Another message from God's Word. We're studying the Gospel of Luke from the Nestle Island Greek text. And we're in the 22nd chapter of Luke and the verse number 31. And the cross-reference to these verses, 31-34, is Matthew 26, 31-35, Mark 14, 27-31, and John 13, 36 through 38. I might say a little bit about the Greek text. I try to sort a little something in every now and then. But Mark was the very first gospel written, probably 50 something AD, maybe 60, somewhere around there. It may have been actually written by Peter. Mark's gospel is written through Peter's eyes. Now 90% of Mark's gospel is reproduced in Matthew. Now we have a place in the book of Matthew where it says that Jesus said that no one knew the coming of the Son of Man or such a thing, these things, except the Father alone. And then in some manuscripts later, about 300 to 400 AD, we see not even the sun. Not even the sun. Now, Matthew was very particular about portraying the deity and kingly image of Christ. And to have that in there, from external evidence and internal evidence both, is probably not there. Not even the Son was not there because he would not put Jesus Christ any lower than the Father. And here we go now, Luke 22 and verse 31, Simon, Simon, edu ho satanos, exe te sato himas tu sina sa, hos ton sito, Simon, Simon, you pay attention very closely, you behold, second person singular, second person imperative, middle voice, you behold for yourself or your own self, from your own volition, the Satan, the opposer, the arch enemy, he is begging earnestly, he is begging earnestly Third-person singer first Harris indicative middle for himself For you or to you to Have the privilege of sifting you as the wheat We can go back to Job 1 6 through 12 and understand what was talking about here Satan does mess with us especially if you're one of God's chosen people. If God has got you to do some specific job, you're going to be under more attacks than anyone else will, because Satan doesn't want you to do it. And he will try to prove to God that you don't really love God more than you do your own lusts and your own desires and needs. Remember what he did to Job. Let's go back to the Book of Job for a moment. To the Book of Job. Let's look there for just a moment. We're on this very subject. There was a man in the land above whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright and fearing God and turning away from evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. And his possessions were very great. He was very rich. And his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, on his birthday probably, and they would send and invite the three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it says that Job was so worried about this, he would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all. And Job said, perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. And thus Job did continue. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came along also with them. The sons of God here are angels. And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you go? And Satan said, From roaming about to and fro on the earth. And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord, Does Job fear God for nothing? You've done everything in the world for him. Just knock him down a little bit and see what he does. You've made a hedge about him and all his house and all he owns and everything and blessed the work of his hands and his possessions. Of course he loves you. You've been good to him. Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand upon him. So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord and he killed all of his sons and all of his daughters. and turned his wife against him. And finally, further on, down the load, old Job said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there and the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And then, the second assault with Satan. Take his health away from him. Take his health away from him and see if he still loves you. God did that, Satan did that to Job, and God allowed it. What has God allowed in your life? What has God allowed Satan to do in your life? Will you be strong enough to stand? Yeah, the Lord loves you. But all through this world, we go through tests and trials constantly. Tests and trials. Verse number 32, But I, I requested concerning you or that not it may fail you the faith of you. I've made a request on behalf of you that your faith may not fail. And you, when having been turned around, when thou art converted, when you have turned around from your old unstable ways, support and strengthen the brothers of you. When you've turned away from, and away from the old unstable ways, Peter, strengthen your brothers. That's your job. Temptation. That's the title of this message, Temptation. Temptations will come. Temptations will come. Hode Apen Auto Kurye, Merasu Etoimos, Amy Kai Ace, Now the proud Peter says, oh proud Peter, here he is, he's going to stand up. And he says to him, Lord, with you prepared I am, both unto prison and to the point of death to go for myself. Temptation. Now, Jesus tells a little story, because Jesus knows Peter. He's not the first Pope, by the way. If there was going to be a Pope, if I'd have been God, I'd have chosen Paul, or John, not Peter. But there were no Popes. Nothing but servants. There are no big people in God's churches. They're all servants. We're all servants. hoday pan lego si petre u fo nese semaron alitor hos tris me apar nese me edeneh. But I say to you, Peter, that's vocative singular masculine. not he shall sound today the cock the rooster until three times me you shall deny not to know now there's a clock over there this this imagine a clock here twelve three six nine now God made roosters One of the main reasons he made roosters is for alarm clock. One of the reasons that he made roosters is so he could tell Peter they're gonna deny me three times before the cock can crow twice. Now, 12, 3, 6, 9. Between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. in the morning, Peter is gonna be denying Jesus three times. He told him what time he was going to deny him. Peter knows that a croc crows every three hours. Roosters crow every three hours. Twelve, three, six, and nine. And if they get excited in the meanwhile, they'll crow again. But they will crow at twelve, three, six, and nine. Sometimes. Peter, the cock shall not sound his noise voice twice before you shall deny me three times. Aparnase. The second person singular future indicative middle. You're going to do it for yourself. The rooster is God's cuckoo clock. God's alarm clock. Now let's go to number 38. Kai Epan Aaltois. hote apestila himas ater balontio kai peros kai hido maton metinos hiserisate hoide pon uthenos and he said to them when I sent you out without a purse and without a wallet And sandals, not anything you were short of. You weren't short of anything when I sent you out on that limited commission. But the ones that they said of nothing, we didn't like anything. The ones replied to him, the disciples replied to Jesus, we didn't like anything. Temptations coming, hard times are ahead. Temptation is coming. Epan deatois ala nin ho ekon balantion arato homios kai teron kai ho me ekon poleisato to himation autu kai agurasato makairon. Moreover, he said to them, but, strong adversity of construction, that's Allah now. Now we have a little adverb of time, neem. But now, the one having a purse, let him take it. In the like and similar fashion, also the wallet, and the one not having, let him sell the garment of him, let him buy a sword. Sell your extra coat, your extra underwear, and buy yourself a sword. Boy, what a difference. Hard times are on the way. He told them before to fear not, but now he says you had better fear now what is going to happen from now on in your ministry. You will be persecuted, you will be run down, you will be killed, you will be murdered, you will be beaten, you will be slain. You will be beheaded, you will be cut in two. You'll be burned alive. Well, that's a terrible, terrible, terrible, painful thing, being burned alive. Many, many, many children of God, church members were burned alive. Parley Cart was burned. Many people that had scriptures were burned. Thousands of God's Christian people were fed to the lions in the Colosseums of Rome. Their blood stained that ground. Their holy blood stained that ground. Because they stood for Jesus Christ. Temptation and trials are coming. Lego gar in men hote tutoto, ge gropmenon de telistene. enimoi to kai meta onamon elogiste kai gar to peri emu tilos eke. For I say to you that this very thing, having been written, it is bindingly necessary to fulfill in me. I shall suffer, I shall die, I shall be crucified. And with lawless ones, outlawed, He was reckoned, indeed, for the thing concerning the end of me it has. 22 and verse thirty-eight, Hoi de pom curiae du macare, ho de dia ho de apen autoes ecaenon esten, But the ones, they said, Lord, you behold, we have here two swords. And he said to them, that is enough. That is enough. You have enough. There's going to be a different kind of warfare. They're not going to understand anything about it. By the way, God's people have never borne the sword against anybody, religiously. We have the Inquisition, we have the Crusades, called Christian Crusades, but they were not Christian. They were just murdering. Murderers. Murderers murdering other murderers. Yes, sometimes you have to defend yourself with a sword, a gun, grenades, rockets, bombs, whatever. But God's people as a church have never gone out and conquered anybody in the name of the sword and in the name of religion. That is wicked. Islam did that. They learned it from Catholicism. Don't try to make all kinds of excuses for those people what they did going back into the promised land, the holy land. They murdered and murdered and murdered and murdered. Both sides murdered. Blood was shed in the name of religion. Most wars in the world are fought over religion. But God's people were never involved in it. The true people of God. You know those Mennonites and those Amish? That's a type of the true people right there. The true people of God. Sometimes we have forgotten what we were supposed to do in this world. Yes, you're in the nation, you're part of whatever nation you're in. If you're attacked, you've got to fight back. Many people worry about it. It says, thou shalt not kill. Because we kill people in war when we have to fight to defend ourselves. But that's not what the Bible says. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not murder. That's what they were about to do to God's people. In the beginning, false religion has always persecuted truth. Cain killed Abel. Slaughtered him. And now Judaism is going to kill a Messiah and Judaism is going to kill thousands of Christians in the name of their religion. Catholicism shall stick its ugly head up and it shall do the same thing. Over here in In 570 A.D. we got Muhammad supposedly born. He was born right in the middle of the church state. He didn't understand anything else. Why didn't he pick up from them Baptists that lived back then? The Padarins and the Qatari, the Puritans and the Haitians. They were there. The Paulicians, they were there. Why didn't he pick up from them? He took what he wanted. He wanted to make his religion go by the sword. People weren't converted to Islam because of reason. They were converted because their lives were at stake. They got scared, just like Peter got scared here. It was economically more beneficial if they got converted, no matter what they believed. God's people defend God with His Word. Not with a machine gun, not with a sword, not with a bomb. How many people die today because of religion? False religion in the world. False religion always persecutes the truth. And false religion fights against false religion sometimes, too. Thou shalt not murder. Our Heavenly Father, we send this message out as we are tempted each and every day of our lives Father, we pray, help us to stand up under that temptation. I'm not too proud to say that I have it in my life. I need you, Father. I need you every day. And I know every one of your children out there, wherever they are all over this world that listen to these messages, need you. Humbly, we ask you to protect us as Satan sifts us. Forgive me where I failed you, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.