Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden of Eden. Satan persuaded them to believe that God is not really good and that He didn't have their best interests in mind, that they should do things their own way. Exodus tells of how God hardened Pharoah's heart but prior to that it tells us six times that Pharoah hardened his own heart. If we continue to ignore God speaking to us, we will become unable to hear His voice. In Romans it says that for those that can no longer hear the voice of God, God gives them over to their sinful desires. In the Garden of Gethsemane before Jesus was arrested and put to death, He prayed "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He was tempted not to go through with what he knew was to be His fate, yet He said yes to the Father's will. In Romans 7:19, Paul discloses his struggle with temptation: "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep doing."
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 David Verklin shared his testimony before the sermon about how he applies his faith at work.
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There are moral absolutes; morals are not relative. They are not our personal opinion. Our beliefs do not determine reality; reality exists separately from our beliefs. It is impossible to live the Christian life apart from the grace of God and His Holy Spirit. God does not temp us; we are dragged away and enticed. We must learn to die to our sinful desires, say no to temptation and yes to righteousness.
In Matthew 4, Jesus was led in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights during which time He fasted. Satan tempted Him three times. First, to satisfy His hunger, Satan told Jesus to turn stone into bread. Jesus' response was "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Secondly, Satan takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple and challenges Him to prove that He is the Son of God by throwing Himself down to be saved by God's angels. Jesus responded "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." Thirdly, Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain to show Him all of the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and Satan offered it all to Jesus if He would bow down and worship him. Jesus responded "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only."
Through temptations, Satan is telling us that God is not taking very good care of us, that He is not fair and that we should take matters into our own hands. Satan offers us an alternative that appears fast, easy, clean, with no pain or discomfort. We must realize that the physical aspect of our lives is a gift from God to enjoy but not to worship, otherwise we will be empty people. We were created to worship God which brings meaning and fulfillment into our lives. We don't know why God allows suffering, pain and death but if God prevented these things, He would have to take away our free will. God may allow evil to exist in order to bring about a greater good. In His infinite wisdom, He can bring about good in the midst of pain and sorrow. In the worst tragedy, the death of Christ on the cross, He brings about our salvation.
Jesus knew that His Father would ultimately win, however, the path to follow Him is a challenge which requires character, patience, perseverance, self-discipline, courage, pain, and discomfort. We often don't like being patient, we want our dreams realized now. The strength to follow God's will comes from realizing that ultimately God is all powerful and all wise. We are to trust and grow in faith, which is the basis of hope, and to live with the constant expectation of good.
Summary submitted by Karen Walsh
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