Well, today, in our continuing exposition of the Gospel of Mark, we take up the temptation of Christ. You are aware, I'm sure, that of the four Gospel accounts, Mark is the shortest. And at times we wonder, well, how does he make up the difference between 26 chapters and 14 chapters?
Well, here's one example. Matthew speaks to the temptation of Christ, Luke speaks to the temptation of Christ, as well as Mark. Matthew gives 11 verses to it, Luke gives 13 verses to it, and Mark gives two verses to it. That's alright, because what he does tell us is absolutely critical to our understanding. Today, as we look at the temptation of Christ, I want to address this sermon under three headings. I'm calling it the encounter, the necessity of the encounter, the particulars of the encounter, and the lessons for us from the encounter.
Think with me about the necessity of the encounter. Mark writes in verse 12, Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness, and he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him. He was driven or drove by the Spirit into the wilderness.
Mark's the only one who takes that word and translates it this way. Both Matthew and Luke say he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. But Mark here says he was driven into the wilderness. And when we see that, we almost are inclined to think that Jesus was reluctant to do this, that he was driven into it, he was forced into it.
But if we are thinking that way, we're thinking amiss. What I find interesting is the very same word that's translated drove here in verse 12 is also used in verse 34, where Jesus is casting out demons. It says in verse 34, Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him. But the same word that's translated cast out is translated in our verse for today, drove. We're speaking about the necessity of the encounter. It speaks of divine necessity.
It was absolutely necessary and crucial that Jesus be driven by the Spirit into the wilderness. Too often, the temptation of Christ is viewed almost as if, OK, we need to study this. Jesus is tempted by the devil. The devil's trying to divert him, get him away from God's agenda. We see how Jesus responded to him, and we need to see this as an example for us to follow, and that's pretty much how it's understood. But if that's all we see, we're missing a major, major emphasis here.
Because you and I have a huge stake in what occurs here. This is not just about Jesus. Jesus is acting.
He's assuming the role of our federal head. He's acting and assuming in the role of the second Adam. And this is at the very beginning of his earthly ministry.
It's as if God wants to establish in our minds that in contrast to the first Adam, who came in the garden and fell to the temptation, yielded to the temptation, disobeyed God and brought all of his posterity under a curse. This man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam has come to face temptation and to stand and deter it and not bow to it. And he's not doing that for his own sake.
He's doing that for the sake of those who he's representing in his headship. So there's a lot at stake, a lot on the line. God's redemptive purposes in Christ are on the line. Christ fulfilling his role as the second Adam is at stake. You say, well, I haven't come across that in the Bible.
Where would you find federal headship? Well, you're not going to find those words in the Bible. It's an understanding that comes to us as we begin to understand systematic theology.
But let me help you with this concept. Federal headship explains the doctrine of imputation. That is, how Adam's sin was imputed to all of his descendants and how Christ's righteousness is imputed to all of those who believe on him in saving faith. Adam was the federal or representative head of the human race. Adam chose to sin. And all of us, all of his posterity are considered guilty because he was our representative. Romans three twenty three say all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Listen to me. We are sinners. Not because we sin. But we sin because we are sinners.
That is our nature. How did we come to be sinners? Listen to Romans chapter five and verse 18. As one trespass led to commendation for all men.
I'm sorry. As one trespass led to condemnation for all men. So one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. One trespass, Adam's trespass, brought us all under condemnation. But one act of righteousness by the Lord Jesus Christ brings believing sinners into a state of right standing with God. So, Adam, Adam's sin brought condemnation on the human race. Christ's sacrifice brought salvation for the whole race.
Federal headship teaches that Adam was the first representative of the human race and Christ was the second. You need to read Romans Chapter five to get a full understanding of this critical doctrine. Listen to Romans five nineteen. Just as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made sinners. So also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous. Now, all of this is under this heading of the necessity of this encounter. Again, he is led by the spirit in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil as our federal head or representative.
You weren't there in one sense, but you were there in another sense. You were there in Christ. So what's at stake is more than what is at stake for Jesus himself. What's at stake is for all of us who have come to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Because his obedience, as Reggie Kimbrough says in his great hymn, counts for me. His obedience counts for me. So there's no reluctance on the part of Jesus, but divine necessity in him being tempted of Jesus.
I don't know if you've thought about this. If you were to have to make a distinction between passivity and initiative. I wonder what you would think in terms of Jesus being led by the spirit into the wilderness. Are you inclined to think, well, he was passive in this or are you inclined to say, no, no, no, Jesus took the initiative. Jesus was in charge here.
He wasn't backed in a corner. He wasn't, you know, it's one of those things that we can maybe argue both ways because there's this interesting dynamic going on here. Notice how simultaneously the spirit and the devil are mentioned in relationship to the temptation of Christ. Same event led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil or by Satan. And that causes me to conclude that in the hour of temptation, God often means and most of the time means drastically different for you and me than what Satan does. I know it's not exactly an accurate verse to apply here, but as I bring this verse to bear, you'll understand what I'm saying. You remember when, amazing what water will do for you, when Joseph said to his brothers, you meant this for evil, but God meant it.
What's the antecedent of it? The very same thing that the brothers meant for evil, God meant for good. So when we're being tempted, God has one agenda.
The devil has another. The devil wants you to dishonor God. The devil wants you to give in to your fleshly inclinations, to sin, to disobey. And God brings temptation into our lives and allows temptation into our lives to give us an opportunity to declare our loyalty.
You know, living the Christian life is not enough to say no to sin. We have to say yes to something else. And in temptation, we say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. We say yes to the path of righteousness. We say yes to his direction for our life. So that's what's going on here, the divine necessity in this encounter.
Let's consider number two, the particulars of the encounter, the particulars of the encounter. And I think understanding the particulars will help us heed Paul's admonition to not be ignorant of Satan's devices. And for our purposes now, I want us to turn to Luke's account in Luke chapter four, because Mark does not give us the particulars. He doesn't tell us how Satan tempted and in what way Satan tempted Jesus. But the three temptations that Christ faced are in a broader sense common to all men.
And what are they? They are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Now Satan's been around a long time, but he has worn out his playbook. That is his modus operandi, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. That's how he comes to us, to tempt us. So notice with me in Luke chapter four, verse three, it says, And the devil said to him, that is said to Jesus, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread, the lust of the flesh. Jesus had a legitimate desire and need. He was hungry.
And Satan comes and appeals to him the lust of the flesh. The devil tempts him to convert stones into bread. And when you're thinking about bread in this context, don't think about a loaf of Wonder Bread. With a yellow wrapper on it and all that. Think about a loaf of bread, a round loaf of bread.
It's tan on the outside. And if you've ever been to where Jesus was, and I've been a couple of times, all you see is dirt and dust and rocks. And if you've been fasting for 40 days, it's not hard to look at a rock and think of a loaf of bread.
That was the temptation. Convert these stones into bread. If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. He quotes Deuteronomy chapter eight and verse three.
And then there was the lust of the eyes. Verse five. Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you and their glory, for this has been delivered to me and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours.
The lust of the eyes. He showed him, it says in verse five, the devil taking him up on a high mountain, showed him the lust of the eyes. Why would Jesus succumb to this temptation when God the Father had already promised Jesus all the nations for his inheritance and the ends of the earth for his possession? You're talking like a fool, Satan.
You have no authority. My Father has already promised me for my inheritance all the nations and the ends of the earth for my possession. Psalm 2 verse 8. But Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6 verse 13 to him.
Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. What was he promising Jesus? He was promising Jesus what, again, God had already promised to him without suffering. You can have all this and bypass the cross, bypass Gethsemane.
I will give it to you. That was a lie. Exaltation came after humiliation. And then the pride of life.
The pride of life. Notice verse 9. Then he, that is Satan, brought him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And again, in the similar way in the previous two temptations, Jesus answered and said to him, It has been said, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. And he quotes Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 16. Notice with me Christ's appropriate use of Scripture in combating Satan's temptations. And I say appropriate use because Satan was quoting Scripture. He was just misusing it, taking it out of context. And there's more error than forced upon people by people taking a verse of Scripture, ripping it out of context, and building a doctrine on it.
Context is king, folks. Be careful in your handling of Scripture. Now notice what it says there at the end of this passage. Verse 13. Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Yes, Jesus defeated him here, but he wasn't done. Two passages come to mind. Listen to Matthew 16. Don't turn there.
Just listen. Jesus was telling the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and die and the third day rise again. Verse 21, From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes and to be killed and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord.
This shall not happen to you. But he, that is Jesus, turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.
That's one occasion. Another occasion is in Gethsemane, where Jesus agonized before the Father. Not my will, but thine be done. So, remember what Luke has told us about the purpose of Jesus's coming. It's always helpful when you're reading a book to say, OK, what what does the author tell us that we can discover as a purpose statement? Why did he write this letter?
Why did he write this book? Here's Luke's or not Luke's, but Mark's purpose statement. It's Mark Chapter 10, verse 45. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
This is Christ here in Mark, in Luke and in Matthew. It is the God-man in his humanity confronting and being confronted with the devil, the powers of hell. And he came in his humanity, according to the writer of Hebrews, to do three things. Hebrews 2, verse 15, he came to destroy the devil's power and free those who were held in slavery by their fear of death. To destroy the devil's power. When you understand that purpose statement that the writer of Hebrews gives, Jesus came to destroy the devil's power.
You take that back to Mark Chapter two and say, OK, this is what's going on here. Satan is yielding his power and Jesus is come to destroy his power. Take that to the cross of Calvary. Satan thought he defeated Jesus. What did Jesus do? He made a public spectacle of him.
He stripped him of his power. That same passage in Hebrews 2, verse 17. Why did he come in his humanity? To become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and to atone for our sins. And then number three, to be our sympathizing high priest in our weaknesses and in our times of need. That's why he came.
He is our sympathizing high priest in our weaknesses and in our time of need. So we've seen two things so far. We've seen the necessity of the encounter. Number two, the particulars of the encounter. And I'm thankful that I've got to the practical part of the sermon and have plenty of time to unpack this. The practical lessons for us from the encounter. The practical lessons for us from the encounter. I hope if you haven't learned anything new this morning, you have learned this, that the devil in the wilderness was not just after Jesus.
He was after you and me. Because if he took Jesus down, he takes you and I down. If Jesus is defeated, you and I are defeated. There is no victory apart from Christ. And if Jesus sins, we have no savior. And if we have no savior, we have no hope. So there was an awful lot at stake in this passage that we're considering.
So lesson number one is to see yourself in Christ's temptation. Identify with him. See him enduring all of this as the federal head of his people. He was representing us. He was representing all who will ever place their faith in him. That's who he's representing there in the garden or not in the garden, but in the wilderness. And therefore, we must heed the admonition of the writer of Hebrews to look under Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12 one or two verses later, consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
And again, do not miss this. If he fails, all is lost. He's no longer sinless. He is no better than the first Adam. But rejoice in and give thanks because Jesus's victory is you and my victory.
Number two. I want to challenge us to commit anew to the resources God has given us in our battle with sin and temptation. Things move quickly in Mark, but they move rather quickly also in Luke's account, even though there are eleven or thirteen verses in the account.
Notice how he marries a couple of key concepts that we must keep together in our understanding here. Notice what he says in verse one of Chapter four. Then, this is after Jesus's baptism by John, then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Do you see how God prepared Jesus for this encounter in the wilderness? Being filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. Well, there's an awful lot of confusion in this day about what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Let me help you and help us all.
It's really, really simple when you see this. There are four epistles that are known as the prison epistles. Paul wrote these four epistles while he was in prison in Rome.
They are Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon. Those four prison epistles. Ephesians chapter five commands Christians, do not be drunk with wine, but be what? Filled with the Spirit.
Okay. Filled with the Spirit. Same thing that's told us here about Jesus. Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit. You and I as believers, do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit.
What does that mean? I would suggest to you that if you took the letter Paul wrote to the church at Colossae and took the letter that he wrote to Ephesians and laid them over top of one another, you will see a lot of similarity, almost identical language. All right. So I've shown you what the exhortation is in Ephesians five verse 18. Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. Look with me at Colossians chapter three and verse 16. Because scripture interprets scripture. And Colossians three is going to tell us what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
And again, you can go back and look at what I was telling you. Look at Ephesians. Look at the verses that come before Ephesians 5 18. Look at the verses that come after Ephesians 5 18.
And see that there's similar verses being conveyed here in the letter to the church at Colossae. Here's what in the place of being filled with the Spirit, we find this. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. That's what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Letting the word of God dwell in you richly. Now let's go back and test that definition with what we're told about Jesus. Jesus being filled with the Spirit was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Jesus was filled with the Spirit. The word of, well it tells us here, the word of Christ, let it dwell in you richly.
The word of God was dwelling richly in Christ because that was the arsenal that he drew from when Satan tempted him. It is written. It is written. It is written. So don't let someone tell you that being filled with the Spirit is a second blessing.
It's something to be sought after in some sentimental way. It's a misunderstanding. We need to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. So my challenge here is to commit anew to the resources God has given us in our battle with sin and temptation.
Think with me about this. Jesus was fully God and fully man. But he still didn't think he could handle life and temptation without the word of God.
And if he couldn't handle Satan and the temptations that came in him, what hope do you think we have if we don't avail ourselves of the resources God has given us? And more pointedly, we have to know what God's word says in the very moment of our temptation. So the question is, what are you reading? What are you memorizing?
What are you meditating on the most? Because that's what's going to shape what you think and how you respond to everything that's going on around you. Too often, the reason we fail or stand, fail to stand and resist temptation is because we fail to bring a specific promise from God with us in the battle.
We just have some nebulous idea. God will help me. God will defend me.
No. What specific scripture are you bringing to the battle? Listen to what John Piper says, quote, a nebulous sense that God is somehow working to help us is not such a clear channel for the Holy Spirit's power as when we have a clear, sharp sight of a specific promise.
End of quote. So when you take time in the morning or in the evening and you're reading the scriptures, read your read the word of God slowly. Be taking notes what God is revealing to you. Believe the promise of God. The Spirit of God will illuminate your minds to help you understand the scriptures. What is he helping you understand? Take notes, draw it, write it, write it out. And as you do, you're building an arsenal for facing temptation as you lay hold of the promises of God and make them yours.
Let me give you an example. Sometimes we think that it's we just have to have eight or 10 verses in our in our memory bank to be able to know. Listen, anxiety. Anybody struggle with anxiety?
Of course, we struggle with anxiety. But today, tomorrow, what's coming around the corner? Matthew six, verse 31 and 32. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat?
What shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things. And now what are you going to hear now? What's the verse? What's the promise you're going to hold on to? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat?
What shall we drink or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things. And your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Your heavenly Father knows.
So why are you worrying about it? Now, if you got that verse tucked away when anxious thoughts come, that will that will help you combat that. So let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. A couple of questions for you.
Are you? Are you in the habit of looking to your sympathizing high priest in your time of weakness and need? Or are you going it alone and trusting the arm of the flesh?
There's a spirit in us that just wants to knuckle up and I can do this. I don't need to pray. I don't need the Lord. I don't want to admit weakness.
Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots, but we will trust in the living God. Do not trust the arm of the flesh. It will fail you. It will fail you.
Experience should teach you that. Number two, are you conscious of the work of Christ in destroying the devil's power in your life? We are being delivered. We aren't completely delivered.
Right? We've been delivered from the penalty of sin. That's justification. Praise God. Hallelujah.
His wrath is removed. The condemnation has been satisfied in the person of Christ. I've been rescued, delivered from the very penalty of sin. But there is the power of sin. And that's something we're wrestling with throughout our Christian life. And we're looking with the eye of faith to the future, our glorification, when we will one day fully, finally be delivered from the very presence of sin. I was talking with a preacher Friday night about that glorious condition that we will be forever settled in. Not being able to sin, not having a desire to sin. Sinning will not even be a possibility for us when we're in our glorified state in the presence of God. That's something to think about and meditate on and rejoice in and have hope in. And are you actively, intentionally letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly? Stalk your life with the arsenal of God's word.
That's what he has made available to us. You know, we are warned against three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. And for me, there are times that it's hard to discern who I'm fighting against. Is this all about my flesh or is the world in conformity with my flesh worn against?
Sometimes it's a mixture, isn't it? And does the devil have a part in it? The world, the flesh, and the devil. Well, this final application to this message, I want us to be alert to how the devil works. I want us to be alert to how the devil works. Number one, he wants you to doubt who you are.
So what do you mean by that? Well, two times in the three temptations, he says to the Son of God, if you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God, what's he doing? He's sowing doubt, trying to sow doubt in the mind of Jesus as to what the Father had just said audibly about him.
You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The devil wants you to doubt who you are. He's going after your identity in Christ. And it's easy to forget who you are in Christ. It's easy to forget the resources that you have in Christ. It's easy to forget the promises God has made you in Christ. It's still one of Satan's favorite strategies to keep you unsettled and unsure about where you really stand with God, whether he loves you or not. And when you don't know who you are, when you're unsettled about all of that, you don't fight temptation very well. So understand, when the doubts come and the assailant comes at us, causing us to question who we are, and we forget who we are in Christ, we need to know who we are in Christ.
Number two, these are devils. The way he works, we need to be alert to it. He wants you to doubt who you are. He wants you to turn a legitimate desire into an ultimate demand. He wants to turn a legitimate desire into an ultimate demand. Satan knew that Jesus had a legitimate desire for food. He was hungry.
But Jesus never used his power to serve himself. How about us when we get hungry, and I'm not talking just about food. When we get hungry, whether it's food or whether it's for affirmation or whether it's for security or whether it's for relationship. Listen, when a good thing becomes an ultimate thing in your life, three things are going to happen to you. Three possible things are going to happen to you. When a good thing, a legitimate thing, becomes an ultimate thing in your life, you'll freak out with fear whenever it's threatened. You'll become angry if anyone stands in your way of you getting what it is you've determined you want. And you will spiral into despair if you can't have it.
Let me give an example. I know a woman who was, she was attractive, wanted to be married. And as years began to accumulate, got into her late 30s, that desire to be married became greater and greater.
And with that desire became a demand. I must be married. Well, she got married. And her marriage didn't last long. She ended in divorce. There's something worse than not being married.
The heartache of a broken marriage is devastating. And there's lots of things like that. You know, we have a legitimate desire for something, and if we're not careful, that desire can warp into a need. I don't just desire it, now I need it. And we're smart enough as Christians to know that every good and perfect gift comes from God. So we're looking to God.
God, I have, I had a desire, I'm convinced now I need it, and I'm demanding that you deliver. What happens if He doesn't deliver? Well, then you become disappointed in God. God didn't deliver. God didn't meet your need. And when God didn't meet your need, then you're not only disappointed, you become angry.
It's a, it's a bitter path when you get caught in that cycle. So be careful. God knows what you need and when you need it. We need to hold our desires with an open hand. God, this is what I'd like if you'd be pleased to give it to me. But I'm waiting on you, I'm trusting you, and if you have something better for me.
But the minute you close your fingers over that one and you, I gotta have this dangerous place to be. Think about Rachel. She said to her husband, she so wanted to bear children, she said to her husband, give me children or I die, as if he had the power to deliver that.
What happened? God gave her children. God gave her Joseph.
God gave her Benjamin, and she, and she took, and her life was taken in childbirth. Give me children or I die. Be careful.
Be careful. Number three, we're talking about being alerted to how the devil works. He wants you to reject any path that includes suffering.
He was offering Jesus a shortcut to what the Father had already promised him. But the Bible makes it crystal clear that the normal Christian life includes suffering. But we keep looking for a pain-free version of Christianity.
And it's easier to be looking for it in this America that we live in. We're looking for a pain-free version of Christianity, but the normal Christian life is a life of suffering. Everything starts to make sense if you keep God's goal in mind and eternity in view. God's goal for your life and my life is not your best life now. God's goal for your life and my life if we're in Christ is holiness, conformity to Christ's likeness. And God's got a lot of tools in his toolbox to bring to bear on our life to see that happen.
That's God's agenda. And if we don't understand suffering is a tool in God's toolbox to conform us, and mold us, and mature us, and make us more like Christ, we're going to be really disillusioned when suffering comes. James 1 verse 2, Count it all joy, my brothers, when, not if, you meet trials of various kinds. 1 Peter 4, Brothers, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you. Don't be surprised by it. It's coming. It has come, right? Some of you are saying it's not coming. It's here and it's arrived.
And it didn't bring an overnight bag through the tin out. It's here to stay for a while. Are you okay with that? You okay if suffering endures for a month, a year, two years, five years, ten years? Are you okay with that? You say, in my flesh, I'm not okay with it. But in my redeemed state, I've come to be okay with it because I know God is wise.
He's making no mistakes. He's got a wise and gracious purpose in what he's doing. And I've been taught to bow the knee and yield myself to him for whatever purpose he has and for however long it is. Well, folks, this has been an interesting journey with two verses and Mark. A whole lot here, isn't there?
My prayer is that God will help us. I said to my wife, I carry my Bible and my sermon notebook. I said, I guess I don't need my sermon notebook this morning. Because I usually sit where you're sitting to take notes.
And many of you do. And it's a good habit. But let me challenge you that if we would just be intentional about this, be diligent about this, in every sermon we hear, just say, God, impress one thing upon my heart and mind and help me not let go of it. Help me to build it into my life. Help it to be a part of who I am in Christ. Just one thing, not a whole bunch of things, just one thing. So as you think about the sermon you've heard this morning, Lord, what is it that you want me to take away from this? What one truth do I need to affirm, hold on to, yield to, put my shoulder to and receive from you?
Just one thing, God will help you with that and you'll be the better for it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you today for your word, for your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who's been set before us in such a marvelous way. We thank you that his battle was our battle, that he had us on his mind when he faced the devil, that the Father's eternal plan of redemption was at stake, and he was kept by the power of the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit.
And Lord, we will be kept by the same means. Help us, Father, to rejoice in the provisions you've made for us as we live out our lives. Help us to not be ignorant of Satan.
He's real. He is active in this world. He is like a lion roaming about seeking whom he may devour. May we not be part of his prey.
Help us to not be ignorant of his devices. Help us to fortify our lives. Help us to rejoice in the fact that in the midst of our weakness, we have one praying for us. As Jesus said to Peter, Peter, I have prayed for you, and when you are restored, strengthen your brothers. Thank you, our Father, for him who is seated at your right hand, interceding for us, representing us before you. Cause your people to rejoice. Give us help from the Spirit of God to retain something from this sermon today. I pray now in Jesus' name, Amen.
