Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. The founder and perfecter of our faith.
Some of us want comfort and happiness more than we want the will of God. By denying himself for 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus showed us that there's a higher purpose in life than feeling good and getting what we want. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Wind with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer is showing us portraits of Christ.
He's calling, come and see Jesus. Pastor, you've taken us into Matthew chapter 4 to teach some sobering lessons we find in the temptation of Jesus. Dave, it is very important for us to recognize that we all have our deserts. We all have our time of discouragement. A time when we do not understand God's will fully, obviously.
But what we need to do in those moments is to pray.
Now I'm holding in my hands a book, and by the way, this is one of the last days we're making it available for you. It's entitled Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney. I believe that this book will be transforming, and let me tell you why. It will enable you to pray Scripture. Especially as you have a burden to pray and going through a very difficult time.
For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you, and at the end of this message, I'll be giving you some contact info. Please stay tuned. because I believe that what you are about to hear and the offer that we are making available for you. could be a turning point in your prayer life. Uh If Jesus had succumbed to this temptation, of course, Instead of redeeming the world, he'd have ended up joining the world, and you and I would not be redeemed if Jesus had done this.
But what Satan says to us today in this last temptation is in a sense a culmination of all of them. What he's saying is what you can do is you can have it today, today, and don't worry about tomorrow. One day, I was counseling a man who was leaving his wife for another woman, and I warned him of the consequences, and he said, I'll have what I want today and deal with the devil tomorrow. Wow. All right, so you will, so you will.
And tomorrow is going to be dark and bleak. and damning. About six weeks ago, A Christian man left his wife. to be with another one. Another woman.
And um I happen to be privy to some of the things that are going on thanks to the internet. I've received some email from this man's counselor. And because I know that you have no clue who this person is, who lives in an entirely different part of the United States of America. I've been listening to what this counselor has been saying, and I agree with the counselor.
So I'll give you a little bit here of what is going on, and then I'll. I'm going to give my own summary of the situation. Basically, what the man is saying is this: for 21 years, I have had a loveless marriage. I've been serving the Lord, I've been teaching the word, and I am unfulfilled.
Now, suddenly, I find somebody, a soulmate with whom I have that sense of connection and fulfillment and joy and exhilaration. and euphoria And I basically have been in a desert, I find an oasis, and now you tell me to go back into. That desert, even his children, this brings tears to my eyes. His children have gone to him and said, Dad, please come back home. But he's said this.
How do I choose between lack of fulfillment over here, serving Jesus like I did for 21 years, and I'm not fulfilled, and fulfillment over here? You only go around once in life. If I miss this opportunity, it'll be forever missed. That's his argument. You know, I think it's time that somebody stood up and said this.
We in the Christian faith Sometimes give people the illusion that if you follow Jesus, you're always going to be fulfilled and everything is always going to turn out good.
Now some of us Project that because for some of us it is true. I thank God today that I am fulfilled in my marriage and I am fulfilled in my ministry. But, Thank you. I wake up every morning excited about what I have to do. And how I thank God for my wife Rebecca, who stands with me.
But listen to me carefully. It's time somebody said this. For some people, following the will of God may be a desert. For Jesus it was a desert. And it is better for you to be in the desert without food and hunger where there is endless sand.
Than to fulfill yourself illegitimately. outside of the will of God. Because I think that what Satan does is this: he takes ten years and he makes that ten years sound like an eternity. And then he takes eternity. And he tries to shrink it down into maybe one year, saying, have it now!
And what we need to say is, it is better to be in the desert in the will of God than to be in paradise outside of the will of God. You might not get it now. But eternity is coming. There is a heaven to be gained, there are rewards, and there is faithfulness. And I'll tell you what will happen to that man.
His fulfillment and his wonderful experience will last for a year or two, and then all of the bills are going to start to come due, and all of the dominoes are going to fall, and all of the influence is going to be great among his children, among those who knew him, and future generations are going to be affected by his sin. But he can't see that now because what he's saying is, I want it now. If we are talking to Jesus. Jesus would say, you know, when you follow the will of God, it might not just be a. A long desert.
where your needs aren't met. Who knows? It might also be a cross. It might be dying in a place where you are misunderstood and misinterpreted and where you're spat upon and where you go through all that.
Sometimes that is the will of God. And you don't get it now. But you remain faithful because you know. that eternity is coming. And the devil says to Jesus, Have it now.
Some of you listening to this needed this message today. You may be contemplating to make a decision that is sinful, but you say, I have needs, I have desires. And I need it now. No, you don't. If it is sinful, you don't need it now.
Jesus proves. You don't need it now. Be faithful. Even. in a desert without food.
Well, how do we overcome the devil? Temptation is resistible. Very quickly today. First of all, the Word of God. It is written, the devil comes back.
Saying. It is written. You keep saying, it is written. Yeah. But it's not just quoting a verse.
This is proof of the fact that you can quote a verse at the devil, and he isn't necessarily going to flee, and I'll tell you why. If there's sin in your life, he's going to say, Who are you to tell me what the Bible says? The power of the Word is that when we ourselves are under the authority of the Word, then we can exercise. The power of the word, then we can say, Begone, Satan.
Some of you, if he said, You said to him, Begone, Satan, he'd say, Yeah, well, what about all this in your life? And what about all that in your life? You think I'm gonna run when I've got so much of you? But certainly the word of God Is absolutely necessary. And listen to me carefully.
You know, it's not, if you're not learning the Word of God and reading the Word of God regularly, you're not going to be ready for the devil when He comes anyway. You know, you can't, when the devil comes, you can't say, oh, you know, where's a concordance? to find a verse. Jesus had all of this in his heart. And he was able to say, Be gone, for it is written.
I've often had to do that, and sometimes I've had to repeat a verse many, many, many times before peace came to my heart. And I was convinced that the devil finally left. Do you know what it says in the Gospel of Luke? Very same story. It's in Luke chapter 4.
It says that Jesus, the devil left him. catch this, waiting for a more opportune time. Don't ever think this was the end of it. And angels ministered to him.
Sometimes, you know, we make light of angels, but there are angels. I think that we should not speak about them disrespectfully, and some of us have done that. I think I've been guilty of that. I received a letter about two weeks ago, and I don't know whether or not this person is here, but he wanted me to know that when he was crossing Clark Street. It was as if a presence just took him and Pushed him away from an oncoming car and he said, Pastor Luther, I just want you to know that there are angels out there guarding the people who come to Moody Church.
Well, that's certainly possible, isn't it? Aren't they ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who are heirs of salvation? And only heaven will reveal the number of times angels have ministered to us. in our need.
So first of all, the Word of God. Secondly, the work of God. You should be absolutely convinced of the triumph of Jesus over the enemy. It says in Colossians that he disarmed all principalities and powers. I love that.
That's actually what the Greek says. He disarmed them. He rendered them neutral. You say, well, the devil's certainly not neutral today. Yes, he's out on Baal.
He's only out on Baal and doing a lot of trouble. But his end is absolutely certain. And the thing, the reason he hates us so much is because we're going to be exalted above the realm over which he once ruled. It's very clear we're going to be above the angels. We have to be because they can't be brothers of Christ.
Years ago, you know, I preached a series of messages on Satan, which are in the book entitled The Serpent of Paradise. where that was explained.
So he has this fury, but we have to be convinced that when Jesus Christ triumphed over him, it was a genuine triumph, and all things are now under his feet. And that when Jesus died on the cross, it was as if he took that serpent and just took his heel and just ground his head into the dirt. That's what Jesus did on the cross. Are you convinced of that today? You have to believe it.
And act on it so that we can. attack him from the standpoint of strength. Then third, there's the people of God. We can't get out of these things alone, especially once Satan has ravished us and he's had his day with us, and there are certain habits and Sins And addictions, we need the people of God to pray for us, to hold us accountable, and to help us because the warfare is intense. And you've heard me say it before: that it's possible for you to slip into a pit without anyone's help, but maybe you can't get out alone.
So you have the body of Christ. Finally, We also have the purposes of God in this.
Now, Let's think back over the passage that we've just looked at. Especially temptation number three. Catch this now. Satan is talking to Jesus and he's saying, Jesus, if you bow down and worship me, I will give you The kingdoms. of this world.
I have to look at the text and ask myself this question. Did he really have a right? to give Jesus the kingdoms of this world. I don't think so. You say, well, you know, he's the God of this world.
Yeah, he's the God of this world. Ha ha ha ha ha. But I want you to know today that whatever he does, he does only by the supervision. And direct. intervention of God.
It was not his right. to give Jesus the kingdom. You've come today as a visitor.
Some of you have come far away, as you know, and you've often wondered to yourself, How strong is the devil? Thank God that you are here today because you're going to finally hear an answer to that question. Aren't you glad you came? I'll tell you exactly how strong he is. He is as strong as God allows him to be, and not one whit more.
That's how strong he is. I think he was bluffing. It's God who has the right to give the kingdoms of this world to whomever he will. And if Satan is the God of this world, he rules under God's authority, and God says to him, Go this far, but not that far. And ultimately, he knew that the kingdoms of the world were not his to give.
Listen to me. When he comes to us with temptation, he inflates the value of what he can give us. Ha ha ha. It's just, oh, you know, if you follow this, you'll have these desires fulfilled. You'll have this, you'll have this enjoyment, and he makes that to be such a big thing.
Listen, the true enjoyments of the world are not for his to give to anybody. Many years ago, J.B. Phillips wrote a book entitled Your God. It's too small. I think somebody ought to write a book entitled, Your Satan is Too Big.
Because there's some people, you know, who make Satan out to be some kind of almost equal with God that you don't quite know in your own life who's going to win or who has the capacity to win. We give him too much credit, we give him too much authority because of the way in which we speak about him. Yes, he is powerful, but his power is limited by the authority and the power and the dynamism and the purposes of God. And let's hear that. As many of you know, I have more than simply passing interest in the Reformation in Europe.
And I've been in the Coburg Castle, which is where Luther was holed up, you know, during the time when the Augsburg Confession was being written, and he couldn't go because he was a fugitive, and he paced back and forth wondering whether or not Melanchthon was going to do the right thing. And there's some debate as to whether or not Melanchthon did the right thing. We've also been, of course, in the Wartburg Castle. It is those huge castles. And I'll tell you that Coburg is huge.
Acres and acres and acres. It's in that kind of a context that Luther wrote. The hymn, A Mighty Fortress. is our God. We all love the hymn.
And in a moment, we're going to be singing the hymn, but listen to me carefully. I love that third stanza. I love it. And though this world with devils filled Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The Prince of darkness grim, We tremble not from him.
His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. And that little word. Is J E S You Yeah. Isn't that wonderful?
As we go through our lives in the days ahead. Confess your sins. Come clean before God. Don't give the devil a foothold. Stand in the authority of Christ.
And when we do, his rage we can endure. When he reminds you of your past that's been forgiven, remind him of his future. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word. Shall fell him.
Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus. That you will help us to understand and beware of the wiles of the devil, because he walks about as a roaring lion. seeking. whom he may devour.
There are some people listening to this message who have already been devoured and are being devoured. Father, we rebuke that in the name of Jesus. And some Lord who... We're going through a time of deep distress, and the devil is somehow involved all in it. We stand against all of his schemes, all of his intentions, all of his desires against us and against this church.
Help us to walk in the victory of the triumphant one. And some of you who've never received Christ as Savior. As I'm speaking to you now. You know that you can embrace him. as yours, the triumphant one who died on the cross and was raised again.
as your very own. And then you're on the winning side. Of the devil's conflict. Cause all that to happen, Father, we pray, in your grace, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Yeah. Um This is Pastor Lutzer. I want to share a burden with you. We're spending a lot of time in amusements.
In doing things which are interesting, perhaps actually even contributing to fleshly desires. And oftentimes there's no time to pray. And when we do pray, it can become very boring, especially if you ask for the same thing in the same way every day. How about learning how to pray the Bible? praying in such a way that each day you look forward to prayer, and you begin to develop a prayer life that is very scriptural.
I'm holding in my hands a book that can be very transforming for you, and I say this from experience because a number of years ago I heard Donald Whitney speak about this and it changed my own prayer life. The title of the book is Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney. I'm going to be giving you some contact info. I sure hope that you have a pen or pencil handy. because I want you to have this resource that will be perhaps a game changer in terms of your prayer life.
Very quickly, here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. And I'm going to be mentioning that again because this is one of the last days we're making this resource available. Or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-1888. 218 ninety three thirty seven.
When we pray the scriptures, we don't even have to add, if it be thy will. We are praying God's will back to Him. transforming actually. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com.
or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218. ninety three thirty seven. It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life. End-of-life issues can be stressful for those left behind. Ellen is asking this question.
What does the Bible say about cremation? My father decided on cremation for financial reasons. He did not want the financial burden for our family. He said that as far as his body being resurrected when Jesus returns, he was certain that Jesus would be able to resurrect his body from ashes as well as if he were dry bones in a casket. I would like to hear what Pastor Lutzer's take on this issue is.
Well, Ellen, first of all, let me say how glad I am that you connected with us, that you communicated with us, and I would like to give you my perspective. I don't think it's particularly wrong for your father to choose cremation. He certainly is right in this regard, that God would have no problem whatever putting him together to give him his new body. Throughout history there have been many people who have been burned, some burned at the stake. We think, for example, of what happened at nine eleven.
when so many bodies were burned beyond recognition, so God can handle that. But I always maintain that whenever a Christian has a preference or whenever he has an opportunity, I should say, that his preference should be burial. couple of reasons. 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul says that the body is put into the grave like a seed. And then the seed begins to grow.
And that of course happens on the day of resurrection, to use the analogy.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ was buried. Throughout history the Christian Church has always emphasized burial, treating the body with a great deal of respect. Pagans oftentimes burn the body.
sometimes because they thought that that meant that the body then became one with all of nature.
So historically the church has always affirmed burial.
Now There's some instances, of course, where that's not possible, and I understand that. But I think that that should be the preference whenever we have a choice. God's best to you, Ellen. Thanks for listening, and thanks for your question. And thank you, doctor Lutzer, for your answer.
If you'd like to hear one of your questions answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614.
Next time on running to win, the circle widens as Jesus calls his first disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church. I'm going to use a bottle of the same method.
