Scriptures: Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-2, 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7

Sin and wrongdoing are tempting. We are tempted by Satan--and by our own nature and desires--to go against God's commands every day. The gospels detail Jesus' brush with temptation and His powerful response to Satan's best attempts against him. The whole story takes up less than two-hundred words, but it is one of the most remarkable passages in all of the Bible. It shows, without a doubt, that even though we can surely know that temptation is going to come to all of us, we can also know that temptation does not have to defeat any of us. In this message, Dr. Merritt walks through the temptation of Christ, and how His example can teach us practical ways to defeat temptation in our own lives.

"Whenever someone is being tempted, it does not mean that they are living a substandard Christian life. It doesn't mean that something is wrong with them. It doesn't mean that they are out of the will of God. It doesn't mean that they are being disobedient." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: temptation, Christ, Satan, submission, Word, Bible, hunger, thirst, power, adversary, devil, devour, resist, firm, faith, physical, spiritual, emotional, wants, needs, Kidron Valley, temple, Martin Luther, Mohammed Ali, Joe Frasier, championship, fight