FOR IT IS WRITTEN

Good Morning Church

Great to be back with you this morning! (I got to take a Sunday off last week)

Thanks to Pastor Jon Cox from Ascend Bible Church for being here…

If you were here last week…Pastor Jon got us started in a new series in the Gospel of Mark (We will be walking verse by verse through this Gospel from now until next easter)

So we are going to spend many many weeks dissecting THE GREATEST NEWS EVER GIVEN TO MANKIND

So we are going to pick up right where Pastor Jon left off last week…

Open bibles to 2 places…First MATTHEW Chapter 4…(Place a book mark here)…THEN OPEN TO MARK Chapter 1 (thats where we will be today)

Review of last week

***Mark moves very quickly…so a lot can happen in just a few verses

The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke)

SO WHEN WE READ THEM…WE CAN USE ALL THREE OF THEM ,COALATED TOGETHER, TO GET THE CLEAREST PICTURE OF THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED SURROUNDING THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST

Last week you got introduced to a guy named John the Baptist.

John the Baptist role….The way preparer

Prepare the Jews for salvation…prepare them for the Messiah

These people thought they were going to heaven because they were Jews…because of their ancestors…because they had the Law of Moses

John the Baptist is here to prepare their hearts…

To get them into a state of repentance…

To change their mind on their sin status…

Thats not what Jews did…they thought they were righteous because they were Jews…Because they ate kosher…and kept the sabbath…and sacrificed…because Abraham and Issac were in their blood line

Remember John said “I have come to prepare the way”

What does that mean???

Look at v4

John says that his ministry is to “preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”

Now the Jews were no strangers to baptism…

They ceremonially washed all the time…

Before entering the tabernacle…they washed from a big basin…

It signified a cleansing…being cleaned before you went to stand before a king…or stand before the Lord

Full submersion baptism was also something the Jews knew about…

If you were a gentile…and wanted to become a Jew…you would be fully submerged in the waters of baptism…

SO UNDERSTAND…John is asking the Jews (who usually believe they are righteous and holy)…

To publicly confess that they are sinners… they are in need of salvation…to confess their sins…

And to be baptized as a gentile would…As someone who is unclean…Not in a good standing with God...

And as John is doing this…he is telling the Jews…

“I am baptizing you in water…but one comes after me…who will baptize you with the Holy Ghost”

John is saying…I will wash you clean with water but you will get dirty again…(take a shower…go stand out in the heat…you are dirty again instantly)

But he says Jesus will give you a baptism that not only washes you clean…but keeps you clean…forever!!!

And that where we pick up today…

READ v9-13

There are 2 events that happen in this text…

FIRST….

THE BAPTISM (v9-11)

The baptism of Jesus signified 2 fulfillments…

-A fulfillment of the Law…

-And a fulfillment of prophecy…

First lets look at how it fulfilled the Law…

Synoptic Gospel…Mark doesn't spend a ton of time describing this event…but we can look to the other synoptic Gospels to get some more description of what happened here…

Matthew 3:13–15 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of You, and come You to me?And Jesus answering said to him, Allow it to be so now: for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him.

Jesus is fulfilling the Law of Righteousness…

Jesus did everything the His Law asked man to do…He did it…Perfectly...

Remember...Jesus was sinless…

But as a submission to the will of the Father…He who knew no sin...took on a sinners baptism…

He who knew no sin took on the identity of sin….the flesh…

And later He who knew no sin…would take on a sinners punishment…

This baptism is the fulfillment of the Law of Righteousness…

This baptism also fulfilled prophecy…

God told the Jews how they were to identify the Christ when He came…

Isaiah 42:1 Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; My elect, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Confirms the Identity of Jesus to the Jews…

The sky rips open…the Spirit descends…and God speaks…

“THIS IS MY SON…in whom I am well pleased”

GODS SERVANT…THE ELECT ONE…HAS COME…

He is here…the prophecy has been fulfilled…

LOOK AND SEE HERE:

John the Baptist came to prepare the people…

“One will come after me…”

The ONE HAS COME…HE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED…

Jesus has come to save the people…

John the baptist knows this…

John 1:29-34 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God (BEHOLD OUR SAVIOR IS HERE!), which takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me comes a Man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bore record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and It abode upon Him (JOHN ANNOUNCING JESUS IS THE SERVANT FROM ISAIAH). And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bore record that this is the Son of God.

SO John the Baptist confirms…This is the one…

God sent me to baptize you…He told me the one would come and I would see the spirit come down upon Him…BEHOLD THE LAMB

The stage is set…

John the Baptist came and did his job…

Jesus has come…and His work is about to begin…

What you are seeing is the launching of Christ’s ministry…

The way is set…

The Messiah is on the scene…(He has been announced)

ITS GAME TIME!!!!

SO…

What does He do first???

Where does He go first????

John says Jesus is here to “take away the sins of the world”

So before He does anything…He goes to the place sin is most prominent…

Straight to mans greatest battlefield (the wilderness)

To meet mans greatest enemy (Satan)

To destroy that enemies greatest weapon (temptation)

READ 12-13 AGAIN

This brings us to our 2nd event…

THE BATTLE

“And immediately the Spirit drives Him into the wilderness”

Why would the Spirit do that???

Scripture tells us there is a battle to be had…

He is going there for a reason….

He is going to…

Mans greatest battlefield…THE WILDERNESS

The Jews failed in the wilderness time and time again...(Exodus)

Mankind fails in the wilderness time and time again…

When we today, have wilderness seasons…we often fail in them…

WHY?

Wild places weaken you…

The wilderness strips you of all comfort…all the things that you depend on…

It leaves you bare...vulnerable…without coping mechanisms…without defense…

Makes you dependent...

Often when we are in a wilderness season…vulnerable…our enemy comes to destroy us…

Its there in the wilderness Jesus goes for 40 days

And its there He meets our greatest enemy…SATAN

The great deceiver, the dragon, the devil, Lucifer, the serpent, Beelzabub, Leviathan, the great accuser, father of lies….the tempter

Just like with man…Satan shows up in Christs weakest moment…

Ready to battle…

He is a powerful adversary…

Here is what the Lord says about him…

He is fierce…

Job 41:8 “Lay your hand upon him, Remember the battle, do no more.”

He is smart…

Ezekiel 28:3 “Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from you:”

So Jesus…He is led…He is sent….

To meet mans greatest enemy…on his turf…the Lord taking on flesh of man…

Satan uses the weapon he uses against all men…TEMPTATION…

Lets look to …

READ Matthew 4:1-11. (flip back to that book marked spot) (Lets get an in depth view of this battle)

Jesus goes into the wilderness…The Words tells us this was for a reason…TO BE TEMPTED…

Jesus goes to pick a fight…

And He gets one…

NOTICE: 3 temptations Satan gives Jesus…

1st- Jesus fasted…He is hungry…tempted by the desires of the flesh…

2nd- takes him to the top of the temple…temptation to prove he is the Son of God…to preform a miracle to show His true power…this is a temptation of the pride of life (exalt yourself…prove yourself as Lord)

3rd- takes Him up to the mountain…sees kingdom of the world…tempted by the desires of the eyes

All three of these temptations sum up all the temptations of the world…

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Jesus took on all the temptations of the world…

Notice also that these are all temptations that Eve fell to in the Garden of Eden….

Adam and Eve were told by God not to eat from the tree of knowledge…or they would die…

Just like in the temptation of Christ…Satan shows up (the first textual critic) twists the word of God…(Surely you wont die!)

And after Satan tempts Eve…

Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was…

1)good for food, (FOR HER FLESH)

2) and that it was pleasant to the eyes, (LUST OF THE EYES)

3) and a tree to be desired to make one wise (PRIDE OF LIFE),

she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Satan has an incredible success rate with temptation over man…

He has had thousands of years to practice at it…

BUT NOW…HE IS OUT MATCHED!!!!

After Satan throws the best temptations…the best the World has to offer…

Jesus denies him…

Jesus crushes Him…

Demoralizes Him…

Shews him off like a dog in the trash…”Get!”

I AINT NO ORDINARY MAN…

I AM THE LORD!!!!

I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU!!!!

Satan has been the most powerful ruler on the earth...

BUT NOW HE HAS JUST LEARNED THERE IS ONE HERE IN THE FLESH HE HAS NO POWER OVER!!!

SATAN HIMSELF HAVE BEEN PUT ON NOTICE…

Jesus says I AM HIM…

THE MESSIAH HAS COME!!!!

VICTORY HAS COME!!!

I AM GREATER THAN YOU!!!!

Notice Satan don’t stick around…The Lord says GET! and Satan abides….

Satan might be the King and ruler of the world…BUT THE KING OF KINGS IS PRESENT…

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU???

The battle over temptation was won right here in chapter 1!!!!

Jesus went before you in baptism…

Before you in the wilderness…

Before you in temptation…

And did them all perfectly…

HE CAME OUT VICTORIOUS!!!

He defeated the enemy…He no longer has power over you…

Because you contain the one who defeated him…

NOW…we will still be tempted in our flesh…and we still fall to temptation…

BUT JESUS PROVIDED A WAY FOR USTO BATTLE IT!!!!!!! A WAY TO FEND IT OFF…TO BE VICTORIOUS!!!!

1 Corinthians 10:13 “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

SO…What do we do when we are tempted???

Fight like Jesus= “IT IS WRITTEN” …Swing the sword

Ephesians 6…

GOD OUTFITS HIS SOLDIERS IN HIS ARMOR….The Armor of God

Wherefore take to you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.   put out, extinguish

17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

THE LORD PROTECTS YOUR HEAD AND YOUR HEART…(THE 2 MOST VULNERABLE PLACES…THE PLACES THAT IF YOU TAKE AN ARROW YOU WILL DIE)

SO YOUR LIFE IS PROTECTED…YOUR SALVATION AND YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WERE GIVEN TO YOU BY JESUS…

NOTICE THE WEAPON IN YOUR HAND…THE SWORD…”THE WORD OF GOD”

As Satan tempts…Jesus uses the only weapon He has…AND ITS THE ONLY WEAPON HE NEEDS…

NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL!!!!

THIS IS WHY WE STAND UP HERE…WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT…PREACHING AND TEACHING…

URGING YOU TO STUDY GODS WORD…

ITS THE ONLY WEAPON YOU HAVE!!!

SO SHARPEN IT…PREPARE IT FOR BATTLE…

AND SWING IT!!!

When temptation comes…

Lust of the flesh— when you are tempted to reach for that thing that you think sustains you…the food, the alcohol, the pornography, the marijauna, the cocaine, the money…whatever it is…

SWING THE SWORD- In His word the Lord tells me it is Him that sustains me…it is He that fills me…ALL I NEED IS HIM!!!!

Pride of Life— When you are tempted to be exalted above God…to be Lord of your own life…to give yourself what you see fit…to do your will

SWING THE SWORD- In His word the Lord tells us HE IS LORD…No other…His will is best…we are to serve Him…it is He that exalts us…It is by His will we are sons and daughters of God…

Lust of the eyes— when you are tempted by the desires of your eyes…to covet money, cars, physique, popularity, fame,…When the temptation comes to put an idol before God…

SWING THE SWORD- YOU WORSHIP NOTHING OR NONE EXCEPT THE LORD…WHO BOUGHT AND PAID FOR YOU WITH HIS BLOOD…

PRAY