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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Amen.

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Two Sundays ago Renee and I watched a do-it-yourself video on how to

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trim raspberry canes in the late winter. Very hopeful video and then

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that afternoon it was a nice day and so outside we went and it seemed

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to go quite well we watch the video and we thought it okay now we know

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how to trim raspberry canes.

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Now during the video

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the guy on the screen was at one point tying the canes to the wires,

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right so you could spread them out and they'd be more fruitful and he

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said the offhandedly now you can use any not you want.

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I like to use a square knot whatever and then he went on.

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Now

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what would you think of us if we had watched the video and said,

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look what we learned we learned what knots to use in tying raspberry

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canes.

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You would think the Gibbses don't know how to watch videos.

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You would think the Gibbses has picked up on a small part of the video

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and sort of missed the main point.

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Now, I can't prove this but I think it's fairly common to read Matthew

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chapter 4 and sort of missed the main point.

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I know it happens because I have an old sermon outline in my files

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that sort of misses the main point, so it happens.

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But I want to suggest you that we missed the main point when we make

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Jesus Temptation Into the Wilderness in the wilderness into a sort of

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an instruction on how we can resist temptation.

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Under this reading Jesus then is mostly an example for what we are

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supposed to do.

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I want to suggest you that this takes up possible minor emphasis of

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the reading and makes it into the main point.

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Now to try to illustrate this because this is a seminary crowd which

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for all of your shortcomings you are a crowd that has a higher average

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amount of Bible and theology in your brains.

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So let's just quickly very quickly answer to questions.

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Question number one who is Jesus out there in the wilderness in direct

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battle with Satan.

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Who is he?

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The answer is he's the son of God that is to say he is the people

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of God

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Jesus is in himself

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Israel.

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Long ago when God sent Moses to Pharaoh.

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He told him to say

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Israel is my first born son.

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Let my people go.

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And then later the prophet Hosea speaking for God recalled that same

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event.

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And God said out of Egypt

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I called my son.

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Now Matthew takes this teaching up and he gives to Jesus identity as

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the Son of God.

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A very profound and a corporate

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truth.

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Jesus sums up the people he is Israel.

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In that sense in this reading he is the Son of God.

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First question answered. Second question.

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Why is he out there?

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Obvious answer cuz the spirit led him.

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Yes, but why?

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It was because the people of God had failed in the wilderness.

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Israel was weak tested by God out in the desert they gave in they

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murmured they blew it.

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What they needed whether they knew it or not

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was someone to represent them someone to take their place who

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wouldn't blow it.

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Jesus is out there precisely because Israel had failed and they needed

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someone to take their place in the conflict with Satan.

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This means that Jesus is not an example for Israel to follow.

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In fact, he's following on the heels of their example.

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Their terrible example.

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They did not learn to live on every word that comes from God's mouth.

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They were very happy to put God to the test.

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And at times it seemed all too easy to worship and serve some other

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God than the God who had loved them.

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So Jesus is not there as an example for Israel.

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Neither

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is he there primarily as an example for us, no.

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This battle is too hard for you.

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That's not the main point.

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Jesus is not showing you how you can fight temptation.

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He is in fact doing battle with Satan because no one could find that

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battle

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but Jesus.

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The battle consist of this will you use your power your location your

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identity to make your life easier in this broken and dying world, will

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you get along on bread that perishes or on the word that comes from

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the mouth of the Lord. And you know, it is real chose long ago.

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And you know what you've chosen over and over.

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But Jesus never chooses the path of least resistance not once in the

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face of the world's sin and brokenness. He depends on the provision of

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the father here at the beginning and he follows the plan all the way

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to the end. The battle consists of his will you wonder whether God's

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ways are right?

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Will you wonder whether God can be trusted will you try to dethrone

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him by putting him to the test?

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You can't win that battle.

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You've already lost it many times just as Israel did. But Jesus never

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doubt never not even in the garden when he knows the plan and he

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doesn't want it.

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He never doubts

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not once.

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The battle consists of this who are you with whom will you serve to

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whom do you belong?

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This is the greatest battle of all. Now here we are today baptized

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confessing that Jesus is Lord is so yes, of course.

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Yes by Grace we worship the god of Israel.

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The only true God and His Son and the Holy Spirit.

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How many times have I made that first small step towards idolatry?

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How many times have I taken one poisonous taste?

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Toward repudiating the God whose I am.

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That battle is too hard for you.

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But Jesus never does anything or says anything or even thinks

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anything

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apart from the Lord his God.

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Here at the beginning of his ministry in the desert the battle with

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Satan is joined and Jesus wins.

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He wins.

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He turns the dry shifting sand of failure

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into a solid unshakable place

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of faithfulness.

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And that in fact is why we are here why we are looking on watching the

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battle that is not us to fight ours to fight

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but his.

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Because he won.

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He won.

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There in the desert later in the garden all along the way the led to

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the glorious battle on the tree.

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And then bursting forth in a victory.

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That he one for you.

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And he one for me.

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We're watching

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all right, but it's not so that we can become like Jesus.

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It's so that we can belong to Jesus.

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We can be with him.

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We can stand with him to this very day.

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It's not show me how to resist temptation.

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It's show me the faithfulness of Jesus for us all baptized.

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We say Jesus defeated the accuser and he can accuse no longer. Jesus

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lives and he is the king over sin and Satan and death and I am free.

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I have a new life out in the desert Jesus did it in the garden on the

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cross out of the tomb and up to the father's right-hand. Baptized,

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we say I'm with Jesus.

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I'm standing with the faithful one.

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That's the main point, Jesus is the main point.

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But there is help also for when Satan comes at you and Satan comes at

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you to try to get you to stop caring.

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To pull back and to play it safe.

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Here's what you do.

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You say to Satan no, go away.

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I'm with Jesus.

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I'm standing with the faithful one.

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When the temperature tells you that the person who crossed you who

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contradicted you or sorted your plan deserves to be written off and

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assassinated in your heart.

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Then you say no.

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Go away.

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I'm with Jesus.

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I'm with the faithful one.

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And when Satan tempts you to discouragement

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to wondering whether it's worth it all after all just play the video.

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Just play the video and watch the video of faithful Jesus for you.

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And to the question

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is it worth it?

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We say yes it is.

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We will not lose heart.

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We are with the faithful one.

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We are standing with Jesus in the name of the Father and of the Son

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and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.