Mark chapter 1, we're beginning a journey through the gospel of Mark.
I began three weeks ago talking about the baptism of Jesus because it was baptism Sunday for
! us and talked about that and then we talked about the man Mark himself who was a teenager
during the ministry of Christ. Historians tell us we're heavily influenced by Peter and much
of what Mark writes is based upon the testimonies of Peter and you can see that how this book will
crescendo into Peter's great statement about you are the Christ the son of the living God. It's
right there in the middle of Mark and then when he gets to that point he just rushes straight to
the cross. Mark writes in a hurry and loves to talk about pronouncing Christ as Lord and Savior
and then to talk about the the cross and last week we looked at John the Baptist and our very first
Southern Baptist but today I want us to continue to last joke I want us to continue to look at
at Mark and see the strength of the ministry of Christ but but also to see where that strength
came from. Mark chapter 1 verse 12 and 13 says this the spirit immediately drove Christ out into the
wilderness right after his baptism and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan and he
was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to him. The plan of God for the incarnation
of Christ or Christ coming into the flesh was that in Christ's sinless perfection he would die in our
place take upon himself the sin of all the world and then all who will surrender to Christ before during
our after the cross will be saved and forgiven of their sins as Christ has paid the required price of death for us.
2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 tells us for our sake God made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God that is the plan of God but Satan wants to thwart that he wants to thwart that in
individual lives he wants to thwart that in church ministry he wanted to thwart that in the life of Christ
and you see it four different ways one is he tried to kill him as a babe with King Herod that was a
satanic attack second he tempts him in the desert our passage today later he'd try to kill him but thank God
after Christ died on the cross he rose again and ascended and is on the throne and since then his fourth way
is that he has declared war on the church
he's declared war on the people of God now today we focus on number two and that is that he
led Jesus into temptation and and wanted to tempt Jesus to get him to fail it says he immediately went
into the wilderness right after his baptism Satan hit him right out of the gate
and he hits him by trying to get him to sin he hits him early before his ministry begins he hits him
when he's most vulnerable he hits him when he's fasting he hits him in a desolate place in a dreary
place in a in a lonely place mark is brief in everything that he says but I want you to notice what he
what he speaks of when he speaks of the temptations in the wilderness one I want you to notice the source
it was the spirit of God that drove Christ into the wilderness that compelled him to go to the desert
the devil didn't drag him out there he didn't just wonder out there I talked to last week about how
John the Baptist was was baptizing and ministering in the wilderness lived in the desert ate locusts and
wild honey and all that kind of stuff and people came uh Jesus came from Nazareth 70 miles away to
to be baptized by him Jerusalem's almost was more than half of that far from from where he was and
and scripture says that all Jerusalem and all Judean country came they were coming long distances to hear
John but but but I want you to understand that Jesus and he went out there to be baptized he didn't
just kind of wander away from John and just happen to be still in the wilderness no scripture tells us
the spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness it was spirit driven
literally also notice the timing it says immediately sometimes translated straightway and uh
uh that is Mark's favorite word probably ethos is a Greek word that's used often in Mark and it's used 59
times in the New Testament 41 of those times it's used in the gospel of Mark and get this 11 of those
times it's used in chapter one it was right after his baptism and the timing of that is is crucial
I want you to also notice the location it was the desert it was the wilderness it was an arid
desolate rough area it's dusty it's dangerous there's rocky peaks there there's craggy cliffs there
there's sheer ravines there it's a difficult place also notice the occasion he was there to be tempted by
Satan Mark tells us he was tempted while he was there but Matthew tells us that he was there to be tempted
Matthew chapter 4 verse 1 says then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil
it does not say that he was tempted by the spirit of God even though the spirit of God drove him into the
desert James 1 verse 13 tells us that God does not tempt anyone but God the father allowed this to happen
the spirit of God led him to it but our Lord and Savior Jesus had to deal with Satan and he had to defeat
Satan that was his mission that was his ministry and Satan hit him straight out of the gate while he was
vulnerable while he was alone while he was in a tough place and that's often the way the evil one
tempts he'll hit you straight out of the gate
if you're here this morning you get convicted
about sin in your life that you've been struggling with or maybe you've never given your heart and life
to the Lord Jesus Christ and he convicts your heart today and you surrender your life to the Lord Jesus
or you are a Christian but you know there's sin in your life and God convicts you of that and today
you repent of that and to get that right and you want to leave this place right with God doing right
watch out on Monday morning
because when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed the devil will be smiling at you
he loves to hit you straight out of the gate
some of you may not even make it to lunch
today
but he loves to
especially when we get charged
to grow in the Lord he wants to shut that down
he wants to shut that down
I mean if you're playing ball a man gets
I'm ready for football you can tell in a minute
if you're playing ball a man gets a ball in the backfield
it's best to just go ahead and hit him in the backfield
don't let him get his steam up
and that's exactly how Satan loves to do us
he loves to hit us straight out of the gate
it's a satanic strategy
he also hits us when we're most vulnerable
he'll hit us in our weak moments
he'll do it when you feel spiritually weak
he'll do it when you feel physically weak
he'll do it when you feel emotionally weak
he looks for those opportunities
he also does it when we're alone
most of our temptation will come in life when you're in your own head
when you're by yourself
and the random thoughts
or the things that you're exposed to
come about
it's often an attack
and too often the sins that people commit with other sins
are because they didn't take care of it
when they were alone
and when you're in a tough place
a tough place can be a tempting place
a tough place can be a discouraging place
a tough place can be a lonely place
but when you're out of place
Satan attacks
and God was not unaware of that
and God is not unaware of that
he never is unaware of that
he led Christ to the spot
and he led him through it
and I want you to notice how
notice the company
scripture says he was with angels
and with wild beasts
he was being strengthened
and being provided for by angels
and let me run a rabbit a minute
by the way
grandpa that passed
is not your guardian angel
nor is the cardinal that flies into your yard today
when saints go to glory
we don't become angels
you wasn't an angel when you're on earth
you're not an angel when you go to glory
actually we're above angels
we have something angels don't have
and that's redemption
scripture does not tell us
that God provides us a body guard
that will guard us
it does say in Psalm 91 verse 11
for he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways
not an angel but angels
Matthew 19 also speaks of the angelic protection of children
when Christ speaks of
my translation
don't mess with kids
that's what Jesus says
if you cause one to sin
you'd be better to have a millstone
thrown around your neck
that's worse than a cinder block around your ankle folks
and to be thrown into the depths of the sea
Jesus said that
he was serious about it
angels protect
angels provide for
angels strengthen
and they do it all at
get this
they do it all at God's command
God gets the credit
not the angels
not dead relatives
God gets the glory
and so if you leave here today
and are almost in an accident
but you're not in an accident
and you're protected
because angels envelop your car
and took care of you
don't give glory to the angels
give glory to God
because the angels wouldn't have been doing anything
if God hadn't dispatched them to be right there at the time
God gets the glory
I'll say that again
God gets the glory
give God the glory
we get distracted at times
angels ministered to Jesus
how'd they do that?
I like what one commentator said
he said and I quote
envision Jesus sleeping at night
while angels flying around him
welding swords that cut off the scorpion's tail
the leopard's teeth
the jackal's claws
the boar's tusk
and the snake's fangs
end of quote
well I don't know if that's exactly how it went down
but I will tell you that in the area in which Christ was
there are leopards
there are jackals
there are boars
there are snakes
there are scorpions
they inhabit the wilderness that he was in
and it's described that way
to let us know
that Christ was in the desert
dealing with spiritual battles
but he was also dealing with physical battles
and through it all
he was never alone
even when nobody was in the desert with him
he was still never alone
Jesus gives us the same promise in John 14
when he promises us
we will never be alone
I will not leave you alone
I will come to you
he promised he'd come to us
and that God would give us a comforter
the spirit of God
to carry us through those times
Jesus was not alone
he had angels there
he had animals there
and the devil was all mixed in there as well
and that's what Mark tells us
now Mark don't deal with the type of temptations
that Jesus faced
because he's in a hurry
he just tells us that he went there to be tempted
and that he was tempted while he was there
but Matthew 4 gives us a good idea
of what was going on
at the end of his 40 days
he gives us three temptations
that Jesus faced
at the end of the 40 days
scripture is quite clear
that he was tempted throughout those 40 days
but in Mark
excuse me
Matthew chapter 4
beginning in verse 1
it says this
then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil
and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights
he was hungry
and the tempter came and said to him
if you are a son of God
command these stones to become loaves of bread
but he answered
it is written
man shall not live by bread alone
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God
fasting in the desert for 40 days
can easily kill you
especially if you don't have enough water
and in that time of weakness
Satan comes and tempts him
to do a miracle
to find food
now Jesus was in the desert
fasting and praying
and leaning on the father
and that was the point
to provide his own bread
is not leaning upon the father
and being obedient to what the father led him
and that's the rub here
that's the problem
and that's why Jesus quoted scripture
about resting more in the obedience of the word of God
than in our basic desires
but the devil don't stop there
he says in verse 5 of Matthew 4
then the devil took him to the holy city
and sent him on the pinnacle of the temple
and said to him
if you are the son of God
throw yourself down
for it's written
he will command his angels concerning you
and on their hands
they will bear you up
lest you strike your foot against a stone
and Jesus said to him
again it is written
you shall not put the Lord your God to the test
so what the devil does next
the devil threw out the temptation
to jump from the pinnacle of the temple
we believe that probably is referring
to the highest point on the wall of the temple mount
which would be the southeast corner
and if you were to throw yourself off of that
you would throw yourself into the depths
of the Kindred Valley
that separates the Mount of Olives
from the temple mount
it's a deep crevice there
he said do that to prove that God will protect you
his main point was to cause him doubt
to not trust the Lord
but test God
instead
and Christ answered him with scripture
again he answered him with scripture
then the third temptation is mentioned
in verses 8 through 10
it says
again the devil took him to a very high mountain
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory
and he said to him
all these I have given you
if you will fall down and worship me
then Jesus said to him
be gone Satan
for it is written
you shall worship the Lord your God
and him only you shall serve
so lastly he tempts Christ
to bow down to him
and in return he could rule the world
and Christ responded
with only worshiping the Father
now what I want you to understand
about these temptations are
I hope you see that
each one of these temptations
is about the direction
and the power
and the positioning
of the ministry
of Christ
the intent of the devil
is to make him sin
by defying God
and choosing a second best route
instead of God's best
the other intent
was to throw him off course
for his whole ministry
because the devil
was not the only one
that was going to try
to persuade Christ
to do things
that he was not led
by God to do
people would do that as well
and I believe
these temptations
kind of precede
what people would expect
out of him
as well
some people just wanted
a savior on their terms
to be able to
have God do
what they wanted him
to do for them
instead of surrendering
their life
to follow him
and trust him
others
really believed
that prophecy
proclaimed him
to be something
different
than who he is
and to do something
different than
what he's done
and this may shock you
but some people
misunderstood prophecy
in that day
and this may shock
even more
some people
misunderstand it today
they sell a lot
of books on it
but they misunderstand it
especially that guy
a great example
is the guy
that wrote the book
called 88 Reasons
Why the Rapture
Will Take Place
in 1988
it's a pretty cheap
book on eBay now
it was a hot seller
at the time
the reality is
people sometimes
want God
to be something
different than
what God is
or wants him
to do something
different for them
than what it's
his will to do
and when Jesus
came out of the desert
he had faced
that kind of temptation
he had been tested
he had been tried
and the challenges
that he faced
by people
after that
never faced him
I don't believe
because he had already
experienced all that
these challenges
were always about
defying the will
of God
and going another way
and that's always
the challenge
of temptations
and every time
we face temptation
we need to remember
some things
I'm going to give you
three
one is
we are not alone
when we're tempted
I told you
that temptation
often comes
when we're alone
but you're not really
alone when you're tempted
for one
the temptation
comes from Satan
and his powers
and principalities
of the air
as Ephesians
talks about
and I'll tell you
it is an attack
so always
keep that in mind
it's bigger
than what we see
and second
the Holy Spirit
of God
is with us
and angels
are dispatched
by our Heavenly Father
and they're there
to assist
and to strengthen
and to guide
and to drag us
out of that
we are not alone
when we're tempted
second thing is this
there's always a way out
the devil would love
for us to think
there's no way out
often I have people
tell me
I didn't have a choice
I had to give in
that's a lie
that smells of smoke
1 Corinthians 10
13 says this
no temptation
has overtaken you
that's not common
to man
God is faithful
and he will not
let you be tempted
beyond your ability
but with the temptation
he will also provide
the way of escape
that you may be able
to endure it
and that goes back
to my previous point
you're not alone
ever
there's a way out
and the last thing
when we stand
Satan will flee
you need to rely
on this passage
you need to hear it
you need to digest it
you need to write it down
put it on your dash
put it on your mirror
put it on your head
memorize it
James 4 7
submit yourself
therefore to God
resist the devil
and he'll flee
from you
draw near to God
and he'll draw near
to you
what Jesus do
he relied
on scripture
and I give you
these scriptures
today
to rely on
now notice
what happens
when this season
of the Lord's
temptation
is over
in Luke chapter 4
verse 13
it says
and when the devil
had ended
every temptation
he departed
from him
until an
opportune
time
an opportune
time
means that
Satan
will be back
now scripture
tells us
when we resist
him
he will flee
for a little
while
and the strength
that we have
against the
temptation
that we face
is the word
of God
that's what Jesus
used in the desert
it's what we need
to use
we have to stay
laser focused
on the word
of God
if Jesus
need to rely
on it
how much
more
we need
to rely
on it
and I hope
you understand
that the whole
strategy
of Satan
against Christ
was to change
his focus
on the gospel
to somehow
distort the focus
of the gospel
if he could
kill our hope
by having Jesus
fall into sin
and no longer
be a substitute
for our atonement
then sin wins
and that was his point
or if he could
change the focus
of the ministry
of Christ
from a gospel
driven reliance
upon the father
to instead
a power hungry
miracle driven
reliance
upon popularity
then sin wins
there is no
eternal difference
in a popularity
contest
but thank God
Jesus saw
straight through
his attempted
deceptions
and I'm telling you
by the spirit
of God
we need to
as well
stand
when temptation
comes
stand
stand firm
on the word
of God
you're not alone
stand firm
on the word
of God
no temptation
has come upon
you except
what's common
to man
and God
will always
provide a way
out
stand on the word
of God
stand against
the evil one
and he will
flee
from
you
you can
rest in that
my friend
draw near
to God
and he'll
draw near
to you
we just
have to stay
laser focused
on the hope
that we have
and the hope
that we have
is in the word
of God
and if we
don't rest
on it
if we're not
familiar with it
if it's not
at the tip
of our tongue
when temptations
come
we'll fall
every time
our hope
is found
in the power
of the blood
of Christ
and the strength
of the word
of God
and we
rest our
life on it
now if you've
never done
that
if you've
never surrendered
your life
to the Lord
Jesus Christ
the process
of salvation
is to acknowledge
that you are
a sinner
you've done
wrong
and that you
can't provide
a way out
by yourself
that in reality
you need to
ask the Lord
to forgive you
and to cleanse
you and from
this day forward
you commit
your life
to follow him
it's a decision
that requires
a change
in our direction
that's what
repentance means
it's not just
an intellectual
engagement to it
it's saying
from this day
forward
I'm going to
live
for the Lord
Jesus Christ
I want him
to guide me
in the deserts
of my life
I want to
remember him
on the mountaintops
of my life
I want him
to guide my life
and if you've
never made
that decision
I want you
to know
scripture says
today's the day
of salvation
he'll meet you
where you are
and he'll say
if you think
you have a need
for that
I'll tell you
you didn't
come up
with it
on your own
the spirit
of God
has led you
to this point
and you just
need to follow
his lead
maybe you're
here and you
have done that
but you've
never acknowledged
that publicly
it's been a
private matter
for you
and Jesus
by his example
and by his
commission
tells us
to follow
that with
baptism
it is a
public
confession
of what
Christ has
done in
our heart
and life
you've
never been
baptized
as a
believer
I'll tell
you it's
a major
stumbling
block
in your
Christian
walk
because it's
the first
step of
obedience
and it's
something
that you've
missed
a long
way
so you
just need
to be
obedient
and follow
the Lord
in that
we won't
do it
this morning
but we'll
guide you
through that
prepare for
that in
the days
ahead
maybe you're
here this
morning
God's
leading you
to Pickens
First Baptist
Church
and you
know this
is the
place
where God
would have
you to
serve
you join
with us
let's do
everything we
can till
the Lord
returns
to uplift
his name
to lean
upon his
word
to share
his gospel
or maybe
you're like
a lot
of folks
here
and there's
stuff in your
life that you
need to lay
down before
the Lord
you need to
trust him
with it
you've been
pandering in
stuff you
don't need to
be pandering
in
you've been
dwelling on
thoughts you
don't need to
be dwelling
on
you've been
going places
you don't
need to be
going
and you
need to lay
that down
before the
Lord
you can do
that where
you stand
in just a
moment
you can do
it at this
altar
or I'll be
happy to
pray with
you through
that
but let's
do whatever
we need to
do to get
our hearts
and lives
right today
before we
leave this
place
and then
let's have
our shield
of faith
up and
ready
when the
evil one
picks his
head back
up
and we
go back
to the
word of
God
and stand
firm and
watch him
flee
that's the
goal here
let's get
right
Lord Jesus
I love
you
I thank
you for
your word
I thank
you for
the encouragement
of it
I thank
you for
allowing
Christ
to go
through
it
because he
understands
he's actually
faced every
temptation
that we
face
he
understands
our
circumstances
so God
I pray
that we'll
surrender
our lives
today
and be
obedient
give us
the boldness
and the
obedience
to do
exactly
what you
tell us
to do
right now
Father
I pray
in Jesus
precious name
amen
miracle