Covind-19: Overcoming the Special Temptations of This Time by Zac Poonen

people around the world are on this coronavirus that is and spread all over I thought of looking at the three temptations of Jesus in Matthew chapter four and see how they apply to us for this time so if you've turned with me to Matthew chapter 4 may we read that Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan it's interesting to see that although temptation is from Satan Trials can be from Satan it's the Holy Spirit who led Jesus and that must be with a purpose and that's exactly the same with us the first thing we need to remember that any trial or temptation that we face remember if you're walking in the will of God the Holy Spirit is the one who's led you there of course if you disobey the Holy Spirit you can land yourself in temptations that God never intended you to face and that's why we pray in the Lord's Prayer lead us not into trial it's too much for us lead us not into temptation so if we are seeking to do God's will to the best of our ability the Holy Spirit will still lead us through trials and it's very interesting to see the parallel passage to this in [Music] Luke chapter 4 where the temptation is also described there if you turn for a moment there Jesus verse 1 chapter of Luke for one was led by the spirit in the wilderness and then he was tempted for for forty days and at the end of the temptation it says in Luke 4:14 he returned to Galilee in the power of the spear led by the spirit tempted by the devil returns in the power of the spirit that's a good line for us to remember is the holy spirit who allows us to face trials even at this time God is in control of this world and when we pray our Father who art in heaven we are acknowledging there's one up above who is our Father who loves us and who is also running the universe so that we must always remember he will not allow us 1 Corinthians 10:13 ever ever to be tested beyond our ability for many of you they may not be a severe test in terms of money or food or things like that but I think of many poor brothers in CFC churches in the radius in India who are tested even in that area in terms of food and finances when when there is no work they don't earn and food is not always readily available but I believe in that case also their children of God God will not allow any one of them to be tested beyond their ability but God will make a way of escape it's a wonderful thing to believe that in whichever country we live in whichever time of history we live in whatever pandemic or tsunami or any other problems earthquakes or famines whatever may come our Father who loves us still runs this universe and he'll never forsake us so if Jesus was tempted and tested so we also have to be because he's a forerunner and in times like this is good to remember that that the Holy Spirit will be with us as he was with Jesus in throughout our temptation and then we read after he fasted for 40 days he was hungry so Jesus will make God 100% in everything and yet he was hungry is it possible for a person who is obeying God 100% to be hungry sometimes to lack something like food here it could be something else some other time yes so don't think that when you lack something earthly that you need you're out of the will of God no jesus lacked food at this time but he was not out of the will of God he was in the center of God's perfect will it was a trial and when you God allows you to go through some situation but you lack something just see it as a trial Jesus has gone ahead of you and he will be with you he'll never leave you nor forsake you so as we look at these temptations in each of these three temptations we see two temptations so the first one he was hungry and the test was one of survival isn't that what a lot of people are thinking of today so many people are dying around us survival how shall we survive in this time well Jesus faced that temptation also and when the devil came to him and said hey turn these stones into bread and you can survive jesus replied in Matthew 4:4 man does not live on bread alone we don't survive merely by having our physical needs met very important to understand at this time we don't survive merely by being healed and protected from disease and sickness that's not survival the fact that when this pandemic is over to have come through it without getting sick or dying is that survival now survival is if we have lived in faith and addressed throughout this period then we have survived otherwise we've all sort of struggled and scraped our way through I don't want to struggle and scrape my way through this trial I want to survive in triumph I want to be more than a conqueror but I'm this trial is over and the only way to do that is to listen to what Jesus said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God precedes his present continuous tense not past tense the Bible is God's Word that proceeded from God's mouth through many servants of his thousands of years ago but there's a word that proceeds from God's mouth as we read the Bible it must come from God to us you know faith does not come by the Word of God then if you read carefully Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ so it's don't jump that hearing part and go straight to faith comes by the word of Christ no faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ in other words when I take the word of Christ which is the New Testament particularly I must hear in that otherwise I don't get faith so man is to live by faith we call to lead by faith and that faith comes through hearing the Word of God every day all the time continuously so here was a temptation from the devil to Jesus to move when he had not heard a word from the Lord to move ahead of God's time and Jesus said no I have not heard a word from my father to turn stones to bread or to make bread in this way no and I will not move even if I'm hungry I will not move I'll move in obedience to the Father there was another time when bread was needed when five thousand people were hungry yeah then the father in you oh babe so let me turn you to a verse in Isaiah chapter 50 which tells us how Jesus little Isaiah chapter 50 and verse 4 in the middle of that verse it says whenever Jesus woke up in the morning he this is how he responded to that waking up my father has woken me up he wakens me morning by morning and he won't wake ins my year to listen that's a good way for all of us to wake up every morning or even if you wake up in the middle of the night to say my father woke me up now he's got something to say to me and I want my inner ear to be alert to listen to listen as a disciple it says here as I have 50 words for that means to listen in order to obey what he told me not just to listen to accumulate knowledge not just to listen so that I can preach next week on what I heard today what I studied in the Bible all that is seeking honor but to listen as a disciple a lot of preachers read the Bible to get something to preach in my younger days I did that but as I grew up I realized that's not the main thing I must listen as a disciple it's for me to do something to obey God that God speaks to me remember that and then from all that he speaks to you he may give you something to share with others too but it would have being written in your life first then you would speak it then you won't be a hypocrite but if you only listen in order to preach to others or share with others you'll end up as a little trick I'll tell you that or to get honor for yourself so he weakens me morning by morning to listen and I want to give you the example of someone else in the Old Testament in the book of Joel chapter 23 it was not only Jesus who has teamed God's Word mm-hmm more than food you know when you're hungry for after 40 days of fasting to say I still want God's Word not food is really something now job said in chapter 23 of joven just verse 12 I have treasured the words of God's mouth more than my necessary food more than my necessary food it's quite a word and remember job didn't have a Bible no he the book of Job is the first book of the Bible written so he lived 500 years before Moses wrote Genesis so this is the first book of the Bible written then he didn't have any Bible so what does he mean by it I treasured the words of his mouth where did he hear the words of God's mouth he's in a year was open and probably he heard with the year also God may have spoken too unlikely spoke to Abraham but certainly he's in a year was open to hear what God had to say and his attitude was that's more important to me than my necessary food he had that attitude day after day after day that's why God said to Satan there's no one like job on the face of the earth you know God can say that about you and me also if you have that same attitude every day he wakens me up to listen and esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food God's Word is more important to me than my breakfast this morning God's Word is more important to me than the food I ate today I'll tell you something if you have that attitude you can be pretty sure that when Satan comes who tries you like he tried joke you come out as an overcomer and it says God blessed joke double at the end in the Investor devil too but that's because of that attitude it's that attitude that helped him to be an overcomer when he saw all his property gone on his children dead so that's the first thing in these days that we need to recognize that I must move I must listen to God all the time he wakens me morning by morning not just to read the bible for 15 minutes but to have a listening ear all the time like these police officers have in their police cars a phone or a walkie-talkie a phone I think that connects to their headquarters and all the time it's on we can turn it off any time a word may come saying go to that street I believe we every Christian should have that attitude and that's possible because of the gift of the Holy Spirit and if I take that attitude Laura I want to listen to your word all the time then we will be overcomers because God's Word helps us to overcome so that's one thing that we need to see here in this verse to listen to God you remember what the Lord told Martha in Luke chapter 10 [Music] that's a word that God spoken to my heart for more than 55 years in Luke 10 42 when Martha was busy serving God serving Jesus cooking for him and Mary was sitting at Jesus feet listening to his word and Martha came and complained to Jesus saying why is Mary not helping him listen to Jesus Martha you learned about many things you wanted about serving me but do you know that serving me and doing things for me is not as important as listening to me how many people have understood that a lot of people are busy witnessing preaching going here going there and the Lord says to them do you know that listening to me is more important than even serving me some of you may feel a bit guilty that you're not serving the Lord enough you're not witnessing enough you're not traveling here and they are preaching the Word of God I'll tell you something that's more important than that Luke 10 42 one thing is needful and that is not serving the Lord because I was serving the Lord mary has chosen the good part looked and 42 and that is not serving the Lord Jesus but listening to the Lord Jesus have you understood that it will deliver you from all the sense of guilt and I'm not doing something for the Lord ask yourself are you listening that's the thing that will help us to survive survival is not by anything else man shall live survival by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God all the time now the second temptation that is here is to it was a subtle temptation to Jesus to use the power God had given him for his own needs and that's what Saif was saying hey 40 days ago you were baptized and the voice from heaven said you are the beloved son and the Holy Spirit came upon you you have power now he used that power for your own need which is food he said no I will not use it for my own need God gives us his power to serve others the gifts of the Spirit are all meant for others every one of them when God gives us the gifts of the Spirit it is not anything for myself it's not even to get honor for myself it is to serve others so Jesus never used his power to make bread for himself but he did use that power later on to feed the 5,000 to produce bread supernaturally so the devil can tempt us also if God has given you something some ability some power to use it for yourself I don't use that for yourself get some honor satisfy your need there may not be a need for food it may be a need for honor saying no I will not do that don't sum it all up we need to keep a good conscience all the time if you want to be able to hear God's voice we read in the book of Hebrews in chapter 5 of people who to whom the Apostle writes who ever wrote Hebrews Hebrews 5:11 concerning Jesus he's talking about Jesus who came as a man the theme of Hebrews is Jesus as a man who we can follow and he talks about his being tempted like us in Hebrews 4:15 and then he goes on to say concerning Jesus as a man and how you can actually follow it there's so much we have to say Hebrews 5:11 there's much we have to say but it's very hard to explain to you why is that is it because they lack intelligence no they're very intelligent people but they'd lack they're dull of hearing in their hearts their conscience has become dull for me don't keep our conscience carefully we become dull of hearing he may be very clever we may know not of the Bible but we will not hear God's voice to hear God's voice to prevent ourselves from ever becoming dull of hearing there's one thing we need to do keep your conscience clear and I believe it's very important and times like this when we have so much time at home it's good to meditate and see whether there's anything that's making our conscience donal that's making us death dear brothers and sisters let me tell you it is God's will then you should be able to hear God's voice every single day and many times during the day that's that is my passion for a long time and little by little I come to the place where God speaks to my heart many times during the day even without reading the Bible you read the Bible for a little while in the morning but God wants to speak to you every day but keep your conscience clear because if I if God says if God speaks to me in my conscience and I don't listen that my hearing becomes dull John says in revelation 1 that he heard the Lord's voice like a trumpet so it's not that God doesn't speak God's voice is like a trumpet we read in Revelation 1 but a person who's deaf can't even hear the trumpet that is unfortunately the condition of so many people that's why Paul and gave a statement like this which I would encourage all of you to remember and practice taxi the Apostles chapter 24 verse 16 he said I do my best to always maintain the blameless conscience before God and before men so because he did that all the time 24/7 he kept his conscience clear so God kept on speaking to Paul and that's how Paul could write these wonderful letters I believe God loves us just like he loved Paul but many Christians don't keep their conscience clear that's why they don't seem to be able to hear what God has to say to them and you know if you read that Isaiah 50 verse 4 it says the Lord God wakes me up every morning that same words it says and he gave me a tongue to share that with others so so when God speaks to us as designers that we bless others with it so that's the first thing and we think of survival if the world is thinking of survival at this time remember survival comes through hearing God's voice continuously then we go to the second temptation we read here the devil took him to the holy city Matthew chapter 4 verse 5 I mean him standing on the pinnacle of the temple and said if you're the Son of God throw yourself down because it is written you know because Jesus had quoted the verse from Deuteronomy 8 saying it is written man shall not live by bread alone the devil are you got the scripture here's another scripture jump up from the roof of the temple because it is written Matthew 4:6 he will command his angels concerning you and they will bear you up on their hands and you will not strike your foot against the stone so don't be afraid you won't die if you go jump from this height what's the temptation here the temptation is to tempt God to try shortcuts tempting God if God has provided stairs in the temple the temptation is don't use the stairs jump from the roof take a shortcut that is tempting God you know we spoke earlier about the first thing we need to is to trust God faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ so the danger of there is some people can say okay I'm gonna live by faith I'm not gonna take medicine there are Christians who do that Jesus can heal me Jesus and ask and you shall receive so if I'm sick I just ask and Jesus will heal me I don't need to take medicine that's like saying I won't use the stairs I won't use the stairs I'll just jump from here and trust the Lord to protect me and people have done that have died I know a new number of people in India pastors who believe that Jesus would heal em who died because they wouldn't take medicine they wouldn't use the stairs they jumped off the roof so we're not so faith does not mean we do something foolish faith and reason go together our reason is not contrary to faith reason is not a gift of it's of Satan reason is a gift of God so remember this the balance that we don't avoid means God is always provided means and we're means are provided we must prevail of them for example if you're in some jungle where you're sick and no medicine is available then you can trust God to heal you without mess where medicines are available you make use of that and the same thing applies to the rules the government makes for example at this time to keep a little distance so that you don't infect one another it's a matter of consideration and there also a lot of people can act stupid say no no I trust God and don't protect me doesn't matter if I go here and there you know if I go in here somebody who's sick I'm not going to get it that is stupidity so we can go to one extreme in these things and go to the other extreme it's true that God is determining the length of our life I've often thought that turn to Psalm 139 I never hesitate pointing out this verse to everybody Psalm 139 and it says here about the time when God formed us in our mother's womb Psalm 139 13 you owe me in my mother's wrong and then it says in verse 16 while I was in my mother's womb in your mind Lord you had already determined how many days I should live on this earth all the day not that this man should live for so many years but the exact number of days that he's supposed to live I believe that with all my heart but God determined the exact number of days I should live on this earth before I was born Psalm 139 verse 16 so does that mean that I cannot tempt God and say well it that's determined nothing's gonna happen to me if I take some risks and don't take my sins and I go near people who got coronavirus in our guys that is stupidity faith and reason go together that is a Mis coating of Scripture so what did Jesus do when Satan quoted this word saying it is written Jesus said verse 7 on the other hand it is also written so Jesus quoted another scripture to balance the other one he didn't say what Satan said was wrong but he said that's Scripture but there's another scripture that balances it and if you don't take both of them together you'll be imbalanced and you'll go straight so we become perfect through seeing this script this verse and that verse you know the verse in 2nd Timothy in chapter 3 which says that all Scripture is inspired by God 2nd Timothy 3:16 all Scripture and is profitable to teach us to reprove us rebuke as correct as trainers in righteousness so that the man of God will be perfect in his own life and equipped for good works to serve others all scripture in other words why just take my favorite scriptures I will not be able to fulfill God's purpose that's why it's so important my brothers and sisters to get to know the Word of God and when you have time at home and you're not going to work there are plenty of free time don't waste it use these days to know all scripture ask God to teach you listen to messages that explain the Word of God and CFC website we are number of teaching videos and audios go and listen to them discipline yourself to take a little time to get to know the Word of God and make it a habit throughout your life because otherwise the devil can trick you with the scripture he tried to tempt Jesus with the scripture you think he won't tempt you with the scripture to lead you astray to make you miss the will of God sure so we're not to tempt God at this time by saying we take risks we must use our common sense mm-hmm and the second temptation involved in this temptation number two I told you there are two and every temptation the first is to tempt God of the second is the implication here is if you jump down from the roof of the temple you know all those people down at the at the bottom and the ground level they will see you descending without getting hurt and they will accept you as the Messiah it is seeking honor by tempting God that's the second temptation that I'm gonna do something spectacular now and that's what some foolish Christians preachers are doing right now even though the government has said you must not have a gathering of more than five people or 10 people in some places there are a couple of pastors at least I heard of who within the last few days said no we're going to Rihanna run our church service if the hospital is an essential service the church is an essential service sounds reasonable but what do they do they gather people together and then people get sick that is tempting God and why are we doing it because they faster that preacher gets his name and photograph come up in in the news he becomes famous around the country and there are plenty of foolish Christians to admire him that's what he wants so here's the temptation that came to Jesus jump down and get honor for yourself and that temptation is also there is this time to do something foolish in order to get some honor for yourself so we must obey the government's rules the Bible says in Romans chapter 13 Romans chapter 13 [Music] every person Romans 13 verse 1 every person is doggie no Christians must be subject to the governing authorities he's written to the Romans and you know who was the governing authority in Rome at that time an evil emperor called Nero who hated Christians but God had allowed him to rule so you could obey the laws every person must be subject to the governing authorities because there is no authority except from God and those who exist are established by God and therefore if you resist what the authority tells you to do you're opposing a commandment of God how many people realize that when you oppose the government reasonable laws you're opposing God that's what those pastors who disobeyed God didn't realize they're claiming the founding fathers have given us freedom but not freedom to disobey government laws which are meant to protect people because you may have faith what about the other people you make sick but calling them out to a church service and those who oppose God like this Romans 13 - will receive a condemnation upon themselves they may get sick and they deserve it so rulers you don't have to feel rulers they are not a cause for fear for good behavior but for evil do you want to leave without any fear of authority then do what is good for that ruler that authority is a servant of God for your good and if he bears the sword of punishment it is he's sinned as a servant of God is an amazing place where it says the authorities that rule our country are servants of God so therefore don't do something foolish or stupid at this time just to prove your own faith and get some honor for yourself a lot of problems are solved when we die to our own honor and seek the glory of God okay we'll give you the example of Jesus himself we read of a time in John chapter 7 verse 1 listen to this how does it sound John 7 verse 1 Jesus was walking in Galilee and he did not walk in Judea why because the Jews were trying to kill him he said Lord are you scared doesn't God control your number of days skin somebody kill you before God's time no then go don't be afraid he used his reason when people are trying to kill me somewhere why should I go there he blood leads me to go I'll go but otherwise I don't go that's common sense that's the use of reason along with faith so Lord why are you not going to Judea because they are seeking to kill in John 7 verse 1 that's why I didn't go the Holy Spirit says that but a little later we read in John chapter 7 and verse 10 same chapter that the Lord the father spoke to him now go then what did he do then he went to Judea the very place where people were trying to kill him he went because now he was led by the father now that makes a world of difference if God supernaturally easy to go to Afghanistan go but don't go on your own with some type of human zeal humans he'll kill you get killed but if you're led by God God will protect you fulfill his will for your life so when God led him he went and then what happened people tried to catch him he read in verse 30 is a very interesting verse John 7 verse 30 they were trying to seize him to kill him but no one could touch him because his hour had not yet come so you see when he followed the leading of God his father then God protected him but if you have gone without the meaning of the father that would be different in fact it's the same instruction he gave to his disciples that he gives to us for example in Matthew chapter 10 and verse he's telling them to go and preach the gospel in every place and you know I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves Matthew 10:16 and you must be shrewd as serpents be wise don't be foolish and what is one part of that wisdom when Matthew 10 23 when they persecute you in one city don't stand there boldly and say I'm gonna stand here and be a witness no go to the next city not just go flee you know what flee means free means run away hey are you scared no I'm not scared it's common sense if you're persecuting me one city why should I stand there and allow them to kill me let me go to the next city I want to live to preach the gospel these are the instructions of Jesus when they persecute you in one city flee to the next one unless like in John 7 God says stay there so that's I want to say that because a lot of people think faith and common sense are opposite to each other they are not common sense is not from the devil common sense is given to us by God reason faith supersedes it but where God does not lead us in any particular way we use our common sense very very important to understand especially at this particular time okay now we go to the third temptation in Matthew 4 there again there are two temptations there first of all that the third temptation the devil says the devil shows him all the kingdoms of the world where's my glory verse 8 and says all this I will give you if you fall down and worship Me Matthew 4 verse 8 and 9 so what's the first temptation here the attraction of the things in the world money pleasure power honor the devil says I can give you this but sometimes we don't realize that those who pursue after these things usually get it by bowing the knee to Satan in some place or the other take the matter of money if you have a craze for money and you don't put God above money in your life you'll almost certainly one day do something slightly wrong to get a little more money you'll compromise somewhere unless you're made a decision in your life I will never put money above God in fact I will only serve God money will be my slave see money is a wonderful servant but a terrible monster it's like fire fire is a wonderful servant how can we cook food fire is the one we use at night we get heat by fire in cold times but is a terrible master if it burns up your house you got to keep fire under control you keep the fire under control in your gas stove you keep the fire under control in your fireplace you don't know how to take over the whole haunts it will destroy you that's the picture of money keep money in its proper place as your servant like you turn off the gas stove turn off that occupation with money when your work is done otherwise it will take over your house and burn you up completely it's a wonderful servant but a terrible master and so also and you don't realize very often that when people have this craze to get more and more they very often compromise something on the other tell a small lie here people for example in other countries who want to get a visa to the United States tell a little lie here or get admission to a college tell a little lie can get this benefit so it's a great temptation and you read a great example in Moses why did God use Moses I'll tell you the principle there which is the way in which he uses other people today as well God tested Moses when he was in Pharaoh's Palace he tested Moses in three areas will you bow down to Satan and get money pleasure and honor and power three things Moses said no lovely seemeth hebrews chapter 11 it says here in verse 24 when Moses was grown-up number one he refused the honor of being known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter he could have become the next Pharaoh ruler of the world honor position power no and then he rejected verse 25 the passing pleasures of sin says in that verse that there is pleasure in sin she didn't believe it read Hebrews 10:25 11:25 sorry there is pleasure in sin but it also says it's a passing pleasure all the pleasures that you get from sin think of all the pleasures there are in sinful things they are a passing pleasure there is pleasure but is a passing pleasure and Moses recognizance and I don't want I don't want the honor of the world to be Pharaohs to be next Pharaoh I don't want the pleasures of sin and thirdly he rejected verse 26 the treasures of Egypt wealth these are the three things that a lot of people seek for even today money pleasures of sin and position and power and honor and it's because Moses rejected them he'd been taught that from childhood by his mother you're not to live for these things and that's why 30 years later when he was 40 years old in Egypt he retained what he had heard from his mother and he's stood against these three things there's a great lesson for us to teach our children and drill into their minds the emptiness of this world and to live for God 30 years later they'll remember it if you have taught your children properly at this time that's why it's so important to teach children God's ways at a very young age so that's the first thing the devil told said Jesus I'll give you all of this if you fall down and worship Me and Jesus said no all the things that Jesus earned money as a carpenter sure but he earned it honestly his aim was not to become the richest carpenter in Nazareth how could he do that I mean if some poor widow wanted him to make a stool or something for her he would go there and tell her you can have it I don't want to charge you for it how would such a person become the richest carpenter and ask his aim was to bless people not to make money he earned enough to support himself and for seven people in his homes four brothers two sisters and his widowed mother but he pursue after money and you ought to keep money under his feet goal is a good thing there's a lovely person Genesis chapter 2 which says the gold of that land is good in Eden Gold is good it means that sometimes in heaven gold is good but the gold is under your feet in heaven the streets are made of gold that's the difference in heaven in this earth on earth people put gold on their head as a crowd and around their neck but in heaven gold is under the feet they walk on streets of gold and I say that when you've learned to put gold under your feet you're ready for heaven if you're not going to do that you're not yet ready for heaven if gold is still on your head and in your mind you're not ready for heaven my brother my sister you gotta learn this earth God's testing you to learn to put it under your feet maybe you're burning money but that's fine use it but use it wisely and never become a slave to it so that's the thing because when you do that it's invariably by bowing the knee to the devil somewhere or the other you may not do something wrong but you can do so many extra things to make more money than you need and that extra time this time you could have spent with God's Word I remember when I was in the Navy I was only a very good salary when I had ambitions I said I'm not gonna live for that I spent all my days my spare time studying God's Word and that's what helped me so much today you put God's word above money and all the things of Earth you will God will have a purpose will be able to fulfill his purpose for you but if you don't do that unconsciously you'll be bowing the knee to Satan somewhere so I'm gonna be very careful now because so many people's mind is not occupied with money that's why it's relevant for our time people are wandering the stock market is crashed and things are getting expensive you got a hoard you got a hoard we got a hoard otherwise we won't survive their mind is so much on money and material things and very often there's way to get it is why it just indicates very often that somewhere on the other they're bowing the knee to Satan it makes them worried and anxious bowing the knee to Satan the second temptation here is to get a right thing in a wrong way Jesus had come to earth to get the kingdoms of the world for God verse 8 he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and it's as it were he was saying hey you come from heaven to get all this for God right well I'll give it to you by a shortcut you don't have to go that long way of the cross come and bow down to me I'll give it to you to get the right thing in a wrong way that's another temptation that can come to us now there are shortages and so many things to get a right thing in a wrong way I don't know how that will apply in your case but let's take these warnings lord I never wanted to get a right thing in a wrong way if I get what is right I must get it in the way I get it so many Christians compromise and little little things to get what is right but in a wrong way may God help us well that's a little just I gave you but you can spend more time meditating on that chapter and asking the Lord to apply that to your life and say Lord how does this apply to my life what I heard today let me repeat again the first temptation was to move without God's meaning don't listen to God just move ahead and the second temptation there was use the power God has given you to meet your own need then in the second temptation the first temptation was to tempt God by taking shortcuts don't use the stairs jump off and claim the promises do something foolish like that and Jesus said no and the third is you know if you come down and land there you get honor seeking honor there are people seeking that at this time as well and the third temptation is the attraction of money position honor which if you seek for it may end up bowing the need of Satan and the temptation to get a right thing in a wrong way so let's meditate on these things and say lord I want to use this time of trial and also a time and I've got plenty of free time to meet with my family to build relationships at home with my family and do that up and I may not get another opportunity like this so may God help all of us but family above money and other things god bless you all can we bow our heads and pray our Heavenly Father I thank you we thank you for the example of Jesus was gone ahead of us in everything and there's so much a wealth of Revelation in your word even in a small passage of just 11 verses help us Lord to live by your word every day to know them to be alert to the temptations of Satan when he tries to tell us to take shortcuts and to ignore reason to do stupid things to be alert to that and the temptation to get right things in a wrong way please help us to be alert Lord sensitive the voice of the Holy Spirit help us in these days we pray in Jesus name Amen before I close I want to point you to this picture above my head it's a very challenging picture it's about the early Christians who when they stood for the Lord they were brought into this big happy Theatre in Rome and thrown to the Lions and there they are in the middle some of them are crucified on crosses around that amphitheater but there those who were caught who would not deny the faith men and women kneeling down and praying in the lion and the tiger have been loosed from their cages to come and he bite them and kill them a great example these are our brothers and sisters who lived in Rome about 1900 2000 years ago and we are to follow in their footsteps one day we're gonna meet them I'm telling you you'll meet them one day when you get to heaven and they'll tell you their stories I hope you'll have a story to tell of your faithfulness to the Lord as well in that be amen thank you and he was wondering if any of the children are scared about the Lions eating Christians anything in those days those children were among the bravest who said we love Jesus we're ready to face anything because you know God gives grace at that time I wouldn't be able to face it if God didn't give me grace at that time no none of us can face such a trial but it says my grace is sufficient for you even the smallest child will experience a remarkable bonus and grace if such a time ever comes I believe that it's very foolish to take verses like this from the Old Testament and apply them to today you know people are they're looking for something spectacular to try and get honor for themselves until you live by the words of Jesus Christ I will never leave you nor forsake you Hebrews 13 be content there's a great verse which I can give to all of you at this time and that's Hebrews 13 which says be content with such things as you have Hebrews 13 verse 5 because the Lord has said I will never leave you I will never forsake you so we can boldly say the Lord is my helper I will not be afraid what a man do to me I'm not interested to find out where the true faith is Italy of today to me that's not what I'm interested in I want to hear what the Lord is saying to my heart and I know what the Lord is saying to my heart that he will never leave me not forsake me and so I say you guys can believe what you like if somebody sends it message like that to me that isn't applied to me I live by he bruised 39 verse 5 and 6 the Lord is my helper I will not be afraid whatever man can do to me wherever I live and I be true children of God who live in Italy can trust God as well or we live in China or anywhere because jesus said the hairs on your head are numbered and Jesus said two sparrows are sold for one cent even one of them will not be forsaken when I see the birds flying in the air they remind me that God is still feeding them and caring for them and Jesus said you're more value than many sparrows we need to live by the words of Jesus at this time and not by these people pick up strange verses out of the Old Testament and teach all types of foolish things as you asked that question because I'm sure the answer will help many others to ask a question and when the Bible speaks about the old man in Romans 6 the old man is a man who wants to sin the new man is not the one who does not sin but who does not want to send the want to is what determines whether your old men are human the old man wants to sin the new man does not want to sin but the new man falls I used the example of a pig and a cat a pig loves the muck and the mire and jumps into it and enjoys it that cat may fall into the mire too but it detested it jumps out immediately and it licks itself clean so a believer can also fall but it doesn't want to fall a cat does not choose to jump into the mire and if it does fall if a believer does fall he immediately feels guilty about it that's one proof that he is a believer and say Oh Laura I feel sorry please forgive me and habits that we have acquired for many years as sinners to take quite a while to get rid of some sins you can get rid of easily but those who have indulged in a long time I always say don't feel guilty that you fall ask yourself do you want to if you don't want to sin you have repented if you want to please God then you're the new man is in your heart and then it may take time for you to become perfect that is a growth it says we follow Jesus to the place maybe become totally like him and the Apostle Paul said towards the end of his life in Philippians 3 I'm not yet perfect so we can use the example of a race let us run the race looking unto Jesus Hebrews 12 being born again is coming to the starting line of the race becoming like Christ completely is at the end of the race I'm very conscious I have not become 100% like Christ Paul was conscious of that but I say I'm we're so ahead of where I was when I was born again 60 years ago because I mean Ronnie but still the finishing line is on long way off so until we get there I keep this attitude the new man I don't want to sin if I trip and fall I just get up and continue the race that's why I say keeping a good conscience all the time forgiving everybody who has hurt us very important apologizing to people whom we hurt very important always keeping our conscience clear before God and before men a wrong attitude in the heart confess it to God a wrong thought that came into our mind confessing to God and if you are serious about it the Holy Spirit will gradually help us to become better and better day by day and we can claim the promises promises are not for those who are perfect in that case nobody could get it it's for those who want to be perfect and who are God sees are pursuing along that way families could ask your children once the meeting is over how much they understood I'd be very happy if I heard that the children understood what I said that's always my goal because if the children understand and the grown-ups can understand him definitely so please ask your children and what they don't understand explain it today you see everything depends on the opportunity we have you mentioned Richard Roehm brand he was in a prison for many years how much fellowship did he have zero with other believers maybe with some others in the prison but other than that imagine yourself for example for one the different families locked up in prisons what you're gonna do bill fellowship with one another in your home those little children will fellowship with them this is a great opportunity I've always taught the foundation but the church is Christ's love for us the first floor is our own walk with God and the second floor is the family then comes the ministry in the church on top so now is the time to build the second floor plenty of time to be with the children in fact the last words of the Old Testament Malachi 4:6 says I'm going to draw the hearts of the father's to the children and the children to the father's and I believe God may have allowed this time to happen because we are living in a day when fathers and children are separated even among believers I find very few fathers spend time with their children so Malachi 4 says I'm going to restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and this is the time for that so don't think of fellowship only with some grown-up believers in some other family with all the members of your own family first and then as gift God gives opportunity we can still use the telephone which is a lot more than what people have in Paul's time speak to people when you get the opportunity so conversation is still possible at this time even we don't see face to face and with things like whatsapp whatsapp we can even see one another and talk to each other it may not be physically present there we have such tremendous facilities today that we can do a lot more in terms of fellowship with others and especially with our own family

Channel: SermonIndex.net

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Keywords: Revival, Character Of God, Free Sermons, Video Sermons, Jesus Christ, What Is The Gospel, SermonIndex, What Is The Truth, zac poonen, Covind-19, covid19, cornavirus

Id: uRisH6lMJdI

Length: 58min 5sec (3485 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 02 2020