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Baptism and Temptation - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And there came a voice from heaven saying,
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  Speaker 1: Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
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  Speaker 1: Mark 1.11 As I step into my purpose, I thank
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  Speaker 1: you that, like Jesus, I am being baptized into my
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  Speaker 1: new life and mission here on earth. Before I even begin,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you that also, like Jesus, you have affirmed
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  Speaker 1: and validated me as your child. With my identity secured,
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  Speaker 1: I know that even as I walk through the deserts
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  Speaker 1: of temptation, you are with me and have equipped me
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  Speaker 1: to overcome the lies of Satan. When I am tempted
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  Speaker 1: with comfort instead of commitment, I will remind Satan of
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  Speaker 1: your word and command him to flee. When Satan tries
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  Speaker 1: to get me to doubt my identity, I will remind
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  Speaker 1: him that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. When Satan
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  Speaker 1: tempts me with the luxury and fame of this world,
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  Speaker 1: I will remind him that the source of my fulfillment
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  Speaker 1: comes from you, Lord, and that it is you who
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  Speaker 1: elevates me, and I will command him to flee. I
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  Speaker 1: thank you, Lord, that through your word, I have supernatural
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  Speaker 1: steadfastness and resolve. Satan has no authority over my life.
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  Speaker 1: And through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, I
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  Speaker 1: have complete victory. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these
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  Speaker 1: daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from
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  Speaker 1: the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Baptism and Temptation In our last story, we peered into
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  Speaker 2: the childhood of Jesus— the Even as a young boy, his
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  Speaker 2: purpose was clear. He was to teach the Word of
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  Speaker 2: God and turn people's hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
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  Speaker 2: Although his family did not entirely understand, Jesus grew up
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  Speaker 2: with purpose and a mission. He grew in strength and wisdom,
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  Speaker 2: worked as a carpenter, and waited to begin his ministry.
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  Speaker 2: Now we see John preparing the way of Christ through baptism.
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  Speaker 2: He preached repentance until the day of the Lord finally arrived. Then,
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  Speaker 2: before his very eyes, God enters in, inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: In our last episode, we heard how Jesus, at just
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  Speaker 3: 12 years of age, was full of wisdom and insight
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  Speaker 3: and in perfect fellowship with God. His desire was to
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  Speaker 3: be near to the Father, and when his parents went
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  Speaker 3: to Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus spent his days in the temple,
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  Speaker 3: sitting with teachers and rabbis and answering questions but also
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  Speaker 3: sharing the depth of his understanding so that all around
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  Speaker 3: him were amazed. From an early age, just 12, it
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  Speaker 3: was clear that he knew his purpose, even when others
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  Speaker 3: didn't understand it. Today, we'll see John the Baptist preaching
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  Speaker 3: repentance and baptizing people, preparing the way for Jesus' ministry
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  Speaker 3: to begin. God was using him to soften the hearts
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  Speaker 3: of his people, turning them back to him and getting
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  Speaker 3: them ready to meet the Messiah. Then we'll hear how
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  Speaker 3: Jesus came onto the scene, God's very presence, Emmanuel among
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  Speaker 3: his people, the lamb that would take away the sin
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  Speaker 3: of the world. Let's listen now to the reading of
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  Speaker 3: God's word.
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  Speaker 2: John rose to the sounds of birds chirping in the trees.
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  Speaker 2: Crawling out of his makeshift hut, he could see the
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  Speaker 2: morning light peeking through the edge of the forest. He
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  Speaker 2: stretched his lean and muscular arms to the sky, breathing
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  Speaker 2: in the cool morning air. He walked down to the
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  Speaker 2: brook nearby and washed his shaggy hair. Then he ate
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  Speaker 2: his breakfast, cooked locusts from the desert with honey he
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  Speaker 2: foraged from the trees. John prayed to the Lord after
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  Speaker 2: his meal, calling upon him for favor and anointing. He
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  Speaker 2: strapped his cloak of camel fur securely around his waist
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  Speaker 2: and ventured off to the Jordan River. A multitude of
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  Speaker 2: people gathered by the Jordan, waiting for John. They had
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  Speaker 2: been meeting him for weeks now, listening to him proclaiming
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  Speaker 2: the way of the Lord. John scanned the sea of
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  Speaker 2: faces and stepped into the river. The water was cool
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  Speaker 2: and refreshing. He turned around to the people and raised
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  Speaker 2: his voice. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,
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  Speaker 2: he yelled. One by one, the people walked into the
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  Speaker 2: water with John and were baptized. Their submersion in the
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  Speaker 2: water represented a turning away from sin and idolatry. It
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  Speaker 2: was often a custom Gentiles would undergo to come into
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  Speaker 2: the family of God. Yet Jews flocked to John to
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  Speaker 2: be baptized. Their hearts were softening towards the Lord, and
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  Speaker 2: they knew they needed to turn from their selfish ways
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  Speaker 2: and be restored. John would preach the truth of God
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  Speaker 2: to thousands of people daily. Then he would baptize those
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  Speaker 2: whose hearts were ready to receive the restoration. John would
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  Speaker 2: baptize each person, and the crowd would erupt in cheers.
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  Speaker 2: A revival was beginning in the heart of Israel. John
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  Speaker 2: knew that the day of the Lord was coming very soon.
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  Speaker 2: As John was baptizing, he saw a group of hooded
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  Speaker 2: figures coming towards the water. It was the Pharisees and Sadducees,
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  Speaker 2: the religious elite responsible for upholding the law. They stared
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  Speaker 2: at John with scornful eyes. They had spent their entire
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  Speaker 2: lives sowing seeds of shame into the people of God,
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  Speaker 2: yet John would not allow them to poison his followers.
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  Speaker 2: John marched out of the water and pointed towards them.
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  Speaker 2: Brood of vipers, he shouted. Do not presume you are
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  Speaker 2: secure with the Lord because you are children of Abraham.
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  Speaker 2: God could make these rocks children of Abraham if he pleased.
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  Speaker 2: The men said nothing. They only glared at John with loathing.
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  Speaker 2: John continued, saying, Come and bear fruit worthy of repentance,
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  Speaker 2: for a day will come when all that does not
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  Speaker 2: bear good fruit will be cut off. The people marveled
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  Speaker 2: at John's words. John's eloquence and bravery stirred the children
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  Speaker 2: of God. They began to mumble rumors of him being
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  Speaker 2: the promised Messiah. John paused for a long moment, and
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  Speaker 2: the people were silent as they waited for him to speak.
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  Speaker 2: John touched the water and let it fall out of
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  Speaker 2: his hands. I baptize you with water, John said calmly,
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  Speaker 2: but the one who comes after me will baptize you
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  Speaker 2: with the fire of the Holy Spirit. John's words were
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  Speaker 2: interrupted as he saw a man standing in the crowd.
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  Speaker 2: John's eyes widened and his lower lip began to quiver.
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  Speaker 2: The man stepped forward from the group of people standing
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  Speaker 2: on the shore. A few tears streamed down John's hairy
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  Speaker 2: face as he watched Jesus walk into the water. John
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  Speaker 2: could barely speak. His entire purpose in life was to
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  Speaker 2: prepare the way of God's chosen, and here he was
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  Speaker 2: standing before him. Behold the Lamb of God who takes
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  Speaker 2: away the sins of the world, he whispered to himself.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus smiled and held his cousin's shoulder. Would you baptize me, John?
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  Speaker 2: he asked. John shook his head. Let it not be so,
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  Speaker 2: my Lord. It is you who should be baptizing me.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus held up his hand and grinned. Let it be so.
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  Speaker 2: It is fitting to fulfill what is about to take place.
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  Speaker 2: So John agreed and led Jesus deeper into the water.
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  Speaker 2: John held the middle of Jesus' back with one hand
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  Speaker 2: and his arm in another. Then John slowly dipped Jesus
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  Speaker 2: back into the water. The crowd watched silently as Jesus
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  Speaker 2: went under the river. As John brought Jesus back up,
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  Speaker 2: the skies opened up. A bright light shone like a
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  Speaker 2: second sun, and the Holy Spirit descended down in the
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  Speaker 2: form of a dove. All in attendance awed as they
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  Speaker 2: heard the voice of God speak for the first time
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  Speaker 2: in over 400 years. This is my beloved Son. It
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  Speaker 2: is with Him I am pleased. This event marked the
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  Speaker 2: beginning of Jesus' ministry. The favor of the Father and
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  Speaker 2: the presence of the Spirit dwelled richly with the promised Son.
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  Speaker 2: In His baptism, Jesus modeled repentance for the rest of humanity.
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  Speaker 2: He identified with sinful and broken man. Yet, He was
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  Speaker 2: not sinful nor broken. Already, Jesus was beginning to take
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  Speaker 2: on the dirtiness of mankind. The Holy Spirit dwelled with
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  Speaker 2: Jesus richly, and it was by His guiding presence that
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  Speaker 2: Jesus departed the Jordan into the wilderness. Jesus hiked the
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  Speaker 2: hills outside Judea. There he fasted for forty days, seeking
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  Speaker 2: the presence and wisdom of God. Jesus fixed his gaze
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  Speaker 2: on the nation of Israel. A gentle wind blew, rustling
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  Speaker 2: the tall grass beside him. He was hungry for food, yes. However,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was more hungry for the restoration of his people.
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  Speaker 2: As he was praying to the Lord, a slithering presence
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  Speaker 2: entered his midst. Jesus looked over his shoulder to find
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  Speaker 2: the accuser behind him. The author of deception disguised as
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  Speaker 2: an angel of light loomed over Jesus as he sat.
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  Speaker 2: This was the same enemy that spoke to Eve in
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  Speaker 2: the garden, Satan. The two did not stand as equals. However,
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  Speaker 2: Satan in his pride believed he could trick Jesus into
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  Speaker 2: compromising his heart. He knew Jesus was hungry from fasting,
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  Speaker 2: so he drew in close to Jesus and whispered, What
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  Speaker 2: good is the Son of God if he cannot feed himself?
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  Speaker 2: Why not just make these stones into bread? Surely you
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  Speaker 2: are able. Jesus was fully God and fully man, so
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  Speaker 2: the human side of him heard from hunger and However,
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  Speaker 2: he would not be swayed. Man does not live by
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  Speaker 2: bread alone, he said, but every word that pours forth
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  Speaker 2: from the voice of God. Satan spat and took Jesus
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  Speaker 2: up into a high place to gaze at the kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of the earth. You see those kingdoms, Jesus? Look at
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  Speaker 2: those people. They are ready to be ruled, to be conquered.
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  Speaker 2: I am in the ears of every king in the world.
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  Speaker 2: If you bow to me, all of it shall be yours.
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  Speaker 2: Satan's words were soft and cunning, however they dripped with poison.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus turned away and looked deeply into the angel's eyes.
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  Speaker 2: It is written, You shall worship God and God alone.
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  Speaker 2: Only he is worthy to serve, he said. Jesus' voice
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  Speaker 2: was strong and resolute. Growing angry, Satan took Jesus to
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  Speaker 2: the edge of the mighty temple. Below there were thousands
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  Speaker 2: of people. He had Jesus gaze upon the multitudes. He
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  Speaker 2: whispered softly in Jesus' ear, saying, If you truly are
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  Speaker 2: the Son of God, why not throw yourself over? Surely
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  Speaker 2: the angels will come to your rescue.
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  Speaker 1: They will see it too, the people.
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  Speaker 2: They will see your glory. Jesus looked down at the
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  Speaker 2: people below. He did not need them to watch a spectacle.
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  Speaker 2: He wanted their hearts to turn towards him and be
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  Speaker 2: saved from their own sin. You shall not test the
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  Speaker 2: Lord your God, Jesus said. His last answer was a
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  Speaker 2: rebuke as well. So Satan crawled back into the shadows.
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  Speaker 2: So Jesus returned to the people after forty long days.
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  Speaker 2: He ate, he gathered his strength, and marched towards Galilee.
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  Speaker 3: As we begin today's reading, we meet a very unusual man.
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  Speaker 3: John the baptizer didn't fit the mold of society. He
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  Speaker 3: lived in the desert, eating insects and honey and wearing
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  Speaker 3: camel's hair. But this was no madman. His voice was
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  Speaker 3: strong and sure. He spoke boldly, proclaiming that the kingdom
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  Speaker 3: of God was on the way. And each day he
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  Speaker 3: grew larger and larger crowds, Jews and others whose hearts
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  Speaker 3: were being warmed toward God. And as they heard John's
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  Speaker 3: call for repentance, They came to be baptized as a
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  Speaker 3: sign of their commitment to turn away from their sin
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  Speaker 3: and begin a brand new commitment to God. God worked
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  Speaker 3: powerfully through John the Baptist, just as he said he would,
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  Speaker 3: to prepare the way of the Lord, the Messiah, to
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  Speaker 3: begin his ministry. This was a threat to the religious establishment,
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  Speaker 3: the powerful and oppressive Pharisees and Sadducees who wielded power
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  Speaker 3: and control over the Jews with dogma and burdensome rules.
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  Speaker 3: They watched from a distance, sneering, seething at this man
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  Speaker 3: who preached repentance and forgiveness from sin, not religion. But
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  Speaker 3: John did not cower before them. He was courageous. He
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  Speaker 3: called them out. He called them actually a brood of vipers,
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  Speaker 3: poisonous snakes, threats. John called them to repentance as well,
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  Speaker 3: warning them that the day was coming when they would
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  Speaker 3: be cut off from bearing any fruit. His boldness impressed
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  Speaker 3: the crowds. They began to wonder if he was the Messiah.
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  Speaker 3: The people were ready for a Savior, and they wanted
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  Speaker 3: John to be their hero. But he was quick to
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  Speaker 3: correct their misconception. His baptism was with water, but the
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  Speaker 3: one who was to come would baptize them with the
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  Speaker 3: fire of God's Spirit. It would signify a deeper change
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  Speaker 3: of life. And then one day, suddenly Jesus came through
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  Speaker 3: the crowd. John knew exactly who he was, even if
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  Speaker 3: others didn't. This was the very moment for which John
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  Speaker 3: had been born. And he didn't miss it. Here was
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  Speaker 3: the Savior the world needed. And he announced loudly, boldly,
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  Speaker 3: that Jesus was the Lamb that would take away the
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  Speaker 3: sins of the world. Then what Jesus did shocked John.
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  Speaker 3: He asked to be baptized, and John was incredulous. He,
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  Speaker 3: in fact, protested. Shouldn't Jesus be the one baptizing him?
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  Speaker 3: But Jesus assured him that this was what must take place.
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  Speaker 3: And so Jesus submitted to the baptism of John. to
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  Speaker 3: fulfill all righteousness. And then something supernatural happened. God spoke
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  Speaker 3: from heaven. The voice from the heavens gave the people
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  Speaker 3: a clear message that we find in Matthew 3, 17.
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  Speaker 3: And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my
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  Speaker 3: beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. As God
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  Speaker 3: the Father spoke, God's Spirit in the form of a
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  Speaker 3: dove descended and rested on Jesus. So here we see
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  Speaker 3: the Trinity, the triune God, all three persons, Father, Son,
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  Speaker 3: and Holy Spirit. The meeting was abundantly clear to everyone present,
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  Speaker 3: and it should be to us. This one, the Savior
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  Speaker 3: of the world, Jesus, was more than a prophet or
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  Speaker 3: a teacher. He was God's one and only Son, and
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  Speaker 3: God's Spirit anointed him and appointed him to be the
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  Speaker 3: Savior of the world. Immediately after this event, Jesus went alone,
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  Speaker 3: filled with God's Spirit, to the wilderness. He fasted 40
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  Speaker 3: days and was tempted by God's adversary, the devil. Satan
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  Speaker 3: knew that Jesus' presence and ministry would spell his end,
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  Speaker 3: his ultimate defeat. So he attacked him at the very
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  Speaker 3: outset of his ministry, trying to destroy the mission of God.
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  Speaker 3: Just as he had done with Adam and Eve, Satan
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  Speaker 3: twisted God's word. But Jesus stood firm against every attack.
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  Speaker 3: Each temptation he fired back with scripture, showing that with
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  Speaker 3: God's word, we overcome the enemy. The Word of God
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  Speaker 3: is like a weapon. It is a sword, the sword
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  Speaker 3: of the Spirit. This was real temptation. This was more
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  Speaker 3: than just the testing of Jesus' mind and metal. In
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  Speaker 3: this moment, Jesus demonstrates that He can identify with us
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  Speaker 3: and the temptations we face. Because just as He faced
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  Speaker 3: and overcame temptations in His life, He empowers us now
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  Speaker 3: by His Spirit to overcome every temptation. He went to
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  Speaker 3: the cross and died for our sins so that we
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  Speaker 3: no longer... need to be bound by our sins. Satan
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  Speaker 3: is soundly defeated, and now we can live in the
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  Speaker 3: victory that is ours in Christ. Thank you, Jesus, for
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  Speaker 3: coming to this earth to take away our sins. We
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  Speaker 3: know that you are the Lamb of God, the precious
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  Speaker 3: one who gave your life on the cross so that
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  Speaker 3: we could be forgiven. Thank you for taking on every
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  Speaker 3: temptation of the enemy so that we could live in
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  Speaker 3: the promise and in the peace of victory in you.
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  Speaker 3: And we pray this in your powerful and saving name. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download
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  Speaker 3: the Pray.com app and make Bible study and prayer the
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  Speaker 3: priority of your life. And if you appreciate this podcast,
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  Speaker 3: please share it with someone else. I also want to
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  Speaker 3: encourage you to go to jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org. For we
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  Speaker 3: have resources that are free and available for you so
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  Speaker 3: that you may know Christ and grow in him. God
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  Speaker 3: bless you.