that's a part of me, I purge, I prune.

One of the ways you know you're a child of God is you're constantly being purged and pruned. If you're not being purged and pruned, it's probably because you're not a child of God. Because he says that every branch in me, this is what I'm going to do. And why does he do that? He tells us John 15 verse number two, in order that it might bear more fruit.

Every branch in me is in the process of bearing fruit because you're part of me. But I need you to bear more fruit. I need you to be more like me, to reach more people for me. To do that, I'm going to prune you and I'm going to purge you. I'm going to take you through the painful process so that not only do you look like me, but you act like me. And because you act like me, people will hear the truth. They'll believe the truth. They'll come to saving grace. And is that not the only reason we exist?

So that more people will hear the truth and come to Christ. Why are we here? We're here for evangelistic purposes. We're not here for fellowship. When we get to heaven, the fellowship will be perfect. Right now, it's all going to be imperfect. Right? What are we here for? We are here to evangelize the world. We are here to tell people about Jesus Christ. And so what does God do? He allows the pain. He allows the problem. He allows the malady. He allows the disease. He allows the death. He allows the affliction.

He allows it so that we will better look like Him, so that we might better act and speak like Him. Folks, let me tell you something.

That is so rich and so relevant. Listen to what William Cooper said. William Cooper was the man who was extremely melancholic. He attempted suicide three times. He was really bad at that because he lived through all three attempts. Can you believe that? He threw himself on a knife because he wanted to rid himself of this life, and the blade broke. Talk about a man. That just goes to show you, no one dies until God says, it's time for you to die.

Your death is a divine appointment. Here's a guy who lived in the 18th century. He really wanted to die because he'd wanted to marry this young lady. Listen, he wanted to marry this young lady, and she rejected him. He was so distraught, he wanted to die. So he threw himself off a bridge into the Thames River, and somebody rescued him. He threw himself on a knife so that he would die, and the blade broke. For the life of me, I can't think of a third way he attempted to suicide.

But what difference does it make? The man wasn't going to die because it wasn't his time. See that? So he became a student of John Newton, an apprentice of John Newton. He wanted to learn. He wrote 68 hymns. 68 hymns. God changed the man's life. You know what he realized? He finally realized that no matter what he did, he couldn't do what he wanted to do, that is die.

So he realized that somebody else was really in charge, and that was God. Listen to what he wrote. God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds, ye so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace.

Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. His purpose will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain. Here's a man who began to understand the sovereign plan of God that behind every tragedy, behind every cloud of despair, is a smiling face filled with mercy and grace that will change your life and make it bloom as a flower blooms in spring.

He understood that. I wonder this morning, do you understand that? You see, when tragedy hits, we must be, as Peter said, to those who went through great tragedy. In 1 Peter 4, 19, he says this. Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right. In doing what is right. When you suffer, Peter says, you suffer according to what? The will of God. It's God's will that you've gone through the suffering. So what do you do?

You entrust yourself, you make a deposit. You commit yourself to a faithful creator because he created this situation. He created the circumstance because he wants to do what? To make you an exact reflection of him in order that you might be an effective representation of him. And so you entrust your soul to a faithful creator. And what do you do? You do what is right. You serve him. You honor him because you know that all those things that have happened to you will eventually work out together for your good and for his glory because he is conforming you to his image.

He is pruning you so you will bear more fruit for his glory and for his honor. At the end of Evangelina and I's discussion on Wednesday, we had a time of prayer together. And you know it was really rich because she was able to see how God's word speaks to her exact need. That Satan really is a liar. His ways are wrong. His ways are evil. But God's ways are good and true and holy. And I know that that's way beyond or some extra additives to Luke chapter four. But my friends, let me tell you something.

The Bible says so clearly that when you begin to distrust the provision of God, you must go to the word of God to confront that, to realize that God will always provide for his people.

It's all about obedience to God. It's all about serving God because he is the one who provides for you. Listen, don't expect God to provide for you while you live in disobedience. When you live in obedience, he will provide. If you are lonely, if you obey him, he will fill your loneliness, your void with his presence and his purposes. And so you need to realize that the ultimate for you is to obey him and do what is right, to glorify his name and wait and see how those blessings just flow upon your head.

Listen to another author. Her name is Georgia B. Adams. She wrote these words. Sometimes it's hard to understand why darkness veils the sky, why a life's long road must twist and turn. We often wonder why, but God knows best. He will not leave his children comfortless. He will sustain and guard and guide. He lives our lives to bless. So child of God, look up and hope. Our God will bless you yet. For he who notes the sparrow's fall will never once forget. We should not question trials sore or sorrows hard to bear, but look in love to one above who every load will share.

Dear father, we would trust thee now. And when the trials press, we'll cling to thee yet more and more and wait for thee to bless. Folks, that should be our prayer. That should be our desire that God would do a great and mighty work. So when Satan comes to tempt you, when the temptation seems to be overwhelming to distrust the provisions of God, remember what Christ said. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. It is true that the word of God is your life and your sustenance.

And when you obey the word of God, he is the one who provides for all of your needs, no matter what they may be. Because he will take care of you because he always does. And that's why David said, I've been young and I've been old and I've never seen the righteous begging bread or their descendants not taken care of. Psalm 37, never. Because God always takes care of his own. And God will take care of you. Are you obedient to him? Do you trust him? That's all temptation number one.

Let me introduce to you temptation number two. Go back with me to Luke chapter four. Luke chapter four. If temptation number one centered around the will of God that you might distrust his provision for you, temptation number two centers around the worship of God and Satan's temptation to get you to distrust the plan of God.

See, it all intertwines, doesn't it? If God's not providing for you, it's because he's got a bad plan. Satan says, I got a good plan and your father in heaven has a bad plan because my plan will give you what you want immediately. God's plan you got to wait on but my plan will give it to you now.

After failing at temptation number one, Satan enacts temptation number two, verse five. And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, I will give you all this domain and its glory for it has been handed over to me and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship before me, it shall all be yours. Now, somehow, Satan is supernatural, okay? He's an angelic being. So he's supernatural. And so he could take Christ who in his nature is supernatural to some location where they're able to see the kingdoms of the world.

Where that is, we don't know. But somehow he was to show Christ all the kingdoms of the world. And Satan says to him, all that is yours right now if you worship me right now.

So what kind of temptation is that? Well, maybe he said, remember Psalm 2 8, because Satan knows the Bible better than you and I know the Bible, by the way, just in case you thought you were smarter than Satan. He does know the Bible. So he might've said something like Psalm 2 8 says, well, you know, because you are the son of God, then the kingdoms of the world are yours. And yet you don't have the kingdoms of the world. You've been involved in this humiliation thing for now for 30 years. 30 years, this whole condescension thing, this whole humiliation thing.

It's about time that you had what is yours. In fact, listen, if you worship me, you can bypass the cross. I'll give you a detour. No pain, no pain. And without the pain, it could all be yours. Why would you want to go through the pain to have what God wants to give you when you can worship me and I'll give it all to you and you'll never experience any pain. That's Satan's temptation. He says, all this, very carefully, he says, has been handed over to me. Who handed it over to him? God did. Now we know the Bible is very clear.

Ephesians 2 calls him the God of this age. The Bible also calls him over in John 12, verse number 31, the ruler of the world. Over in 1 John 5, he is called or said of Satan that the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one or the evil one. So the Bible calls him the God of this age. He's the ruler of this present world. He says, it's all been given to me and because it's been given to me, I want to give it to you. But in order for you to obtain it, you've got to fall down and you have to worship me.

See, that's always been Satan's problem. He wants people to worship him. And I know you're saying here today, well, I'm not a Satan worshiper. I don't worship Satan. That's not me. But if you have an idol, if you have another God, then what happens is you become an idolater. And idolaters in essence are Satan worshipers because they are worshiping another God. That's not a true God. That's a false God. And you succumb to the temptation to worship that which is false in order to obtain what you want right now.

And that was the temptation that Christ faced. You see, it was all handed over to him. You see, Satan can't do anything unless he asks God's permission. Please remember that. Satan is not omnipresent. He is located in a certain area. And yet he has to ask permission from God. Remember in Job chapter one? He had to ask permission from God. In fact, God even said, if you consider my servant Job. And Satan, well, he hadn't thought of that one. He said, thanks for the idea. He said, you can do anything you want, you just can't touch his life.

So Satan said, okay. He took everything from him except his life and his wife. And they came back and said, well, you know, you put your hand of protection on him. That's why he doesn't deny you. And God says, okay, you can touch his life now.

See, Satan can't do anything to you unless he's asked permission. That's why I love the story of Luke 22. And when Christ says to Peter, Simon Peter, Satan has asked permission to sift you like wheat.

Now you can imagine what Peter would have said. You didn't give it to him, did you? You know what Christ's answer was? But I prayed for you. What kind of answer is that? You prayed for me? Satan has asked permission to sift me like wheat. And all you're going to do is pray for me? You got to do something better than that. You're the king of the universe. You're the ruler of the world. You got to do something better than that. Don't let him sift me. Don't let him destroy my life. And Christ says, I prayed for you that your faith would not fail.

And when it's all said and done, you will return and you will strengthen your brethren. Where did Peter get all that strength and power to strengthen his brethren from? Through the temptation that came his way through Satan that caused him to deny his savior three times. And God used that great tragedy of that man's life to turn him around that he might strengthen his brethren. Of course, Peter would go on and say, oh, you know, Lord, you can count on me. I'm never going to deny you. I'm your man.

Satan has no part with me. I can handle this whole thing. But he couldn't. But see, Satan has to ask permission. So when something happens to you, be assured of this fact that if it's really bad, it's negative, it's tragic, Satan had to ask permission from God in order for that to take place in your life. That's comforting, isn't it? Say, well, I don't know if I'm going to trust a God that's going to allow Satan to want to sift me like wheat, to want to destroy my life. Remember, God's praying for you.

We have one who is before the throne of God interceding for us momentarily. Moment by moment by moment, right? He is our great intercessor who beseeches his Father in heaven on your behalf and on my behalf. And Satan says, all you have to do is fall down and worship me and everything is yours right now.

Right now. And what does Christ say? Christ says very clearly these words. It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and only serve Him. That's it. No one else. Now, what does that mean? How is it Christ quoted that verse? Why is it he quoted out of Deuteronomy chapter six? What is it about the context of Deuteronomy chapter six that paints a picture for us about idol worship and us falling prey to becoming worshipers of idols?

Next week, we'll talk about that. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you, Lord, for your word, the truth that's there. And I pray, Lord, that you would use your word to strengthen our souls. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity you give us to study your word, how true, how relevant, how practical it is to our lives. I pray for every man, woman, boy and girl in this room today who is going through tragedy, has gone through tragedy, or will go through tragedy. They would understand that no matter what the temptation may be, they must trust the word of almighty God in order that you might make them look just like you, that they might act and speak like you, so people will come to grips with the reality of salvation and the wonderful grace and mercy that you provide.

Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. In Jesus' name, amen.