WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.740 Good morning. How are we? That was like, you 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:12.619 know, when you start your car and it's like, 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:16.679 and then it just goes across the room. So good 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:19.620 morning to those of you online. Pauldin, extra 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:22.579 special welcome to you. Glad that you guys gather 00:00:22.579 --> 00:00:25.300 and do what you do, including, including, if 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:26.460 you remember a couple of weeks ago, we talked 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:29.399 about pizookies. They had a pizookie for breakfast 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:33.859 last week. So well done, well played. But glad 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:35.799 you were there and glad for what God is doing 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:38.420 in the community. Mike and Sue, we love you. 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.579 Randy in Baghdad saw that you were in the chat. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.140 Love you guys in Baghdad and what is going on. 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:46.700 We're so grateful that we're part of a community. 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:49.479 Mike and Debbie from Colorado just sold their 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:51.640 house and are moving to Prescott and will be 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:54.259 here in person mid -July, I think. So we can 00:00:54.259 --> 00:00:58.909 give them a hand. They're on their way. And anyone 00:00:58.909 --> 00:01:00.969 else in the online fam, wherever you happen to 00:01:00.969 --> 00:01:02.789 be, whatever you happen to be doing, just know 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:05.390 that we are grateful we get to do this as family. 00:01:05.530 --> 00:01:11.109 And so, man, isn't there something good about 00:01:11.109 --> 00:01:14.290 being in a room with people? And what I mean 00:01:14.290 --> 00:01:16.790 by that is, you guys, we're all the same. We 00:01:16.790 --> 00:01:19.650 all have good days, bad days. We all have mountaintop 00:01:19.650 --> 00:01:22.180 experiences, valleys. We all have moments where 00:01:22.180 --> 00:01:24.620 this is the worst day ever, this is the best 00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:27.280 day ever, somewhere in between, whatever it happens 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.480 to be. Isn't it amazing to get in a room and 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.000 begin to sing words like, what a beautiful name 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.319 it is, the name of Jesus, and know that Jesus 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.519 does not change, even though your week might 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.219 change, your day might change, your experience 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:43.420 of life might change. It's just so good to get 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.840 in a room and go, man, this is family, and we're 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.200 rallied around the person of Jesus, and that 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:54.040 changes everything. And so I don't know how, 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.900 like if you're here and you're like, it's the 00:01:55.900 --> 00:01:57.760 first time I've ever been. Welcome to you. We're 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.180 glad you're here. What you need to know is what 00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:02.760 matters is Jesus. The rest of us are all secondary 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.719 to that. And the hope is that when you leave 00:02:05.719 --> 00:02:08.180 here, you know more about Jesus than you do about 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:11.000 us or about the church family or about the church 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.419 or anything like that. We're just here to point 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:16.860 to him. And this summer, this summer, we are 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:21.539 intentionally pointing towards all summer long, 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:27.060 This idea of who you are. And what I mean by 00:02:27.060 --> 00:02:32.180 that is who you are, Jesus. Like the whole point, 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:33.719 we're going to be in the gospel of Luke throughout 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.759 the summer. And the whole point is to keep seeing 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:40.879 Jesus for who he is. To keep seeing maybe new 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.759 aspects of him. The hope is that maybe some weeks 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.819 you're actually surprised. Like you're like, 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.919 oh, that's who you are. I didn't know that. Right. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.000 And hopefully there's an element of surprise 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.560 or maybe maybe for you, you've been around the 00:02:55.560 --> 00:02:58.259 block a while, read the Bible a few times and 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:01.539 you're like, you know what? I just this reminds 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:04.080 me of who Jesus is and it just feels good to 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.719 be reminded he hasn't changed. Right. And so 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:08.319 wherever you are on that spectrum, here's what 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:11.659 I would encourage you. Between between weekends, 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.139 get around a table with somebody. That table 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:17.219 could be 10 people. That table could be for two. 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:22.710 But talk about, were you surprised? Did you know 00:03:22.710 --> 00:03:26.449 that? What stood out to you? What helps you knowing 00:03:26.449 --> 00:03:30.349 Jesus is that? But the idea is that we all kind 00:03:30.349 --> 00:03:32.229 of just anchor into the person of Jesus and we 00:03:32.229 --> 00:03:34.370 go, hopefully by the end of summer, like that's 00:03:34.370 --> 00:03:36.490 just who you are. I don't know why I'm surprised 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:38.569 anymore because that's who you are. You always 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:40.189 show up like that because that's who you are. 00:03:40.710 --> 00:03:42.889 And this week, this week, we're going to lean 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:45.780 into, I got bad news for you. You are the 930. 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:47.840 So if you don't like my message, there's not 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:49.639 time to run to Prescott Valley and listen to 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:52.699 Pastor Ben this weekend. Those of you that don't 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:55.039 know, we have live in -person communicators at 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.419 all of our gatherings in Prescott and Prescott 00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.719 Valley. And so you may be like, well, this was 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.199 terrible. I wonder what Ben did. Well, you missed 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.080 it. So there you go. But here's the thing. The 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.080 hope is that we just rally around together and 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.979 go, this is who Jesus is. So this week. Jesus 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:17.899 is a fighter. Jesus is a fighter. Now you may 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:20.399 be like, I don't know, like how do we land on 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:22.420 Jesus as a fighter? Because the picture I have 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:25.300 of Jesus is the picture where he's rescuing the 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:27.680 sheep. You know what I mean? Like the tender 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.540 Jesus, you know, the Jesus with the lady who's 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:34.720 caught in adultery and cares for her, right? 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.600 Like you realize he fights for her in that moment. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.649 He protects her. Right? Like Jesus is a fighter. 00:04:41.709 --> 00:04:44.209 Think about it. He goes toe to toe with the religious 00:04:44.209 --> 00:04:47.490 elite of the day. Right? And he tells them, hey, 00:04:47.569 --> 00:04:50.930 this is where you are leaning into hypocrisy 00:04:50.930 --> 00:04:53.910 and I'm going to call it out. There's moments 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.329 with Jesus where you guys, you realize he flips 00:04:56.329 --> 00:05:00.810 tables in the most sacred place. And if that's 00:05:00.810 --> 00:05:03.569 not enough, get this picture. He flips tables 00:05:03.569 --> 00:05:06.720 with a whip in his hand. When was the last time 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.060 you went to somebody's house and you see Jesus 00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:13.060 flipping a table with a whip, right? No, we like 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:16.160 the Jesus with the sheep because we're the sheep 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:22.139 that he's carrying. Both are true. The picture 00:05:22.139 --> 00:05:25.680 of Jesus being one of compassion and grace and 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:32.680 mercy has an and Jesus is a fighter. Jesus goes 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.439 toe to toe with the devil. Jesus showed up and 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:38.540 fought that you could sit here and even know 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:41.779 God the Father today. He's a fighter. He's been 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:44.519 fighting on your behalf. And so we're going to 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.959 lean into this idea that Jesus is a fighter. 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:48.879 If you can't tell, I'm a little excited about 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.180 it. I think it's going to be fun. Luke chapter 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:58.079 4, verse 1. Jesus. By the way, just a side note, 00:05:58.180 --> 00:06:00.439 if you're gonna read, like you're like, okay, 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:02.040 we're in the gospel of Luke, I'm gonna read the 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.660 gospel of Luke. You'll notice we're not starting 00:06:04.660 --> 00:06:07.160 in chapter one. We talk about the Christmas story 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:09.279 enough, like we take entire months to talk about 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:11.660 it. And so we're skipping it in the summer and 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:14.279 we're jumping into chapter four and here's why. 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:17.540 This is when Jesus goes public facing. This is 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:20.259 when he is now letting people know who he is. 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:22.639 And remember, what do we do in the summer? We 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:24.139 are looking at him going, oh, that's who you 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:27.459 are. We want to see Jesus for who he portrayed 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:29.740 himself to be in those moments. So that's why 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:31.899 we're jumping in where we are. Chapter 4, verse 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:37.339 1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.360 and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:44.259 where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil. 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:47.420 He ate nothing during those days, and at the 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:51.449 end of them he was hungry. where some of you 00:06:51.449 --> 00:06:54.209 are like, that's the most obvious statement ever 00:06:54.209 --> 00:06:56.629 made in the Bible. He doesn't eat for 40 days 00:06:56.629 --> 00:06:58.470 and then it says he's hungry. Here's why that's 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:00.689 a big deal, because what it's getting at is Jesus 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:03.949 is fully God and fully man, right? Like he is 00:07:03.949 --> 00:07:07.050 the God man. And so with that, the idea that 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:10.730 he is hungry, it is expressing to us just like 00:07:10.730 --> 00:07:13.149 you at about 12 o 'clock today when you go to 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:15.970 In -N -Out, right? Like you're hungry. You don't 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:17.790 go to Chick -fil -A, it's Sunday. You know what 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:20.689 I'm saying? Closed on Sunday. Right? The idea 00:07:20.689 --> 00:07:25.589 is that you, you can relate, but it also doesn't 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.870 put Jesus on this pedestal that you go, oh, that 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:32.230 was him. That's not me. You need to understand 00:07:32.230 --> 00:07:34.149 that what's about to transpire with the devil 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:36.490 in this passage, that what's about to transpire 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:38.949 is he's getting at everything that he is asking 00:07:38.949 --> 00:07:40.889 you to do. He's already done and been through. 00:07:41.709 --> 00:07:44.610 He's not asking you to do something that he himself 00:07:44.610 --> 00:07:48.319 hasn't walked through. And so with this, we start 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:53.040 out with Jesus full of the Holy Spirit. And so 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:56.660 I'm going to draw just because I can, and we'll 00:07:56.660 --> 00:08:00.000 see how this goes. So this triangle, if you're 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.040 looking for who it's equated to, those of you 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.579 that know who Dallas Willard is, part of this 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:08.620 is his and part of it is new. Okay, so within 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:10.860 this, they called it the golden triangle. But 00:08:10.860 --> 00:08:14.139 what you see in Jesus is this, that he was full 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:19.470 of what? The Holy Spirit. He was full of the 00:08:19.470 --> 00:08:24.310 Holy Spirit. That it says specifically that because 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:29.209 he was full of the Holy Spirit, he was able to 00:08:29.209 --> 00:08:33.370 be led by the Holy Spirit. And so it says Jesus, 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:36.330 who was full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the 00:08:36.330 --> 00:08:39.509 Holy Spirit. Why is this significant? Because 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:43.220 when you met Jesus, When you said yes and put 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:46.419 your trust into Jesus, guess what? The Holy Spirit 00:08:46.419 --> 00:08:49.919 came and indwelled you. You are full of the Holy 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.779 Spirit right here and right now. My question 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:54.600 is how many of you are being led by the Holy 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.460 Spirit, right? Because that's a choice. There's 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:01.559 a choice here of what I'm gonna submit to. And 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:08.200 what we see with Jesus is he is willing to put 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:12.370 himself in submission. Well, if I could spell. 00:09:14.009 --> 00:09:17.649 Submission to the Holy Spirit. He's willing to 00:09:17.649 --> 00:09:21.049 submit himself. He's willing to put himself in 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:22.990 a posture of going, you're going to lead me, 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.649 not the other way around. Now, there's a backstory 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:28.730 to this moment that we have to catch. If you 00:09:28.730 --> 00:09:32.070 jump back to chapter 3, verse 21, it says this. 00:09:32.950 --> 00:09:36.929 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus 00:09:36.929 --> 00:09:42.190 was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven 00:09:42.190 --> 00:09:47.009 was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him 00:09:47.009 --> 00:09:52.649 in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came 00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:58.590 from heaven. You are my son whom I love. With 00:09:58.590 --> 00:10:04.590 you I am well pleased. So what is the moment 00:10:04.590 --> 00:10:07.649 before the moment, so to speak? The moment before 00:10:07.649 --> 00:10:12.429 the moment is Jesus. In submission, submission 00:10:12.429 --> 00:10:16.750 does what? He goes and he puts himself into the 00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:20.950 waters of baptism. And I'm just gonna throw it 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:22.789 out there that if you know Jesus and you have 00:10:22.789 --> 00:10:25.129 not gone through the waters of baptism, then 00:10:25.129 --> 00:10:27.450 this may be a moment for you where you go, hey, 00:10:27.549 --> 00:10:30.409 I need the help of the Holy Spirit to help me 00:10:30.409 --> 00:10:33.990 submit to what we see Jesus modeling for us as 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:37.149 his followers. And so the idea that he goes through 00:10:37.149 --> 00:10:39.129 the waters of baptism and it says what happens 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:43.230 next is heaven opens and like a dove, right? 00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:45.789 So that we can recognize the Holy Spirit, it 00:10:45.789 --> 00:10:50.429 comes and it settles on him. And anytime you 00:10:50.429 --> 00:10:54.350 see the spirit settling on someone, the next 00:10:54.350 --> 00:10:56.590 thing we know is this, that he was full of the 00:10:56.590 --> 00:10:59.909 Holy Spirit and was led by him. That's what we 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:02.389 see. That's the mountaintop moment. Now, something 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:05.179 else happens in here. where it says, and a voice 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:07.460 came from heaven. So God the Father now speaks, 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:17.059 says, you are my son, which is to speak identity 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:24.500 over him. He says, you are my son. You are my 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:29.019 son. He's speaking, God the Father is speaking 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:31.519 identity over Jesus in this moment of submission. 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:39.529 He goes, you are my son. whom I what? Love. He 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:45.090 is loved by God the Father. So this is now identity, 00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:47.789 right? You're a son and you are loved. And then 00:11:47.789 --> 00:11:50.610 the next thing he says, and I am with whom I 00:11:50.610 --> 00:11:58.710 am well pleased. Wait a minute. Jesus ain't done 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:02.049 nothing. He's done nothing public facing yet. 00:12:02.090 --> 00:12:04.649 He hasn't gone and healed anybody that we know 00:12:04.649 --> 00:12:07.509 of. This was the moment of his public facing, 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:10.269 like outward showing people who he was. And what 00:12:10.269 --> 00:12:12.929 does God do? Before he does anything, he goes, 00:12:13.009 --> 00:12:16.450 hey, you're my son and I love you and I'm pleased 00:12:16.450 --> 00:12:21.789 with you. It's his identity. He's speaking identity 00:12:21.789 --> 00:12:25.789 to him. He's letting him know this is who you 00:12:25.789 --> 00:12:30.110 are. This is how. I feel about you are loved 00:12:30.110 --> 00:12:35.330 by me before you ever did anything. Isn't it 00:12:35.330 --> 00:12:38.590 interesting how quick we can twist things and 00:12:38.590 --> 00:12:41.990 go, God only loves me if I what? If I do the 00:12:41.990 --> 00:12:43.529 right things, he's only pleased with me if I 00:12:43.529 --> 00:12:45.169 do the right thing. And it's not long before 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:48.269 we can shift this pretty quickly. But what we're 00:12:48.269 --> 00:12:51.070 told here is the story before the story is there 00:12:51.070 --> 00:12:53.590 is a mountaintop moment here for Jesus. This 00:12:53.590 --> 00:12:56.070 is like the major moment. Heaven opens, a dove 00:12:56.070 --> 00:12:58.690 descends, and a voice booms from heaven and goes, 00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:03.909 I love you. You're my son. I'm pleased with you. 00:13:06.370 --> 00:13:11.299 That's a mountaintop. Look at Luke chapter four, 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:18.340 verse one. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left 00:13:18.340 --> 00:13:20.200 the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:23.379 wilderness, where for 40 days he was tempted 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.519 by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:27.159 and at the end of them, he was hungry. Wait, 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:29.659 I had a mountaintop moment. You're pleased with 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:32.940 me. Over in Matthew, it captures it and it adds 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:37.100 some language for us. Same verses. Matthew four, 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:40.879 verse one. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:47.120 the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After, 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:53.220 look at this, after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:59.620 he was hungry. The tempter came to him. So we're 00:13:59.620 --> 00:14:03.019 given in Matthew. Matthew lays out a timeline 00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:06.340 for us. It says there's a mountaintop moment. 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:10.529 And then there is the wilderness immediately 00:14:10.529 --> 00:14:14.090 after. I don't know how you feel. I've experienced 00:14:14.090 --> 00:14:17.210 both. Then on the mountaintop, next moment, you 00:14:17.210 --> 00:14:19.370 feel like the world is ending, right? And you're 00:14:19.370 --> 00:14:21.029 like, wait a minute. On the mountaintop, I was 00:14:21.029 --> 00:14:23.529 like, yay, Jesus. And in the valley, I'm like, 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:28.809 where are you? And yeah, what we find is when 00:14:28.809 --> 00:14:31.169 we're led by the Holy Spirit, we might be led 00:14:31.169 --> 00:14:37.899 into a place. And within that place, God begins 00:14:37.899 --> 00:14:44.360 to prepare us through these things called practices. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:48.240 What do I mean by that? Your faith has practices. 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:54.519 Notice the language, verse two, after fasting. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.220 What is fasting? Fasting is a time when I go 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:01.240 without food and I intentionally deprive myself 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:04.360 of food so that I can be more present with God. 00:15:04.750 --> 00:15:07.710 Where does the Holy Spirit lead them? He leads 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:13.029 them into this space where he has them experience 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:17.009 fasting. You think about it for a second, right? 00:15:17.549 --> 00:15:19.830 One of the ways you can translate this word wilderness, 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:22.210 we think of wilderness as like it's desolate. 00:15:22.250 --> 00:15:24.250 You can translate it that way. Desert, you can 00:15:24.250 --> 00:15:26.610 translate it that way. Eremos in the Greek can 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:28.789 be translated multiple ways. One of the ways 00:15:28.789 --> 00:15:32.529 it can be translated is that it was a quiet. 00:15:36.709 --> 00:15:40.590 That he got away and guess what? All the noise 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:44.929 around him stopped. That as he was fasting, guess 00:15:44.929 --> 00:15:51.509 what else he was doing? He is praying. He is 00:15:51.509 --> 00:16:00.490 speaking to God. He is listening to God. He is 00:16:00.490 --> 00:16:08.179 worshiping. Right? In the quiet place. Don't 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:10.840 miss this. Jesus is about to go into a fight. 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:13.059 And you know what the Holy Spirit does with him? 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:17.379 He pulls him away and the Holy Spirit leads him, 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:22.759 leads him to put into practice all of the things 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.539 that God has given him. Right? Like we often 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:29.220 think like, oh man, I should read my Bible. Oh, 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:34.070 I don't pray enough. You realize the practices 00:16:34.070 --> 00:16:38.450 that God has given you are there to strengthen 00:16:38.450 --> 00:16:41.409 you for what God has in your life and the season 00:16:41.409 --> 00:16:44.889 you're in. And it just might be that the season 00:16:44.889 --> 00:16:47.129 you're in is the Holy Spirit is pulling you away 00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:49.210 and leaning you into an intentional practice 00:16:49.210 --> 00:16:51.889 because you are gonna need that for what's around 00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:55.539 the corner. What happens here, what happens here, 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:58.559 don't miss this. Jesus is led into this quiet 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:01.460 place and in the quiet place, like you could 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:03.759 start, those of you that know the Rocky movies, 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:06.859 I mean, you can hear when you open this part 00:17:06.859 --> 00:17:09.019 of the Bible, you hear the eye of the tiger in 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:12.299 the background. Like he's fasting and what he's 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:15.359 really doing is running the steps. What he's 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:17.160 really doing is getting ready for the fight. 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:21.279 What's happening in this moment is the Holy Spirit 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:23.160 is giving him what he needs for what's about 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:28.099 to come. And then if you turn back to Luke chapter 00:17:28.099 --> 00:17:34.099 four, the devil shows up. Verse three, the devil 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:38.460 said to him, if you are the son of God, tell 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:43.579 this stone to become bread. Jesus answered, it 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.039 is written, man shall not live on bread alone. 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:51.099 Wait, what? The enemy shows up and the best the 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:54.240 enemy has is, wait a minute, you haven't eaten 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:57.799 for 40 days? Hey, how about we just take those 00:17:57.799 --> 00:17:59.599 stones there and turn them into bread? You gotta 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.039 be hungry. You know what's interesting with the 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.339 devil? He hasn't changed. He shows up and he 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:09.319 will take your felt need and he will take your 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:12.380 felt need and he will use it to get to something 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:16.450 else. Right? Like in this case, he shows up with 00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:19.190 Jesus. Jesus is hungry, right? That's a natural 00:18:19.190 --> 00:18:22.130 human response at this moment, a natural felt 00:18:22.130 --> 00:18:24.569 need. And what does the enemy do? He shows up 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:26.730 and he goes, hey, how about you just turn that 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:30.069 rock into some bread? Why? Because he's attacking 00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:32.269 something else. What Jesus quotes here, it's 00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:34.769 interesting. We get hung up on Jesus uses the 00:18:34.769 --> 00:18:38.049 Bible. Yeah, he does. But I don't think it's 00:18:38.049 --> 00:18:40.190 for the sake of quoting scripture. I think he's 00:18:40.190 --> 00:18:42.509 telling the enemy something. Here's what I mean. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.079 It says, it is written, Jesus responds, it is 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.720 written, man shall not live by bread alone. That's 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:50.660 taken from Deuteronomy chapter eight. And in 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:52.359 Deuteronomy chapter eight, if you remember a 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:54.059 couple of weeks ago, we talked about, there's 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:57.160 a whole new generation. And the whole new generation 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.660 are about to enter the promised land, but they 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:01.759 weren't slaves. So Moses is kind of giving them 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.460 the lowdown, what you need to know about God, 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:05.859 what's important to know about God, how you should 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:07.380 live when you get to the promised land, right? 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:11.900 Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse two. Remember, 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:15.819 how the Lord your God led you all the way to 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:20.660 the wilderness these 40 years to humble and test 00:19:20.660 --> 00:19:27.000 you in order to know what was in your heart, 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:31.619 whether or not you would keep his commands. He 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:34.960 humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:38.619 you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.519 had known. And this is what Jesus quotes, right? 00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:44.730 to teach you that man does not live on bread 00:19:44.730 --> 00:19:47.190 alone, but every word that comes from the mouth 00:19:47.190 --> 00:19:52.710 of the Lord. Wait, what is Jesus doing? Jesus 00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:55.509 is going back to not just like this is the word 00:19:55.509 --> 00:19:58.470 of God. He's going back to the story of God. 00:19:59.029 --> 00:20:02.190 And in the story of God, he's saying that's where 00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:05.089 my trust is. What was happening in that part 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.710 of the story of God? It specifically says that 00:20:08.710 --> 00:20:11.630 you were taken into the wilderness to what? to 00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:15.809 test your heart. What is the enemy doing with 00:20:15.809 --> 00:20:19.470 a felt need? He is attacking, he is attacking 00:20:19.470 --> 00:20:27.630 the heart of Jesus. Will Jesus still trust the 00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:30.630 story of God? Is his heart truly aligned to the 00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:32.690 story of God? Will he come up with something 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:35.250 else right now? Where will Jesus go back to? 00:20:35.289 --> 00:20:37.490 You know what's happening in your life when you 00:20:37.490 --> 00:20:39.740 have a felt need? You know what I mean? You got 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:42.720 the felt need of like, I'm just so lonely. It 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.940 shouldn't be a surprise that that person shows 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:48.220 up at that moment. You ever had that? And you're 00:20:48.220 --> 00:20:52.079 like, oh, Jesus answered. Maybe not. Did the 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:55.220 Holy Spirit lead? Because the enemy will use 00:20:55.220 --> 00:20:58.119 the felt need to what? To get to your heart. 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:00.779 What is he doing with Jesus? He's trying to get 00:21:00.779 --> 00:21:03.880 to the heart of Jesus. He's trying to figure 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:06.680 out if Jesus's heart will sit in submission. 00:21:07.849 --> 00:21:13.869 will sit in submission to God's word, to what 00:21:13.869 --> 00:21:16.990 God's story. Will he trust God's story and what 00:21:16.990 --> 00:21:20.210 God is doing? Or in this moment, will he go the 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:23.069 other way? It's no different for you. When you 00:21:23.069 --> 00:21:28.390 have felt needs in your life, right? The enemy 00:21:28.390 --> 00:21:30.210 wants to come and go, hey, is your heart gonna 00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:33.549 stay true? Or are you gonna go out on your own 00:21:33.549 --> 00:21:37.150 here? You know what I mean? Like, God, I just, 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:39.670 I don't feel like I have enough. And I feel like, 00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:41.789 and then all of a sudden you land that job and 00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:44.089 that job is like got the carrot at the end of 00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:45.730 it of the right amount of money, but it'll cost 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:48.910 you your soul. And the enemy just showed up and 00:21:48.910 --> 00:21:51.190 gone, hey, is your heart gonna trust the story 00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:53.250 of God? Because here's the thing, you guys, when 00:21:53.250 --> 00:21:57.230 Jesus died for you, when Jesus died for you, 00:21:57.269 --> 00:22:00.470 what is spoken over you is who the son sets free 00:22:00.470 --> 00:22:04.309 is free indeed. So is that true or is it not? 00:22:05.300 --> 00:22:07.480 And when the enemy shows up and goes, God, you're 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:09.359 going to be the same old person because you got 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.019 those felt needs. You're like, no, I'm not. Why? 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:13.740 Because who? The son sets free. The son sets 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:17.579 free indeed. I'm like, I'm free. You can't tell 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:19.160 me what I'm a slave to because I've been set 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:21.680 free. How do I know that? Because the story of 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.599 God tells me that God himself showed up and went 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.539 to a cross to buy my freedom. This is how this 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:29.200 works. The enemy wants to show up and go, hey, 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.720 let me have your heart. The next place he goes 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.769 is this. Verse five. The devil led him up to 00:22:35.769 --> 00:22:39.269 a high place and showed him in an instant all 00:22:39.269 --> 00:22:42.089 the kingdoms of the world. He said to him, I 00:22:42.089 --> 00:22:45.730 will give you all their authority and splendor. 00:22:45.809 --> 00:22:48.410 It has been given to me and I can give it to 00:22:48.410 --> 00:22:52.470 anyone I want to. That's true. If you worship 00:22:52.470 --> 00:22:56.950 me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, it 00:22:56.950 --> 00:23:00.170 is written, worship the Lord your God and serve 00:23:00.170 --> 00:23:05.720 him only. So the second time he comes, first 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:08.559 time was after his heart. The second time he 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:15.799 comes, he's after his worship. And how does he 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:17.920 go after his worship? Hey, Jesus, I can give 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:21.039 you power. I can give you control. I can put 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:24.240 you at the top of the pedestal. I can do all 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:25.799 of that for you. The only thing you gotta do, 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:28.500 the only thing you gotta do is worship me. Just 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:32.079 bow down. Here's what the enemy knows, right? 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:35.240 And here's what Jesus declares. Specifically, 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:37.759 worship the Lord your God and serve him only. 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:40.180 What does Jesus connect here? He connects your 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:44.140 worship with what you serve. What has your heart 00:23:44.140 --> 00:23:47.539 will also have your hands. You should write that 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:51.519 down. That's a good line. That's a Pastor Todd 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:58.900 -esque line. What you worship, what you worship, 00:23:59.019 --> 00:24:03.400 you will serve. Let me ask you, what's number 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:05.279 one in your life right now? Like, if you're just 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.799 really honest, what's the thing that you are 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.819 pursuing above all else? What is the thing that 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:14.700 has your love, has you captured, like, and it 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:19.339 holds you so tight? Whatever that is, you're 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:22.319 gonna serve it, right? Like, it can be good things, 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:26.759 you guys. My wife, we say these, and they look 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:29.740 really good on Hallmark cards. You're my number 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:34.009 one. If we're not careful, my wife can become 00:24:34.009 --> 00:24:36.089 a number one and my whole life is about her happiness. 00:24:36.690 --> 00:24:39.170 My whole life is about what she wants. My whole 00:24:39.170 --> 00:24:42.410 life is about her. My whole life. And guess what? 00:24:42.470 --> 00:24:44.069 I'll serve her with my whole life. Why? Because 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:47.529 she has that spot. What you worship, you will 00:24:47.529 --> 00:24:51.789 serve. What you worship, you will serve. Jesus 00:24:51.789 --> 00:24:54.970 quotes again out of a real place in real time 00:24:54.970 --> 00:24:57.970 in Deuteronomy chapter six. So two chapters back 00:24:57.970 --> 00:25:00.609 from where we were. It says this, fear the Lord, 00:25:00.670 --> 00:25:04.190 your God. Fear the Lord your God. So in reverence, 00:25:04.190 --> 00:25:06.990 give him awe and worship he deserves as God, 00:25:07.170 --> 00:25:09.410 right? Fear the Lord your God, serve him only 00:25:09.410 --> 00:25:12.930 and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow 00:25:12.930 --> 00:25:15.630 other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. 00:25:16.009 --> 00:25:18.410 So what does Jesus do in this moment? He quotes 00:25:18.410 --> 00:25:22.789 back to a group of people that were tempted to 00:25:22.789 --> 00:25:24.789 give their worship to something else. And he 00:25:24.789 --> 00:25:27.230 goes, I'm not going to give my worship because 00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:29.730 I know this, where my worship goes, my service 00:25:29.730 --> 00:25:36.170 goes. What I worship, I will put my hands to. 00:25:38.029 --> 00:25:43.849 I'm curious. What do your hands go to? What do 00:25:43.849 --> 00:25:45.329 your hands go to? Because we can worship all 00:25:45.329 --> 00:25:49.130 kinds of things, right? We can worship status. 00:25:50.609 --> 00:25:53.390 We can worship a false identity. We're chasing 00:25:53.390 --> 00:25:58.470 something else. We can worship sex. We can worship 00:25:58.470 --> 00:26:04.490 relationships. Worship wealth. You know, a big 00:26:04.490 --> 00:26:05.930 one in my world, I don't know if this is true 00:26:05.930 --> 00:26:07.329 for those of you that are older in the room, 00:26:07.470 --> 00:26:09.809 one of mine is what am I leaving to my kids? 00:26:09.869 --> 00:26:11.750 I'm feeling a pressure from I don't know where 00:26:11.750 --> 00:26:14.150 that I'm supposed to leave something to them, 00:26:14.230 --> 00:26:18.210 this idea of generational wealth. And it can 00:26:18.210 --> 00:26:20.769 become easy to take my whole life and spend it 00:26:20.769 --> 00:26:23.789 pursuing something else other than what it says 00:26:23.789 --> 00:26:26.549 is, hey, your hands, your hands, your worship 00:26:26.549 --> 00:26:31.259 matters. Jesus, Jesus fought. For his worship. 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:35.200 Because he knew what he worships, he will serve. 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:43.500 The last one the enemy tries. Verse nine, the 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:47.480 devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:50.279 on the highest point of the temple. If you are 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:53.220 the son of God, he said, throw yourself down 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:56.619 from here. For it is written, he will command 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:59.500 his angels concerning you to guard you carefully. 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:02.220 They will lift you up in their hands so that 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:05.480 you will not strike your foot against a stone. 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:08.619 Jesus answered, it is said, do not put the Lord 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:12.359 your God to the test. When the devil had finished 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:15.359 all this tempting, he left him until an opportune 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:17.960 time. How does the enemy come the last time? 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:21.579 He comes with the Bible. He comes with the Bible. 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:27.519 And he goes, hey, Psalm 91 says this. It's true. 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:32.039 Everything he quoted was true, but what he's 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:35.220 using it for is to get him to do something else 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:39.380 other than what God wanted him to do. Don't be 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:42.279 surprised if the enemy shows up in your world 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:47.240 and he tells you scripture. Why is this so important 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:48.920 that you have the Holy Spirit? Because you're 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:51.259 to take it back and go, God, is this you speaking 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:55.140 or is this somebody else? The enemy will show 00:27:55.140 --> 00:27:57.740 up and he'll take something that's a felt need. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.319 So it happens so often in our churches. This 00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:03.339 is why we have so many branches of churches and 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:05.279 we have so many people saying that this is true 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:07.799 and this is true. Because what they do is they 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:10.500 take scripture and they want to use scripture 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:12.839 to prove a point because they have a felt need 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:15.359 in their life to prove that point. And so they 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:17.380 use scripture to make it say what they need it 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:19.619 to say to justify what they want to live and 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:21.920 how they want to live. You just need to know. 00:28:22.359 --> 00:28:25.539 The enemy does that. And what Jesus does in this 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:30.019 moment is he fights. But notice what he's fighting. 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:39.880 Look at verse three. The devil said to him, we've 00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:42.059 read this already. The devil said to him, this 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:45.579 is the first time he comes to him. If you are 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:51.859 the what? Son of God. Look at verse nine. The 00:28:51.859 --> 00:28:53.700 devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:57.079 on the highest point of the temple. If you are 00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:02.819 the what? Wait a minute. What was the story before 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:06.839 the story? God the Father telling him what? You 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:10.380 are my... What is the enemy actually attacking? 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:16.859 He's attacking his identity. You see, if the 00:29:16.859 --> 00:29:18.819 enemy can get you to believe something false 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:21.640 about yourself, you'll spend the rest of your 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:24.180 life chasing the wrong thing. What does the enemy 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:27.880 attack? The enemy cannot attack, right? The enemy 00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:33.500 can't come and attack the Holy Spirit. He knows 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:36.319 he'll lose. So what does he attack? He attacks 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:39.640 what you submit to and he attacks where your 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:43.240 identity is. That's what the enemy will do. Jesus 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:47.539 fought, hear this, Jesus fought for you to have 00:29:47.539 --> 00:29:51.460 the identity you have. He went to a cross to 00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:56.299 prove to you, to buy for you, that you could 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:58.920 have God the Father look at you because of Jesus 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:03.480 and go, you are my son. And you are my daughter. 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:08.740 And you are loved by me for all of eternity. 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:14.980 And I am pleased with you. That's your identity. 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:18.920 What does the enemy want you to believe? That 00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:23.220 you're not really a child of God. The enemy wants 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:25.079 you to believe that you're not really loved. 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:28.799 And we got a God -sized God for a second, okay? 00:30:28.859 --> 00:30:33.079 So God Almighty, God Almighty, he tells you you 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:36.039 are his kid. He tells you that he loved you and 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:40.420 that he is pleased with you. That's who you are 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:46.670 in Jesus. God Almighty who needs no strings to 00:30:46.670 --> 00:30:49.589 hold the earth that you're on right now because 00:30:49.589 --> 00:30:53.730 he's that powerful. That God declares over you, 00:30:53.789 --> 00:30:58.470 you're my kid today because of Jesus. What did 00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:01.470 Jesus do? Jesus is a fighter and Jesus fought, 00:31:01.650 --> 00:31:04.089 Jesus fought for you to have the identity that 00:31:04.089 --> 00:31:07.710 you have today in him. It cost him his life. 00:31:09.269 --> 00:31:13.380 It cost him everything. So we shouldn't be surprised 00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:15.539 that what is the enemy gonna come after? That 00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:18.019 he would come after your identity, who you are. 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:21.220 We shouldn't be surprised that the enemy comes 00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:23.279 after and tries to get you to submit to something 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:26.039 else. Just worship something else. Just put your 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:29.339 heart over here. And what we learn about this 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:34.559 is we learn how to fight. Jesus shows up and 00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:37.859 he goes, this is how you go into the ring. You 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:41.880 let the Holy Spirit lead you. You step into these 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.079 practices of spending time with God where you 00:31:45.079 --> 00:31:48.000 listen to him. The silence and solitude, the 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:51.599 prayer, the reading. It's not just to do it to 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:54.059 check a box. It's doing it because you need it 00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:59.799 to stand. It's who you are. Because the enemy's 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.180 coming for you and he wants to knock you off 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:06.380 of everything that God says you are. And he will 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:08.859 use whatever measures he can, even quote the 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:17.730 Bible to you. But you have a choice. Jesus fought 00:32:17.730 --> 00:32:29.750 for you. So much so that towards the end of his 00:32:29.750 --> 00:32:33.150 time, what he wanted us to do is he goes, hey, 00:32:33.250 --> 00:32:39.190 don't forget. Don't forget. What I'm about to 00:32:39.190 --> 00:32:45.269 do, don't forget. Hey, the reason you have hope 00:32:45.269 --> 00:32:49.950 in the midst of a valley is because of this. 00:32:52.089 --> 00:32:57.150 The reason, you guys, we're so weird. And here's 00:32:57.150 --> 00:32:59.670 what I mean by that. We get to this moment, we're 00:32:59.670 --> 00:33:01.849 like, oh man, all I see is myself and my failure 00:33:01.849 --> 00:33:04.869 and I know where I was last night. That's so 00:33:04.869 --> 00:33:08.690 ridiculous. Because when God looks at you, even 00:33:08.690 --> 00:33:12.259 with your night last night, Those of you with 00:33:12.259 --> 00:33:14.220 your trust in Jesus, guess what he looks at you 00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:27.700 and says? You are my kid. Amen. You are loved. 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:35.500 And with you, I'm pleased. Do you know why? Because 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:38.339 it's never been about you. It's always been about 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:43.049 Jesus. Jesus, who is a fighter, and what you 00:33:43.049 --> 00:33:46.089 hold in your hand is the fight that he showed 00:33:46.089 --> 00:33:51.890 up for, that he would go to a cross to set you 00:33:51.890 --> 00:33:57.089 free, that your failures will not be your story. 00:33:58.490 --> 00:34:01.069 I heard this recently, and it's just resonating 00:34:01.069 --> 00:34:04.279 so strongly, you guys. We focus on our failure. 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:06.240 So you ever been around somebody and they're 00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.920 like fighting the same sin in their life and 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:11.699 they make it to like four weeks and then they 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:14.679 fall again and they feel like the worst person 00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:16.980 and we show up and we're like, oh man, what happened? 00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:19.739 And they're talking like they're a complete failure. 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:22.440 And I heard this, the person showed up and they 00:34:22.440 --> 00:34:25.480 said, when was the last time you ever went four 00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:28.460 weeks without? And I said, never in my life. 00:34:29.619 --> 00:34:32.280 That's sanctification is what the Bible calls 00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:35.070 that. That's progression towards being free. 00:34:35.730 --> 00:34:39.030 And I love that what we get in the cross is we 00:34:39.030 --> 00:34:42.550 get this idea that you've done four weeks, now 00:34:42.550 --> 00:34:47.130 let's do five. Let's trust Jesus for five and 00:34:47.130 --> 00:34:50.449 see what happens. But don't you dare call yourself 00:34:50.449 --> 00:34:54.269 a failure because God himself does not call you 00:34:54.269 --> 00:34:58.289 that. God calls you a son and a daughter and 00:34:58.289 --> 00:35:01.090 he tells you you're loved right here, right now. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.079 and that he is pleased with you. Why? Because 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:09.059 he sees Jesus, who you're becoming like. And 00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:10.579 Jesus sat at a table, and you know what he said? 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:18.460 Remember, don't forget. Don't forget. Don't forget 00:35:18.460 --> 00:35:21.679 what I'm doing. Don't forget what I'm buying 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:26.199 for you. Don't forget what this means, because 00:35:26.199 --> 00:35:28.760 I'm setting you free. So the next moments are 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:31.699 yours. to just ruminate with the Holy Spirit 00:35:31.699 --> 00:35:34.039 and see where he leads you, see what he brings 00:35:34.039 --> 00:35:37.320 to mind. But don't you dare, don't you dare forget 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:42.260 who you are because of Jesus the fighter. So 00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:43.639 the next moment's yours and then we'll take it 00:35:43.639 --> 00:37:39.699 all together. When Jesus gathered his friends, 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:46.840 his disciples in a room, he used the word, remember, 00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:54.099 remember, remember. We're so prone to forget 00:37:54.099 --> 00:37:59.500 who we are because of the story of God. And he 00:37:59.500 --> 00:38:02.920 goes, remember. So he took bread and he broke 00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:04.800 it and he gave it to them. And he said, take, 00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:17.409 eat, do this in remembrance of me. He took a 00:38:17.409 --> 00:38:21.829 cup of wine and he connected it to his blood. 00:38:23.409 --> 00:38:26.030 And in connecting it to his blood, he was speaking 00:38:26.030 --> 00:38:29.750 identity over them. One of the writers captures 00:38:29.750 --> 00:38:33.530 that there's forgiveness, that in his blood, 00:38:33.610 --> 00:38:38.809 there's complete forgiveness. And another spot 00:38:38.809 --> 00:38:42.349 connects his blood to the idea that we are set 00:38:42.349 --> 00:38:45.789 free, that we are declared holy and righteous. 00:38:48.269 --> 00:38:51.829 And he takes the cup and he goes, it's my new 00:38:51.829 --> 00:38:57.650 covenant. I'm doing something new with you. And 00:38:57.650 --> 00:38:59.349 I'm gonna go to the cross and I'm gonna shed 00:38:59.349 --> 00:39:03.570 it willfully. Nobody's taking it. So that you 00:39:03.570 --> 00:39:07.289 would know for all of eternity who you really 00:39:07.289 --> 00:39:13.650 are. So he took a cup. He gave thanks for the 00:39:13.650 --> 00:39:16.730 cup. And he said, this is a new covenant in my 00:39:16.730 --> 00:39:24.329 blood. Do this in remembrance of me. God, we're 00:39:24.329 --> 00:39:28.449 so grateful. Thank you for being a God who is 00:39:28.449 --> 00:39:32.889 not lacking in any way today. Thank you for being 00:39:32.889 --> 00:39:38.070 the God who shows up and fights for us when we 00:39:38.070 --> 00:39:43.389 could not fight for ourselves. Jesus, thank you 00:39:43.389 --> 00:39:48.300 for fighting. Thank you for going to the cross. 00:39:48.380 --> 00:39:50.599 Thank you for redemption. Thank you for new life. 00:39:52.380 --> 00:40:00.019 Thank you for showing us who you are. As we take 00:40:00.019 --> 00:40:02.940 our voices in God, we lift them in worship, an 00:40:02.940 --> 00:40:05.760 act of worship, an act of submission. Holy Spirit, 00:40:05.820 --> 00:40:10.920 as you lead us to sing, as we declare what we 00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:16.980 believe, Would you be made much of? Would you 00:40:16.980 --> 00:40:20.139 be glorified? Would our voices be a sweet sound 00:40:20.139 --> 00:40:27.860 to you this morning? We love you and we're grateful. 00:40:28.860 --> 00:40:30.880 Thank you for loving us first. And everybody 00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:32.360 said, amen.