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The 3 temptation of Jesus Christ
and
the Lord’s prayer
Mat 4
Honky Harjo – 7 Sept 2025
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Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
Jesus was led by the God’s Spirit
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1st temptation
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Mat 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
1st temptation
The temptation for Jesus to use
His power as the Son of God
And follow the way of self
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Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Jesus came as the Son of Man
to follow the will of God
As the Son of man, Jesus will not use
His power as the Son of God
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Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Jesus follows God’s way
Therefore, Jesus did not fall into following
the way of self
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2nd temptation
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Mat 4:5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’;
And ‘On their hands they will lift You up,
So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
2nd temptation
The temptation for Jesus to use
His status as the Son of God
And to seek own glory as what religion preaches
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Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Jesus came as the Son of Man,
whereby only God gets the glory
Jesus will not use His status as the Son of God
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Deu 6:16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.
What happened in Massah (Meribah) ?
The meaning of Massah is “testing”
The meaning of Meribah is “quarelling”
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Num 20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank.
In Massah, Moses chose to glorify himself instead of God
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Num 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
In Massah (testing), Moses failed the test
because Moses chose to glorify own achievement, instead of God’s achievement
Depending on own achievement is the way of religion
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3rd temptation
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Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”
3rd temptation
For Jesus to get the comfort as a son of a king
by becoming a false prophet under the devil
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Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Jesus did not prioritize the comfort of living as a son of a king
Jesus was willing to live as the Son of Man
that solely depended on
God’s mercy and compassion
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The 3 temptations
and
the 3 answers from Jesus
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1st temptation :
For Jesus, not to let go His power as Son of God
2nd temptation :
For Jesus, not to let go His status as Son of God
3rd temptation :
For Jesus, not to let go His comfort as Son of God
The answers from Jesus
Jesus is willing to be the Son of Man that only depends on God’s mercy and compassion
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1st temptation :
For Jesus, to follow the way of self
2nd temptation :
For Jesus, to follow the way of religion, that emphasizes own achievement
3rd temptation :
For Jesus, to follow the way of false prophets
The answer from Jesus
Jesus is willing to follow God
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What happened next ?
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Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The God’s Spirit remained with Jesus
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Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Because Jesus followed God,
now it was God who was in front of Jesus
Now it was God who faced Satan
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Exo 33:20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
No one can meet God face to face �and live
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Exo 33:20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Now Satan was faced with 3 choices :
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Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
Satan thought that he was testing Jesus, in fact, the one that was tested was Satan himself
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Mat 4:11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.
The devil choose to run
Thru His angels, God showed that God’s power was with Jesus
God was in front of Jesus to face the devil
God’s power will always follow those
who is willing to receive God’s heart
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Luke 4:13 And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Never again did the devil dare to face Jesus
The devil would manifest himself again in Rev
We will read what happened with the devil
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Luke 4:13 And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
The disciples follow Jesus, so it is Jesus who is in front of the disciples and it is God who is in front of Jesus
The devil does not dare to face God who is in front of the disciples of Christ
Now the devil will use other ways to face Jesus and His disciples
The devil is cunning
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Rev 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.
Rev 13:2 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
Rev 13: 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
Now the devil use 2 other parties to face Jesus and His disciples :
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The devil uses religion and the false prophets,
so that the devil can avoid facing God
who is in front of Jesus and the disciples of Christ
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The devil and Jesus at the end time
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Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
2nd coming of Jesus
Jesus comes to earth
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Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.
The beast (religion) and the kings of the earth (false prophets) are going to fight Jesus
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Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone.
The beast of religion and the false prophets were sent to hell
Where is Satan ?
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Rev 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
God sent His angel to face the devil
It is God with His power who will face the devil
Indeed it is God who is in front of Jesus
to face the devil
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The parable of the prodigal son
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Luke 15:25 “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
The older son was OUTSIDE the house
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Luke 15:28 But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
The older son was NOT willing to enter the house of the Father
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Luke 15:29 But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
The older son took pride in his own achievement (like Moses)
The older son was following the way of religion and was NOT blessed by God
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Luke 15:30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’
The older son likes to judge
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Luke 15:31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”
The good Father still loves the older son, and invited him to go INSIDE the house
to join the celebration
Would the religious older son accept ?
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Satan has penetrated and contaminated the church
thru the teachings of religion and the false prophets,
that prioritize own achievement and own comfort
The older son is under
the captivity of religion and false prophets
God is in front of the young son to face the older son
This is the story of the older son
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The Lord’s prayer
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Mat 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Jesus taught us to overcome temptation,
and to be delivered from the evil one
Jesus’s way is for us to follow Jesus,
and to let God to lead us and face the evil one
Just like Jesus in the 3 temptations
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Mat 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Receive holiness from the Most Holy
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Receive the kingdom of heaven
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Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Taste the blessings in the kingdom
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Understand God’s heart of mercy
Mat 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Follow God so that God be in front of us to face the evil ones
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Today’s discipleship material
Following the ark of the covenant
Joshua 3
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Topic for 21 Sept 2025 sermon
The Lord’s prayer
A prayer against poverty