Red letters

The red letters represent in the bible the words of Christ. So this whole month we will focus our attention on the powerful life changing statements of Jesus.

Matthew 4 The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

1.  See here how Jesus is the Son of God, He is so busy but requires moments and His Spirit required to be with His Father, God.

a.  Even in our busy lives we have to be able to point to the times we have set aside for God.

                                               i.      If you don’t choose a time and a place to worship, pray, give, moments to fast, serve and read your bible then you don’t devote very much.

                                            ii.      This says to me to me that you don’t want God moving in your life very much.

                                         iii.      You desire everything else rather than the words of God.

1.  God’s word brings life, direction, strength, and encouragement.

2.  God’s word brings conviction, correction, inspiration, and healing.

b.  Jesus knew that His Father’s word was the source of His power, encouragement, compassion, and mission.

c.   It was God’s word that helped Him carry out His assignment.

d.  It’s was God’s word He desired when things got hectic, stressful, sinful, or confusing.

e.  Jesus Christ drew great strength from the Word of God then how much more should we desire it.  

                                               i.      He recognized that every situation, every thing, and every one would share their ideas, their needs, and their desires and would bring lies, confusion, and half truths into the world and that He had come to bring the world truth. 

f.     The word makes a difference in us when we see it, hear it, read it, and memorize it.  

                                               i.      We as men and women of God can not talk to others in public about the things we refuse to talk to God about in private.

1.  The intimacy of relationship. 

2.  The depth of relationship.

3.  The advantages of relationship.

4.  Jesus defeated the devil with “God’s word says.” “It is written.”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, 'He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.'"

7 Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD your God.'"

2.  Jesus refuses to test God.

a.  He didn’t have to prove Himself to anyone including Him self nor the devil.

                                               i.      This was the highest place in Jerusalem the Holy City of God many, many people surrounding it all day would have been so impressed in Jesus flying, descending, floating, or hovering to the ground. 

1.  Then everyone will know you have a special purpose from God and you were sent here from heaven.

                                            ii.      Wouldn’t you if you had supernatural power want to see it in operation in such an awesome way?

b.  Be sure of this also that when the devil fails to trap you in one area of your life be ready for him to hit you in another.

                                               i.      Some of us fail every temptation ever dealt to us.

                                            ii.      Others of us win in some arenas then fail when we get tired frustrated, or bored.

                                         iii.      But we need to make up our minds to fight and overcome the enemy that God has given us power to.

1.  We realize that Christ is able and ready to save us from our sins but we can’t be tempted to presume that He will save us in our sins.

2.  Don’t walk on the grace and mercy of God.

c.   God casts down, that He may raise up; the devil raises up that he may cast down so if you are afraid of falling you better be sure of your climb and its intentions.

                                               i.      In great positions for God we have to stay humble in Him or we’ll be destroyed.

                                            ii.      If you’re on a power trip I promise it won’t last long.

1.  The presence of God will move away from you so fast it’ll make your head spin.

2.  Staying humble, contrite, and sincere is God’s way to greatness.

a.  God says in His word He will never refuse these types of worshippers.

                                                                                                                       i.      Travel it.

                                                                                                                    ii.      Stay focused.

                                                                                                                 iii.      God’s church not ours. 

d.  See how the devil says jump off, it’s cause he couldn’t push him.

                                               i.      He entices us but can not force us into temptations.

1.  We make the final call and we need to make the right ones.

2.  Jesus defeats the devil a second time with, “God’s word says” “It is written.”

8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 "I will give it all to you," he said, "if you will kneel down and worship me."

10 "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.'"

11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

3.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself.

a.  Knowing God’s plan for your life will keep you secure in your future and every temptation that will ever come your way.

                                               i.      This is by far the crudest of all temptations knowing the breaking of the first of our commandments which is “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”

1.  Imagine being offered anything you want.

2.  Imagine being offered all the fame, all the fortune, all the majesty, all the respect, all the honor, and all of the kingdoms of this world and all you had to do is bow down and worship your enemy. 

3.  The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

4.  Jesus was so sickened by this request of his enemy He immediately says to him, “Get out of here.”

b.  Finally defeats his enemy again with, “God’s word says.” “It is written.”

The Ministry of Jesus Begins

12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 "In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,

16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined." 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." 

4 obstacles that come with every great opportunity

Great opportunities do not come without challenges. Often, the greater the opportunity, the greater the challenge will become. If it were always easy, people would be walking into something new all the time, and you would never hear anyone complain about never getting a break. Preparing now to meet those challenges will keep you from being surprised and give you courage to overcome each one.

Here are 4 of the biggest obstacles that come with every opportunity.

1. Sacrifice.

•If people only did the same things that have always been done, we would still be living in caves and using leaves for clothes.
•Great advancements come when someone is willing to sacrifice, because they are passionate about what was possible.
•Whether it is time, energy, money, fame, or popularity, as you set your priorities you will have to sacrifice certain things to make the most out of any great opportunity.

2. Knowledge.

•Many times the full potential of an opportunity is never realized because the people involved simply didn't know enough.
•That fact has kept many people from trying to accomplish great things.
•As you undertake any great opportunity, there will be times when you feel like you just don't know enough, but that doesn't mean that you are not the right person for the job.
•Make the choice now to study and surround yourself with wise people and you will succeed where others have failed, even if you don't always immediately know the answer. 

3. Distraction.

•There is so much going on in the world, culture, society, so many things that try to grab and keep your attention.
•If you don't choose to stay focused, you will get tripped up by one of the biggest obstacles to opportunity. 
•Those who can maintain their focus and see vision through to reality are the people who will be able to seize the opportunity and make the most of it.

4. Fear.

•The single biggest obstacle to success of any kind is fear.
•Fear will cause you to freeze and question if you really can do anything at all.
•Fear can make you say "what if" instead of "why not."
•If you allow yourself to look at opportunity through eyes of fear you will watch each opportunity pass you by and miss the great rewards of making a stand.
•God does not want you to reach out of fear; He wants you to enjoy all the blessings of moving past that obstacle and making the most out of your opportunities.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

Evil destroys vision

We have taken a couple of weeks to “unmask” the Devil and his mission, evil. His strategy to destroy, his pattern of planting deception and assignment of inventing evil!

1.Evil seeks to destroy mission.

Luke 8:12 (NLT) "The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved."

1.These are the very words of Jesus telling us that we have an enemy on the loose and one of his missions is to oppose people's salvation!

1.God's mission:save, rescue humanity.

2.Evil's mission:destroy humanity, plant confusion, inspire unbelief, propagate dishonor, disrespect, and rebellion.

2.John 19 one of the accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

John 19:28 (NLT)

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, "I am thirsty."

1.Christ's mission was fulfilled now we must fulfill ours.

1.What is God asking of you?

2.What has God planned for you?

3.           God had written out, blueprinted, and engineered "you for such a time as this."

2.Evil seeks to keep you masked, keep you faking your relationship in God so the world will never hear the message of Jesus, never hear about the hope of the cross, or the forgiveness of sins.

Illustrate here: baton

1.There is a mission desperately trying to be passed to you, there is a calling desperately seeking to overtake you, there is a gifting that God is seeking to pour out of you, are you ready?

1.Mission, calling, gifting and evil can not coexist!

2.Are you ready to be all that God has designed you to be?

3.Have you let go of all other things to just embrace Him?

John 8:44 (NLT) "For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies."

•                              The Devil cannot tell the truth!

•                  He is the ultimate liar!

•      Isn’t this ironic…the greatest lie of all is to be deceived and convinced that the Devil does not even exist!

•                  Atheist-person who does not believe in the existence of God.

•                  Agnostic-a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

Romans 1:28-32 (NLT)

"Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. [29] Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. [30] They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. [31] They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. [32] They know God's justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too."

1.Acknowledge God in your calling, acknowledge God in your finances, acknowledge God in your service, acknowledge God in your future, acknowledge God in your relationships, acknowledge God in and through all that you do.

1.God gives life and Satan takes it! 

2.So the only power that the Devil has and that sin has is what we allow it to have in our lives.

3.Don't give in to evil.

Psalm 23:4 (KJV) "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;"

1.God is with me.

2.God is as close as the mention of His name, His angels guard, protect and overshadow me.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 (NLT)

"I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. [2] Then the Lord said to me, "Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. [3] This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. [4] "Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God."

1.Write the vision(answer)--which I am about to reveal to thee.

2.Make it plain--In large legible characters.

3.Upon tablets--boxwood tablets covered with wax, on which national affairs were engraved with an iron pen, and then hung up in public, at the prophets own houses, or at the temple, that those who passed might read them.

4.So that a runner may carry the correct message--commonly explained, so intelligible as to be easily read/understood by any one running past but then it would be, that he that runneth may read it.

1.Run your race for God to carry the correct message.

5.The vision is yet for an appointed time/future time--Though the time appointed by God for the fulfilment be future, it should be enough for your faith that God has spoken it.

2. Evil destroys vision

1.Evil in you will keep vision from you.

2.Evil destroys vision.

1.Di vision

2.Die vision

3.That's the Devil's job to keep you from envisioning better, to keep you from envisioning freedom, to keep you from envisioning God's perfect plan in your life.

1.If he continues to keep you distracted with the evil things of this world then he will keep the spiritual things, the vision, from you.

2.He will keep the vision from being fulfilled, he will keep the vision hidden, suppressed, keep you running without a message, keep you running without spiritual purpose.

Proverbs 29:18 (NLT)

"When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful."

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

1.No vision means: no instruction in God's truth, no clarity in His plan, purpose, and will.

2.People perish--deprived of moral restraints.

1.Therefore sin to destroy them, eternally.

3.Obeys the law--has hold of it's understanding, and observes, instruction.

Galatians 1:4, NLT "Jesus gave His life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live."

1.If you are feeling overwhelmed, allow God to comfort you.

2.Every trial you endure will help you comfort other people who are suffering similar troubles. No matter what manner of evil you ever face God is bigger, God is more, God is close.

3.Evil disassembles the most admirable dreams, disrupts the greatest of plans, destroyed many a talented people and thwarts away the purest of motives.

4.Evil divides, evil disrupts, evil evades, evil confuses and evil dispels.

3. Evil will keep you from wisdom.

Proverbs 2:12-15 (NLT) "Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. [13] These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. [14] They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. [15] Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong."

1.Some people say I don't know how to make right decisions but that's not true, look around someone will guide you into the ways of God. 

2.Look closely, someone will guide you into wisdom.

3.Look closely someone will guide you into freedom. 

Illustrate here:masks. Use an evil mask to understand how you wear this all day yet this is not what you are. Wear a good mask to understand this is what you wear all day yet this is not what you are. 

Evil / Who is the Devil

Tonight we are going to talk about the father of all evil.
The Devil.
The Bible has a bunch to say about the Devil.
Who he is…how he works and what he does!
WE are going to take a couple of weeks to “Unmask” him, his strategies, patterns and mission!

The devil is not a myth or a legend…He is very real and very alive!
Pastor Mike I have never seen him!
Might I remind you that you have never seen gravity either!
But we see the work of it…you jump off of this church and gravity  is very real!
We have seen the works of the devil in action!
2. Jesus himself addressed this issue of the Devil being very alive and very real!

Luke 8:12 (NLT) "The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved."
These are the very words of Jesus telling us that we have an enemy on the loose and one of his missions is to oppose people's salvation!
Matthew 4:1 (NLT) "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the Devil."
Jesus had a very real encounter with the Devil.

This is the account of the Devil not only while he was in Heaven before he rebelled, but also when he got kicked out!
The Devil was a created being!

Luke 10:18 (NLT)
"Yes," he told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!"

Isaiah 14:12-17 (NLT)
"How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. [13] For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. [14] I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' [15] Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. [16] Everyone there will stare at you and ask, 'Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble? [17] Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world's greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?"

Ezekiel 28:13-19 (NLT)
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone- red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald- all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. [14] I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. [15] "You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. [16] Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. [17] Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. [18] You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. [19] All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more."

From these scriptures we can piece together that the Devil was probably the Worship leader in heaven before he chose to rebel! (Freewill)
He is not the creator…but rather the created and very alive!
John 8:44 (NLT) "For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies."
The Devil cannot tell the truth!
WOW let's recap–loves to do evil, a murderer, truth hater, liar, consistent character defamer and the father of all lies!
The devil created lying!
He is the most incredible at it!
I've met a few people who were an incredibly close second but no one is better!
He is the ultimate liar!
Isn’t this ironic…the greatest lie of all is to be deceived and convinced that the Devil does not even exist!
Atheist-person who does not believe in the existence of God.
Agnostic-a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.
Revelation 12:9 (NLT) "This great dragon-the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world-was thrown down to the earth with all his angels."

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT) "Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NLT) "But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. [15] So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve."
He wears a mask to hide his true identity!
This is why evil is so enticing looking so pleasurable and good!
It's masked from it's true identity.
The Devil makes what is wrong appear right and what is right appear wrong and tedious.
The Devil has strategies against you!
A strategy is an “organized plan of attack” to achieve a goal or mission!
The Devil’s mission statement is found in John 10:10 – “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy your life…”
He plots and schemes on how he and his army of demons can destroy your life, your family, your reputation, your job, your finances, your marriage…you name it…He has a plan against it!
How ignorant of us to not expose and understand how he works and who he is!
2 Corinthians 2:11 (NLT) "so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes."

Ephesians 6:11-12 (NLT) "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. [12] For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

So this is the game changer for me…to realize, recognize and comprehend that he is personally after me! After my sons! My wife! My Daughters! My Family! And the ministry God has called, ordained, and separated me to.
I will not stand idly by!

The devils power is very limited!
The Devil had a plan and that plan blew up and backfired!
He thought that when Jesus died on the cross that all hell would break loose and that that the Son of God was finally defeated!
What he did not know was God’s complete plan!
Listen…The Devil can only twist what God has already put in place!
What about in Romans 1 where it says that they invent evil…just look at what they are doing.
God gives life and Satan takes it!
God created sex for a husband and wife and Satan twisted it and said do it outside of marriage, have it with whomever you want, then man with man and woman with woman!
You owe it to yourself to read Romans 1 to see what God thinks of this.
So the only power that the Devil has is what we give him!
Fear cannot get a grip on us unless we allow it to stay.
Colossians 2:15 (NLT)
"In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."
God is the creator and the Devil is created!
God is omnipotent (all powerful)…the Devil is not!
God is omnipresent (everywhere)…the Devil is in one spot!
God is omniscient (all knowing)…the Devil is created!

LISTEN:  If the Devil knew everything…He would have never rebelled!  Why?  Look where he is going to end up for Eternity…

Revelation 20:10 (NLT) "Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

How do we defeat him every day of our lives?

James 4:7 (NLT) "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
The key is submitting your life to Jesus Christ.
Take up His Word every day and take up your cross every moment.
To look temptation in the eyes and face it all with the Word of God!
All my areas submitted to the Lord.
Matthew 22:37 – “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength…”

Submit=Honor, live for, be faithful to.
Being a true follower of Jesus Christ…not a pretender and a fake…that is what we just said the Devil does!
If that is the way you are doing life...who's control and influence are you under?

1 John 5:18 (NLT) "We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them."

Psalm 23:4 (KJV) "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;"