Parmenter, Eric: The Temptation In Matthew ~ Matt 2:13

Now you'll turn with me again, please, to the gospel by Matthew, and we're reading in chapter two, the last verses of chapter two, if we may. The closing verses of chapter two, Verse number thirteen. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Then was Jesus led up 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 unhungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou be the son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them, and said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. And God will be pleased just to bless, I'm sure, those verses to us. Just to pick up one or two threads from last night, when we introduced the Gospel by Matthew. We observe in chapter two, when the Lord Jesus Christ was born king, that there was upon the throne at that point in time a usurper, Herod. He was an Edomite. He had no right to be on the throne, but because he was an Edomite and he had usurped the throne, he is called Herod the King, but only once. Once the true king has been born into this world, you'll never find Herod referred to as Herod the King again. He's just a usurper. He's taken the throne, and it's not his to have. And now God has brought his king into the world, and it was this king whom the wise men came to worship. We observed, did we not, that last night, that when the wise men came to worship him, they were instructed by Herod, after they had found the young child, to bring the king word again that he might worship him. But of course, that was not his purpose. His purpose was to destroy the king that was born. So God warned the wise men to return another way. And when God warned those wise men to return another way, we find that, uh, he also directed Joseph to take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt. And then we learn that he provided for the journey to Egypt and for their sojourn in Egypt by means of the gifts the wise men had brought. Now that's just on the surface of scripture. We sometimes read about those gifts, and we try and dig beneath and bring out some deep spiritual meaning, but you won't miss the surface truth, will you? Here we have God, interested in his son, against the backcloth of the hatred of a Herod who would seek to destroy him, and God provided Joseph and Mary with the wherewithal to make that journey to Egypt, provide f- provide for their sustenance whilst they're in Egypt, and then they would come back again. And then we observe, Herod, when he saw that he was frustrated in his design, he sent forth the decree that all the male children two years and under, so he must have been able to do a bit of mathematics in relation to the time that the wise men had told him they saw his star, and he came to this conclusion, if he had all the male children 2 years and under killed, he's bound to kill and destroy the king that had been born. But of course, in so doing, there was a fulfillment of Holy Scripture that was ri- was written by Jeremiah so long ago. And so he says, does he not, about, um, the the tremendous, uh, lamentation. Rachel lamenting for her children because of the wickedness of Herod the King in destroying all the male children of two years and under. From that point, we see now the Lord Jesus spend some time in Egypt, but then God had another purpose. Not only would the word of God be fulfilled through that Jeremiah spoke in relation to the daughters of Jerusalem and the, and the weeping in Rama, but now we find there's another scripture to be fulfilled, not now Jeremiah. It's Hosea that will be fulfilled. For did not God say, uh, in the prophet Hosea, I have called my son out of Egypt. And you know, if we did not have the New Testament, we would have just thought that that was Israel, for Israel was referred to as God's son. But of course, Hosea had another one in view. And so we see that, uh, the person in view in Hosea chapter eleven was this. It was God's own son, who, when he was here, he went down into Egypt that God might call his son out of Egypt. And when they came back out of Egypt, they dwelt in Nazareth, that the scripture might be fulfilled which the sp- prophets have spoken, he shall be called the Nazarene. And so we find chapter two is brought, uh, to its conclusion in that particular piece. Now we find, do we not, that when we come to chapter three, John the Baptist comes upon the scene of time. He's preaching the kingdom of heaven, and he's re-preaching, uh, repentance, a baptism unto repentance. And so he's preparing the people in relation to the coming in of the king, that they may have part in his kingdom. It is at this point the Lord Jesus Christ comes to John Baptist to be baptized of him, and John forgot him. But says the Lord Jesus, uh, let it be so that we might fulfill all righteousness. So when the Lord Jesus Christ came to be baptized of John, it wasn't to confess his sin, like all the others that were being baptized of John. It was to demonstrate his holiness, and his holiness would be demonstrated in this way, that in his being baptized, he would fulfill all righteousness. He was the only one amongst all the sons of men who did not need to confess their sin, but his holiness was so apparent and here demonstrated that in his act of a, of a, of being baptized, he fulfilled all righteousness, and he was declared to be different to all those who were being baptized at that time. Therefore, we observe, do we not, that at his baptism, the heavens were opened, you notice the word, don't you, unto him. And so suddenly we find the heavens above are opened unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who has just come up out of those waters of Jordan, having been baptized of John. And as the heavens are opened, there is the voice from heaven that declares the pleasure of God in his Son. But then linked with that, the Spirit of God is seen to descend, and the Spirit of God ascends and lights upon him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the one who has given pleasure to God is now anointed by the Holy Spirit of God as the Spirit lighten- lightens upon him. But then the voice from heaven is heard, and this time, at the end of chapter three we observe there is a declaration by the Father as to who this man really is. This is my beloved son, in whom is all my pleasure. And so the Spirit anointed him, and the Father acclaimed him to be his son. From that point we come into chapter four, and in chapter four we now find that the Spirit of God anointed him, and if the Father acclaimed him as his son, the devil will attack him. And before ever the Lord Jesus Christ enters upon his public ministry, he will first of all be proved in the desert in relation to the temptations of Satan, and so he will show himself to have the moral authority to reign as God's king in the earth. What I want to do tonight now is to just look at the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is recorded for us by Matthew. We might observe, first of all, of course, what the other gospels has to say. Mark chapter one tells us the temptation took place in the wilderness, and then Mark adds he was with the wild beast. And so we find when, uh, the Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit of God into that wilderness, the only companions that he had in that wilderness world were the wild beast. And yet it almost seems, does it not, that with the Lord Jesus Christ in that wilderness, alone with the wild beast, we've got it all reversed back now to what it was in Eden before the fall came, and the wild beast did no harm. And then Mark tells us, and angels ministered unto him, and that's all that Mark does tell us. For, as I said last night, Mark is always in a hurry. He's not concerned with detail. He's just laying out the bones of the matter as he moves through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in his service for God in this world, and every day is packed with activity, but you don't get a lot of detail. And then you come to what Luke has to say. Now, Luke tells us that forty days he was tempted of the devil. In other words, if the atmosphere in which the temptation took place was a desert scene, a waste howling wilderness. And where the wild beasts were, then it was in that very atmosphere the devil was active, and the devil tempted him forty days. So does it not suggest to us that during the time the Lord Jesus spent in the wilderness, the devil was there also, and he was putting thoroughly to the test, the one who's been declared the Son of God. But then Luke tells us, and in those days he did eat nothing. Afterward, he was unhungered. And so we learn that in that wilderness time, and in that experience of the Lord Jesus, one who will face the very enemy of God for forty days, he did eat. And so Matthew four tells us in verse two that when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered, and when the tempter came to him. And so the Lord Jesus, now we learn, he's been in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. And during that long period of time, he has been fasting. He did eat nothing. And when, you know, Israel was brought into the wilderness for forty years of testing, they failed. And now the Son of God has come into the wilderness, and he spent forty days and forty nights, and he's faced with a tender, but he will gain the victory. And so we see the difference between Israel's experience and that of the Lord Jesus Christ. But Matthew tells us this, that the after the temptations, the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. So now we learn at what point the angels came. They did not come during the forty days whilst the Lord Jesus fasted and was being tempted of the devil. The angels came after the devil had left him. After the victory had been wrought, when the Lord Jesus Christ was alone, the angels of God came and ministered unto him. That seems to me to be the, the whole setting o- of this, uh, experience in the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to deal with one or two things tonight in relation to this very interesting subject. Now, first of all, we must ask the question, was the temptation real? Well, you know, when you go to the Epistle of the Hebrews and chapter two and verse number eighteen, we learn that the value of the high priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was seen to be in this, for in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted. So the temptation had to be real, true, genuine, because it was fitting him to be our great high priest on the other side of death, that he may be able to succor them that are being tempted. And then we notice that the power of sympathy lies not in the capacity for feeling only, but rather it lies in the lessons of experience. It isn't just the feelings that are, that are wrought a- a- as a result of certain conditions, but says the, the scripture, the power of sympathy, it lies really in this, in the capacity of the Lord Jesus for feeling, but not feelings only. It was in the very lessons of real, true, genuine experience. And so we see that he had sympathy with his people's trials, but that sympathy did not depend on the experience of sin, but on the experience of the strength of the temptation, which only one who is impeccable and sinless can know in its full intensity. Now, you will observe the language I'm using, won't you? The temptation was real. And you know, it did not mean to say that for that temptation to be real, that the Lord Jesus had to experience sin. Rather, the experience of the strength of temptation, which only one who is impeccable. And what I mean by that is this: one who can never, no never sin. And when one is faced with temptation who cannot sin, the strength of that temptation is felt in its full intensity by such a one. And there is a difference between the first Adam in Ga- in the, uh, in the Garden of Eden and in the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness. Adam in the garden was sinless, but he had the capacity to sin. The Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness, he was impeccable, and he did not have the capacity to sin. And so you see there's some great difference between innocency in Eden and impeccability in the wilderness. And the Lord Jesus Christ, because of his impeccability, and of course because of his sinless life, he could not sin, and yet he felt the the the full strength of the temptation in all its intensity as it was brought to bear upon him by the devil. Well, that raises another question. Was his humanity real? Well, of course, Hebrews chapter two verse fourteen tells us, well, for as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the same. Now, as far as we are concerned, we've got no choice. We are partakers of flesh and blood. But you see, with the Lord Jesus Christ, he voluntarily and willingly took part in flesh and blood and became what he never was before. And yet all the time he retained what he ever was. And so he became a real human being. The Lord Jesus, if he was truly God, then he must be possessed of the four attributes of deity. He must be omnipotent, number one. He must be omniscient, number two. He must be omnipresent, number three, if he's God. And of course, the gospels prove to us he was all those things. Now, if he is truly man, then he must be possessed of a real human spirit and a real human soul and a real human body. And the scripture confirms to us the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ was absolutely real. A body hast thou prepared me. And the reality of that was seen. He could be hungry, thirsty, he could grieve, he could be angry, he could shed tears. He had a real human body. But then, of course, to be a true man, he must have a real human soul. And do we not read more than once of the Lord Jesus Christ saying, now is my soul troubled. So he's a real human soul. When you come to the cross, we hear now the words of the Lord Jesus upon the cross, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. So his humanity was tripartite, had a real human spirit, a real human soul, and a real human body. And so we see that in the days of his flesh, says Hebrews chapter five and verse seven, indicating to us that if the incarnation of Christ brought him into the reality of a, of a real humanity that was possessed by those three things that are essential to real humanity. Then in the days of his flesh, that which refers to the course of his life in this world, in that human life of the Lord Jesus, he displayed every form of holiness. Nay then, in contrast to us, there was no motive power toward evil that would carry him into actions that were alien to the mind and the will of God. So you see, he is different. You and I only know too well from experience that there are motive powers within us that would actually, uh, lead toward evil and that would carry us into doing that which was contrary to the mind and the will of God. Not so Christ. He was absolutely impeccable, as well as sinless, stainless, and spotless. But you know, think with me for a moment about temptation. Temptations can come from within or from without. You see, when we think of temptations from within, that's when our hearts are given, are when our hearts give rise to sinful intentions. That's temptation from within. Then we think about temptations from without, and that is when Satan will present certain things external to us, that we might be led out of that path of dependence upon God toward that which was evil. Let me illustrate. If we just take up David for a moment. We do know, as far as David was concerned, he was tempted from within. One day, he looked upon Bathsheba, lusted after her, and committed sin. That was temptation from within. But when you come to one Chronicles chapter twenty one verse one, may we learn, and Satan stood up and provoked David to number the children of Israel, and that was temptation from without. And so you see, when we think about temptation, there is temptation from within, and there is temptation from without. But temptation is never from God. James makes that absolutely clear. God tempteth no man. And therefore we find that the temptations that face the Lord Jesus did not come from God. Secondly, the temptations that face the Lord Jesus did not come from within. There was nothing in the Lord Jesus Christ that could ever give rise within his heart to sinful intentions. They did not come from God, and they did not come from within. They came from without, and they came from Satan. And that's what Matthew chapter four is going to, uh, present to us. Those temptations that came from without and came from Satan to the Lord Jesus Christ in that wilderness scene, and it's a culmination of the temptations of Satan that we have before us in Matthew chapter four. And in the culmination of those temptations, we see, do we not, the Lord Jesus Christ. He gained the victory over Satan. You know, if the Lord Jesus Christ had nothing in him that could respond to that which was evil in intent, yet in his sinlessness, he did experience the full intensity of the temptation that came to him from without. And the result for us is this, he's now able to succor those that are tempted. And what was the result for him? It demonstrated that he was the only man who had the authority and right to rule for God in this world, for he never did any sin. And so we find then, as we turn to our verses, the Lord Jesus, he's now faced with external temptation, and the source is Satan, and it's going to touch three spheres. Satan would tempt him, first of all, in the sphere of his body. And then Satan would tempt him in the sphere of his soul. And lastly, Satan would tempt him in the sphere of his spirit. Let's look a little bit closer, shall we? When he was tempted in the sphere of his body, the Lord Jesus Christ refused the challenge to provide for the needs of the body in independence of God. When Satan tempts him in the sphere of his soul, then the Lord Jesus Christ refuses the challenge to make trial of God's faithfulness. And thirdly, when Satan would tempt him in the sphere of his spirit, he refuses the challenge to give to a creature what only God has the right to. And so we see the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness, faced with external temptation and by the devil himself, he had two priorities before him, and that was the word of God and the will of God. Those were the two priorities in the life of the Lord Jesus, and it comes out strongly in these verses in which we have the temptations presented to us. Well, let's have a look, shall we, at one or two things. You observe the setting, won't you? That's why I read the closing verses o- of the previous chapter. You see, God has said, I mean, God has opened the heavens and said, this is my beloved son, in whom is all my pleasure, and God has an- identified Jesus of Nazareth as his very own son, and from that standpoint, we now see that the devil comes to him, and he addresses him, if thou be the son of God. Then he says, command these stones be made bread, and in that very first temptation that was in the sphere of the very body of the Lord Jesus, you see, there are all the elements of distrust and disobedience in that very first temptation, when Satan said to him, though, if you are the Son of God, and since you've been declared the Son of God, then prove your sonship. Command these stones to be made bread. But the Lord Jesus, in the face of the tempter, took refuge behind the written word. And so he says in verse four, quoting from Deuteronomy chapter eight in verse three, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So you see the principle of the Lord's life in this world was obedience to the word of God. It is written. He refused altogether to be deflected from that pathway of dependence upon God. What a difference, what a contrast to the first man, the first Adam. And when Satan came, he did deflect the first man from that path of dependence upon God, and he disobeyed what God has spoken. But not this man, not the Son of God. He refused to be deflected from that path of dependence upon God, for he was cast upon God from his mother. Furthermore, morning by morning, says Isaiah chapter fifty, he wakeneth mine ear. Furthermore, says Psalm number one concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, he, his delight was in the law of the Lord. And here was one whose whole life had this principle stamped upon it. It was molded by the word of God and his every movement was controlled by what God had said. Now he was hungry. He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and the Bible makes it clear he was hungry. But in his hunger, his dependence upon God stood firm. He would not use his power that was resident in him to command stones to be bread to satisfy the needs of his body if he did not have a word from God to do it. And so we see in this very first temptation, the Lord Jesus, he overcomes the tempter by finding his refuge in the written word of God. How about come again now? Look at the second one. Will you notice the change of tactic by the devil? Oh, the subtlety of the second temptation as he takes the Lord Jesus to the holy city, sets him upon a pinnacle of the temple, and what does he say in verse number? Well, he said, now, if they be the Son of God, and if your principle of living is dependent upon the written word of God, prove it. For it is written. You see the subtlety of Satan. He said to the Lord Jesus, you're the Son of God. You say that you live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Yes. Cast thyself down, for it is written. Will you notice? The devil clearly understood the prophetic character of the Psalms. That's why he goes to Psalm number ninety one in his second temptation, in order to move the Son of God out of his dependence upon God and says to him, now you prove that you live by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. This is what God has said, and he quotes from Psalm number ninety one. and the devil, he has to say to him, does he not, when he says, cast thy sound, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and he goes on to say, does he not, in relation to these things, and they shall bear thee up lest thou, uh, at any time dash thy foot against a stone. Very plausible, isn't it? The devil knows how to use the scripture to accomplish his own ends. Let me just say to you young men and women for a moment, he's no different today. The devil uses the same strategy of subtlety to try and move young men and women out of the pathway of dependence upon God, and he'll use scripture to do it. But when he does whisper into your ear a certain pathway and then brings to your mind a certain scripture, go back to the scripture and look and see what the scripture actually says, not what the devil says it says. Because you will observe, won't you? In Psalm ninety one, the devil left out a very important phrase. Oh, you say, what is that? Oh, it's just this, you see. To keep thee in all thy ways. The devil left that out. God had given his angels charge concerning thee to keep thee in all thy ways. That's how the quotation goes in Psalm ninety one. The devil cleverly, in his subtlety, omitted that important phrase, but the Lord was not deceived. He picked it up immediately, and therefore he says unto- unto the devil, it is written again, and he goes back to the book of Deuteronomy, but this time chapter six. And he says unto him, they shall not tempt the Lord thy God. We must be very careful. In our life in this world, when we endeavor with the help of the Spirit of God to live our lives in dependence upon God, and to walk in that pathway of dependence like the Savior walked, not to be sidestepped by the subtlety of Satan when he would quote scripture to us. Always go back to the book and make sure that what is being whispered in your heart is actual scripture in its completeness, that there was a past master it leaving certain bits out to make it suited to his particular purpose. But the Lord Jesus, he would not, not in any case, he would not cause that God to be put to the test in relation to his statements concerning him, and his confidence in God will not allow that God to be put to the test by proving his Messiahship, by casting himself off of this pinnacle, off the temple, and so showing to those multitudes that were gathered in the temple courts below that he was in very deed the Messiah. Look what God has done. The angels have come down. That he might not dash his foot against the stone, but he wouldn't put God to the test. And that's why he quotes again, it is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Verse number eight, The devil taketh him up into an, into an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Then says the devil, all these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Does the devil have all the kingdoms of this world and their glory to give to someone else? I take it he has. For what the Lord Jesus is about to refuse in Matthew chapter four, the, the, the, the beast of Revelation chapter thirteen will receive. And Satan, the, the dragon, he gave unto the beast his power, his authority, and his throne. And the world now is laid at the feet of a man who will worship Satan, and through him Satan will be worshipped by the whole world. I wonder what the devil had in mind. Was it the Egypt world with all its treasures that he brought before the Savior? Was it the Babylonian world with all its wonders? Or was it the Grecian world with all its splendors? Or was it the Roman world of that present day with all its power and authority, as he brought all the kingdoms of the world before the Lord Jesus Christ and the glory of them? And he said, they can all be yours. Only one condition, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Isn't it interesting? The first two temptations are prefaced with this: if thou be the Son of God. Not this one. How could he say, if thou be the Son of God, fall down and worship me? Cannot, can he? And the Lord Jesus Christ, he, he could have had all these things at the hand of the devil, had he been willing to, uh, to bow down and worship the devil, but he would not give to a creature that which rightly belonged to God. And so he says again, quoting from the book of Deuteronomy chapter six, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And then we read. Thus saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt not worship the Lord thy, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Now come back with me again, will you? I want to look at these temptations once more, and I just want to put a different, uh, atmosphere to them. What was it the devil was saying to the Son of God in that first temptation when he came to him to tempt him in the sphere of his body? Command these stones be made bread. He was saying this, satisfy yourself. Have you ever heard that whispered in your ear? Here you are, and you're walking the pathway of faith, and as much as in you is, you would walk in dependence upon the Lord. And suddenly the devil comes in, and he says, now listen, there's nothing wrong with it. It's quite legitimate. Of course it was. The Lord was hungry, and there was nothing wrong in satisfying that hunger, but to satisfy that hunger outside of dependence upon God, therein would be sin. Now, has the devil spoken to you? Or will he perhaps tomorrow speak to you and to say to you, young man and young woman, listen, there's nothing wrong with it. Satisfy yourself. After all, it's the norm. Everybody's doing it. Why should you be so different? Why don't you go with the crowd? And the devil still says, and that to believers, satisfy yourself. And with some, he's very successful. And all those passions and desires that are wrapped up in the realm of the body, the devil will use those very things and seek to move us out of that path of complete dependence upon God, that we might satisfy those desires and those passions within. You'll remember, won't you, in the story of Joseph, you've got chapter thirty seven and you've got chapter thirty eight and you've got chapter thirty nine of the book of Genesis. Ever wondered why chapter thirty eight is sandwiched between thirty seven and thirty nine? In chapter thirty eight of the book of Genesis, you've got a married man, he's away on business in relation to his cattle. And whilst he's away on business, he sees a woman sitting there on the highway. He makes the approach unto her and says, let me. And the man that should have stood firm for God gave in to the craving desires of his body and satisfied himself. Come to chapter thirty nine. It's now a single young man and a married woman. It's the married woman that makes the approach to the single young man, Joseph. And she says, lie with me. But Joseph was a man who practiced the presence of God. Have you noticed? The Lord was with Joseph. He practiced the presence of God, and out of his practice of the presence of God, when the temptation came to satisfy himself, he said, no, how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Very real, isn't it? I mean, the society in which we live. And the devil has been successful in some cases, in deflecting the married and the unmarried out of their dependence upon God for the satisfaction of the desires of the body. Now come to the second one. It's not satisfy yourself, is it? It's show yourself. You see, the quotation of the devil from Psalm ninety one is a messianic psalm, and what the devil is saying to the Lord Jesus Christ is simply this, look, show that you are the Messiah. I mean, cast yourself down from this pinnacle of the temple. Look at the masses down there in the court of the temple. You see, cast yourself down. Show that you are the Messiah. Sometimes the devil comes on that particular line of temptation and says to you or to me, go on, show yourself. Show who you really are. After all, you've got rights, haven't you? Surely you should be this, that, and the other. Now then, come on, young man, you show yourself that you've got certain rights. But you know, there are three men spoken of by Jude who acted according to their rights as they thought. First of all, Jude mentions Cain. He thought he could do as he liked. Then he mentions Balaam. He thought he could say what he liked. And they talked about Korah. He thought he could be what he liked. Sometimes, you know, because of the way in which the local assembly is constituted, some believers fall foul of the devil, who says to them, look, show yourself for what you are, and you've got rights. And we think in God's assembly that we can do what we like. Cain learned he couldn't. Sometimes we're deceived into thinking we can say what we like, like a Balaam, but Balaam had to learn he cannot. Sometimes we would be cons- deceived into thinking we can be what we like. But Cora found he couldn't. Oh, my dear brother and sister, God's assembly is far too precious. God's assembly is far too holy. For men and women younger or older, to think that they can do what they like in God's assembly, or say what they like, or be what they like. No, God has a place and a power for every one of us to fill within his assembly, in whatever locality we may be situated. There's a place for every one of us. All we have to learn is what that place is, and then to fill it, that it might be for the profit of all. So sometimes the devil says, satisfy yourself, and if that don't work, sometimes he says, show yourself. When you go to the last one, what is the the devil really saying to the Lord Jesus? We said, look, here are all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Look, they can all be yours. In other words, listen, I can give you the crown without the cross. Not satisfy yourself now, is it? Not show yourself. Listen, spare yourself all that reproach, all that suffering, all that shame associated with the cross. Fall down and worship me. I'll give you the crown without the cross. Is there a young man, young woman here tonight? Is there an older believer present? And the devil has said to you, listen, listen, all this business about discipleship, all this business about, uh, taking up your cross, following the Lord, all this business of, of going outside the camp, bearing his reproach. Listen, I can spare you all that's involved with that kind of discipleship and give you the crown now. I can spare you the cross. Sometimes the devil has held out the crown of secular success in one's career that takes us out of that path of discipleship that involved bearing a cross and suffering reproach and bearing shame for the sake of Christ. Sometimes the devil has whispered into the heart of a young man or a young woman and brought into their company and before them one who is not saved, and they seem to fall in love, and the devil says, listen, I can give you that which you're desiring without the cross. Some young men and young women have made spiritual shipwreck because they took the devil's crown of an unequal yoke that spared them the cross of discipleship. I just say to all of you tonight, as I've had to say to my own heart in past days, we need to practice the presence of God. Here was the Lord Jesus, and for thirty years he'd lived in this world. And throughout those thirty years, his ear had been wakened, morning by morning. Throughout those thirty years, he had lived in the undisturbed communion of his Father. And when it came to his public ministry, and before ever he would be presented as God's king here upon the earth, then he would be owned of God. And his sonship would be established. And the Spirit of God would come upon him. And in the power of the Spirit of God, he would move and live and serve God in this world. And because he was one who, if I might use the terminology, had practiced the presence of God and knew the power of the Spirit of God upon him and had that divine attestation, this is my beloved son, in whom is all my pleasure, that when he's faced with the devil, he'll say again and again and again, it is written, and he will not be moved out of that pathway of dependence upon God. May God help us all to know the reality of living in vital, active communion with the Lord himself. Not a theory, not just a, a language, but a living reality in your life and mine. So that every day, our lives are governed by the presence of God and our communion with him. And then again, we need to be like Ezekiel of old, of whom it is said that the hand of the Lord was upon him, seven times over in the prophecy of Ezekiel, you get that expression. And then you learn the Spirit of God filled him. And we need to be like a- a- an Ezekiel. We need to be men and women of the God-controlled life and the Spirit-filled life. And where that is true, when the temptations of the enemy come in all their power upon us, we'd be like the Lord. We'd be able to say, it is written. And we trust that God will bless his word. And if you can come back tomorrow, we want to talk a little, a little further through the Gospel of Matthew. We want to talk a little about sin. How do we deal with sin in our own lives? Then how are we going to deal with sin in the life of a brother or a fellow believer? If you can come back tomorrow, we'll look at that particular subject matter that we may get some help from God in these matters. Shall we pray? Our Father, we come to thee tonight to thank thee for the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do bless thee for the loveliness of the Son of God. What a lovely scene it must have been when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the Jordan, was baptized of John, and the heavens were opened unto him, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and the voice from the Father was heard, this is my beloved son, in whom is all my pleasure. Our Father, for those thirty years, lived in the solitude of Nazareth, in which he grew up, and he grew up, and in all the days of his growing up, he brought pleasure to thy heart. No wonder the prophet said concerning him that he grew up before thee as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. We look to thee, O God, that we may be something like the Lord Jesus, that we may know what it is to live our lives in communion with him, to know the hand of the Lord upon us and the Spirit of God filling us every day, so that when we are faced with the reality of temptation, we may, like the Lord Jesus Christ, be able to free.