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Service Video (link)TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11\n\n\n\nHave you ever heard or read something and then come to find out it\u2019s just not true?\n\n\n\nHow can you know if something is true? How can you know if something is right?\n\n\n\nToday we heard a scene from the life of Jesus often called the \u201cTemptation of Jesus.\u201d Basically he is being told or offered something as true and right and it\u2019s all twisted truth or lies. I want to look with you at Jesus\u2019 responses, both as a practical matter and as a spiritual matter.\n\n\n\n#1 Truth > Desire (vv.1-4)\n\n\n\nHave you ever been hungry? Like, really hungry? If someone offered you a way to get food when you were that hungry, you might be tempted to say or do the wrong thing. Sometimes our needs or desires are such a strong force in our life. Or what\u2019s something else you might really want, really need? What about to pass a certain test. And maybe you didn\u2019t study enough and you are pretty sure you aren\u2019t going to do well, and someone offers you some answers, offers to let you look, tempts you to cheat. What will you do?\n\n\n\nJesus was out by himself to spend a long time praying to God. Part of that was a choice to fast or to not eat for a period of time to focus more entirely on God. And he was tempted to shortcut that, or cut it short, and eat to satisfy his hunger. It would have been like cheating on a test instead of studying for it. But very tempting if you are hungry, if you need the grade.\n\n\n\nYou probably know what the right thing to do is, though, right? We usually know; it\u2019s just that our desires or our needs overrule what is true and right. But Jesus demonstrated the right choice. He said no to that temptation to shortcut his fast. But he went beyond that. He identified the reason it was wrong to cut it short. There is something more important than satisfying hunger in his stomach. It was satisfying the hunger of the soul or the spirit. He says, quoting scripture, \u201cOne does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.\u201d In other words, he had set this time aside to be with God and cutting it short to feed his stomach would also cut it short with God. Continuing to feed his soul with the prayer and fasting was more important and he wouldn\u2019t cut it short to eat.\n\n\n\nI think about the temptation to cheat on a test. It\u2019s such a shortcut to a good grade. But it also means you haven\u2019t learned the material, and that will definitely come back to bite you at the end of the semester, or in the next grade, or as you progress through school. Even though shortcuts are attractive and tempting, they aren\u2019t helpful in the long run. And Jesus demonstrated that same thing by not cutting short his time with God.\n\n\n\n#2 Context (vv.5-7)\n\n\n\nA second way that truth is sometimes twisted is by just giving part of the story. People on TV and on the Internet do this all the time because they aren\u2019t just sharing information, they are trying to convince you of something. And there\u2019s something about hearing or seeing something on the TV or online that makes something seem more true. Those sources have a certain kind of authority to them that we want to believe. So you hear something like TikTok is going to be banned and that can go any number of ways. Some people will frame it in a way that sounds like the people making the decision don\u2019t care about young people. Or it might get framed in a way to make China \u2013 or even Chinese people \u2013 look bad. Some reporters will add the detail of it being a security risk. But how do you really get down to the truth of the matter. I\u2019d say look for people who take time to explain the CONTEXT, the full story. Yes, it\u2019s a security risk for our country because it shares a lot of personal details with another country. Why is that bad? Are there other options than shutting it down? What are those? Do they address the problem? Is anyone explaining the ins and outs, ups and downs, to the people it will affect the most?\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s look at Jesus for a moment. Something similar happe