Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Above all, walking in
the victory of Jesus. The reason why we did this
series was because I wanted us to explore more
deeply what Jesus had accomplished as our Savior.
And what we discovered that the Bible says that
at the core of what Jesus accomplished is that
He came to destroy the power of Satan over creation,
over humanity, so that by breaking the power
of Satan, He can now save us from that, and now
that we can be reconciled to God and live forever.
for him. And the first thing that he overcame
was the power of deception. We learn in the first
study that Satan could not dupe Jesus into getting
confused about his identity and becoming compromised.
Jesus knew who he was, he knew his mission, and
he stayed true to it. In the second study, we
discover that Jesus was able to overcome Also
the control that Satan now had through the demons
on people's lives and his authority was superior
and demons had to submit to his authority. Today
we will discover that Jesus also overcame the
power of Satan to oppose and influence God's
work. I would like to start the study. By asking
you one question. And that question is simple
but very personal. Are you discouraged? Because
following Jesus takes us through seasons. Moments
in which we feel just discouraged. It's like,
I still believe in Jesus. I still follow in God.
But I just feel, what you say, kind of like deflated.
Like a balloon that went. I feel blah, I'm just,
you know, and it's hard to find words for it.
But we often experience these feelings of feeling
just exhausted, where our passion is not there
anymore, disoriented, where we're not following
with single heartedness. Now our heart is divided
and we just don't really know exactly what to
do. Now we have deep doubts in our lives about
whether this is worth it or not. Did I hear wrong?
You know, it's just I'm not fully committed like
I was before. My passion has dwindled. I feel
just drained. It's like the compassion, the care
for it has diminished. I feel discouraged. Welcome
to the life of following Jesus. There are moments
in which we feel like that, and that's not out
of the norm. However, Jesus did not save you
to live the rest of your life like that. It's
okay to feel discouraged. It's not okay to live
a life of discouragement. Jesus wants us to walk
in the victory that he already won for us, and
he wants us to walk in his freedom. And when
we're in discouragement, the Bible says, I'll
tell you exactly what you need to do. If you're
in a season of discouragement, do this one thing.
I don't know, what is that one thing? This is
what Hebrews chapter 12 says. Will you read it
aloud with me? Consider him who endures such
opposition from sinners, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart. When you feel you're
losing heart, When you feel you're growing weary,
do one thing so that discouragement will not
sit in. Do one thing. What is that? Consider
Jesus and pay attention to what He did, what
He endured. Because once you realize what He
did, then your ability to reframe and to continue
to follow Him because He is worth following will
readjust again. And discouragement and confusion
will give to clarity. And that being deflated
will be inflated again. And you will be able
to enter a new season of commitment and passion
and strength. Jesus came to overcome the power
of Satan. And the word Satan in itself has a
very specific meaning. In fact, the word Satan
was not even a name. It's a word that describes
someone. It's an adjective. And once you start
describing the person, that person takes that
quality and becomes a noun. The word Satan in
Hebrew is Satan. In Greek it's Satanás. You know
what it is in Spanish? Satanás. Same as a Greek.
It's cool once you find out these little things
about language. It means one who opposes the
adversary. The one that is there to oppose you.
It's like imagine that you are playing football
or to our American friends, soccer. And you are
trying to score. That's the goal of the game.
But before you can score, you have all these
people trying to oppose you so that you don't
score. That is the Satan. That is the adversary.
The opposer is going to do something strategically
to try to make sure that you are deterred from
accomplishing the mission that God has given
you. And that is the reality that Jesus experienced.
And that is the reality that following Jesus
brings into the equation. Because often discouragement,
as you will discover, is being in a space where
you have lost your perspective and your focus
on the mission. And now you're experiencing the
symptoms of having lost that perspective. So
the Bible says, look, when you're in that space,
consider what Jesus experienced. Because he experienced
the opposition from sinners. And the very first
sinner and the most powerful sinner he experienced
opposition from was Satan himself. So what exactly
did Jesus experience that we need to consider?
The book of Hebrews tells us. During the days
of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers
and petitions. With fervent cries and tears.
To the one who could save him from death. And
he was hurt because of his reverent submission.
There is a moment as Jesus is following the mission
that he has received from the father. To become
the savior of the world. That as he is pursuing
that mission. He. Felt the weight of it. There
were moments. In which he was moved to tears.
And he would talk to the father. From this place
of hardship. And as he is trying. To pursue the
mission. And he is experiencing these things.
Hebrews says. Son though he was. Because he was
the son of God. We learned last week even demons
said it. Son of the Most High God. They knew
who He was. He knew who He was. But being the
Son of the Most High God in a human body incarnate
brought a whole different dimension of what obedience
looked like. What pursuing this mission looked
like. He was not pursuing it from His throne
in heaven. He was pursuing it in flesh and blood
here on earth. And that's why it says, even though
he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.
And once made perfect, he became the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey him. In order
for Jesus to become the savior of the world,
And to be able to give that salvation to anyone
that now follows him. Before Jesus would become
the savior of the world. He had to learn obedience.
And he had to be perfected as the high priest.
In order to reconcile people with God. And it's
like wait. He had to learn obedience? How if
he is God. He is already obedient. he is holy,
how can he learn obedience? And then, if he is
God himself, and he is divine, how can he be
perfected? And this is where some people get
confused. And some people say, well, you see,
that proves that Jesus is not God, because if
Jesus was truly God, then he's perfect, and he
knows all things, so there's nothing for him
to learn. It's like silly people. That is not
what the text is talking about. Yes, Jesus is
God, 100%. True God. And we think of God, of
Jesus as, yeah, the one who walks on water. We
saw last week how he has authority over all creation.
He is the creator of creation, the Gospel of
John says. Everything was made through him and
by him. And we saw how he commanded the stone
to stop and it stopped. And the apostles were
like, what? Who is this guy that even creation
obeys him? Demons recognized him immediately
and would say, you are the son of the most high
God. We think of Jesus as this divine being.
But Jesus was not just God. He was also 100 %
man. And as man, he suffered. And as man, he
cried with tears to his father. And there's a
moment in which he says to God, God, restore
the glory that I left behind before I became
a human. We have to remember that Jesus is God
and man. 100%, 100%. And as a human being. As
he was pursuing the mission of becoming the savior
of the world, we learn in the first study that
the word of God says he had to become like us
in every single way so that by being like us,
he now could break from within the power of Satan
that he had over humanity. Which means that Jesus
experienced All these things that people in a
human body would experience. He experienced hunger,
fatigue, rejection, temptation, Gethsemane, and
death. We saw last week how he was so exhausted
that he fell asleep on the boat. And even a storm
would not wake him up. He was so tired. That
the only way that he was woken up was the crowd
of the apostles shaking him saying, Jesus, we
come, we are dying here. In the pursuit of the
mission to become the savior of the world, Jesus
accomplished the things he accomplished from
this perspective of being a human and God. And
as a human, he had to learn not just what it
was to obey. He already knew obedience, but now
he had to learn the cost of obedience. What would
it be like to be tortured and crucified and to
bleed as part of obeying? He hadn't experienced
that before. He will have to experience it. And
for him, he learned the cost of obedience. And
because he learned the cost of obedience, and
he remained faithful to the mission, then the
Word of God says, he became perfected as the
high priest. He was able to now, as he accomplished
the mission to perfection, become the intercessor
between humans and God. The one that can reconcile
us to God himself. Because he the God man died
for the sins of people. And is able now to pay
for their guilt. And therefore he is the one
that can give forgiveness. Because he has become
the supreme high priest. And that mission to
become the high priest. Had to be accomplished
100 % to perfection. If it was 90 % done. it
will be a failed mission. If he was 99 .9 % complete,
it will be a failed mission. It had to be a perfect
mission all the way till the very last breath.
He had to die sinless and completely obedient
to the T, as we say. The plan had to be completely
accomplished. This is who Jesus was. Hebrews
says. For him to become the savior. That we worship.
And we say you have overcome. You have overcome.
Yes he overcame. But to a price. What was it
like for him. To become this savior. And what
did he have to go through. In order to overcome
the power of Satan. To oppose him. But we'll
discover in the rest of this study. In that there
were moments in which Jesus. As he is pursuing
the plan. Pursuing the mission. Following it
faithfully. There were specific moments in which
the opposer. Satan tried to maneuver him around.
To try to prevent him. from accomplishing the
mission, but at every moment, Jesus was much
more skilled with the ball. And he was able to
pass them and continue until he scores the game
and wins it. The first one of all those, we saw
in the first study of this series. By the way,
if you have missed the previous sessions, you
can access them in our website or in our app.
In the first study, we saw how Jesus had been
tempted by Satan directly. But in this temptation,
there's something that happens in the very last
part of that temptation that is very unique compared
to the other ones because the very last thing
deals directly with the mission that Jesus came
to accomplish. And Satan is going to try to be
sneaky. And caused Jesus to derail. What did
he do? Well, Satan approaches Jesus. And we are
told that in the last part of the interaction
with Jesus at that moment. The devil took him
to the very high mountain. And showed him all
the kingdoms of the world. And their splendor.
All this I will give you, he said. If you just
will bow down and worship me. Isn't that what
you're after? A kingdom? You want to reign over
creation? I can give it all to you. Just like
that. It will just take only a couple of seconds.
First just bow down in front of me right here.
Go. A few seconds and you will get it. What Satan
didn't understand is that the kingdom was just
the outcome. Jesus was not after a kingdom of
his own. Jesus was after a mission. And the mission
requires something that Jesus knew very well.
So Jesus immediately turns to the opposer, Satan.
And says to him, away from me Satan. For it is
written, worship the Lord your God and serve
him only. I'm not here. To get a kingdom. I'm
here to serve the father. And him only. I am
here for a mission. And a mission I'm going to
accomplish. So no. Get away from me. You are
becoming an obstacle for what God called me to
do. Get out of here. Get out of my way. So he
did. Then the devil left him. And angels came.
And attended him. Satan tries. To take something
that is true. And twist it just a little bit
enough. To make the person. Lose perspective.
But Jesus knows. Clearly what his mission is.
And he is not going to be deterred. And this
is exactly how Satan works with you and with
me. Jesus, what is your purpose? To establish
a kingdom? No, my purpose is to defeat Satan
so I can establish a kingdom. And the Bible says
that that kingdom that he receives from the Father,
he will reign over that kingdom. Until all his
enemies are destroyed. And then Jesus will turn
the kingdom back to the fathers. So the father
can be all in all. So even till the end, it's
not about the kingdom of Jesus. He knows that
it is so much more than that. You know what happens?
Is that this work of opposing is very sneaky.
Twisting you just enough so that you lose perspective
of your purpose. And your purpose is not your
career. It's not your advancement. Your purpose
is not retire early. The purpose is not that
you will establish a good reputation. And that
people will admire you. And that you will have
enough money to live on. That is not the purpose.
Maybe before you came to know Christ, that was
your purpose. But the moment that we start following
Jesus, our purpose has completely changed. Primarily
our purpose is to follow Jesus. And we follow
Jesus to seek his kingdom first. Because we are
here pursuing a mission that has eternal perspective.
And everything I do, everything I am, everything
that the Lord positions me to do is aligned with
that. So yes, you do have a career. Yes, you
do have a position. And yes, you do have a paycheck.
But those are simply tools to seek God's kingdom
first. Not my kingdom first. And it starts moving
so slowly that before you know it, you have lost
your perspective on your purpose. A few years
ago, I was talking to a dear friend of mine that
was a single lady at that time. And she was so
discouraged that day. She was in her late 20s
and in her mind that was old to get married.
And she loved the Lord. She was serving the Lord
and very committed to Christ. And she was discouraged
because all the friends were dating. They were
getting married. And she was being left behind.
And there was no suitable candidate for her.
Guys were around, but no, not really. They didn't
really love the Lord. So she was so discouraged.
And she was saying, you know, I will never get
married. I'm just going to grow all alone. And
I'll have to get used to that idea. And now if...
I want to have kids. The only way to have kids.
I will have to do some kind of in vitro. And
sperm donors. And all that stuff. And she was
like. Feeling very weighty. Very discouraged.
And as we are talking. And she is letting out
all these. Stupid things going on in her mind.
Once you say it. You realize. I don't really.
I don't really believe that. But that's what
I'm feeling. And she's getting all these things
out of. And we realize. You know what? You have
lost perspective. On your purpose. Your purpose.
My purpose. Is to follow Jesus. That's why we
call ourselves disciples of Jesus. Followers.
And we are following for the mission. And our
mission is not to get married and have kids.
If that's part of the package, praise God. If
that is not part of the package, praise God.
But I will never turn the mission into this mission.
Because the moment you do that, that is when
you start feeling the anxiety, the discouragement.
The deflating is because you have lost your purpose.
So what is your purpose, may I ask you? Is it
to follow Jesus and seek His kingdom first? Ah,
so you have forgotten your purpose. That is why
you're feeling the way you're feeling. You are
just experiencing the symptoms. It is time you
come to the Lord and realize, Lord, I've been
duped. The enemy got me on this one. The opposer
has been opposing me. I see it. Thank you, Lord,
for the truth. But there's a second moment in
which Jesus is going to experience the opposer
trying to deter him again. And this time it's
going to be a little bit different. Because it's
going to come. From one of his dear friends.
You see Jesus has been now serving for about
three years. Since his baptism. And since Satan
tempted him at the beginning. And offered him
the kingdom. Just by worshiping him. And Jesus
has been pursuing the mission faithfully. But
for the very first time. He's going to start
giving more details. To his apostles. So the
word of God says that as he starts engaging with
the apostles. He starts telling them. He then
began teaching them. That the son of man must
suffer many things. And be rejected by the elders.
The chief priests. The teachers of the law. And
that he must be killed. And after three days
rise again. Jesus knew all of these things. He
knew that the mission required a cost. Look,
I am going to suffer a lot in the days ahead.
As we enter Jerusalem, lots of suffering will
come upon me. I will be rejected by the leaders.
The top people will think that I need to die.
I will be opposed by them. I'm going to be crucified.
And I'm going to be killed. But don't worry I
will resurrect after that. Jesus knew all was
coming. By the way if you are wondering. Why
is Jesus calling himself the son of man? Doesn't
that mean that he is not God? The son of man.
Actually that is the opposite. This is a phrase
from the book of Daniel. And there is a vision.
In which Daniel says, I saw one at the end of
history that was coming in the clouds. And he
looked like a son of man. He had the shape of
a human. This was a human, I don't understand.
A son of man. And all nations worshipped him.
And only one can be worshipped. God. So this
phrase, by the way, that's a little parenthesis
to the study. Jesus is saying, you know, the
Son of Man will come. That's me. Jesus. But before
that can happen, I'll have to suffer. This was
intel. Classified intel. He's giving the apostles
for the mission. And at that moment, guess what
happens? Let's keep reading. He spoke plainly
about this. And Peter took him aside. And began
to rebuke him. It doesn't tell us what Peter
said to Jesus. But it tells us that Peter is
trying to try to deter Jesus from accomplishing
and doing exactly what he just said he was going
to do. Jesus, I can only imagine. What are you
talking about? We cannot lose you now. We are
so close to establishing the kingdom. Look, all
the people that are following you, you cannot
lose all these followers now. You are growing
in popularity. Jesus, what are you talking about?
Getting in the wrong side with the religious
leaders? No, we need to gain their respect. Jesus,
can we revise this plan for a moment? And Jesus,
Says that when Jesus turn. And look at his disciples.
He then turns to Peter. And he rebukes Peter.
And he says this. Get behind me Satan. You do
not have in mind. The concerns of God. But merely.
Humans concerns. He knows. Who is behind all
of this. And he knows that the strategy is to
just try to move him a little bit to deter him
from the mission. And Jesus is not going to have
it. He didn't have it directly from Satan. He's
not going to have it through the mouth of Peter.
He's not going to have it. He knows his mission.
He knows that it's going to be costly. But it
is not the fact that it's going to be costly
that is going to deter him from it. So he wants
to make very sure from that moment, this is a
teaching moment for him. So he's going to call
everybody. He's going to regroup everybody. He
gets Satan out of the way. He tells the people,
look, this is what's going to happen. And now
he says to the rest of the crowd that is following
him, come. Because I have to make something very
clear. We are about. To accomplish this mission
in a few weeks. And I've just told you the intel
of what this is going to look like. And we all
have to be on the same page. And if you're going
to follow me. I have to make something that is
very clear for all of us. So then he calls the
crowd to him. Along with his disciples and says.
Whoever wants to be my disciple. If you're going
to call yourself my follower. You must deny themselves
and take up the cross and follow me. For whoever
wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever
loses their life for me and for the gospel will
save it. Following me is going to cost you. And
I want to make sure that you get it from the
very beginning. Your life is not going to be
easier. The moment you start following me, it's
going to be hard. Because there's a reality,
a kingdom of darkness that is going to oppose
you. If you get to score the goal, it's going
to come to a high price. You will have to sweat
it. So if you think that following me is about
making your life easier, let's make sure that
we revise the contract right now. And that easy,
let's remove that word from there. Convenient,
let's remove that word from there. I want to
make sure that in your contract, that you are
reading and signing, you see, take up your cross.
Costly. Hardship. Because humans talk about convenience.
Humans are concerned about those things. I am
not concerned about the cost. I am concerned
about destroying the power of Satan so I can
save humanity and reconcile them to my Father.
That is my business. That will be your business
too. Is that clear? Wow. You could see how straightforward
and direct Jesus was. At that moment. But he
had to make it very clear. Because things were
going to get harder. In a few weeks. And at that
moment. Jesus knows exactly what his priority
is. And his priority. Is not to avoid inconvenience.
Or to cost down the cost. Of the mission. What
is your priority? Because if you are feeling
discouraged, because you start feeling, you know,
it's not really worth it. It's too hard to follow
Jesus. You know, and now that I'm going to church,
I had to change my schedule. I have to get up
early. Sunday is the only day that I used to
sleep in. Now I have to get up early. And now
they're asking me to do this and volunteer with
that and this and that, you know. And now you
start realizing there's a cost. Welcome to the
kingdom of Jesus. In reality, the problem is
not whether there's a cost or not. Because following
Jesus is costly, but so it is not following Jesus.
And actually following Jesus is most costly.
Because you have to pay for eternity. Your debt.
Whoa. Jesus paid for my debt. I don't have to
worry about eternity. It's just following him
here and now. You know, the way this works is
very interesting because it's just so sneaky.
No wonder the Bible describes Satan as a master
deceiver. One who disguises himself as an angel
of light. Because a deceiver deceives you in
a very sneaky way. It's just enough for you to
lose sight of it. You know, these glasses that
I have, they are trifocal. Which means that I
have three levels. That's why they're more expensive
than just simple glasses. So if I want to read
my phone, I have to go like this, you know, the
bottom part. If I'm in the computer, it's like...
And then the neck, you know, oh, my neck hurts.
Middle and then distance on the top. I was explaining
to a friend from Hong Kong, you know, I have
these trifocal glasses and I need to do the...
and she said, trifocal, what does that mean?
She didn't understand the words, so she looked
at her phone, Chinese translation, and she says,
oh, glasses for old people. I thought, okay,
well, that's something about language. Let's
call it trifocal. And with this trifocal, you
know, at the beginning, It's hard because your
brain has to get used to all the three levels.
Some of you have it, that process of getting
adjusted to it. But it just takes a little bit
of movement and it becomes blurry. Just a little.
And a little bit more and now it's really confusing.
You cannot see clearly anymore. And that is how
spiritual opposition works. It's like you suddenly
have so much clarity and something happened,
just a little move. And now it's like I feel
a little bit disoriented. Now I don't have clarity
anymore. And a little bit more and it's like
now I'm really confused. Now I really want to
quit. Now I really... And you have no idea that
you are under spiritual attack and the opposer
is trying to oppose you. To deter you from pursuing
the mission. And there is going to be a cost.
And we must be willing. And I remember wrestling
with it. Wrestling to the point that tears came
from my eyes. And I'm talking to God about it.
I've shared in the past a few times. The process
of coming here to Thailand. At the beginning,
I remember walking in this place. We had rented
an Airbnb at that time. And I'm thinking, Lord,
do you really want us to go there? Is this you?
If it's not you, I'm not going anywhere. It has
to be you. And I'm wrestling. My wife was born
here in Thailand. Her parents were missionaries
in Thailand. In fact, she's a Thai citizen. And
I see you. Her idea of coming to Thailand for
her was coming back home. So she was excited.
You know, if it was up to her, it was like, can
we go tomorrow? You know, and I am the one wrestling,
wrestling in this space because I'm thinking,
what about this? What about that? And this and
that. And lots of things. I remember our oldest
son had just graduated from high school and now
he's going to college. And he's like, he's going
to college and we're all the way to Asia and
separated like that. And then it's like all these
things and the change of teams. And I'm saying,
Lord, if this is you, and I had to tell my wife,
you know, it's like God is baking me. It's like
in the oven, you know. Take time. So let me,
don't try to make the process go quicker. I'm
still wrestling with the idea. When God is done
baking me, it will be fine. But I'm still being
baked. So let's keep praying through this. And
at that moment, I was reading the book of Luke
and that's when Jesus tells the people, look,
if you're not going to do what I tell you, don't
call yourself my disciple. I was like, oh, you
couldn't be more clear. Because disciple is follower.
And I was asking all the wrong questions. Yeah,
but what about, that's not convenient. That's
not nice. That's not the best time. And I was
like the worst soldier in the army. And Jesus
used his word to say, let's make this clear,
just like he did with his apostles. Just sit
down, let me look in your eyes, and let me ask
you something. Are you my disciple or not? Because
if this is me asking you to do this, Are you
going to follow me? Because if you're not going
to follow me, I have something to tell you. Stop
calling yourself my disciple. Because you're
not. You either follow me or you don't. And if
I tell you go, you go. Because you're following
me. And that's when it was baked. God could take
that out of the oven. And now we can say, yes,
Lord. I was asking all the wrong questions about
convenience. Human concerns. And when you're
in that place, you can indeed become discouraged.
But don't let the enemy dupe you. You live for
something so much bigger than that. And the third
moment of Jesus' experience was till the very
end. Now he's on the cross. He has suffered.
He has been rejected. He has been crucified.
And he is 99 .9 % done with the mission. But
not completely done yet. Remember what I told
you at the beginning. If it's not done to perfection,
it's a failed mission. And at that moment, Jesus
is on the cross. And Satan is going to use all
these people that are under his influence and
power. And try to do Jesus. One more time. Maybe.
Now that he's in a place of weakness. And pain
and susceptibility. Before he was just hungry.
But now. He's really suffering pain. He's bleeding.
He's weak. Let me try one more time. And at that
moment. As Jesus is hanging on the cross. The
word of God says. Those who passed by hurled
insults at him. Shaking their heads. And saying.
You who are going to destroy the temple and build
it in three days. Save yourself. Come down from
the cross. If you are the son of God. Come down.
In the same way that he preached. The teachers
of the law. And the elders mocked him. He saved
others. They said. But he can't save himself.
He is the king of Israel. Isn't he? Let him come
down. Now from the cross. And we will believe
in him. He trusts in God. Let God risk him now.
If he wants him. For he said. I am the son of
God. Prove yourself to us. We have a little bit
of space to still be convinced. Just do this
trick. If you do this trick and you prove yourself
to us. Then we will believe that you are the
son of God. We will believe that you are the
king of Israel. We will believe that you are
the Messiah. That your father really is your
father. We will believe in you. Just come down
from the cross. Prove yourself to us. You see,
if Jesus did that, the mission would have been
compromised. Can you imagine in that moment,
after being rejected, doubted, questioned, still
being... In that place I'm hearing, hey, convince
us. Prove it. But Jesus thankfully was committed
to the mission to the very end. And he stood
there. He stayed the course. Hanging. Until with
very little energy left. Before he dies. It's
one of the things he says. Pay him full. He commends
his spirit in God's hands and he dies. And now
he becomes the high priest. Perfected because
he accomplished the mission to perfection. But
now, part two of the mission. Entering the domain
of death. To destroy the power of Satan. Completely.
And for that we'll have to wait for Easter. So
a couple of weeks on that. But Jesus. Perfecter.
Thank you Lord. That you stayed. True. To the
mission. Satan try hard. Opposed him. Time after
time after time. But he could not win. And in
that place. Of trying to prove for yourself.
Is such a sneaky place. Because everything that
Satan tells you is true. You are the son of God.
Isn't God your father? Aren't you the king of
Israel? Aren't you the Messiah? I want to believe
you. Just prove it. Sneaky devil. You will find
your final judgment one day and you will be no
more. But when you find yourself in that place
of proving yourself, it's not from God. God did
not call you to prove anything. He called you
to follow Him. Listen to me. God did not call
you to prove anything. He just called you to
follow Him. There's nothing to prove. Nothing.
What are you trying to prove? That you deserve
to be where you are? That you deserve that promotion?
That you have worked hard enough. And therefore
you deserve. And you need to be seen and respected
and valued. That that is what you deserve. So
you're going to show them. Listen. You and I
deserve nothing. The only thing we deserve. Biblically
speaking. Is to die and go to hell. If you're
talking about what we deserve. That's what we
deserve. Everything that we have. is by God's
grace. So stop trying to prove anything. Why
are you trying to prove that you are worth of
respect, that you are worth of love? God already
said that He created you in His image and likeness.
That's respect enough. And God already said that
He loves you so much He sent Jesus to reconcile
you to Himself. You are loved enough. There's
nothing to prove. Nothing. And as long as you
are walking in that space. That you need to do
something to prove something. You are going to
be governed by fear. And the need to control.
And the anxiety that comes with the whole package.
If that is how you are feeling. No wonder you
are feeling that. You are where the Lord bless
you. Doing what he called you to do. If that
is true, that's all that matters. The truth will
speak by itself. And the only one that you're
accountable to is God himself. And one day, you
will be accountable to him and truth will be
completely clear. Satan is opposing you. Open
up your eyes. And tell Satan the same things
that Jesus said. Get away from me. I am a follower
of Jesus. I am on a mission. And I'm going to
continue doing what God called me to do. Because
I live here to bow down to no one but to my Father.
I will not bow down to fear. Let the rest of
the world bow down to that idol. But I will not.
This is what Jesus did. Purpose clear. Perseverance
till the end. Perspective, never losing it for
a second. And this is how he was able to overcome
and break through the power of Satan. And now
that you and I are following him, he's asking
us to do the same. To follow him in his steps.
And what happens is that the moment you misstep,
the moment, you start looking through the glasses
a little bit off, instead of having clear purpose,
clear perseverance, clear perspective, instead
what you're going to be experiencing is deep
anxiety, a divided heart, and fear and control.
And if this is where you are today, I'm here
to ask you in Jesus' name, would you turn to
Jesus today and give Him these things and say,
Lord, Reframe my thinking. Renew my perspective.
Restore my heart. That I can follow you. In this
mission. Until the end. So there you have it.
Jesus becomes the savior of the world. And he
learned obedience through suffering. And he was
perfected in his role as a savior because he
reached a perfect mission, 100%. And now he's
inviting you to walk in that freedom. And if
God has shown you that you have lost perspective,
purpose, that the reason why you have a divided
heart and you have deflated, It's because Satan
has opposed you and duped you. This is the moment
to tell the Lord, Lord, I'm here for you. Satan,
get behind me. You do not belong in my calling.
Let's read together what the word of God says
to us. Therefore, Since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses. Let us throw
off everything that hinders. And the sin that
so easily entangles. And let us run where perseverance
the race marked out for us. Fixing our eyes on
Jesus. The pioneer and perfecter of faith. For
the joy set before him. He endured the cross.
Scorning his shame. And sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endures
such opposition from sinners. So that you will
not grow weary and lose heart. Lord. You invited
us to consider you. As we face discouragement
and we have discovered a Savior that knows what
it's like to be committed to the mission and
to suffer through it. Even when you pray, if
there was another way to do it. If there's anyone
that is worth following, it's you. And Lord,
if we have lost our perspective, If we fell for
the trap of trying to prove something or build
our kingdom or let fear control us. If we've
been asking all the wrong questions about convenience
rather than impact. We're here in your presence
and we're asking you in this moment, Lord, encounter
us here and reframe our souls in Jesus' name.
If God is calling you to support our ministries,
you will find giving options on our website.
And remember to join us next week. God bless
you.