Now, I want to begin in Mark
chapter 1, verse 12 and 13. Mark 1, 12 and 13. This is where
we'll begin, and this is about the Lord's temptation. The Lord's temptation. He was
40 days in the wilderness being tempted of Satan. There in Matthew
chapter 3, it says there, He did not eat for 40 days, and
he fasted and prayed, and he was assaulted and attacked by
Satan at that time. And it says here in Mark 1, verse
12, and immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Now, talking here about the Spirit
of God, he's talking about also being led, led of the Spirit,
as you read in other places. And he was there in the wilderness
forty days, tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beast and
the angels, The angels ministered unto him. Now, if you'll turn
to Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. In Matthew
chapter 4 and in Luke chapter 4, we have an amplification of
what is said there in Mark chapter 1. Notice if you will, in Matthew
chapter 4 verse 1, Then was Jesus led of the Spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty
days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry." Now you can
imagine, forty days, forty nights, not having eaten nothing. And his flesh, being a real man,
he was weak, weakened. And when the tempter came to
him, he said, "'If thou be the Son of God, command that these
stones be made bread, And he answered and said, it is written,
man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded
out of the mouth of God. Now, as soon as our Lord begins
his public ministry, he's viciously assaulted by the powers of evil
and darkness. In the revelation in chapter
12, he's called the accuser of the brethren. The Lord God has
only one well-beloved begotten Son of God, God the Son, among
many brethren, without sin. But He has, be sure you get this,
the Lord Jesus had no sin, knew no sin, and did no sin. There's
only one God-man mediator. He is the one without sin who
was manifested to put away our sin. But be sure you get this
and understand this. The Father has no sons without
sorrow, temptation, and trial. One son without sin, but none
without sorrow. As a matter of fact, in Isaiah
53, He's called a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. If
you want to turn, if you can't see, don't turn, but in Hebrews
chapter 4, In Hebrews chapter 4, you who are listening by tape,
the reason I said that is we're preaching without power. So we
have no electricity, I'm preaching by what sunlight we have. In Hebrews chapter 4 verse 14,
seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Now watch this, for we have not
a high priest. which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted
like as we are, in all points tempted like as we are, yet,
yet without sin. Now notice verse 16, Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need. So he had only one son
without sin, but none without suffering. He's called the man
of sorrow and acquainted with grief. Trouble to the believer
is very common. If you'll find 2 Timothy 3. 2
Timothy 3. Verse 10 says this. 2 Timothy 3. 10. But thou hast
fully known my doctrine, manner of life, Purpose, faith, long-suffering,
charity, persecution, and afflictions which came unto me at Antioch,
Anticonium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, but out of all of
them the Lord delivered me. Yea, all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Paul was God's
chosen, faithful, dedicated servant, but yet he had great sorrow heartache
and trouble. One son without sin, none, none
without sorrow. Be sure you get and understand
this as well. Where the first man, Adam, was
tempted and failed. Now he failed miserably, didn't
he? Adam was tempted of Satan. Adam was assaulted by Satan and
he was tempted and he failed miserably and plunged all mankind
into utter ruin and utter sin. And Adam all died. But understand
and know this, the second man, and that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ is referred to, the man who is the Lord from heaven,
the second man, the God-man was sorely tried, but he never failed
in any aspect at any point. He is the woman's seed that crushed
Satan's dominion, Satan's power. Now, turn in your Bible to Romans
chapter 5, the Lord Jesus. Although the first man, Adam,
in him all died, he miserably failed. In Romans chapter 5,
we see that the man, the second man, the Lord from heaven, the
Lord Jesus, although he was tempted and tested tried in all things,
yet he did not fail. It says in Romans chapter 5,
notice verse 18, therefore as by the offense of one, judgment
came upon all to condemnation, all men to condemnation, even
so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life. For by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous." Now, that's the God-man. That's our Savior. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Adam failed. He was tempted,
and he failed, and it caused great death, judgment, guilt,
and sin entered into all men. The Lord Jesus Christ was tempted
and tested and tried, but He did not fail. And that's our
hope. That's our salvation. Satan,
and he's called many names, he's called the devil, he's called
the accuser of the brethren, he's called a murderer, he is
a subtle, sly, malicious enemy of the gospel and the Lord's
people. And he often parades as an angel of light. Now, if
you'll find 2 Corinthians chapter 12, 2 Corinthians chapter 12, he doesn't
run around in a little red suit with horns and a pitchfork. He
parades as an angel of light, and he's a deceiver of men. We
read in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Verse 13, For such are false
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light. He's transformed into
an angel of what? Light. Therefore it's no great
thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness. Now whose righteousness do they
promote and seek? The sinners. righteousness, self-righteousness,
not Christ, whose end shall be according to their deeds. I want
you to look at this scripture carefully. John chapter eight,
when our Lord was talking to those Jews and how they bragged
about how they were sons of Abraham in John chapter eight, we said, Abraham is our father.
And the Lord corrected them. And look what he says here in
John chapter eight. He says in verse 44, you are
of your father the devil, and the lust of your father you will
do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
bold not in the truth, because there's no truth in him. When
he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar
and a father of it. Well, that's some pretty descriptive
language of the adversary of the brethren, the accuser of
the brethren. He's called a murderer. He does not abide in the truth.
And he is a liar and he's the father of it. That's strong language,
isn't it? Turn over to 1 Peter chapter
5. 1 Peter chapter 5. He's also called here, in 1 Peter
chapter 5, he's called a roaring lion. 1 Peter chapter 5, verse
6. 1 Peter 5, 6. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon Him. For He careth for you. Be sober,
be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Therefore resist
steadfast in the faith." Resist him. Resist his temptations.
Now, let us beware of his wicked devices, Satan, his wicked designs,
and be ready to resist his evil influences. Now, don't turn,
but let me just read this to you. I've written this down.
2 Corinthians 2.11 says that less Satan should get an advantage
of us, for we're not ignorant of his devices. So beware. Beware
of his evil temptations, and let's not be ignorant concerning
his devices." Now, let us see as we look at this temptation
and turn back to Matthew chapter 3. Let us see how the Lord of
glory defeats the enemy as he is assaulted. And we can learn
something here. Three times Satan attacks him,
and three times he is repelled with one One weapon, one thing
He uses against the archenemy of God's people and God's Christ,
He uses the very thing that we have in our lap. He uses the
Word of God, the sword of the Spirit. Three times He is assaulted
and three times, notice what it says there in our text, in
Matthew chapter 4, verse 4, it is written, again in verse 7,
it is written, And again in verse 10, for it is written. Now we
can learn something here. If the Lord Jesus Christ, who
has all power and authority, we're going to see in a minute,
he dismisses Satan and commands him to leave. But as the Lord
Jesus Christ is our representative, as a God-man mediator who has
all power, he uses a very written word of God. My friend, we should
do the same thing. The same thing, you see the Word
of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.
When in Ephesians chapter 6, turn over there, when Paul uses
these instructions to believers in Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians
chapter 6, when he uses these instructions to believers concerning
putting on the whole armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6, Verse
11, that you may be able to stand against the trickery, the deceit
of the devil. And then he says down in verse
16, above all, this is Ephesians 6, 16, above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Word of God is quick and
powerful, sharper than any. two-edged sword." Now notice
this, if you will. Look back at the text again.
Immediately after the Lord has been baptized and the Spirit
of God descends upon Him and embodies Him, the Lord of glory
did not, when He was assaulted and attacked, He used the very
Word of God. He didn't look back and He didn't
say this, well, you know, I was just baptized. He didn't look
back to his baptism experience to get any kind of assurance
or to confront the devil. Not an experience. He doesn't
point to an experience or a feeling. He doesn't even say, well, you
know, the Holy Spirit just descended upon me and I have all power
and authority. But he didn't do that. He used
the very Word, the written Word of God. And my friend, that is
a good thing for us to do. when we're assaulted and attacked
by the enemies of the gospel, don't go back to an experience
you had or a feeling you had. You see what I'm saying? Do what
the Lord Jesus Christ did here. He didn't point back to his baptism.
He didn't say, well, you know, I heard John preach. John was
a great preacher. He pointed and he used this weapon,
this powerful weapon that God has given us, and that is the
Word of God, to confront the enemies. of the gospel. God help
us to do the same thing. The Word of God, the Word of
God is quick and powerful and sharp. Now, there's three areas
here as we look at Matthew chapter 4. There's three areas in which
Satan attacks the Lord Jesus Christ. These three things that
he attacks here, I want you to find this scripture and look
at this with me. This is 1 John 2. 1 John chapter 2. These three areas that Satan
assaulted the God-man mediator is the same three things that
John tells us about in 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. He says, Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. This is 1 John 2.15.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For all that is in the world. Now here's the three things.
The lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes and the
pride of life. Now these are the three things
that Satan tries to attack the God-man over. It's not of the
Father, but of the world. And the world passes away in
the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever. Now let's look at these three
things. The lust of the flesh. Look back in Matthew chapter
4, when the Lord Jesus had fasted. without any food, without any
water, 40 days in a wilderness, in the desert, when he was at
his weakest point as a man. The tempter came to him and he
said, verse 3, if you be the Son of God, you know he was hungry,
command these stones to be made bread. And the Lord rebuked him. Out comes the sword of God. Out
comes the Word of God. And the Lord rebuked him and
said to him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That
is, he's saying this. Depend upon God. Depend upon
His Word. Don't depend upon yourself. Don't
depend upon yourself and don't be self-reliant. Trust God. Trust Him. The Lord being a real
man here. God in the flesh. hadn't eaten,
fasted, and Satan attacked him at what he perceived to be his
weakest point, his flesh. If you're really the Son of God
and really God incarnate, use your power and turn these stones
into bread. You know, as we read through
Scripture, the Lord Jesus, He could have, He could have done
this, but you know, He never performed a miracle to relieve
his own suffering. Now he did for others, but not
himself. You see, he was a real man. And as a real man, he was obedient
unto God. He had to be a real substitute
for us. Flesh of our flesh and bone of
our bones. Now notice verse 4. He said,
it is written, man shall not live by bread alone. but we live by the very Word
of God, by the Word of God. What can we learn from this?
Well, oftentimes I believe we're tempted as sinful people that
we are. Oftentimes we're tempted from
ceasing to wait upon the Lord. We get anxious, we get careful,
and we are tempted to cease from waiting upon the Lord and to
take matters into our own hand and own self-help instead of
depending upon the Lord and trusting Him. I believe that's the lesson
there for us. Trust Him to provide for you
in all things in life and in salvation. And that, I believe,
is what is the temptation of the lust of the flesh, to trust
yourself You think, well, I can do it. I can get it done. There's
many things that we can do and accomplish as people, as human
beings, in natural, carnal things. But when it comes to spiritual
things, we're totally helpless. We must rely upon God for all
things. And matter of fact, you can take
it a little bit further this way. Even in the natural realm,
without Him, we can do nothing. Not even get out of your seat.
Not even get out of bed in the morning. Without Him, we can
do nothing. You see, we're totally self-reliant
upon God. But oftentimes, we're tempted
to fix it ourselves, to do it ourselves. I've got the answer.
I've got the solution. No, we don't. Trust Him. Rest in Him. Trust Him at all
times. Pour out your heart before Him.
The second thing where our Lord is tempted here has to do with
the pride of life. Notice, if you will, in Matthew
chapter 4, verse 5. Then the devil taketh him up
into a holy city, up into the holy city, and setteth him on
the pinnacle of the temple, a high place. And he said unto him,
If thou be the Son of God... Again, he questions his deity.
He questions his deity. Cast yourself down for it is
written. Now here, here Satan quotes Scripture. But you know,
he misquotes it. He leaves out a part. This is
from Psalm 91 verse 11 and verse 12. If you be the son of God,
you cast yourself down, act recklessly. You know, God is sovereign. You
just act recklessly. That's what he's tempting him
here with. It's a pride of life. If you be the son of God, cast
yourself down, for it is written, he'll give his angels charge
concerning thee. And in their hand they shall
bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against the
stone. And the Lord said to him, it
is written, You're to trust the Lord, not to tempt Him, not to
act foolishly, recklessly. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God. The pride of life. Satan uses
the Word of God against the Lord Jesus and tempts Him to act in
a reckless way. Well, you just cast yourself,
just jump off this high place. Again, the Lord rebukes him with
the Word. Our God is to be trusted, not
tempted. not tempted. The enemies of grace,
motivated, the enemies of the gospel, motivated by Satan himself,
would accuse us, and they do, of being fatalistic, being reckless
and indifference, and they would accuse us of being careless and
presumptuous. The enemies of the gospel would
accuse us. They would say, well, if we believe that, This salvation
was all of grace and all of God, but we would just live like we
wanted to. My friend, God's people do live
the way they want to. They're committed to Christ.
As the one man in Scripture said, shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. God forbid. You see, believers are not fatalists.
They're faithful to God. They believe God and are committed
to the gospel knowing God has ordained the means of preaching
the gospel as well as the end. God uses the gospel and the means
of preaching to call out His people and to call them to faith
in Christ Jesus. I remember I was talking to a
relative of mine and I was trying to explain to him and to some
others standing there that God elected a people, God chose those
people in Christ Jesus, that the Lord Jesus Christ died for
them to put away their sin, and they will be called and will
be saved and will be justified by God's grace. He said, well,
if I believe that, I just quit. Why do we have any churches?
Why do we go preach the gospel? If I believe that God chose a
people and they're going to be saved, I just quit. You see,
that's the charge they hurl at us. But my friend, God has not
only predestinated the end, He has also predestinated the means
to arrive at that end. So we're not fatalists. I believe
God's going to call His people, His elect, those for whom Christ
died, with the gospel, and they will hear it, and they will,
by His grace, believe it, and He will call them to Himself
through the gospel. So we're not fatalists. We're
faithful to God. We don't tempt Him. We trust
Him. Believers, now listen to me,
believers never use the sovereignty of God to excuse our sinfulness,
our laziness, or our indifference, or carelessness. Believers are
zealous for God's glory, will, and purpose. Now, I told you
that Satan, turn to Psalm 91, that Satan misquoted that scripture.
because he left part of it out. In Psalm 91, God has promised to keep us in
all our ways. Psalm 91 verse 11, for he shall
give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. What are all thy ways? the ways
of grace, the way of truth, the way that glorifies God. God has
promised to keep us in His way, not in our foolishness. You see
what he's saying here? So, that's the temptation of
the pride of life. Yes, God is sovereign, but my
friend, and God has chosen a people, He has elected a people, and
He has determined to make them people just like Christ. But
we also know that He has ordained the means to arrive at that end. And we're going to faithfully
preach the gospel and his people will hear it and he will call
them with the gospel and they will embrace him. Here's the
third thing. The third temptation is this,
of which our Lord rebukes Satan at all points. Down in verse
8, Matthew chapter 4, verse 8. The devil taketh him into a high,
into exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the kingdoms
of the world. And here's the lust of the eyes,
the lust of the eyes. He shows him all the kingdoms
of the world and then he declares that all the kingdoms of the
world are, he says that they are his and the power of them
and the glory of them. And remember what I told you?
I told you he's a liar, didn't I? Because who does all the world
and the glory of them and the power and the kingdom and dominion,
who does it all belong to? It doesn't belong to him. It
belongs to God Almighty. Now look what it says, and it
says to him, all these things will I give you if you'll fall
down and worship me. Then the Lord said to him, you
get hence. You get out of here. He commanded
him to leave like a scalded dog. And Satan commanded him to leave,
for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
his only shalt thou serve. And verse 10, And the devil leaveth
him, and behold, the angels came and ministered unto him. Now
I want to show you something here. Notice in Luke chapter
4, in Luke chapter 4 this time, Satan said, All these things
will I give you, if you'll just fall down and worship me. In
Luke chapter 4, look at verse 6, we have a little bit more
information given to us here. In Luke 4, verse 6, the devil
saith unto him, All this power will I give thee in the glory
of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I
will. It sounds like he's a sovereign.
I'll give it, if thou wilt therefore worship me. All shall be thine. Now whose kingdom is it? Whose
glory is it? Now turn to Matthew chapter 6
and let's see if we can find out. You see, he is a liar and
a deceiver. Matthew chapter 6, look at verse
9, the prayer of our Lord as He teaches His disciples to pray. Matthew 6, 9, After this manner,
therefore, pray ye, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thine will
be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, the power,
and the glory forever." You see, he is a liar. He is a deceiver. Satan would attack believers
in the same manner to live for self, to live for pleasure, to
live for power, to live for popularity, self-glory, and false worship,
and to forsake the gospel, or at least, can't we compromise
a little bit? And he would tempt us in those
ways. What do we say in response? Well, Satan, it is written, thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God. and Him only. God seeketh such
to worship Him in spirit and in truth." Now, the devil, the
devil's bait, he had a baited hook. The devil's bait is all
sham and show and shadows because the fashion of this world is
passing away. The gospel of God's grace is
the only real substance the believer has. Now at the command of the
Lord Jesus, the devil flees. You see that in verse 10? You
see, Satan is no match. He's no match. The God-man mediator
is no match. Satan is no match for the God-man
mediator. And just as God promised that
the angels would take charge and the angels would minister
unto Him, look at verse 11, that then the devil leaveth him, and
behold, the angels came, and ministered unto him, just as
God promised. God said, I'll keep you in all
your ways. He was kept in all the ways of
God, and the angels did come and minister unto him, fulfilling
God's promise. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. No, not ever. Now, in closing,
let me give you this. There is a wealth, there is a
wealth of consolation here for the believer. A wealth of consolation
here. The Lord Jesus Christ was tempted,
tried, and tested in every point, yet He did not fail. He did not fail to accomplish
all God's purpose in bringing in an everlasting righteousness.
He did not fail in God's redemption to redeem us from all our sin,
and His people were saved at Calvary, and they will be glorified
in Christ Jesus. There's a wealth of consolation
here for us. Three or four things here. Our
Lord has defeated all our enemies, all our enemies, and ever lives
to intercede for us. We may be tempted beyond our
strength, but we cannot be tempted beyond His strength. Now find
1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10. You see, He ever lives to intercede
for us. When you sin, we have the advocate
with the Father. Who is it? Jesus Christ the Righteous. We are tempted. Think it not
strange concerning the fiery trials as though some strange
thing happened unto you. Expect trials. Those who live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer for the gospel. But notice this,
in 1 Corinthians 10, look at verse 13. There hath no temptation
taken you, but such is common to man. But God is faithful."
Do you see that? God is faithful. "...who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you
may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved,
flee idolatry." How does He make a way for us to escape? Grace
to endure it. Grace in the time of trial. Now,
I'll show you that. Find 2 Corinthians 12. 2 Corinthians
chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Now, notice this. In 2 Corinthians
chapter 12, look at verse 7. Lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of revelation, there was given
to me a thorn in the flesh. Now, here's Paul. He was tempted,
sorely tempted. a thorn in the flesh, the messenger
of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord three times, that it might
depart from me. But he said unto me, My grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmity, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." Our Lord has defeated all our enemies and ever lives
to intercede for us. Secondly, He who was tempted
in all points like as we are, is our mighty Helper, our Mediator,
our Advocate. He knows the weakness of our
flesh. He was a real man. I want you
to turn to this scripture and read this. Hebrews 2, verse 17
and 18. He knows the frailty of our flesh. I like that psalm, Psalm 103.
He knows our frame. He knows that we are but dust,
weak and frail. But He is our Advocate, He is
our Mediator, He is our Strength. Now notice this if you will.
Hebrews 2, 17 and 18, Wherefore in all things it behooved Him
to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful,
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation,
atonement for the sins of the people. Now watch this. For in
that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able." And
that word there, sucker, it means to aid, it means to assist, it
means to sustain, it means to help them that are tempted. He is our Savior and He suckers
us. He helps us. He sustains us. He is our strength. We are kept
by the power of God. through faith in Christ Jesus. Now let me give a good example
of this. In Luke 22. In Luke chapter 22. In Luke 22. One of the apostles named Peter. In Luke 22, verse 31. Luke 22, verse 31. And the Lord
said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that
he may sift you as wheat. But I pray for you, I pray for
thee that thy faith fail not." And when you're converted, when
you're turned, you strengthen. You strengthen the brethren.
You tell them how you were tried and how you were tempted and
how I've strengthened you. And you tell that to others and
encourage others. Now, lastly, let me close with
this. Let us flee to him for help. He is our Almighty Savior. We're
to trust Him. We're to look for Him, to Him.
Let us flee to Him for help. Let us spread out our sorrows
before Him. He knows our frame. He knows
our weakness. He knows our need. And He's able
to meet all our need according to His riches in glory through
Christ Jesus. Let us flee to Him for help.
Spread out our sorrows before Him. You will always find You
will always find this. You will always find His ear
ready to hear your cry. He said, come boldly unto the
throne of grace that you may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. You will always find His heart
ready to sympathize with you. He knows just how weak we are. You'll always find His arm, His
power ready to help you and ready to lift you out of the murray
clay, and ready to sustain you. He is a ready, able Savior. You'll always find His hand ready
to lift you, His power, His arm ready to help you, His heart
ready to sympathize with you, His ear ready to hear your cry,
and His grace ready to relieve you. His grace. ready to relieve
you. Oh, salvation is all of God's
amazing sovereign grace. You'll find His mercy always
ready to save you. It is of the Lord's mercy that
we're not consumed because His compassion does not fail. It's
God who saved us by His grace and mercy in Christ Jesus. You'll
always find His grace ready to relieve and reveal Christ to
your heart. His mercy ready to save you by
His power and might, and His love ready to give you all things. God who spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely, freely give us all things ready to give?" Ready and able
to give. Willing to give. You'll find
this, His salvation ready to bless you. Ready to bless you. and to sustain you in Christ
Jesus. Well, the Lord was tempted, tried
and tested, did not fail, established perfect righteousness for us,
and went to Calvary's tree even though he was tempted not to
go. He set his face like a flint and he accomplished salvation
for us. And I pray that God would encourage
us with this gospel that we have a mighty, glorious Savior who,
yes, He was tempted, yes, he was tried, but he did not fail. And in a time of our heartache,
in a time of our sorrow, we have a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother, even the elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ
himself. God bless those few words to
your heart in his word. In his name we give thanks.