[0:00] Today we'll look at Luke chapter number 4 and the work of the Holy Spirit. And in a very real and personal way, the Holy Spirit will go before us. And He is with us. He is beside us. And we can be in His presence.
[0:11] And God's blessing is upon our families. And we pray that God's blessing will be upon our families for generations to come. And so we will pray that for them. And we will pass the Word of God to them. We will teach our kids how to recognize the Holy Spirit's leading in their lives.
[0:26] And what just a fantastic way to enter into Luke chapter number 4 with that song. We rejoice today knowing what Jesus had done. And allowing Satan to be the one that would test him, the tempter.
[0:38] And that Jesus will pass the test as He always does. And without sin, He was tempted like as we are. So let's look at verse number 3. It says, If thou be the Son of God.
[0:51] So we have a testing here of His identity. We are going to spend at least this Sunday and next Sunday. And then maybe more. And maybe every Sunday until Jesus comes back. This is a monumental passage with so much for us to look at today.
[1:04] But Satan often comes in with this question. If thou be. If God has said. And includes this kind of doubt. And it says, If thou be the Son of God.
[1:14] How many of you have anxiety when you take tests? You just say, I'm not a good test taker. Would you raise your hand? So you can academically in school. You can make the grades. But you're just not a good test taker.
[1:25] I want to get rid of the anxiety here for you today. And if you will, if you mark in your Bible. In verse number 1. Or it says, Led by the Spirit of the wilderness. That's how we entered into this testing. You can draw a line all the way to verse 14.
[1:37] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit in the Galilee. Go from verse 14. Jesus passes the test. He always passes the test. You can write 100%. You can put a smiley face on it.
[1:48] You can put an A++. Whatever you want. But I'm going to go ahead and let you know how the story goes. That Jesus, he passes the test. He was prepared. I have one memory of failing a test in my life.
[2:01] I may have failed more. But I don't remember them. Okay. But I remember failing one test. And I did it as an adult. And as I was driving to take the test. A very close friend of mine says, You got this.
[2:12] You know this. You're going to be fine. And then I said, No, I am not. And that was the only answer I got right that entire day. No, I am not ready for this.
[2:24] All right. And so what was inside of me was tested. And it says, You are not ready for this. All right. I took it again. And you know what the test told me? You're still not ready for this. All right. And I won't tell you what the test is.
[2:35] But I will tell you for multiple reasons. I am not teaching from a Greek New Testament today. All right. And so you have these testings in your life where it says, Are you ready? Are you prepared?
[2:46] What's going on? Jesus was prepared, led by the Holy Spirit. There was nothing in him. There was no sin. Satan gave his very best at it. And there was nothing that was anything less than perfect and pure in Jesus.
[2:59] And it's so wonderful. We know, you should know by now in following Luke, that Jesus is the Son of God. It has been said just repeatedly. And I want to cover a few of those announcements to Zacharias and to his family that the forerunner would be for Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah that was coming.
[3:16] The angels that came to Mary and told them that you will have this Holy One that will be perfect. The angels sang at the birth in Luke chapter number 2, Glory to God in the highest.
[3:26] The testimony of Simeon the prophet. When Jesus comes in there as a baby, it says, It was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he has seen the Lord's Christ. Anna the prophetess said, And spake unto him all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
[3:41] She saw the Son of God. The testimony by the Father at the baptism. Thou art my beloved Son. In thee I am well pleased. The Holy Spirit descended as a dove.
[3:53] Testimony of John the Baptist in Luke 29, 1-29. John 1-29. And the next day John said, Jesus come unto them and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.
[4:04] There should be no doubt that Jesus is the Son of God. He is deity. And the Bible makes sure that if we are reading it with our heart open and our mind at all, that we are going to see that he is God.
[4:17] It's what Sam Rotman saw when he read the New Testament. That this Jesus cannot be a good teacher. That Jesus is the Son of God. But what is equally important, and the Bible makes very clearly to us, is that Jesus is human.
[4:31] He was the Son of Man. In this setting, there should have been no argument that Jesus is human. But today Satan would love for you to believe that he is anything less than human.
[4:42] Especially when it comes to watching him walk through the temptation, to believe that he is not human. That he did not overcome the tempter in a way that is available to us today. If you have been paying close attention, you may think I punted the end of chapter number 3.
[4:56] They are like, well there is about 15 verses here, and Trent is going to pretend like he did not see them. And he is just going to go to chapter number 4, and none of you will know any different. But that is not the case. We have 15 verses of genealogy, and they make a very strong point when it ends that Jesus is human.
[5:14] We treat genealogies as unimportant when you read them. Often times in the Bible they are hard portions. But they are not unimportant when there is somebody that you care about in them, right? I like to show you the Cornwell family tree.
[5:24] It has got way more branches than any of you would ever guess, alright? I know you make jokes about me being from Kentucky. But if any of you have ever done these Ancestry.com, and these leads are so much fun, aren't they? You click on a lead, it gives you a clue, it leads you to another person.
[5:38] And so following my family tree is pretty fun, the going back pretty far. I won't tell you how far I can go back, but let's just say this. You peasants ought to be a lot nicer to me than you are, okay?
[5:49] That's all I'm going to say here. But let's go back to this one picture. This guy is definitely not a king. This is my great, great, great grandfather, and this is Dempsey Cornwell, alright?
[6:01] And if you have really great eyesight, you might see me in that picture there with the ex. He's with some veterans of the Civil War in 1888 in my hometown. And so I go back four great grandfathers, and I get the Dempsey, because it matters.
[6:14] I want to know, you know, where I'm from, and it's important to me to know that people are here. This genealogy here, it goes all the way back, and it goes all the way back. Look at it.
[6:24] It starts in verse 23, and it says, And Jesus began to be about 30 years of age, being as was supposed the son of Joseph, which is the son of Heli. So the genealogy we have in Matthew follows that of Joseph.
[6:39] Well, this one follows Mary. Heli is Mary's father. And so it follows all the way back. And if you'll follow it, and typically, women aren't included in genealogies, but in Matthew, he includes four women, notable women.
[6:52] And that's a great testimony there. But here we see that both the genealogy of Matthew and that of Jesus shows that Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham, that he is the Messiah, who could sit upon the throne of a royal line.
[7:08] But look what it says in verse number 38, which was son of Adam, which was the son of God. He took the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam, the first man, because it took 15 verses to say, before we go into this temptation of Jesus, and I want you to know that Jesus is human, that Jesus came and took on flesh and became fully human, because this is going to be important to you, because I don't want you to do like some of the high-browed commentators I read this week, where you try to dismiss the suffering that Jesus felt, and dismissed it, and said that in some way, he did not hunger, and in some way, he did not feel the harshness of the wilderness.
[7:48] He felt what you would have felt 40 days without eating in the wilderness. And the Bible made it plain here, and taken us even to a genealogy to show us that he is human.
[8:00] It's vitaly important to know this. It's important to know when a person is taking a test, who is taking the test. Recently in the news, there's been some scandals of people getting their kids in the colleges, and making up stories about their kids.
[8:14] And one of the ways they do that is they have somebody else take the test for them. They set up the site, and they go to it, and somebody else goes and takes the test for it. It's important that you know today that who took the test, and how he took the test.
[8:27] And it is Jesus, the son of Adam, the son of man. Jesus is not like a man. He doesn't look like a man, or act like a man. He is a man. He is 100% fully human.
[8:39] Hebrews 2, 17, Wherefore, in all things it behooved, it was fitting for him to be made like unto his brethren. 88 times in the New Testament, he's referred to as the son of man.
[8:50] Jesus refers to himself as the son of man primarily more than any other title. When God calls Ezekiel the son of man 93 times, he's just stating that he is human.
[9:01] 1 John 4, 2, and 3 says it like this. It's a very strong passage. This passage tells us we don't play around with the idea that Jesus was not 100% man.
[9:12] Hereby I know you the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
[9:22] And this is that Spirit of the Antichrist whereof you have heard that it should come. And even now already is it it in the world. It is important that we recognize that Jesus is deity, is God, is the son of God.
[9:36] But he is also fully man. And these verses are important and should be important to us. I might have told you before there's a pastor down in Florida. And it's very important to him that you say that Jesus came in the flesh.
[9:47] I don't know how he ended up on one of our lists. But one of our missionaries called him many years ago. And he said, I want you to read this verse for me. And if you can't read it exactly right, then you have the spirit of the Antichrist.
[9:58] And so what did we do? Well, we obviously removed him from the list. But before we did that, I told all my friends, you've got to call this guy. He's going to give you a meeting. He loves missionaries, all right? And so James, they called these missionaries.
[10:10] And he would say, can you say that the spirit that confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God? And when people would go to repeat it back to him, they would stumble and they would say it wrong.
[10:21] And he'd say, you have the spirit of the Antichrist. And he would hang up on them, all right? What a great guy. Our missionaries get to see some wonderful things along the way. So even though this guy, he was crazy, all right?
[10:32] That guy was certainly crazy. The importance on the fact is certainly there. Is that we don't want to take it away. Because if he is not the son of man, if he is not flesh, he is not human, he doesn't die in our place.
[10:43] Because you and I know we are human. And so he needs to come to be our substitute for us. He overcomes the temptation even when his human flesh was weak. In those days, verse 2, he did eat nothing.
[10:56] And when they was ended, he afterward hungered. What a strong way to say this. What did he eat? He ate nothing, right? Nothing, he ate nothing. He didn't take anything with him.
[11:06] He did not pack a lunch. And then nothing supernaturally was provided for him. Why would anybody want to allow for that? He said he ate nothing. And so he ate nothing.
[11:17] I asked Tracy Pover about this. He's our theologian nurse. Well, we got a lot of theologian nurse facing here today, all right? I asked Tracy, I said, Tracy, when I was 16, I went almost 40 days in the hospital without eating anything.
[11:29] And when I was in there, I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink anything, but I was getting nourishment through a line in my arm. And I said, was I experiencing the same kind of things that Jesus would have been experiencing?
[11:43] When I was there, obviously Jesus wouldn't have experienced this. I would be sitting there in bed and the Taco Bell dog would come up. You know, you'll carry on Taco Bell, that little chihuahua. I wanted to put that chihuahua and a tortilla and eat it, okay?
[11:55] I mean, I'm like, stop it. I couldn't watch commercials. I was, but what she told me I was experiencing was obviously my stomach was empty and I wasn't used to that. And that mentally I was just used to chewing and eating and all that.
[12:07] But I was getting the nourishment. My body wasn't breaking itself down as it would have been with Jesus. I did not feel what Jesus was feeling by no stretch of the imagination.
[12:19] If you were to go 40 days, you would experience what he did because he's doing it as you would as a human. But as a man, Jesus is tempted like as we are without sin.
[12:30] And the question that some of you might be asking here today is this. You ask, could Jesus sin? And this is what I would want to say to you. I would respond with, I don't think that is the question that you really want to know.
[12:43] Because here, do you think the Heavenly Father sins? Do you think the Heavenly Father lies? Of course he doesn't. Do you believe that the Holy Spirit sins? Do you believe the Holy Spirit points us to anybody but Jesus and takes us away from the Father?
[12:56] No. So do you really believe that Jesus, the Son of God, sins? And the answer is no. That Jesus is perfect and he doesn't. If you were to ask Satan, Satan would say it like this in John 14, 30.
[13:07] He would, this, hereafter I will not talk much with you. For the prince of this world cometh and has nothing in me. Satan found nothing and will never find anything in Jesus that is anything less than perfect.
[13:19] Jesus is not going with the sin. His temptation which came from external, not from inside of a sinful heart. He doesn't sin. But this is a question you want to know that's very much like it. And it is this. If he is not going to sin, if he will not sin, then is he really being tempted?
[13:34] That's probably the question that you want to know. And the answer to that is most certainly yes. You have a misunderstanding of temptation if you think you only experience temptation when you give in to it.
[13:46] The full weight of temptation is felt when you don't give in to that temptation. Jesus felt it completely. And you ought to think of temptation simply as testing.
[13:58] When we use the word temptation, it's true of us. It talks about something inside of us that is wrong and broken, that is pulled away to something that it shouldn't have. And that's true many times, but not in Jesus.
[14:08] There's nothing that was broken inside of him that was going to the brokenness of this world. But in this testing that came, he passed the test. Some of you are looking at me funny, and I'll be glad to keep talking to you about it, but not right now.
[14:20] All right? Verse number five. And the devil taking him up into a high mountain. This test is going to be applied. The proctor of this test here will be Satan. The devil taking him up.
[14:32] This invisible spectator, he beheld what transpired after the baptism at Jordan, thought that this was his best shot. He's watching what's going on. He's watching him in the wilderness, and he says, this is my opportunity.
[14:46] But he, 1 John chapter number three, verse eight, says this about Jesus' purpose in coming as the Messiah. For this purpose is the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
[14:59] If Jesus was to give out business cards in his day, I think this is what would be on it. I've come to destroy the works of the devil. The devil knows this. He knows what he's doing. And then Satan comes and tempts him.
[15:10] I don't know what it's like to be all-knowing. But I do know this. I know that Satan is not all-knowing. I know that Satan has information. He's able to see things. And he knows. But I believe that when he brings his very best against Jesus, he really believes that he's going to be successful.
[15:26] And he really believes that now that Jesus is in the wilderness for 40 days and his flesh is weak and that his human flesh here is weak and he is hungered, that this is going to be his best opportunity.
[15:38] And that when it does not happen, he has to be left knowing that nothing he has is going to work. But that will not keep him from trying. We first learn of Lucifer in Isaiah chapter 14, fallen from heaven.
[15:50] But here's some other names about this. Satan. In the New Testament, he's often called the devil. It means the same thing as Satan, which means an adversary. He's certainly an adversary today in this story. Matthew is an enemy in Matthew 13.
[16:03] He's called an adversary in 1 Peter. The deceiver in Revelation 12. The father of lies in John 8. A roaring lion in 1 Peter 5. The dragon in Revelation 13 and 14.
[16:13] But 1 Thessalonians 3, 5 calls him the tempter. And that's the role that he is playing here. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain.
[16:27] That the tempter, the tester, has come, and the testing has been put upon Jesus. So why I spend so much time talking about who is being tested? Because if you do not know it's that Jesus, the Son of Man, that is being tested, then you won't understand the significance of his testing.
[16:45] Jesus is being confronted with the same test as the first Adam. Adam meaning first man. We know that all testing has a purpose. I remember this song vividly as a kid.
[16:56] Some of you may know it. Testing, tempted and tried, were off made to wonder why it should be thus all the day long. How many of you know this song? I was really going to sing it at this point.
[17:07] I'm just not able to. But then it goes and says, farther along we'll know all about it. Farther along we will understand why. And then we get to that great point. If you know where I'm going right here, sing it with me.
[17:18] Cheer up, my brother. Live in the sunshine, right? So cheer up, my brother. And so that's what's being told is to cheer up, my brother. But it says, farther along we will understand why.
[17:32] I sung this song over and over in my truck thinking I'd be able to sing it with you today. It just ain't going to happen, all right? But it says, farther along we'll understand why. And we see that sometimes in the temptings in our lives.
[17:43] We understand why. We get to know right now, in this moment, why this testing is happening. Farther along is coming. Temptation is not designed to trap us, but to prove us. 1 Corinthians 10, 13.
[17:54] There has no temptation taken you, but such as common to man. But God is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able. But will you with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it.
[18:09] What is the way of escape? Remember verse 1 and verse 14. He walked into the testing in the spirit. He walks out of the testing in the spirit. Galatians 5, 16 says this. I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
[18:22] You know, you go in the places and you're supposed to pay attention to the exit signs. If all the lights went out, our exit signs would still be on. What is our way of escape? It's follow the spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead you in the way of escape.
[18:35] And that's what happens. Jesus is led into this through that. Words are used like driven and led. He turned from the Jordan where he was at. This is not an accidental falling in the temptation, which we have, that Jesus would not have in his heart.
[18:48] He is led by the spirit. Jesus would never be lured away from a wrong lust like in James 1, 14. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. What is it that Jesus wants?
[19:00] He wants to do the Father's will. And he always wants to do the Father's will. And this tempting was brought upon Jesus by the devil. And none of it originated or could originate in his sinless heart.
[19:11] But the testing is real. It's coming from the outside upon him. And even though Jesus is starting his public ministry, his victory in his private life certainly will serve us.
[19:23] Because the Holy Spirit knows this. That we need to know that we have a victor and not a victim in our Savior. That we have someone who can conquer sin, who can conquer death, that can conquer Satan, who can conquer hell.
[19:36] If Jesus cannot defeat Satan head on, one to one, then he is not adequate to redeem sinners. Our Savior, head to head battle, worst scenario, you name the place, Satan.
[19:47] You name the terms and conditions. And I will come and I will win and I will pass the test. Because he is perfect and he is sinless. And it helps us today and have our assurance and our perfect Savior.
[19:59] Jesus will overcome in the same manner that we are to overcome, which is through the Spirit. Philippians 2, 6 and 7. Jesus is God, but he voluntarily sets aside his independent exercise of his deity.
[20:10] Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself with no reputation. And took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.
[20:21] So what is it that Christ emptied himself of? Is it his deity? If that's the case, John 10, 30, where he says, I am the Father, or one. Or John 14, 9, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Or he retains authority, John 72, thou hast given me power over all flesh, that he shall give eternal life, as many as given.
[20:39] We have here an emptying that happens by addition. A subtraction by addition. That he took on flesh. And in doing that, he sets himself that aside and he takes that upon us.
[20:51] And it's in that flesh that he has taken on, that he is going to overcome the tempter there. On the Mount of Transfiguration, we can see him. Matthew 17, 2. And he was transfigured before them.
[21:02] Which is to say, that veil that he had put upon him. That flesh that he had put upon him. That humanness that he had put upon him. So that he could die in our place. That he could overcome temptation as a human with us.
[21:14] As that he has been transfigured before him. His face did shine as the sun. And his raiment was white as light. He never stopped being God. When I tell you that Jesus is human, I'm not telling you that Jesus isn't God.
[21:26] When I tell you that he's 100% man, I'm not telling you that he isn't 100% God. I'm telling you that he took on everything on us. That wasn't sin. Everything that makes you who you are, minus your sin, he took upon us.
[21:39] And that is what in which he went to the tempter and to the wilderness. And he overcomes. Being led by the Spirit may not seem like an attribute of Jesus taking the test as a human.
[21:49] But it certainly is. That being led by the Spirit. Overcoming the tempter by the Holy Spirit. Because having the Holy Spirit is something that every one of us are able to have today. I am not the Son of God.
[22:00] I am a human. But I am a human that has the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit inside of me. Which means that I could be in the wilderness for 40 days.
[22:11] And that the Holy Spirit could work inside of me. And if I would yield to him, he would take me into it, take me out of it the same way that he took me into it. And that wasn't possible without Jesus.
[22:23] That was not possible without him coming and dying and the comforter coming upon us. This blessing upon my life, that can be upon my family and upon their family. It isn't possible unless Jesus comes in the flesh and he dies in the place.
[22:36] And now gives us the ability through the Holy Spirit to overcome sin in our lives. Jesus died and overcome sin in the tempter in our place through the power of the Spirit. He is able to pass the test in the same manner through the Holy Spirit.
[22:49] The walk in the Spirit. This is Jesus, our high priest, as David, the boy, prayed today. Who is being touched in all points like as we are. This is Jesus filling our infirmities yet without sin.
[23:03] Jesus demonstrates that we can overcome the evil one by means of the Spirit of God and the Word of God. And that should be exciting today for you. I don't know what your wilderness is that you've walked into.
[23:15] And maybe you say the Spirit didn't lead you into it. But maybe it was something in your heart that pulled you in the direction of something you weren't going to. And now you wonder if you can overcome. If you are in Christ today, I can tell you that the Spirit can overcome whatever you're facing.
[23:30] If it's a 20-year addiction, if it's a lifetime addiction, if it's something that you've never faced, the Spirit can work through you. This is a great story about Jesus. But what you might say, which our teenagers are taught to say, is that's great.
[23:42] What? So what? Or just so what? You know, really, what does it matter? Now what? What does that matter to me? That's a great story about Jesus. But what about my temptations? I experience every time I remember something, how I was treated.
[23:55] Or every time I see that person. Or every time I go to that place. Or every time I hear somebody say something. Or every time I see a grammar mistake and something that Trent puts together. How do I overcome that type of temptation?
[24:06] All right? And the Spirit can do that. All right? You can live happily in this church, no matter how many grammar mistakes I make, through the power of the Spirit. All right? That was the ultimate point I was getting to today.
[24:17] All right? Glad I got that off my chest. Write this down, okay? I got it for you. So what does this mean for me today? You heard a story about Jesus coming in the Spirit and leaving in the Spirit. So what does this have to do with me today?
[24:29] And why does this matter to me? Write this down. Are you ready? Everything. Everything. It has everything to do with you. It has everything to do with the way you're living your life right now.
[24:40] It has everything about where you can spend your eternity. Next week we'll look more at some of the specifics of how Satan thought he could test Jesus. And how that relates to us today and the ways that he would test us.
[24:51] But however, don't take for granted that this event in history is incredibly important to you. In many ways, it is the test that determines all the grades for all eternity.
[25:02] Because this is what the God the Father is looking at when he looks at my life as a person that takes the test. He doesn't look at my academic grade card. He doesn't look at the many times I've taken tests and I've failed.
[25:13] He doesn't look at the first Adam anymore who failed his test. He looks at Jesus, his son, and he takes that grade and he applies it to me. And that's great. Jesus lived 30 years of a life that was said like this.
[25:25] This is my son and who am I well pleased. He lived 30 years of well pleasing life before he comes to this. And he walks out of this well pleasing unto the Father. If Jesus is tempted, we should not think that our closeness to God would keep us immune from external temptations.
[25:42] Satan attacks us so hard because the attack is not directly on us. It is on the reign of our King. Temptation is so strong in our lives precisely because it is not about us.
[25:55] We most certainly should do where we should not give occasion to the enemy. That's a phrase that we borrow from the Old Testament where David should have been off the war, but he wasn't. And so he gave occasion to the enemy.
[26:07] You should not give occasion to the enemy. You should not be going to places that will lead you into temptation. But let me tell you that you cannot make yourself immune from it. You draw close to God and temptation will come to you.
[26:18] It will come strong. It will come to you face to face. And we need to have a plan to overcome sin in our lives that has to be much stronger than avoiding temptation. Because it's coming after you.
[26:30] Because it's attacking the kingdom of God. So we try to not give occasion to the enemy. But the enemy still shows up. And how do we overcome temptation? In the same manner that Jesus did.
[26:42] By his word and by the spirit that is there. Remember there was a man before Jesus who was once without sin. God put him in a perfect garden. He always had something to eat.
[26:54] He was never without anything. Had the perfect marriage. Had the perfect circumstances. Had the perfect work hours. Right? Had the perfect opportunity to work with. Walk with Jesus in the cool of the day.
[27:05] He had no HOA to speak of. Alright? He had everything in the garden that you could ever imagine. And he had a human nature. Not a sinful nature.
[27:17] A human nature that would be tested. And when he was tested it failed. And when you look at the genealogy. And you look at all those people all the way back. From Mary's family all the way back to Jesus.
[27:28] You know what you're going to find? Is you're going to find people that had been in Adam. Who had failed. Over and over again. If we bring up my family tree. You're going to find people that had been tested.
[27:39] And failed over and over again. Until that day that it came to Jesus. And he did not fail. A saying that I've loved. That I've told you before. And I've changed it.
[27:50] It says. It's this saying that it ran in my family. Until it ran into me. Which is only partially true. We say it better as. It ran in my family. Until it ran into the spirit's work. In me. It ran in the family.
[28:01] All throughout history. Taking tests. And failing tests. And never being enough. Until the tempter came to Jesus. And he passed the test. It ran until it came to Jesus. Let me explain it to you in one verse like this.
[28:13] 1 Corinthians 15.22. For as in Adam all die. Even so in Christ. Shall all be made alive. Being in Jesus.
[28:26] Is what you must do the day. You see in the first garden. We found death. In a beautiful place. Death came. But in the tomb. Where Jesus was at. Life was found.
[28:37] Talking to David about this last week. I just love this. I don't know the authorial intent. Exactly of all this passage. But in John chapter number 20. Verse 15. When the women realize. That Jesus is not in the tomb.
[28:47] And one of them sees Jesus. She says. Jesus said unto her. Woman why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She is supposing the hymn. To be a gardener. Isn't that just beautiful?
[28:58] She looked at him. And thought he was a gardener. And he could have responded. Well actually I am. I am the original gardener. I am the one that can take something that is dead. And I can make it alive.
[29:09] I am the person who can go into the wilderness. Where there is nothing but death. And I can bring life. I am the one who created the garden. He is certainly gardener. But he is so much more. That in death came the original garden.
[29:21] But in the tomb a garden is created. Because life comes from him overcoming Satan. And the power of hell and the grave for us. The Bible describes Jesus as the second Adam.
[29:32] In 1 Corinthians 15. We read several verses. If you will follow along here with me. And so it is written. The first man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
[29:43] Adam life was breathed into him. Jesus is life. How be it that was not first which is spiritual. But that which is natural. And afterwards that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth.
[29:55] Earthy. The second man is of the Lord. From heaven. As is the earthy. Such as they also that are earthy. And as with the heavenly. Such as they also that are heavenly. And we have been born.
[30:06] The image of the earthy. And we shall bear the image. Of the heavenly. You look at me today. And you see very much earthiness. But one day. Every one of you in here.
[30:16] You may not want to. You are going to look at Trent. And you are going to say. He is heavenly. All right. Stephanie thinks that now. She is in the nursery. All right. She thinks everything is heavenly. Outside the nursery. Probably right. And so. You look at me. And all you see is earthiness.
[30:28] Because I was dust. And God breathed upon me. But because I am in Christ. One day. He will appear. And I will be made like him. And so I want to tell you today. That there is nothing more important.
[30:38] In all the world. That you find out. That you are either in Christ. Or you are still in Adam. You are either in the first test taker. Who always fails. And always will fail. Or you are in the second one.
[30:50] Who will always pass. And who always does. What is right. Someday when he will appear. We will be made like him. So the question you should ask. Is how do you become in Christ today.
[31:01] If you have been paying attention. At all the day in class. You will know. That there is a group project going on. And you have the second Adam. Which is Jesus. And he is making a group. And you have the first Adam. Which is Adam.
[31:11] And he is making a group. That you want to make sure. That you are in the group of Christ. Because he will pass the day. Several places in the scriptures. Refer to us in this way. 1 Peter 5.14 says.
[31:22] Greet you one another. With a kiss of charity. Peace be with all of you. That are in Christ Jesus. That when you walk into a place. One of the ways that I can describe you in here. Is that you are people that are in Christ.
[31:33] That means you have been accepted. You have accepted his sacrifice. As a payment for your sin. He is that you have exchanged your list of sins. For his perfect account. That is totally pleasing.
[31:44] 2 Corinthians 5.21. For he has made him to be sin. For us who knew no sin. That he might be made the righteousness of God in him. The one who knew no sin. We saw it.
[31:55] We saw him tested. And we watched what happened. He knew no sin. And you and I know how we have done. When we face testing. We can think about it. The way I have spoken to kids.
[32:06] That I never want you to hear me say. The way that I have responded. The things in my heart. That we can never speak of. The testings that we have. That come in our lives. The things in our heart. That have drawn us away.
[32:17] To sin in our lives. You know that you have been tested in life. And you have failed. You have failed. Time and time again. Bible made it easy right. So here. Here's ten commandments. Let's just start with these ten commandments.
[32:29] And we look at the ten commandments. And not a single one of us can walk away. And say. I'm without sin. I will pass that test. If you boil it down to ten simple questions. I have failed the test.
[32:41] But we rejoice today. Knowing that our substitute came and lived. And remain prepared for any and all tests that came his way. I was thinking about this. When Brother Rotman was with us last week.
[32:52] And he took that New Testament. And he began to read it about Jesus. And you know he had to get to Luke chapter number four. And where it's also found in other places. And he knew that on the inside of him. Was not like the outside of him.
[33:03] So he knew that when he was tested. He would fail. Because he was not holy. And he was not perfect. But he read about Jesus. That he wanted to see as a good man. That Jesus said that when he was tested.
[33:15] He was out blemish. He was completely blameless. And these stories here. What will you do today.
[33:26] With the fact that Jesus. Triumphs over Satan. In the wilderness. And he triumphs over Satan. And death at the cross. If I am you today. I'm either repenting.
[33:37] And saying I am still an Adam. I have never put my faith and trust in Jesus. And I have not put myself in that one. Who has passed all the tests. I am not the one who is in the one that is perfect.
[33:48] And I'm going to repent. I'm going to turn away from that life. I'm going to turn away from that way of thinking. And I'm going to turn to Jesus Christ. And I'm going to put my faith in him. I'm going to receive the gift of salvation. Which is offered to every one of you.
[34:00] In here today. And I would not leave. Because you're not passing the test like Jesus is. And anything you're putting your faith in. Is not passing the test like it is. Only Jesus is perfect and pure.
[34:11] And he offers you that. He offers that to you today. Looking down at your report card. Looking down at how you would do on that test. And you see all that red ink pen all over it.
[34:22] And you know how you have done. Today you have an opportunity to trade what you have. For what he is offering you. And we want to help you do that. So in a moment when we will pray. I will ask you if that's what you would like.
[34:34] We'll have a couple men standing in the back of the auditorium. And they will direct you to a lady. Or to a man. And to another room. And they will help you know. That your account is that of the account of Jesus.
[34:46] But if you're like me in here today. And many years ago at the age of nine. You said I know that I'm not going to be able to do this. I must be found in Christ. Because without him I will do nothing. Then I want to encourage you.
[34:56] I want you to rejoice today. I want you to rejoice in a savior who is not a victim. Who is a victor who can overcome. And who has went before us and showed us. And if there's sin in your life that you're wrestling with.
[35:08] I don't want you to allow for a sake of the thought. That you cannot overcome. Because Jesus came and lived the perfect life. But in his human flesh. He overcame the tempter. By the word and by the spirit.
[35:19] Which means no more excuses for sin in your life. No more saying that you're not able to overcome. No more saying and giving provision for the flesh in your life. But saying today it will end. Because the day the sin that is in me.
[35:31] Is going to meet the victor. Who has overcome everything in my life. Heavenly Father. I ask the day that you would work Lord. Lord I want you to work in my brother and sister's life. Most certainly as you have in mine.
[35:43] But Lord I'm asking and I'm begging Lord. And I know the Holy Spirit wants to work. And does work in convicting people. I pray that if there's anybody of any age here today.
[35:54] Who's been here for many years. Or just shown up today for the first time. If they do not know that they are hidden in Christ. That your account of your son's death upon the cross.
[36:04] Has been applied to them. That today will be the day of salvation. With every head bowed and every eye closed. I'll just ask you here for a second. I have Sam Wilson near the back door.
[36:15] And if you are in here today. And you know that's you. Would you just get up out of your seat. Don't wait a second. Don't let Satan convince you to stay in your seat. To put it off to another day. Don't let the flesh hold you there.
[36:27] But get up and head to the back of this auditorium. And allow somebody to take the word of God. And to show you. He will meet you there. Make eye contact. And he will help you go there. That's the decision between you and God.
[36:39] But it's one that has eternal significance to your life. You need to put your faith in Jesus today. Do not hold on to your goodness. You have not passed the test.
[36:49] Every one of us are guilty the day before God. No matter how good off. How well off you think you are. Brothers and sisters in here today. We are not victims. We can overcome the day.
[37:00] Do business with the Lord. Worship him. Come to this altar. Lay aside those sins that do beset you the day. And find the victory that is possible. Heavenly Father as we move forward the day Lord.
[37:12] And your word takes place in the hearts of everyone. In this place today. I pray that every one of them will answer yes. And amen to whatever you ask of them today.
[37:22] With every head bowed. And every eye closed. Continue to pray. And when you're done. Please stand and sing with Stephen.