Luke 4:1-13 (Sermon for the week of February 25th)

Gospel
Lk 4:1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.

The devil said to him,“If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”Jesus answered him, “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.

The devil said to him,“I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish.All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

Jesus said to him in reply,“It is written:You shall worship the Lord, your God,and him alone shall you serve.”Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,“If you are the Son of God,throw yourself down from here, for it is written:He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,and:With their hands they will support you,lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

Jesus said to him in reply,“It also says,You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

SERMON:

I think this week's reading is a great opportunity to talk about a few pieces of knowledge which ties directly into the Bible verses this week. It will not be a sermon that will relate the temptation of Jesus to your life, but it will help us understand what really went on this week. I need to touch base on a few Truth's. What is the "Trinity" that Church Leaders speak of? What is the Holy Spirit? The "Trinity" idea had confused me for a time in my life and I want to talk about it before we delve deeper into the reading.

The "Trinity" is: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The "Father" is called "God". Who is God? I like that the Jews call it YHVH, which means the unknowable and undefinable. Why? Because God the "Father" is everything. God the Father is infinite..."the nothing and the something". Since we are finite, it is impossible to define or name God. So, the Jews leave it UNDEFINED! If God is everything...then what was the first manifestation of the Father?

JOHN 14:7-11
"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, `Show us the Father'? 10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."

The Son is the first manifestation of the "Father". This first manifestation who is The Son, came before Angels and came before mankind. This first manifestation is the "Creator"of all other things. The Creator created the angels, Adam and Eve, and this physical Universe. The person talking to Moses IS the Creator. The Creator called Himself
" I AM " I AM is not defined...it just is! Now, the Creator was aware that mankind was in a horrible condition because of sin. This Creator, the Son of "God" or the Son of YHVH, came down here to live in a tent of flesh and allowed Himself to be crucified in order to conquer the catch 22 mankind found itself in due to sin. Jesus is the name of the Son of YHVH, the Son of God, who came here 2,000 some years ago in order to conquer sin for us. This was an act of Love...by the Creator. Jesus called Himself the I AM and the Jews didn't believe it. Thus, the Son of God is the first manifestation or first appearance of the "Father" and the Son is the Creator of ALL. The Son of God was Jesus!

JOHN 1:10
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

JOHN 8:58
Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was,
I AM."

JOHN 18:5-6
Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Then -- when He said to them, "I am He," -- they drew back and fell to the ground.

MATTHEW 28:18
Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."

The Holy Spirit is the medium that the Creator "creates" through. If you want to experience the Holy Spirit...hold your finger out in front of you and blow on it. The air that you feel on your finger IS THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Father and the Son work through the medium of the Holy Spirit!

There is an order of priority, if you will, to all of this. The Son does NOT come before the Father. The order is: the FATHER, then SON, then Holy Spirit. The Will of the Father and the Son are in perfect harmony with each other. The Son IS the first form of the Father and the Father IS EVERYTHING.

Hey, I told you this would be a sermon on another level...

So here are two questions.
1)Did Satan ever know who The Creator was?
2)Does Satan know who Jesus is?
Answer: NO to both questions.

So who is Satan? Satan was the name given to an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer was a Cherub. Cherubs are those cute baby angels you reckon to Cupid. They look LIKE BABIES, who are a group of angels that also have the power to carry out whatever command is given. These Cherubs are extremely fierce if they have to be. Lucifer was one of the most adored Cherubs.
The Hierarchy of "Heaven" works like this:
First is the Creator...who is called the I AM...who is the Son of God.

Second are the Angels of the Four Directions, Michael, Gabriel, Ariel, and Raphael.These Four are under the "Throne" of the Creator and carry out the Will of the Son.

Next come the groups of angels called the Seraphim's and the Cherubim.

Next comes mankind.

So, Lucifer was a Cherubim and never met Jesus/the Creator. The "Highest" he ever met were the Angels of the Four Directions, namely Michael! Lucifer fell to this Earth before Adam and Eve and was called "SATAN" by the other angels. Satan/Lucifer was here FIRST. This is HIS WORLD...HIS CURSE. He is a Liar and a deceiver and will prove that mankind is NOT WORTHY for forgiveness! That is his mission...if Satan can't be forgiven then why are these men and women who were created after Satan forgiven??

Now with this info, we can look at the reading. Does Jesus know who Satan is? YES! Jesus is the One who cast Satan down here! Does Satan know who Jesus is? NO! But this "Son of God" and Messiah talk has Satan nervous enough to materialize and meet Jesus for a "talk of temptation". Jesus knows why He is here. He is here to conquer Satan and SIN for those who believe and love the Creator. Jesus answers Satan with Scripture PERFECTLY to throw Satan off. After all, JESUS is the "I AM" that has revealed ALL OF THE SCRIPTURES to mankind.
Jesus knows Scripture better than any manifested being. Why didn't Jesus just throw Satan off the cliff or destroy Satan? Satan fulfills a purpose. It might seem cruel to us...but our will and the Creators will are two different things. If we follow Temptation, we are NOT following the Creator,and thus DO NOT love God. Satan, separates the believers from the non-believers. To those who are on the path of faith, Satan comes to tempt you and allows your own decisions to throw you off the path of faith. He is there to prove that you ARE NOT worthy of Salvation!
Satan can't figure out who this "Jesus" is.

In the reading we read that first, Jesus fasts. Fasting is one way to rely on the Father/Son in faith. Imagine fasting for 40 days. (40 days of fasting has been accomplished many times by people even recently). But, imagine how "tempting" food may be after a 40 day fast. As the scripture says...for 40 days Satan tempted Jesus.

Satan asks Jesus that if He really is the Son of God, the Creator, surely Jesus can turn a stone into bread. Jesus answers Satan with Scripture which could mean to Satan that Jesus could still be the Son of God, or just a human.

Satan then tells Jesus a Truth which we must acknowledge. Satan tells Jesus that HE, SATAN, RULES ALL THE KINGDOMS ON EARTH! And Satan can give these kingdoms to Jesus if he wishes. Remember, this Earth...this piece of rock floating in the Galaxy... happens to be ruled by SATAN and we are temporary"uninvited guests" here. We are the nuisance of Satan who he focuses on in order to prove to the Son of God that Satan is more worthy as a fallen Cherub than these constantly sinning humans. If you want paradise on Earth, riches beyond belief, to become famous...then Satan must grant you this. If you follow the Creator, then the Creator will make sure you have EVERYTHING you need...not more and not less!

Now think about the verse Jesus says: "You are not of this world...""
John 15:19
If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Now how does Jesus reply to this second temptation of Satan?
With Scripture.
This means that Jesus still could be the Son of God or just a human.

Now the third temptation is to tempt The Creator's Power. If He really is the Creator....Satan said "If you are the Son of God throw yourself off the cliff!" Surely, the Son of God, the Creator, can do this!
How does Jesus answer?
With Scripture.
Which still means that Jesus could be the Son of God or just a human.

How does Satan leave Jesus? CONFUSED! Surely Satan will come again and figure this "Jesus" out. Satan will watch for a while and then make his move (through the temptation of Judas).

I leave you with this thought. If Satan would have ever figured out that he was standing before the Son of God for sure...would he have influence the crucifixion? Satan still wins over man...but did Satan really expect this possible Messiah called "Jesus" to walk through the GATES OF HELL when He was crucified? Did Satan ever realize that through the death of Jesus the following verse would become true and for those who believe...Satan's game would be over?
The verse is:
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life"?

My answer is that Satan had no idea that this was the plan of the Creator, the Son, to save mankind. Satan had no idea what Jesus was doing...but Satan was worried and confused about it!

One warning: For those who try to go up against Satan head to head...you are defeated! Only the Son of God and His angels can defend you against Satan. Don't fall for this "Be like Christ" nonsense! YOU are NOT the Son of God! But as a believer, He shall help you if you ask Him. You are dealing with Lucifer, a fallen angel, but an angel, and through Scripture we can know how to act when faced with temptation but when it comes to power, you have none against Satan.
Only the Lord can protect you...call upon Him immediately.

May the Lord be with us all!

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