PowerPoint

Jack Graham: The Bible tells us in the book of James that when we submit to God and resist the devil, that he will flee from us. And when we draw near to God, God will draw near to us.

Guest (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can be victorious in Christ. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, Desert Storm.

Jack Graham: Before we read our text today in Matthew 4, there are three times in the Bible when the devil speaks directly to man. Three times, and it's recorded in God's Word. The first time is in the book of Genesis chapter 3 when the serpent, the devil, slithered into the Garden of Eden and tempted Adam and Eve, and they fell. But in the temptation, Satan slandered God to man.

Here's how he did that. He slandered God to man by saying, "Has God said?" He questioned God's Word, he distorted God's Word, and then he said, "God knows if you eat of this fruit that you've been forbidden to eat, God knows that you will become as he is, God." The first temptation was not to be ungodly; it was to be godly, to be like God. It was pride personified. And Satan is saying, "God doesn't love you. He's holding out on you. He's keeping the best from you."

And so the devil, with his words, slandered God to man. He does the same thing today. His MO, his method of operation, really doesn't change. He's still in the business of slandering God to man. The second time the devil speaks is in the book of Job, when the devil is given permission to speak to God. And when he does, he brings up God's servant, Job.

Remember Job? Job was a godly man. He was living in devotion and a righteous way before God. God had blessed him. And so what did Satan do? Satan said to God, "The only reason that Job serves you is because you give him all these good things. You've blessed him." He said, "Job doesn't serve you for nothing, God. You've given him all these things. You take these things away from him and he will deny you."

In this case, it wasn't Satan slandering God to man; it was Satan slandering man to God. Do you see that? And he still does the same thing today. He slanders us. He's the accuser of the brethren. He is the slanderer, the liar, and he's constantly creating shame in our lives and shaming us even in our own hearts. He is slandering us before God.

But the third time that he speaks is our passage today, and that is in Matthew chapter 4. He slanders the God-man. The first 11 verses, "Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Notice Jesus is led by the spirit to go face to face against the devil, to be tempted by the devil. Jesus was establishing at the outset of his ministry his authority over all the works of the enemy.

He was preparing himself spiritually as well as physically for the mission that God had given him. And so before he even began, right after his baptism when the dove descended, when the Father spoke and said, "This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased," after the dove came the devil. And it's true often in our lives, after great spiritual experiences, after mountaintops come valleys.

After streams in the desert comes the desert. And we must never coast. And if you find yourself on a spiritual high right now doing quite well spiritually, you need to remember that you're now a target of the enemy. Just as Christ was driven by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, a unique time in his life in which he was tempted. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus fasted physically from food.

He was hungry. That's the humanity of our Lord. He is God, but also man, the God-man. 100% God, 100% man. Just as much God as if he were not man at all, and just as much man as if he were not God at all. The God-man, Jesus. He's hungry. Enter the tempter in verse 3 who came to him and said to him, "If you are the son of God." The best translation of that word "if" there is the word "since."

Satan knew Jesus and knew him quite well from the beginning of time. He wasn't introducing himself to the Lord or questioning the deity of Jesus. In fact, he is saying, "Since you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But Jesus answered, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Then the devil took him up to the holy city, that is Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "Since you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test."

Jesus refused to perform a spiritual stunt, a miracle to gain the popularity of the masses. He didn't come to be a miracle worker; he came to be the Savior of the world. So he rejected that temptation. So Satan came again in verse 8. The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. And he said, "All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me."

Note Jesus did not rebuke Satan when Satan said, "I can give you the kingdoms of this world." Fact is, this world belongs to Satan, this world system. He is the God of this age, the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this dark domain. And so he has this power to give pieces of the world, if you will. And he offered this to Jesus. Bypass the cross. Give up your mission. Bow down to me and I'll give you the world and all the kingdoms of this world.

The world, the flesh, and the devil. And Jesus said to him, "Begone Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." Then the devil left him and behold, and don't miss the angels here, the angels came and ministered to Jesus. What a conversation. What a confrontation. There are three kinds or types of temptations that Jesus experienced that we all experience.

The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are tempted, but without sin. Remember, it's not a sin to be tempted. Everyone is tempted, including Jesus himself. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13 that there is no temptation that has taken you but that it is common to man. But with the temptation, God will make a way of escape.

So we're all tempted. Jesus was tempted at three levels, or three different kinds of temptations. They are the same. When it says Jesus was tempted in all points such as we are tempted, it doesn't mean he had the specific temptations. But what it is saying is that he was tempted at all points as we are tempted. Three temptations of Christ. One regarding physical appetites.

Turn these stones into bread. You're hungry. God's not taking care of you. You need to take care of yourself. Turn the stones into bread. Fulfill your normal natural desires. Again, here's the temptation to fulfill a God-given desire in a God-forbidden way. It was normal to be hungry. He'd been without food for 40 days. He'd been in the desert. So it was normal to want food.

But the temptation came to exercise his God-given powers and desires and fulfill them in a God-forbidden way. And these kinds of temptations come at us all the time, these natural desires that we have. And the devil says, "You can't trust God to meet your needs. You can't trust God to send you that mate, that wife, that husband you're looking for. You can't trust God to show his love for you. You can't trust God to take care of you, so take care of yourself. Give in to your physical appetites."

So that's the first kind of temptation, the lust of the flesh. And then when he took him to the pinnacle of the temple and told him to jump off and the angels would bear him up, what was that all about? Jesus was on this mission to save the world, to save you and me. Satan was offering him an out, an option. Jump off the temple, everybody's going to believe. The crowds are going to follow you.

They'll put up posters everywhere: meet the man who jumped off the building and the angels bore him up. But that wasn't God's plan for Jesus. He didn't come to earth to be popular with the masses. He came to live and to die and to rise again on the third day. This was subverting the mission of Christ. And so he rejected it out of hand. He refused. Said, "You shall not test the Lord your God, as it is written."

Then came the third kind of temptation, which is spiritual allegiance. Whom will you worship? When Jesus answered, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve," you serve whatever or whoever you worship. And Satan could offer all these kingdoms of the world, but you see, they were only temporary. They weren't lasting. Jesus came for an everlasting kingdom.

When you think about it, temptation at the very core is about now or later, right? Will I obey my flesh? Will I listen to the world? Will I follow the commands of Satan now and get whatever I can get, whatever pleasure, whatever power, possessions, all of that, I can have it now? Or I can trust God, knowing that the eternal kingdom that he who does the will of God abides forever. So Jesus responded to each one of these temptations, and we must as well.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Desert Storm. July 4th, 2026 will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation.

To join, simply text the word "cry" to 59789. Again, text "cry" to 59789. Remember that your support of PowerPoint Ministries helps people encounter Jesus through clear biblical teaching. Through the support of friends like you, lives are being strengthened, faith is being renewed, and seekers are discovering the hope only found in Christ. Your partnership is so vital that when you give this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus, as our thanks.

It's a powerful journey through the Gospel of John that shares wisdom from the life of Christ to help you respond to real-world struggles. To give your gift, text "April" to 59789. Again, text "April" to 59789. Now let's get back to today's message, Desert Storm.

Jack Graham: We must overcome these temptations. So how are we going to do that? What is the way of escape that the Bible talks about? Well, the Bible tells us in the book of James that when we submit to God and resist the devil, that he will flee from us. And when we draw near to God, God will draw near to us.

Three ways that Jesus responded, just as the scriptures tell us here in the book of James. We submit to God, we resist the devil, and we draw near to him. We draw near to the Lord. Here's how that works. You submit to God. The way of victory is the way of surrender. The word "submit" there in the book of James is actually a military term.

As a soldier would submit to an officer or a commander, to submit. So the way to victory is the way of surrender. Please listen to me. If you are going to overcome temptation in your life, it begins with a surrender, the complete surrender of your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, to his authority and power in your life because with that submission underneath his authority comes spiritual power.

There's a difference between power and authority. If you have served in the military, you know the rank and file of authority and submission and surrender to the commanding officer. And that's where the power and the victory comes. Well, in life, our Lord Jesus Christ is our commander-in-chief. And when we submit to him, to his authority, then we are given authority over all the works of the enemy in our lives.

This is powerful spiritual truth, and it needs to be talked about and taught more. Spiritual authority. If I could illustrate it in a simple way: a police officer standing in the middle of traffic may weigh 170-80 pounds. Physically, he could not stop a Mack truck or a car from running through the intersection. He could not physically stop those automobiles, but he has authority.

And so when he holds up his hand and says, "Stop in the name of the law," that is spiritual authority. And if you break that law, you're going to have a problem. So that's the difference in power and authority. We have authority in the name of Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation, they overcame him by the blood of Christ and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death.

They overcame him, the devil, by the blood of the Lamb, what Christ has done for us on the cross, by the word of their testimony, our authority in Christ, and we love not our lives unto death. That's the surrender. That's the sacrifice that Jesus made. This is what Jesus did. He submitted his will to the will of the Father. You say, "What did Jesus do?" Well, he quoted a lot of scripture to the devil. He did more than quote Bible verses to the devil.

This was bigger than a Bible drill, all right? I don't know about you, but I've gone down in the midst of temptation quoting scripture all the way. Now it's important to memorize scripture. I'm going to get to that in just a minute. But this was more than just saying scriptures to the devil. Jesus submitted himself to the Word of God and to the will of God. Do you see that?

He submitted. In each answer that he gave, it was a surrender. It was a submission to obey God. That's what soldiers do: they obey the commander-in-chief. This is what Christian soldiers do in spiritual battle: we obey the commander-in-chief, our Lord Jesus. Are you living under the authority, under the lordship of Jesus? Have you surrendered your will, your way to him?

That's the way. That's the way of escape to overcome temptation, to live in the victory that is ours in Christ, whether it's physical appetites or spiritual allegiance or personal ambitions. It is in Christ and Christ alone that we have authority over the works of the enemy in our life. Use the authority that God has given you. Then he said, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

He said, "Submit to God, resist the devil, and he'll run from you." The word "resist" there is another word out of military annals. To resist means really to stand up against the enemy. If an enemy attacks us, we're going to respond and stand up for our freedoms. And so many have done that over the years of our history and in the history of the world.

To resist the enemy is to stand against the enemy, not run from the battle, not in cowardice shrink from the battle, but to stand up in the authority of Christ and resist the devil. You have that right. You have that responsibility. You have the authority of Jesus Christ and his name to resist the devil. So start resisting him. Rather than giving up and giving in, resist the enemy.

Paul, the Apostle Paul, said, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against all the strategies, all the wiles of the devil." Take a firm and courageous stand. Too many believers have just given up in the battle. And you've stopped fighting, you've stopped resisting in Jesus' name. Now again, you don't have this power in yourself, but in Christ you do.

Do like David, the shepherd boy, who when he heard the giant mocking God and blaspheming the Lord God, he took his slingshot and his stones and he ran to the battle. Run to the battle, confront it, and overcome the enemy in your life. You don't have to be afraid of the devil. Thirdly, draw near to God, he'll draw near to you. The closer you draw near to God, the closer you get to God, the farther Satan will be away.

That's what Jesus did. He was there in the wilderness getting closer to God, fellowshiping, denying himself food and drink in order to get close into the fellowship of his Father. Angels ministered with him. What a picture of what it means to draw near to God. The most important spiritual advice that I could give you is take time every day of your life to draw near to God, to get close to Jesus.

Not just spare time or leftover time, but the best part of your day, preferably for me is the morning. To meet God, to read God's Word, to meditate upon the truth of scripture, that's so transforming. To pray, to memorize the scripture. I've been memorizing scripture since I was a boy, and I promise you it has prepared me for spiritual battles that I've faced along the way.

Do you have some verses memorized to prepare you when the devil comes, that you will submit to God's Word when the temptation when you're in the throes of a temptation, when you're in a struggle? It's too late when you're in the middle of a struggle or a temptation, a seduction. You need to get ready right now. Steel your soul, prepare your life, saturate your life with the Word of God, which is the weapon that God has given you sharper than a two-edged sword. Sharpen your sword every day. Draw near to God. He'll draw near to you.

One final thing before we say this is the end of the sermon. And that is: let God's people minister to you and serve you. Now I know it says here the angels came and ministered to Jesus. But God sends people into our paths along with angels to minister to us in times of temptation and when we face temptations, even if you fail in temptation. You need God's people.

The church is not an audience; we are an army. And we should never shoot our own wounded. It's shameful when churches and Christian organizations and schools shame their wounded. The goal of discipline is redemption and restoration. So let us be soldiers in arms and let us lock arms together to provide accountability with each other in the times of spiritual battle.

If we do fail, there's someone there to pick us up and to help us do better the next time. There's someone there to minister God's grace and God's healing to our life. This is why we need a good church so that we could be in this together. Psychologist knows if you're going to overcome an addiction of some kind, you need accountability.

The ultimate accountability should be in God's church where we are accountable to one another. So draw near to God by drawing near to one another and let the angels and the saints of God minister to us. Jesus overcame the devil. The devil fled. And he will flee from you if you will practice the spiritual disciplines and devotions of following Christ and live in the authority and the victory that he has provided for you.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Desert Storm. Let me remind you that your support helps bring the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to people across the world through PowerPoint Ministries. And this month, we'd love to send you a powerful resource as our way of saying thank you for your gift. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, Life According to Jesus.

In this transforming journey through the Gospel of John, you'll discover not just what Jesus might do, but what he actually did when facing life's hardest questions. And we'll be excited to send you this resource because your generosity helps place this kind of biblical teaching into the hands of seekers and believers alike, equipping them to live according to Jesus's example every day. To give your gift, just text "April" to 59789. Again, that's "April" to 59789.

July 4th, 2026 will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word "cry" to 59789. Again, text "cry" to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: It doesn't matter how old you are, where you live, or what your social status may be, temptation finds us all. And if you're a believer, you've definitely had to deal with temptation in your walk with Christ. There's no place we can hide from temptation, but we can certainly fight it in the power of Christ and as a result win over sin.

Whenever you feel like the temptation you face is too much to handle, just remember that Jesus was tempted even as you're tempted, and yet through it all, he lived without sin by the power and the grace and the strength of God. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we're reminded that no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

Remember that temptation is the seduction to fulfill a God-given desire in a God-forbidden way. Also always be aware that Satan is watching to trip you up, and his goal is to get you to give in to temptation. So be ready, stay on the alert, because sin may gratify momentarily, but it never satisfies. Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 14:38, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

When Satan tries to entice you with temptation, whether it's your physical appetites, your personal ambitions, or your spiritual allegiance, run to God's Word for strength, stand on his truth, and rest in the promises of Christ. And that is today's PowerPoint.

Guest (Male): Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. Just text "April" to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how your heart for the Lord will be clearly seen by others. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.