WEBVTT

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Thanks, Greg. Hello, church. How are we doing

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today? Listen, I have revised this sermon about

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four times now, and I'm going to say it's very

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top -heavy, but I think it just means that I

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need to condense it a little bit, and so work

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with me as we go through the sermon. And my father

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was a pastor, and he said, if you need to say

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ouch instead of amen, that's okay, too. Okay,

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because sometimes it hurts so good, right? So

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we've been on this series about wilderness, and

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I'm sure that we've all had questions about where

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that leads us and where we're going and what

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wilderness we're going. So as we've navigated

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the series on wilderness, we've learned that

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the wilderness can be a place of testing, a place

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of waiting, a place of silence. And that wilderness

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seasons, they come for all of us, right? In fact,

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sometimes the wilderness is exactly where obedience

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leads you. And last week, Andy was referring

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to the wilderness leading us to a place of solitude,

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a place where we find God and where we find rest.

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Pastor Greg in worship was saying, in this kind

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of way that your struggle might be minimal it

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might be something that can be fixed tonight

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tomorrow the next day your struggle might be

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one that you've been praying for for a long time

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that you haven't seen god's hand move and that's

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the beauty of church that's the beauty of community

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it's the beauty of being around each other because

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we're all in different stages of life We're all

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going through different things in our life. Our

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struggle might be something that's fixable and

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our struggle might be something that kind of

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puts a pain in your stomach and you just can't

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get over it for a while and you're sitting uncomfortably

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with something for a while. So I'm going to be

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sharing about the wilderness being a place where

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we're tested and where temptation might come

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our way. And again, those temptations might be

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small. They might be addictions. They might be

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really heavy things in our lives. But we're not

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going to focus on the problem. We're going to

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focus on our identity in Christ and how we can

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overcome those temptations in our life, right?

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So we're going to be reading out of Matthew chapter

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4. And the reason I said I've revised it a million

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times is because I've gone 1 through 11, and

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then I've gone 1 through 7, 1 through 8, 1 through

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3, 1 through 4. And I'm like, okay, we'll get

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there when we get there, and I should put a timer

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on, but you guys beep at me when you guys are

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done listening to me. So the context of chapter

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4 is really interesting because Jesus was just

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baptized by John the Baptist, right? They had

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been talking about there's a man that's coming.

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He's going to... He's going to save the world.

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But he hasn't done any miracles yet. He hasn't

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had multitudes of people following him yet. He

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hasn't turned fish into bread and multitude or

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multiplied wine and done all those miracles yet.

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He really hasn't been in the practice of who

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Jesus is and what we know of him in Scripture.

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So in this context, we're seeing that Jesus has

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just been baptized. He hasn't really been in

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ministry yet. And in the scripture, we also know

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that they are referring to Jesus as man, as flesh

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and blood. We know Jesus as our spiritual foundation

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and the Holy Spirit coming down and being our

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guidance. But in this moment, in this context,

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it's talking about Jesus in flesh and blood and

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as man. So before I move on, I want to let you

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know that Jesus has not gone through anything.

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He has not. expected us to go through anything

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that he hasn't gone through already. Jesus does

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not expect us to go through something that he

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hasn't already gone through. So we're going to

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be looking at the scripture, Matthew chapter

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4, verses 1 through 8 -ish. So if you could please

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stand with me as we read scripture, if you're

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able, and if not. Stay right where you are. And

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I'll be reading the New International Version.

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It says, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into

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the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Like,

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who does that, right? After fasting 40 days and

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40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to

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him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell

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these stones to become bread. And Jesus answered,

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I love it when there's scripture within scripture.

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He says, it is written, man shall not live on

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bread alone, but on every word that comes from

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the mouth of God. And that's in Deuteronomy,

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right? Then the devil took him to the holy city

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and had him stand on the highest point of the

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temple. And he said, if you are the son of God,

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he said, throw yourself down for it is written.

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He will command his angels concerning you and

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they will lift you up in their hands so that

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you will not strike your foot against the stone.

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And Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do

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not put the Lord your God to the test. And we'll

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end there for now. You may be seated. Father

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God, I just pray that as we... dive into your

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word this morning that you be with us, that you

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clear our minds of anything else that is going

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on, that you clear our minds of the chicken buffalo

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dip and the Super Bowl and what we got to go

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shopping and do after church or if we're hungry.

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Father God, clear our minds right now so that

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we could focus on your word and so that we could

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find our identity in you this morning. Amen.

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And we're done. Church is over. So in the first

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verse, we see that Jesus was led by the Spirit

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into the wilderness to be tempted. Jesus was

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led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Andy,

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you talked about this last week. God leads us

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to these places, right? Matthew tells us that

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Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness

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to be tempted. In Greek, the word tempted also

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means So if we look at this, that God was leading

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him into the wilderness to be tested, it reminds

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us that being in the wilderness does not mean

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you are outside of God's will. That was a lot

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of what Andy was sharing last week. Being in

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the wilderness does not mean you are outside

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of God's will. Sometimes the wilderness is exactly...

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where obedience leads you. Imagine going to a

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place where you knew God was leading you to set

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you up for a test. How prepared would you be

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in this very moment? Just think about that real

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quick. How prepared would you be for a test this

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very moment? If we think back in our high school

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years, our college years, when they would do

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those pop -up tests, then our hearts sunk and

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we're like, boom, I'm not ready for this test,

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right? How prepared would you be in this very

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moment for a test? Where has your wilderness

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been? We've been talking about the wilderness

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being a place, a physical space where God is

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leading us. Sometimes that wilderness is an event

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in life. Sometimes it's a relationship or the

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lack of a relationship. Sometimes it's a job

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or the lack of a job. A friendship or no friends.

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An illness, a prayer that hasn't been answered.

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Caring for a loved one, being depleted. A place

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of solitude. A place where you're just exhausted.

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Where has your wilderness been? The scripture

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goes on to tell us that after fasting for 40

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days and 40 nights, Jesus was hungry. In preparation

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for this, I'm ashamed to say it. But I fasted

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for the first time for three days. For the first

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time in my life, I fasted for three days. And

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I'm embarrassed to say that because I think that

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we all need to be fasting at some point in our

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lives, spiritual fasts and things that we need

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to be doing to edify our spirit. Man, when I

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tell you that my only focus was on my next meal

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after my fast was over, like... That's all that

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I was thinking about. But you know what helped

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me? Realizing that this was the best thing for

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me in the moment. Realizing that this fast was

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a fast of food, but it was also edifying me,

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purifying my spirit in preparation. Has anybody

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in the room fasted for more than three days?

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Raise your hand if you've fasted more than three

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days. It's tough, isn't it? It's tough. I don't

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know what got you through it, but I know what

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got me through it was this is the best thing

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for me right now, and it's purifying my spirit.

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It was standing steadfast on the strength that

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God was giving me that strength, right? You raised

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your hand if you fasted more than three days,

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more than four days, more than five days, more

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than six days, right? We're talking about food.

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But how many of us fast longer than that when

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it comes to our spiritual bread? How many of

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us fast from prayer, from worship, from being

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in the word? From being in prayer with fellowship?

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How many of us fast from that more than three

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days? Like, why does that seem to be so easy?

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Why is it easy to fast from the word? Why is

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it easy to navigate away from worship, prayer,

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being in the word, being in fellowship? Why is

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that so easy? To walk away from that for a week,

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two weeks, three weeks, a month, years. It's

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easy to fast from the word. Why? After 40 days

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and nights of fasting, Jesus was hungry. He is

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physically weak. He's isolated. He's vulnerable.

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And it's there in that moment that the tempter

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comes. Temptation doesn't come when we're strong.

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Temptation doesn't come when you just... have

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been around 60, 50 other believers in Christ

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or that support system in your life. That's not

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when temptation comes. It doesn't come when you

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have the best of the very best encouraging you

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and telling you that you're going to be okay,

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you can do this, you got this. It comes when

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we're tired, when we're isolated, when we're

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discouraged, when we're just looking for some

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relief. When I'm just looking for a piece of

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bread, I'm telling you, I walk to that refrigerator

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often, and that fast, and man, I would just look

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at it and just be like, just one little morsel

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of cheese. You know, I do charcuterie, so I've

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always got cheese and salami and grapes hanging

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around. And I tell you what, it was tough. Temptation

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comes when you're at your most vulnerable. It

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comes when you're depleted. And the tempter came

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to him and he said, if you are the son of God,

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tell these stones to become bread. And Jesus

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answered, it is written that man shall not live

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on bread alone, but on every word that comes

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from the mouth of God. He replies with scripture.

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In the scripture, he replies with more scripture.

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That's in Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse three.

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And so, yes, I'm talking about a physical fast.

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And yes, Jesus was hungry physically. But then

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he referred to, nah, man, you're not going to

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get me. I don't have to just live by this physical

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bread. I live by the word of God and his strength

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in me. So let's address the devil's strategy.

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He's like trying to make him prove his identity.

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Well, you say you're this person. Prove it. Prove

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it. You see, the enemy often attacks what we

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know to be true. He's hoping to create doubt

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when we're worn down, doubt in our identity and

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who we are in Christ. What we know to be true

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is that our identity comes from God, not from

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our past experience. So I just want to pause

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there for a little bit. Because we are talking

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about temptation. But the first part of this

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is challenging him. If you are the man of God,

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then do this. Prove it. Prove it. How many of

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us have walked away from our past identity? And

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we come across old friends in our new identity.

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And they're like, what? You're not partying anymore?

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Prove it. Here's a beer. Not that drinking is

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terrible, but maybe that's what they've decided

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to do, right? Not drink. And so prove it. And

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so old friends and new identity, sometimes they

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don't mix, right? But I'm here to tell you that

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your past experiences, they don't identify you.

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Your past experiences do not identify who you

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are. And it is Satan's job to bring doubt into

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your life about who you are, where you stand,

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and where your relationship is in Christ. So

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your past experiences do not define you. I always

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tell young people when I'm talking to them, your

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experience does not define who you are. Stop

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saying who you are based on what you've gone

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through. I'm broken. I'm lost. I'm hurt. Yes,

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feel it, but don't stay there. Don't stay hopeless

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and hurt and broken. That's Satan putting doubt

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into who you are in him. Your identity is in

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Christ. So your past experiences do not define

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who you are. Your past experiences do not define

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your present moment. Your past experiences do

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not define eternal life in Jesus Christ. Your

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past experiences are washed clean. Slate is white

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as snow. The Word of God tells us that, right?

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So Satan comes in a moment of desperation, in

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a moment of solitude, in a moment of weakness,

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and in a moment where he wants us to doubt our

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identity in Jesus Christ. But if we stand firm

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in what we know to be true, we know that our

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identity comes from God the Father, and we are

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his child. Right? The Father does know who you

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are, and you know who he is. You have to have

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this new creation mindset moving forward. Right?

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You have to have this concept of, that's not

00:17:21.170 --> 00:17:23.539
me. That's not what I do. I'm trying to move

00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:25.980
this way. This is the direction that I'm going.

00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:29.819
And move forward in your new identity. You know

00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:32.500
who the Father is, and he knows who you are.

00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:38.779
So in this verse, he said, hey, turn these stones

00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:42.119
into bread. You're hungry, right? So prove it.

00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.039
He has the power to do it. Jesus has the power

00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.839
to turn the stones into bread. We haven't seen

00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:51.750
these miracles yet, but we know. that he has

00:17:51.750 --> 00:17:54.750
the power to do it. So nobody would blame him.

00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:59.410
Oh, man, after 40 days, you turn bread, you turn

00:17:59.410 --> 00:18:02.970
stone into bread. He has the power to do it.

00:18:02.970 --> 00:18:06.630
Nobody would blame him because he's hungry. But

00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:10.589
Jesus knows who he is, and he knows who his father

00:18:10.589 --> 00:18:17.009
is, and he even knows what the scripture is.

00:18:18.089 --> 00:18:20.369
So going back to that question, how prepared

00:18:20.369 --> 00:18:25.529
would you be right now if you were going to have

00:18:25.529 --> 00:18:31.509
a test? Would you be able to spit back scripture?

00:18:31.730 --> 00:18:36.130
Would you be able to stand firm in faith and

00:18:36.130 --> 00:18:41.509
know that God has got your back? So instead,

00:18:41.690 --> 00:18:45.029
Jesus responds, man shall not live on bread alone.

00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:47.829
but on every word that comes from the mouth of

00:18:47.829 --> 00:18:53.630
God. So he's like, no thanks. God's got me. But

00:18:53.630 --> 00:19:01.130
how often do we take the bait? In our wilderness,

00:19:01.210 --> 00:19:04.150
we're often tempted to create our own way out,

00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:08.849
our own desire path. Do you guys remember that?

00:19:09.869 --> 00:19:12.529
We're not going in the direction that was created

00:19:12.529 --> 00:19:19.039
for us. We're going to create our own. We're

00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:21.880
following our own will instead of God's timing.

00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:28.299
Our own provision instead of God's provision.

00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:35.000
All for a quick solution. All for just quick

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:41.480
relief. We take matters into our own hands and

00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:46.660
we compromise what God is doing or what he wants

00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:51.759
to teach us. In the moment. Sometimes the wilderness

00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:58.000
is exactly where obedience leads you. And obedience

00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:04.119
matters more than immediate comfort. I'm going

00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:09.259
to say that again. Sometimes the wilderness is

00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:12.980
exactly where obedience leads you. And obedience

00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:19.920
matters more than immediate comfort. Obedience

00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.859
matters more than a piece of bread while you're

00:20:22.859 --> 00:20:30.180
fasting. Obedience matters more because that

00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:36.839
is what is growing your faith. See, persistence

00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:45.700
leads to God's provision. Persistence doesn't

00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:49.549
just lead to... This me complex, I did it on

00:20:49.549 --> 00:20:53.109
my own. I got everything on my own. If we don't

00:20:53.109 --> 00:20:57.289
see that God has given us the strength to get

00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:01.109
to where we are, we're outside of his provision,

00:21:01.250 --> 00:21:04.430
and we're just doing it all on our own, thinking

00:21:04.430 --> 00:21:07.410
that we're high and mighty, Jesus complex, see

00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:11.750
where I got to on my own. Well, God gives us

00:21:11.750 --> 00:21:18.789
breath. God gives us strength. And he gives us

00:21:18.789 --> 00:21:23.809
the persistence to see his provision. Verse 5

00:21:23.809 --> 00:21:26.069
says, Then the devil took him to the holy city

00:21:26.069 --> 00:21:28.230
and had him stand on the highest point of the

00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:41.309
temple. So Jesus, the devil took Jesus to church.

00:21:44.509 --> 00:21:48.150
And he said again, If you are the son of God,

00:21:48.349 --> 00:21:55.730
challenging his identity, prove it, right? Throw

00:21:55.730 --> 00:21:59.130
yourself down. For it's written, he will command

00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:01.190
his angels concerning you, and they will lift

00:22:01.190 --> 00:22:03.289
you up in their hands so that you will not strike

00:22:03.289 --> 00:22:06.289
your foot against the stone. Isn't it crazy how

00:22:06.289 --> 00:22:12.109
Satan knows scripture? Satan is quoting scripture

00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:16.309
to Jesus. He's saying, after all, if you throw

00:22:16.309 --> 00:22:18.130
yourself down, the angels are going to come catch

00:22:18.130 --> 00:22:25.250
you. So he's telling God, hey, why don't you

00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:27.450
cause a little bit of chaos and see if God's

00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:35.809
going to come and rescue you. When I was going

00:22:35.809 --> 00:22:41.609
through my journey of finding out I had cancer,

00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:46.980
and going through chemotherapy. I had some people

00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:52.259
tell me, why are you doing chemo? Do you not

00:22:52.259 --> 00:23:00.000
believe that God can heal you? You should try

00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.200
all these natural remedies. I'm not going to

00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:06.619
tell you that my faith wavered because I was

00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:08.980
diagnosed with stage four metastatic cancer.

00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:15.420
My faith didn't waver in God. I believe that

00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:18.119
God could heal me. I believe that he will continue

00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:24.299
to heal me. But if I wanted to test God's hand

00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:28.539
and be like, okay, I'm going to stop chemo. I'm

00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:30.359
going to stop chemo and see what God wants to

00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:33.779
do with my life. I think that would be a little

00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:40.079
bit foolish. And sometimes... We want to do foolish

00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:46.559
things to see if God's going to rescue us. I

00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:51.619
think sometimes we test God. If I do this, let

00:23:51.619 --> 00:23:55.380
me see if you're really there for me, God. We

00:23:55.380 --> 00:24:06.759
want to create chaos. And we want to cause drama.

00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:11.619
To see if God's going to get us out of this mess

00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:19.319
that who put us in. We put ourselves in. So,

00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:24.839
in my walk, I put all my faith in God. But I

00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:30.660
know that God was putting his act of glory and

00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:32.880
beautiful wonder in the hands of those doctors.

00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:40.559
And so if you decide to get yourself in messes

00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:45.920
that you want to see God pull you out of, you're

00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.920
trying to force God's hands to demand a sign

00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:56.099
from him. And that's very manipulative. We don't

00:24:56.099 --> 00:25:02.700
force God's hand. We don't rush his timing. We

00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:09.210
stay the course. We stay persistent to see God's

00:25:09.210 --> 00:25:17.089
provision. Faith doesn't need to manufacture

00:25:17.089 --> 00:25:24.589
drama to validate trust. Persistent means waiting

00:25:24.589 --> 00:25:30.009
without demanding proof. How many of you have

00:25:30.009 --> 00:25:33.210
gotten to the age and to the point where you

00:25:33.210 --> 00:25:34.670
feel like you don't have to prove yourself to

00:25:34.670 --> 00:25:42.589
anybody? I am who I am. I don't care what anybody

00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:47.650
else thinks. Okay, we're like, it doesn't matter.

00:25:47.750 --> 00:25:50.529
I don't want to be a stumbling block for anybody.

00:25:50.569 --> 00:25:53.390
I will say that. Jesus commands us not to be

00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:55.410
a stumbling block for anybody. But I'm at the

00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:59.329
point in my life where people's opinions of me

00:25:59.329 --> 00:26:02.710
do not matter, and I do not have to prove myself

00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:08.359
to anyone other than to God the Father. who oversees

00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:17.920
my life. Jesus resisted every temptation. He

00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.980
didn't argue with him. He didn't have a 20 -minute

00:26:20.980 --> 00:26:23.180
conversation with him about why he shouldn't

00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:26.700
jump off of the temple. He just stood in his

00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:32.500
truth. And what was that truth? I am the child

00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:36.630
of a living God. This is my identity in him.

00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:39.150
You don't get to tell me to jump off just to

00:26:39.150 --> 00:26:41.329
see what God's going to do in my life. He stood

00:26:41.329 --> 00:26:45.109
on this truth. He stood on business, right? He

00:26:45.109 --> 00:26:47.589
stood on truth. He didn't panic. He didn't try

00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:52.190
to negotiate. He persisted on standing in his

00:26:52.190 --> 00:26:55.450
confidence that was rooted in his identity, his

00:26:55.450 --> 00:26:58.589
relationship with the Father, and in his knowledge

00:26:58.589 --> 00:27:04.180
of scripture. Amen? So when we're facing our

00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.839
own wilderness and temptation to take the easy

00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:09.180
way out, we'll always come. It's always going

00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:11.779
to be there. The easy way out is easy. That's

00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:15.279
why it's called the easy way out. It's going

00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:20.359
to be there. It's available to everyone. Right?

00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:24.599
This is the easy way out. But the word of God

00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.859
says that the road is narrow for those who want

00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:34.180
to follow his ways and his will. So we got all

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:38.720
these options, but we want to be here. Focus.

00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:42.740
We need those horse blinders sometimes. Right?

00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:46.140
We want to be here. So it may look like we're

00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:48.759
compromising our values, abandoning patience,

00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.980
or choosing comfort over calling. That's what,

00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.759
when we face our own wilderness, the temptation

00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:59.299
to take the easy way out will look like compromising

00:27:59.299 --> 00:28:03.420
your values, abandoning patience. Choosing comfort

00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:06.380
over calling. But like Jesus, we're called to

00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:11.200
remember who we are, whose we are, and what God

00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:17.319
has already spoken in us. If God is taking you

00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:24.839
here, he's directed you to go here. And he's

00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:29.619
already told you to go here. But because we want

00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:31.859
to follow our own will, we go this way, we go

00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:34.900
that way, we go around here, we go around there.

00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.640
And we're still trying to get to here. God has

00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:40.819
already spoken to you. He's already said, hey,

00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:48.420
wake up. Your identity is in me. I have a calling

00:28:48.420 --> 00:28:55.579
for you. It's over here. Hello. Hey, I see you're

00:28:55.579 --> 00:29:02.440
over there. is around. I'm terrible at geography.

00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:09.220
But you're supposed to be over here. Hello? And

00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:13.680
the easy way out is out there. It really is.

00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:19.960
The wilderness doesn't last forever. Scripture

00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:22.740
tells us that joy comes in the morning. I can't

00:29:22.740 --> 00:29:26.039
wait for morning sometimes. I cannot wait for

00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:29.630
morning. Woo, and morning might not be tomorrow,

00:29:29.730 --> 00:29:32.950
actually. Did you know that? Joy comes in the

00:29:32.950 --> 00:29:34.690
morning doesn't mean that it really comes in

00:29:34.690 --> 00:29:37.730
the morning, like the next day. Joy comes in

00:29:37.730 --> 00:29:40.970
the morning is our hope that he will give us

00:29:40.970 --> 00:29:44.750
hope, that it will come, and that our past is

00:29:44.750 --> 00:29:50.730
our past. Scripture tells us that after the devil

00:29:50.730 --> 00:29:52.829
left, the angels came and they ministered to

00:29:52.829 --> 00:30:00.430
Jesus. He didn't get left there with Satan for

00:30:00.430 --> 00:30:05.869
40 years, 40 more nights, days. It was temporary.

00:30:07.630 --> 00:30:11.670
It was a moment. Jesus didn't leave him there.

00:30:11.789 --> 00:30:14.630
The angels came and they ministered to his life.

00:30:16.430 --> 00:30:19.609
They brought that joy that came in the morning.

00:30:21.230 --> 00:30:23.730
So when we resist shortcuts and remain faithful,

00:30:23.890 --> 00:30:27.309
God will meet us with strength that we did not

00:30:27.309 --> 00:30:30.609
create for ourselves. He will give this supernatural

00:30:30.609 --> 00:30:34.670
strength that allows us and helps us to overcome

00:30:34.670 --> 00:30:38.650
any fear that we might be going through because

00:30:38.650 --> 00:30:46.490
fear doesn't come from God. So today, if you're

00:30:46.490 --> 00:30:49.109
in the wilderness, take heart. You're not alone.

00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:54.089
Stand firm. Know who you are in Christ. Trust

00:30:54.089 --> 00:30:58.029
the Father. Hold on to the word and refuse the

00:30:58.029 --> 00:31:01.710
easy way out because God's way, though costly,

00:31:01.950 --> 00:31:08.390
always leads to life. Your past does not define

00:31:08.390 --> 00:31:14.849
you. Your life eternal with Jesus Christ defines

00:31:14.849 --> 00:31:22.660
you. Amen? That's it. That's it there's more

00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:23.779
pages, but that's it