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  • 3 days ago
Transcript
00:00We begin our story in the river of Jordan by the town of Nazareth.
00:20Nazareth is where Jesus grew up with his mother and father.
00:24In Nazareth, Jesus had met his relative John, who was living in the desert for a very long
00:31time, to learn more and more about God.
00:37John then baptized Jesus in the waters of the river Jordan.
00:43It was then that John realized that Jesus was actually the Son of God.
00:56John knew that Jesus was the king that God had promised to send to his people.
01:02Now that Jesus had been baptized, he knew it was time to start the work that God had sent
01:07him to do on earth.
01:10He would spread the good news that God loves us all.
01:19The Holy Spirit was calling him away and into the vast, dry desert.
01:24This is where Jesus' work for God would begin.
01:29On and on Jesus walked, over the hills and through the desert, until he was deep in the
01:35wilderness of the desert.
01:39He felt the hot heat of the sun on his back, and the winds blowing wildly across the wide
01:44expanse of sandy land.
01:51He walked and walked through the desert, for forty days and forty nights.
02:02Jesus wanted to think about God and feel close to him.
02:06So he fasted for all forty days and nights.
02:12Even though he felt thirsty, he did not drink water even once.
02:16His mouth was dry and cracked.
02:21His stomach rumbled and growled, empty.
02:24Even though he felt hungry, he did not eat a single thing.
02:31He knew that without the distractions of food, water and his own needs, he could feel closer
02:37to God.
02:40Fasting was a common way to concentrate on prayer and devotion to God.
02:45Jesus purposefully made himself open and vulnerable to God in this way.
02:50In an interesting parallel, the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years.
02:58During those forty days and nights, Jesus prayed to God and sought his blessing to keep him
03:04strong while spreading the God's word.
03:13Satan, the enemy of God, had been watching Jesus wander and suffer in the desert.
03:21Jesus was now tired and hungry.
03:24He had been starving for so many days now.
03:28Satan had been making mankind disobey God from the times of Adam and Eve.
03:33He was the one who appeared to them as the snake and tempted them to eat the forbidden fruit.
03:41He had a plan to tempt Jesus and make him disobey God as well.
03:48Satan wanted to keep the word of God from spreading throughout the world.
03:57As soon as Jesus saw Satan, he recognized him.
04:02The devil came along and said to Jesus,
04:04There is no reason for you to be hungry.
04:07If you are the son of God, you could take one of these stones and turn it into bread.
04:15Jesus thought about Satan's words for just a moment.
04:19He was very hungry and thirsty, and he knew he could change the stones into bread if he
04:24willed it.
04:26But he knew it was the wrong thing to do.
04:28He knew that the devil was trying to get him to do something wrong.
04:33And so Jesus replied to Satan,
04:37It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
04:44mouth of God.
04:50Jesus refused to use his holy power and connection to God to fulfill his own hunger and thirst.
04:56He knew that God would always provide what he needed.
05:00And there were more important things than eating rich food.
05:05The words and teachings of God can satisfy us far more than any earthly thing.
05:10Jesus was not tempted by Satan's words.
05:15Satan was angry that Jesus had not changed the stones into bread.
05:20He decided to try again to make Jesus do his bidding.
05:26Come with me.
05:37Satan took Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem, the holy city.
05:43He transported him up onto the tallest tower so they could see all the land around the city.
05:50Many houses, temples, markets, and other buildings stretched far into the distance.
05:56They saw the people below like tiny ants, walking about and tending to their business.
06:02They stood precariously at the edge of the tower.
06:07Still, Jesus was not frightened.
06:10He knew God would always protect him.
06:14And so Satan tried to tempt Jesus a second time.
06:21He pointed to the land far below them and said, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,
06:27for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you to protect you.
06:34And on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
06:42Jesus looked down where Satan was pointing.
06:45He knew that God would always keep him safe.
06:48But to test God in this way was wrong.
06:53It is said, Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
06:59Now Satan became even more angry.
07:02Jesus would not be tempted to put God to the test.
07:06Jesus knew that he did not need to prove that God would save him or help him, because he knew
07:11in his heart that God loved him and protected him.
07:17Spitting and howling with anger, suddenly Satan had another idea to tempt Jesus.
07:23Satan took Jesus on a long journey.
07:29He took Jesus all the way to the top of the tallest mountain on earth.
07:35From the top of the mountain, they could see all around them the glittering kingdoms of the
07:39world, from the deepest green jungles, across the wide sparkling oceans, to the tallest,
07:45most fantastic cities.
07:49Satan was sure that he could use the spectacular view to tempt Jesus into disobeying God.
07:56Satan said to Jesus,
07:58All these I shall give you, if you will fall down on the ground and worship me.
08:11Satan believed that by promising all the power and all the glory of ruling every kingdom
08:16in the world, Jesus would want to disobey God and follow Satan instead.
08:22And Jesus said,
08:34Jesus knew that Satan could not offer him the love, kindness and forgiveness that God had
08:39for all his children.
08:41He knew that to worship Satan would be to deny God, his Father who loved him.
08:48Jesus knew that every kingdom, every deep green jungle, every wide sparkling ocean and every
08:54tall fantastic city truly belonged to God, not to Satan.
09:01And so he knew that worshiping God was the only right thing to do.
09:07No matter how Satan had tried, Jesus could not be tempted.
09:16Jesus was hungry and exhausted, but he had won the battle.
09:26And then the angels flew down from heaven to help him.
09:33They brought him food and water and helped him recover.
09:37And pretty soon he was ready to begin the mission given by his Father.
09:45Just like Jesus, we might be tempted by things that are wrong and against God's will.
09:50And just like Jesus, we should resist those temptations.
09:54And remember that God loves us and wants us to behave in a certain way.
10:08Amen.
10:09Amen.
10:10Amen.
10:11Amen.
10:12Amen.
10:13Amen.
10:14Amen.
10:15Amen.
10:16Amen.
10:17Amen.
10:18Amen.
10:19Amen.
10:20Amen.
10:21Amen.
10:22Amen.
10:23Amen.
10:24Amen.
10:25Amen.
10:26Amen.
10:27Amen.
10:28Amen.
10:29Amen.
10:30Amen.
10:31Amen.
10:32Amen.
10:33Amen.
10:34Amen.
10:35Amen.
10:36Amen.

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