WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.540 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.359 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.099 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:14.160 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.500 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:20.600 Christ. Let's dive in. So Mark chapter one, we're 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.719 going to be in verses 12 through 13. This is 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:28.760 one of my favorite passages in the, in the gospels, 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:32.420 mostly because it has to do with picking a fight, 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.200 which is The title of my sermon, which is Dancing 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.840 in the Battle, Jesus Picks a Fight. So if you 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:45.219 like fighting, this is a great passage. So we 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:48.399 talked about the Trinity being a dance, right? 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:52.320 And that they reflect one another. And so we're 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.679 gonna continue with the dance, but dancing in 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:57.859 the battle. And so let's go ahead and read. If 00:00:57.859 --> 00:00:59.119 you don't have a Bible, it's gonna be right up 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.000 here. If you want a Bible, you don't have one. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.719 There's one right in the back. So here we go. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:10.260 We go from the baptism of Jesus to starting in 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:14.799 verse 12, Mark chapter one, the spirit immediately 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.180 drove him out into the wilderness and he was 00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:21.299 in the wilderness 40 days being tempted by Satan 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:24.859 and he was with the wild animals and the angels 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:28.640 were ministering to him. So my big idea today 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.799 that we're going to unpack is True victory over 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:34.640 life's temptations come not from our own strength, 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.700 but from intentional communion with God, who 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:40.560 empowers us to remain steadfast and fearless 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.859 against the adversary's schemes. And so last 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:45.959 week, like I said, we talked about the divine 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.079 dance. It's the Father, the Son, and the Holy 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:51.980 Spirit, eternally giving, eternally receiving, 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.609 eternally delighting in one another. There's 00:01:54.609 --> 00:01:57.530 no competition between them, no insecurity, no 00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:00.430 grasping for control, just perfect love, humility, 00:02:01.129 --> 00:02:05.689 joy, and unity. And so I think what we do is 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:10.909 we tend to look at temptation in a way that's 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:13.789 sin -focused. And what we need to do is think 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:16.830 of temptation in a way that takes us out of the 00:02:16.830 --> 00:02:20.289 dance. And so that's what we're gonna look at 00:02:20.289 --> 00:02:25.259 today in how Satan actually tries to enter in 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:28.879 to this dance between Jesus, the Holy Spirit 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:34.979 and the Father. And so, because we want to experience 00:02:34.979 --> 00:02:37.759 a life that Christ has always known, we want 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.259 to step into the dance. This is why salvation 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:44.939 is not simply forgiveness, it's invitation. When 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:47.990 we... We are not merely rescued from sin, but 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:51.349 we are welcomed into communion and we are drawn 00:02:51.349 --> 00:02:54.270 into the rhythm of God's own life. We are invited 00:02:54.270 --> 00:02:57.129 into the dance. And so last week I talked about 00:02:57.129 --> 00:03:00.509 the dance. We all know what it is to dance. For 00:03:00.509 --> 00:03:03.250 the most part, everybody here was like, yeah, 00:03:03.250 --> 00:03:05.990 I've danced before in my life, right? And so 00:03:05.990 --> 00:03:09.210 when we dance, there has to be two individuals. 00:03:09.449 --> 00:03:11.289 I mean, as long as we're not break dancing, right? 00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:14.210 A break dancing challenge, right? But we're dancing 00:03:14.210 --> 00:03:17.580 together as as a husband and wife or boyfriend 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:21.120 and girlfriend, and there has to be, there's 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:23.960 a leader, but we're kind of moving together. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:26.979 And the second both try to lead at the same time, 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.180 right, it becomes stepping on each other's toes, 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:35.759 right? And so it gets a little complicated because 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:38.479 in our own sin, we do not naturally want to join 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.250 into the dance. We want to lead it. We don't 00:03:41.250 --> 00:03:44.030 want to orbit God. We want others to orbit us. 00:03:44.189 --> 00:03:47.270 Instead of self -giving love, we grasp for control. 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:50.729 And instead of humility, we chase power. Instead 00:03:50.729 --> 00:03:53.610 of trust, we demand proof. And at the core of 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:56.530 sin is not merely rule -breaking. It is the ancient 00:03:56.530 --> 00:04:00.050 desire to be God. We see that in the garden, 00:04:00.129 --> 00:04:06.490 right? What does the enemy whisper to Adam and 00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:11.979 Eve in the garden? What does he say? Yeah, did 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:14.560 God really say and what ultimately was he speaking 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:20.060 to with Adam and Eve like what what was the temptation 00:04:20.060 --> 00:04:30.000 for them there? Knowledge right? Yeah, but what 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.240 was the core issue of what what the enemy was 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:37.879 speaking into? You can be God right you can be 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:41.839 above him. You can be like him. So we're going 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:43.660 to come back to the garden in a moment. But today 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:46.759 we step into the wilderness because immediately 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.779 after Jesus is baptized, immediately after the 00:04:49.779 --> 00:04:52.579 divine dance is revealed, the spirit leads us 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:55.259 into the desert. You would think there would 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:59.199 be a moment because when Jesus came as a baby, 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:04.259 what did God do? Do you guys remember? Yeah, 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:06.379 there's celebration, right? Everyone gathers 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:08.720 around. There's this big kind of party, if you 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:13.579 will, in Bethlehem in a stable. Angels are rejoicing. 00:05:13.819 --> 00:05:17.779 Shepherds come to see it, but not here. Here, 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:22.060 we see no rest. We don't see any celebration. 00:05:22.779 --> 00:05:27.439 We see a fight. And this is on purpose. Jesus 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.060 doesn't drift into temptation. He marches into 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:33.220 it. and we're going to look in just a second 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:36.600 on how this reflects. So the Son of God walks 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:39.600 directly into enemy territory and the battle 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.199 that unfolds there is not merely about hunger 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:46.240 or power or safety, it is about reality itself. 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:51.240 Satan does not simply tempt Jesus to sin, he 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:54.680 attempts to disrupt the dance, the relationship 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.639 between he, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. 00:05:57.790 --> 00:06:01.430 And he tries to distort Jesus's identity and 00:06:01.430 --> 00:06:04.029 fracture his trust in the Father and rewrite 00:06:04.029 --> 00:06:09.089 what obedience means. He seeks to butt in on 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:12.350 the divine rhythm and take the lead. And here's 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:15.589 what this means for us. If you're truly walking 00:06:15.589 --> 00:06:17.930 with God, if you're stepping into the divine 00:06:17.930 --> 00:06:21.089 dance, you should not be surprised when resistance 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:24.810 comes. Here's what I mean by that. You shouldn't 00:06:24.810 --> 00:06:28.439 be shocked when you are tempted. When you become 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:33.439 a believer, it doesn't get easier. Temptation 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.379 just ramps up. You get a target on your back. 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:43.540 And so you shouldn't ever be surprised by spiritual 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:48.339 conflict. Because the more you go into the dance, 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.600 the more you're involved in the dance with the 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:55.319 Godhead, then the sharper the conflict becomes. 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:57.240 If you want to write this down, it's gonna be 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.660 right up here. Because when you enter the dance, 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:09.220 you also enter the battlefield. But the good 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:11.639 news of this passage is that Jesus does not merely 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:14.879 show us how to resist temptation. He shows us 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.259 what faithful sonship looks like. He shows us 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:24.790 how trust defeats deception and how us And he 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:28.910 shows us how obedience overcomes rebellion. Get 00:07:28.910 --> 00:07:31.649 a little ahead of myself. And ultimately, he 00:07:31.649 --> 00:07:35.329 shows us how victory is won. Where Adam failed, 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:38.810 Jesus prevailed. Where Israel stumbled, Jesus 00:07:38.810 --> 00:07:41.829 stood firm. And where we fall again and again, 00:07:42.009 --> 00:07:44.610 Jesus remains faithful. And this is the same 00:07:44.610 --> 00:07:47.290 Jesus, the one who overcame temptation, crushed 00:07:47.290 --> 00:07:49.910 the serpent, and walked out of the grave. He 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:52.550 now invites us to walk with him into obedience, 00:07:52.629 --> 00:07:55.550 into freedom and into the dance and even into 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:57.310 battle. So here's point number one. If you're 00:07:57.310 --> 00:08:01.730 taking notes, spirit sovereign summons, which 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:06.389 is drawing. So let's look again. What does it 00:08:06.389 --> 00:08:12.490 say? Who immediately drives Jesus into the wilderness? 00:08:13.790 --> 00:08:17.790 The spirit does now. I'm gonna have to explain 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:19.689 something here in just a second, but Mark is 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:22.730 drawing two lines at the same time, okay? On 00:08:22.730 --> 00:08:25.649 one line, he's showing us that ultimate reality 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:29.949 is a dance. Life with God, communion with God, 00:08:30.149 --> 00:08:33.289 harmony with God, but on the other line, he shows 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:37.149 us something just as true. If we step into the 00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:41.519 dance, we experience the reality as battle. Nothing 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:43.580 about the Christian life is passive. Nothing 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:46.600 about following Jesus is safe, easy, or neutral. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:49.580 If you're walking in step with God, you have 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:52.299 a target on your back, not because Satan is omnipotent, 00:08:52.580 --> 00:08:55.779 but because obedience makes you dangerous. I 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:59.179 just have to point to not only Jesus, but Paul 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:02.720 and any other Charles Spurgeon, any other theologian, 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:05.879 Martin Luther, anyone who has gone before us, 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:09.559 who walks in obedience and stands on truth, ultimately 00:09:09.559 --> 00:09:12.460 are dangerous because God moves through them. 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:17.639 And Mark weaves us into this truth, into his 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:21.360 gospel with a detail so subtle that I honestly 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.559 haven't noticed until this week. I was actually 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:26.860 telling Trudy and Jean this on Wednesday. But 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:30.559 last week, we talked about how the powerful parallels 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:33.539 between that Mark draws between creation and 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:36.340 Jesus's baptism. And so I'm going to remind you 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:39.590 real fast in Genesis. The Spirit moves over the 00:09:39.590 --> 00:09:43.169 face of the waters. God speaks. Creation comes 00:09:43.169 --> 00:09:47.950 into being. Humanity is formed. History begins. 00:09:49.009 --> 00:09:54.289 And what immediately follows in Genesis? Temptation. 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:58.889 And so, Satan enters the story and confronts 00:09:58.889 --> 00:10:01.830 the first humans in the garden. So now watch 00:10:01.830 --> 00:10:05.769 what Mark does. At Jesus' baptism, you've got 00:10:05.769 --> 00:10:09.720 the Spirit descends, Jesus comes up from the 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:15.200 water, the Father speaks, a new humanity is revealed, 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.700 and history is relaunched. And then what happens 00:10:18.700 --> 00:10:22.740 immediately next? The temptation in the wilderness. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:26.440 And so Mark is telling us that this is not random, 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:29.360 but it's a pattern. Every time God moves powerfully, 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.580 Satan responds aggressively. Every time God creates 00:10:33.580 --> 00:10:36.840 life, Satan tries to corrupt it. Every time God 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:39.860 launches redemption, Satan launches resistance. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.259 And here's the part that should stop us all in 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:46.320 our tracks. God knows this about the enemy, so 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.700 he's going out to Satan's turf in order to pick 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:55.740 a fight. God knows the pattern of the one he 00:10:55.740 --> 00:10:59.179 created. And so what does he do? Before anything 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:02.559 else can happen, Jesus goes where... Adam and 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.779 Eve failed in the temptation. I'm now going to 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:08.879 go out onto his territory and I'm going to pick 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:12.480 a fight. And not only am I going to pick a fight, 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:16.059 but I'm going to win. But here's the funny thing. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:21.860 If you've ever been tempted in a way that's like 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:24.320 kind of dramatic, you know what I mean? Like, 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.259 God, why would you give me your hardest battles? 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:31.799 Last I checked. None of us have been fasting 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:35.220 for 40 days in a wilderness with dangerous animals 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:38.139 all around and Satan himself forms and begins 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:43.019 to tempt us. A little bit of a difference, right? 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:48.120 And yet Jesus defeats Satan at his own game. 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.700 I'm going to kind of go into it in just a minute. 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:54.299 Not super deep, but some really cool things about 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:58.039 this. And so Mark tells us, and I think this 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:00.620 is going to be up here. that the Holy Spirit 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:04.100 drove Jesus into the wilderness. That word drove 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:07.620 is intense because in Greek, that word is ekbalo, 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:12.759 which means to compel, to thrust, to push forcefully. 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:16.840 And so this isn't a gentle nudge, it's a divine 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:20.179 urgency. The Spirit drives the son straight into 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:24.419 confrontation. And Luke tells us why. What Luke 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:26.440 tells us, you don't have to turn there, I can 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.700 just tell you, to be tempted by the devil. And 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:34.600 so, within God's sovereign purpose, it was necessary 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:38.679 for Jesus to face Satan, not symbolically, not 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:42.039 indirectly, but personally, directly, and decisively. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:45.519 This isn't random suffering, it's strategic warfare. 00:12:46.190 --> 00:12:48.990 And so Jesus walks into the wilderness not to 00:12:48.990 --> 00:12:51.889 avoid Satan, but to confront him because before 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:54.909 Jesus could defeat sin on the cross, he had to 00:12:54.909 --> 00:12:59.110 defeat temptation in the desert. And before Jesus 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:01.909 could crush the serpent's head at Calvary, he 00:13:01.909 --> 00:13:04.690 had to stare him face to face in the wilderness. 00:13:05.909 --> 00:13:07.870 And so I don't want you to miss what's going 00:13:07.870 --> 00:13:11.350 on here. This is Jesus walking fully submitted 00:13:11.350 --> 00:13:15.100 to the spirit. And so that's why in our verse 00:13:15.100 --> 00:13:19.419 of the week, I have Galatians, which said, what 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:20.779 did it, do you guys remember what it said for 00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:29.960 the verse of the week? It's right at the top 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:36.480 of your bulletin. Walk by the Spirit. The Spirit 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:40.419 will never lead you astray. Jesus doesn't wander 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:43.549 into it. He's led into battle and there's a massive 00:13:43.549 --> 00:13:46.389 difference. When Jesus encounters temptation, 00:13:46.909 --> 00:13:49.470 he does it in obedience, but when we encounter 00:13:49.470 --> 00:13:54.750 temptation, it is often in indulgence. So Jesus 00:13:54.750 --> 00:13:58.049 confronts temptation in order to defeat it. And 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:00.549 so here's something I need you to focus in for 00:14:00.549 --> 00:14:02.649 just a moment because what I don't want you to 00:14:02.649 --> 00:14:06.950 hear is, is that the spirit leads us into temptation. 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:15.059 Why is that incorrect? James 1 says that God 00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:17.919 does not tempt. If God was the one doing the 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.139 tempting, what would that mean about God? Let's 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:22.519 just think through this philosophically and doctrinally. 00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:27.179 If we're learning correctly about who God is, 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:29.860 why do we have to understand He cannot be the 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:33.940 one leading us into temptation? What would that 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:42.179 say about God? Why is it inconsistent? You're 00:14:42.179 --> 00:14:51.480 right. Why does that make him inconsistent? Because 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:54.600 God is not evil, right? God does not play tricks. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.019 He's full of love. He is fully good. And if he 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:01.940 led you into temptation, there is a trickster 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:04.919 type mindset that comes into that. And that would 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.159 mean that there is evil in him. And so here's 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:13.289 what John MacArthur has to say about this temptation. 00:15:14.210 --> 00:15:17.250 He says, this is something that we need to make 00:15:17.250 --> 00:15:19.330 sure is clear. Although the spirit led Jesus 00:15:19.330 --> 00:15:21.529 to the place where he would be tempted, it is 00:15:21.529 --> 00:15:23.889 important to note that James 1 is clear that 00:15:23.889 --> 00:15:27.529 God does not tempt anyone. God did not do the 00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:31.269 tempting of Jesus, Satan did. But it was the 00:15:31.269 --> 00:15:33.750 spirit who led Jesus there for the sole purpose 00:15:33.750 --> 00:15:36.450 that through his victory, Jesus might demonstrate 00:15:36.649 --> 00:15:39.830 His absolute power and authority over the devil's 00:15:39.830 --> 00:15:43.789 devices. That's important. So we often go looking 00:15:43.789 --> 00:15:47.250 for temptation in order to enjoy it. Jesus wasn't 00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:49.330 going looking for temptation in the way that 00:15:49.330 --> 00:15:53.049 we do. And that's where we step off the dance 00:15:53.049 --> 00:15:55.149 floor. When we go looking for temptation, when 00:15:55.149 --> 00:16:00.590 we go looking to enjoy sin or to kind of, sometimes 00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:03.970 we go, I wasn't looking for sin when you know 00:16:03.970 --> 00:16:05.559 you've been looking for sin. You guys know what 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:09.419 I'm talking about, right? Sometimes we put ourselves 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:12.220 in situations that aren't good, we know they 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:14.360 won't be good, and we put ourselves on purpose 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:16.820 so we can lie to ourselves and go, I didn't know 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:19.779 that was gonna happen. You know what I mean? 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:24.059 And so we go looking for temptation in order 00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:27.220 to gratify ourselves, Jesus goes in order to 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:31.970 defeat it. Do you see the difference? So we step 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:34.230 off the dance floor and become the wallflower 00:16:34.230 --> 00:16:36.730 that I talked about last week. Instead of walking 00:16:36.730 --> 00:16:38.970 in rhythm with the spirit, we drift towards selfish 00:16:38.970 --> 00:16:42.490 desires. Instead of orbiting God, we want others 00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:45.110 to orbit us. And instead of trusting the Father, 00:16:45.230 --> 00:16:48.409 we grasp for control. And this is how the dance 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:51.110 becomes distorted. This is how communion becomes 00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:53.970 competition. And this is how worship turns into 00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:57.450 a power struggle. But Jesus shows us another 00:16:57.450 --> 00:17:01.019 way. To walk by the Spirit is to trust the Father 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:04.480 and to confront temptation rather than to coddle 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:07.859 it. So by doing so, Jesus doesn't just resist 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:11.200 Satan. He begins the process of reclaiming humanity. 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.240 You can write this down. Where Adam fell in the 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.279 garden of abundance, Jesus stands firm in a wilderness 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.059 of deprivation. Have you ever thought about that? 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:24.579 Have you ever thought about that Adam and Eve 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:29.519 failed in a place of perfection? Sin had not 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.079 entered the world yet. I say perfection. I don't 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:33.960 mean that in a way that was like they didn't 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.500 have to work because it was wild. It needed to 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:41.920 be tamed as far as a garden goes. But they weren't 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.500 suffering. They were fully fed. Their bodies 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:47.220 weren't dying. Their bodies were literally perfect. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:50.180 It wasn't breaking down. Adam wasn't taking a 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:53.019 shovel to the ground and blowing his back out. 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:58.670 He didn't sneeze and go, oh, right. And so if 00:17:58.670 --> 00:18:03.230 you think about where these two things go, it's 00:18:03.230 --> 00:18:06.730 very interesting how Adam and Eve walks with 00:18:06.730 --> 00:18:09.569 God in the cool of the day, every day, they know 00:18:09.569 --> 00:18:12.569 Him and they're in a place of abundance and yet 00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:17.029 they absolutely failed in the temptation. But 00:18:17.029 --> 00:18:21.069 Jesus in the exact opposite situation walks into 00:18:21.069 --> 00:18:22.750 the wilderness, which we're gonna get into what 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:24.970 the wilderness actually is and what it means. 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:30.269 He walks out there to go to Satan himself and 00:18:30.269 --> 00:18:33.529 go, let's get it on for 40 days, you and me, 00:18:33.809 --> 00:18:38.609 mano y mano. Man, I'd pay to see that pay -per 00:18:38.609 --> 00:18:47.690 -view, buddy. Point number two, Satan's subtle 00:18:47.690 --> 00:18:57.210 scheme is doubt. And so in Mark 1 -13, We see, 00:18:57.789 --> 00:19:00.490 and he was in the wilderness 40 days being tempted 00:19:00.490 --> 00:19:03.750 by Satan, and he was with the wild animals, and 00:19:03.750 --> 00:19:05.849 the angels were ministering to him. Why do I 00:19:05.849 --> 00:19:08.769 say that doubt creeps in? Here's why. Not with 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:14.549 Jesus, but with us. So Mark gives us one short 00:19:14.549 --> 00:19:17.089 sentence in verse 13 that is absolutely loaded. 00:19:18.329 --> 00:19:20.990 The phrase the wilderness is doing far more work 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:24.740 than you actually usually realize. The Judean 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:28.019 wilderness is a brutal place. It is arid, barren, 00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:31.460 and desolate, stretching roughly about 35 miles 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:35.180 long and about 15 miles wide. It is scorching 00:19:35.180 --> 00:19:38.059 by day and freezing by night and filled with 00:19:38.059 --> 00:19:42.180 danger. It is a landscape of isolation, vulnerability, 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:46.500 and exposure. But in Jewish thinking, the wilderness 00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:49.119 was not merely geographical, it was theological. 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:51.890 And here's why. What I mean by that, the wilderness 00:19:51.890 --> 00:19:54.069 represented rebellion. Why does it represent 00:19:54.069 --> 00:19:56.269 rebellion? Remember what I told you guys a couple 00:19:56.269 --> 00:20:02.750 of weeks ago? Yep, it's where Israel failed over 00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:08.109 and over and over again. So we see judgment in 00:20:08.109 --> 00:20:10.470 the wilderness, we see disobedience in the wilderness 00:20:10.470 --> 00:20:12.549 and it was a place where Israel wandered for 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:17.029 40 years because of unbelief. Constantly they 00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:20.779 doubted God. Come on guys, you guys, most of 00:20:20.779 --> 00:20:22.660 you have grown up in the church or if you had 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:24.079 not grown up in the church, you've read your 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:26.980 Bibles. You guys know this stuff. What things, 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.279 in what ways were they doubting God? What would 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:32.680 they see and then turn around and do the opposite? 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:44.460 Yeah, big part to see, but he couldn't give him 00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:45.400 water to drink. What are you gonna say, babe? 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:53.099 Yep, what about how they griped God was literally 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:57.460 feeding them from heaven and They griped and 00:20:57.460 --> 00:21:00.799 they were like we want meat God was like you 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.019 want me I got meat for you. You guys know the 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:06.900 story He gave him so much meat. They were puking 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:09.400 Because he was like, you know, okay. All right 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:13.480 I'm giving you literal food from heaven and you 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.539 still gripe and you still doubt that I'm not 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:20.799 taking care of you And so the wilderness is a 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:26.140 place that is dominated by doubt. Now notice 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:29.420 the pattern. Israel, 40 years of failure in the 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:31.980 wilderness. Jesus, 40 days of faithfulness in 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:36.299 the wilderness. Where Israel failed, Jesus prevails. 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:41.380 And in Hebrew, I said it was theological, the 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:45.359 wilderness also was the dwelling place of demons, 00:21:45.859 --> 00:21:49.900 ghosts, and supernatural evil, which is why it 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:54.240 makes sense that Jesus goes there and why Satan 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:59.259 is hanging out there. It's not just by happenstance 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:01.720 that Satan is just out in the wilderness randomly. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:05.700 That's where he dwells. In the barren places. 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:09.759 It's not coincidence. It's confrontation. And 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:12.079 so Mark goes on to tell us that Jesus was with 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:17.579 the wild animals. This is totally off kind of 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:20.660 still on topic, but off my notes, Keith May, 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:25.339 when you trained to go, I say you trained, your 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:28.160 wife says you didn't train enough. But when you 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:32.220 went hunting with your with your son, you had 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:34.319 to like prepare yourself to go up and down mountains. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:37.420 Right. But there was also some wild beast out 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:39.480 there you had to be careful of. Right. Things 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:45.299 like. Bears. Yeah, there's other. crazy things, 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:47.420 mountain lions, right? There's other things that 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:49.200 we have to be aware of when we go out in the 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:51.339 wilderness, right? There's a reason why wild 00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:56.480 is in the name, right? And so for Jesus, he's 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.799 out there with these wild animals, but, and yeah, 00:22:59.859 --> 00:23:02.420 there's a lot of crazy types of wilderness animals 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:05.940 like wild animals that are out there, but Mark, 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.960 who is Mark writing to? I wanna remind you, who 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:14.349 is Mark writing to? The Roman church, right? 00:23:14.849 --> 00:23:16.910 The Roman church is experiencing persecution, 00:23:17.029 --> 00:23:21.609 which would mean what? If they're experiencing 00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:27.069 persecution in Rome, what is happening? Yeah, 00:23:27.069 --> 00:23:30.730 who said that? Great job, Chrissy. Gold star 00:23:30.730 --> 00:23:33.670 today. Yeah, they're being fed to wild animals. 00:23:35.450 --> 00:23:40.250 So Mark uses that terminology on purpose because 00:23:40.950 --> 00:23:45.470 He's saying I know that you're doubting I know 00:23:45.470 --> 00:23:48.529 that you're wondering is gotten like is this 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:52.329 Like is it okay? Are we gonna be okay? Cuz everywhere 00:23:52.329 --> 00:23:54.789 I look people are being fed to lions and all 00:23:54.789 --> 00:23:57.450 these other crazy animals And we're being literally 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:02.650 lit on fire on these big poles Right in order 00:24:02.650 --> 00:24:06.430 to show light so people can watch us all be eaten 00:24:06.430 --> 00:24:10.019 like it was crazy what they were enduring. And 00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:13.819 so naturally, this doubt begins to creep in. 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:17.640 And so Mark uses the term wild animals to speak 00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:21.000 to the doubt. So yeah, they're living under persecution. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:22.880 Their brothers and sisters are being torn apart 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:25.940 in arenas and their faith is costing them everything. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.500 And so as their doubt creeps in, they begin to 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:31.920 think, is God really good? Is following Jesus 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:36.059 really worth it? Is this suffering, is it meaningless? 00:24:36.970 --> 00:24:40.529 Have you asked those questions before? Yeah, 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:44.829 I have. So Mark includes the wild animals because 00:24:44.829 --> 00:24:47.089 his audience is surrounded by fear. They're beginning 00:24:47.089 --> 00:24:50.269 to hedge their commitment. They're tempted to 00:24:50.269 --> 00:24:52.829 loosen their grip on faith, not necessarily to 00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.230 abandon Jesus, but just to soften their devotion, 00:24:55.630 --> 00:24:58.390 not seem like they're these wild, crazy faith 00:24:58.390 --> 00:25:03.789 believers, right? So Satan always starts there. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:08.220 How did he do it in the garden? We've already 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:12.160 said it. How did he ask it? Did God really say, 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:17.900 right? There's the doubt. Did God really say, 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:22.440 maybe you've heard the temptation being whispered, 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:28.480 can God really be trusted? Is God really good? 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:32.259 Are you sure that money's gonna come in at the 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:35.640 right time to pay your mortgage? Are you sure 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:42.140 that rain's gonna come for your crops? Satan 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:45.539 never attacks God head on. He whispers sideways. 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:50.380 And doubt is his favorite weapon. Because if 00:25:50.380 --> 00:25:54.200 he can fracture trust, obedience collapses on 00:25:54.200 --> 00:25:57.279 its own. And this is why spiritual warfare is 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:01.019 rarely spectacular. It's just subtle. You know, 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:03.140 when we think of spiritual warfare, we think 00:26:03.140 --> 00:26:06.789 of horror movies, right? demon possession and 00:26:06.789 --> 00:26:09.589 stuff being cast out of people and ghosts and 00:26:09.589 --> 00:26:12.750 just stuff moving and crazy stuff, right? But 00:26:12.750 --> 00:26:17.750 real spiritual warfare is so subtle. It's just 00:26:17.750 --> 00:26:22.710 a little bit of doubt creeping in. And so it 00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:25.289 sounds like maybe God isn't listening, maybe 00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:27.630 God doesn't care, maybe God has forgotten you, 00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:30.990 or maybe obedience just isn't worth it. And if 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:33.849 we're not anchored in truth, doubt slowly begins 00:26:33.849 --> 00:26:38.289 to pull us off the dance floor. This is why Jesus' 00:26:38.509 --> 00:26:41.109 response matters so deeply. Every time Satan 00:26:41.109 --> 00:26:44.089 speaks, Jesus answers with scripture. So we don't 00:26:44.089 --> 00:26:47.289 see it here in Mark, but if you're familiar with 00:26:47.289 --> 00:26:51.250 the temptation, let's kind of burrow down here 00:26:51.250 --> 00:26:52.809 for a second. I don't have this in my notes, 00:26:53.069 --> 00:26:55.029 Gennaro, so I apologize. If you don't know, Gennaro's 00:26:55.029 --> 00:26:58.109 translating, which is just awesome. Thank you, 00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:03.130 Gennaro, for doing that. So if you know the story, 00:27:04.269 --> 00:27:08.230 Satan begins to twist the scriptures, right? 00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:14.670 He says, if you bow down and worship me, or if 00:27:14.670 --> 00:27:16.990 you throw yourself from this building, right? 00:27:17.390 --> 00:27:20.069 He says, he quotes the scriptures, his angels 00:27:20.069 --> 00:27:23.890 will, right? Right? If you bow down and worship 00:27:23.890 --> 00:27:28.089 me, I'll give you all of this. and he's twisting 00:27:28.089 --> 00:27:30.970 things. And Jesus always responds with what? 00:27:32.009 --> 00:27:37.369 Scripture in right context, right? He gives the 00:27:37.369 --> 00:27:40.930 sword right to him. But here's something else 00:27:40.930 --> 00:27:46.069 that I can't go into a whole bunch of, but there's 00:27:46.069 --> 00:27:49.410 something actually even more sinister going on. 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:51.730 Just to kind of give you guys like a 30 ,000 00:27:51.730 --> 00:27:54.740 foot view, because it's just really cool. What 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:58.000 Satan is doing is Satan actually quotes a Psalm. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.279 That Psalm that he is quoting is a Psalm about 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:06.039 the coming Messiah. And so what he's doing is 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:09.200 trying to garner intel. So what he's doing is 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.099 he's quoting and what he's ultimately saying 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:16.960 is, I know that you are the Messiah. I know that 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:22.779 you are God. How are you gonna do this? What 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:24.859 is it that you're going to do to kind of flip 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:28.259 the script on us? But Jesus doesn't play his 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:32.039 game. He just quotes scripture and he's like, 00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:34.440 no, no, no, no. And then he gives him a jab. 00:28:36.059 --> 00:28:40.500 You see it? And so when we see this, this playing 00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:45.880 out back and forth, Jesus is so like, no, this 00:28:45.880 --> 00:28:48.960 is what the word is saying. And that's why it's 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:51.579 important that you memorize scripture, that you 00:28:51.579 --> 00:28:53.799 know the scriptures, because when temptation 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:57.319 comes knocking at your front door, or when doubt 00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:00.839 comes knocking at your front door, you can respond 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:05.119 in truth. Even when your brain is saying, I don't 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.559 know, your heart can go, no, I know, you can 00:29:07.559 --> 00:29:12.880 be trusted, here's why. And so every time, Satan 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.359 speaks, Jesus answers with scripture, not with 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:17.640 emotion, not with impulse, and not with reasoning, 00:29:18.099 --> 00:29:20.900 with truth. And Jesus shows us that scripture 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:24.019 is not a religious accessory, it is a weapon. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:27.900 When doubt attacks, truth anchors. When deception 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:31.099 whispers, truth clarifies. And when discouragement 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:35.769 overwhelms, truth steadies the ship. And this 00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:38.130 is why memorizing scripture matters, like I said. 00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:41.009 This is why saturating your heart in God's word 00:29:41.009 --> 00:29:44.009 matters. Because when you are tired, when you 00:29:44.009 --> 00:29:46.769 are hungry, when you are lonely, when you are 00:29:46.769 --> 00:29:49.509 hurting, and when you are afraid, you will not 00:29:49.509 --> 00:29:54.289 rise to the occasion. I've told you guys before, 00:29:55.690 --> 00:30:01.210 you get Pastor Logan not having ate a meal, I'm 00:30:01.210 --> 00:30:07.359 talking about just one. It's over. Donezo. I'm 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:10.839 not making it through. You get Pastor Logan skipping 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:14.900 a meal and being by himself in the quiet for 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:17.380 12 hours? Oh my gosh, go ahead and just call 00:30:17.380 --> 00:30:20.680 me done. Day's over. God doesn't love me anymore. 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:26.059 I'm out. Take me home, Lord. But if I know the 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:30.299 scriptures and when I'm at my weakest, the truth 00:30:30.299 --> 00:30:35.269 anchors. Amen? You will fall to the level of 00:30:35.269 --> 00:30:37.430 your formation. I don't have this up here, but 00:30:37.430 --> 00:30:39.369 you need to write that down. You will fall to 00:30:39.369 --> 00:30:41.029 the level of your formation. What do I mean by 00:30:41.029 --> 00:30:44.269 that? The formation of your soul, the discipleship 00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:49.809 with which you are taking part in. And here's 00:30:49.809 --> 00:30:52.950 the other beautiful part. When we doubt, Jesus 00:30:52.950 --> 00:30:55.890 does not push us away. How do I know that? Jesus 00:30:55.890 --> 00:30:59.690 actually draws us closer. Pastor Logan, how do 00:30:59.690 --> 00:31:05.900 you know that? Simple. Thomas. He is also known 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:11.160 as Doubting Thomas. And so if you don't know 00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:15.339 the story, after the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas, 00:31:15.500 --> 00:31:25.960 a disciple. Aw. When Jesus resurrects, he's standing 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.539 before Thomas and Thomas is like, I don't know 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:31.779 that I believe that Jesus is still real. I want 00:31:31.779 --> 00:31:34.960 to be able to stick my hand into his side. And 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:38.779 what does Jesus do? Does Jesus go, how dare you, 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:43.240 Thomas? How dare you doubt? What does he do? 00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:48.059 Stick your hand right here, right through the 00:31:48.059 --> 00:31:49.819 hole. Stick your hand in my side. Go right ahead. 00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:55.640 It's OK. That's the beautiful part of the God 00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:59.380 that we serve. He doesn't push us away. He invites 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:02.440 us in closer. When you're scared, when you're 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:04.779 doubting, when you're fearful, he doesn't go, 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:08.220 how dare you? He's a dad that goes, I know you're 00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:11.500 scared, it's okay, come closer. I wanna show 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:15.079 you. It's okay that you doubt, I'm not afraid 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:18.279 of your doubts, come here. I'm gonna show you, 00:32:18.819 --> 00:32:23.460 yeah? So he says put your finger here, see my 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:27.539 hands, put your hand on my side. Jesus is not 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:30.849 afraid of honest doubts. but he will not let 00:32:30.849 --> 00:32:35.589 us live in it. He always invites us back into 00:32:35.589 --> 00:32:39.230 the dance because doubt changes our orbit. Instead 00:32:39.230 --> 00:32:43.650 of orbiting God, we begin orbiting fear. Instead 00:32:43.650 --> 00:32:45.869 of trusting God, we begin trusting ourselves. 00:32:45.930 --> 00:32:48.009 And instead of walking in step with the spirit, 00:32:48.470 --> 00:32:53.349 we drift into isolation. And isolation is Satan's 00:32:53.349 --> 00:32:56.190 playground, which is why he's in the wilderness. 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:59.220 But when we stay in the dance and when we are 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:02.180 anchored in the truth, rooted in community and 00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:04.980 grounded in scripture, we discover again and 00:33:04.980 --> 00:33:07.079 again that God is faithful. I'm going to say 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:09.839 this again, when we are anchored in truth, did 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:13.900 you hear the second part? Rooted in community. 00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:20.319 The church, you cannot live a Christian life 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:24.299 on your own. You need your brothers and sisters 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:30.690 because doubt does creep in. God is faithful. 00:33:32.970 --> 00:33:35.990 Every scar proves it, every empty tomb declares 00:33:35.990 --> 00:33:39.289 it, and every promise fulfilled confirms it. 00:33:39.329 --> 00:33:41.470 Jesus stands in the wilderness surrounded by 00:33:41.470 --> 00:33:46.170 danger, tempted by Satan, exposed to death, and 00:33:46.170 --> 00:33:50.190 he does not flinch because he trusts the Father. 00:33:50.910 --> 00:33:52.910 And though Mark's gospel doesn't tell us this 00:33:52.910 --> 00:33:55.990 detail, the others do. When Satan takes scripture 00:33:55.990 --> 00:33:59.220 out of context, Christ quotes the truth and where 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:03.740 Satan twists, Christ makes straight. And in doing 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:08.420 so, he shows us that doubt does not win. Point 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:11.860 number three, if you're taking notes, Savior's 00:34:11.860 --> 00:34:18.380 supreme success and defeat. In the garden of 00:34:18.380 --> 00:34:22.739 Eden, God gave Adam a single command. Do not 00:34:22.739 --> 00:34:24.940 eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:28.130 evil. For in that day if you eat it you will 00:34:28.130 --> 00:34:31.730 surely die and immediately the question rises 00:34:31.730 --> 00:34:36.070 in us What's that question? It's a question all 00:34:36.070 --> 00:34:41.369 little kids love to ask Say it louder Noah Why 00:34:41.369 --> 00:34:47.949 why? Because I said so why right Now I would 00:34:47.949 --> 00:34:50.329 love to take credit for this, but this came from 00:34:50.329 --> 00:34:56.829 Tim Keller. This is so so so good If you just 00:34:56.829 --> 00:34:59.710 listen in, because this, oh my Lord, this is 00:34:59.710 --> 00:35:03.130 so good. So immediately the question rises in 00:35:03.130 --> 00:35:07.949 us, why? Why that tree? Why that test? Why that 00:35:07.949 --> 00:35:12.289 restriction? Because God created humanity not 00:35:12.289 --> 00:35:15.030 merely to obey rules, but to live in relationship. 00:35:15.769 --> 00:35:20.090 And so God has created us to orbit Him. And if 00:35:20.090 --> 00:35:24.030 God had to explain every reason, every consequence, 00:35:24.269 --> 00:35:28.449 every benefit, then obedience would become transactional. 00:35:29.130 --> 00:35:32.869 Did you catch that? If God has to tell you why, 00:35:33.369 --> 00:35:37.690 the reason to everything, he becomes, it just 00:35:37.690 --> 00:35:40.769 becomes a transactional relationship. He becomes 00:35:40.769 --> 00:35:46.929 a means to an end. Do you see that? And so we 00:35:46.929 --> 00:35:49.730 would be like, if he explained why, why the tree? 00:35:49.789 --> 00:35:52.809 Why did you put the tree there? There's a lot 00:35:52.809 --> 00:35:55.349 of philosophical reasons I can go into and apologetics 00:35:55.349 --> 00:35:57.710 reasons, but at the end of the day, he put the 00:35:57.710 --> 00:36:00.409 tree there and just said, don't eat from it. 00:36:02.090 --> 00:36:06.590 And we go, but why? And if God took the time 00:36:06.590 --> 00:36:09.309 to explain it to us, we would be like, oh, okay, 00:36:09.369 --> 00:36:11.309 yeah, that makes sense. I see how that benefits 00:36:11.309 --> 00:36:19.030 me. I understand the logic. So in that moment, 00:36:19.170 --> 00:36:20.989 you can write this down, in that moment, God 00:36:20.989 --> 00:36:23.750 would become a means to an end, not an end to 00:36:23.750 --> 00:36:29.750 himself. But God says, trust me, love me, obey 00:36:29.750 --> 00:36:32.710 me, not because you understand everything, but 00:36:32.710 --> 00:36:38.809 because you know me. Is that not a mind blowing 00:36:38.809 --> 00:36:46.400 thought? That is the dance. You know me. Just 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:48.159 trust me, you don't have to know everything. 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:57.320 Eli is famous for wanting to take everything 00:36:57.320 --> 00:36:59.380 apart and put it all back together. He wants 00:36:59.380 --> 00:37:03.079 to know how everything works. And he's also king 00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:05.719 of, it doesn't matter that we've been coming 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:10.059 here for a year, he's king of, dad, how much 00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:15.309 longer in the car? And I'm like, brother, Just 00:37:15.309 --> 00:37:17.190 look outside. Have you not figured out what the 00:37:17.190 --> 00:37:19.550 terrain looks like as we're getting closer? Doesn't 00:37:19.550 --> 00:37:22.170 matter. He's always like, how much longer? I'm 00:37:22.170 --> 00:37:25.210 like, when we get there? Yeah, but how much longer? 00:37:26.309 --> 00:37:30.090 Right? And we do the same thing with God. Yeah, 00:37:30.130 --> 00:37:33.250 but why? How does this benefit? Like when is 00:37:33.250 --> 00:37:35.429 the suffering gonna stop? When is this just gonna 00:37:35.429 --> 00:37:37.849 get easier? God, when are you gonna? You're gonna 00:37:37.849 --> 00:37:39.610 give me a million dollars. When are you gonna 00:37:39.610 --> 00:37:41.610 show me that you really do love me? When are 00:37:41.610 --> 00:37:43.849 you gonna answer that prayer that I prayed like 00:37:43.849 --> 00:37:45.989 back in fifth grade? When are you gonna, you 00:37:45.989 --> 00:37:49.429 see what I'm saying? And God's like, hey, listen, 00:37:51.369 --> 00:37:56.789 I love you. You don't need to know everything. 00:37:58.309 --> 00:38:03.130 Let's just dance and enjoy each other and let's 00:38:03.130 --> 00:38:08.099 just see how this thing goes. When we want to 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:11.000 know everything by the way, it kind of takes 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:13.820 the fun out of it. Here's what I mean. I worked 00:38:13.820 --> 00:38:18.599 at Disney World right out of high school and 00:38:18.599 --> 00:38:24.099 People especially when I meet people, you know 00:38:24.099 --> 00:38:27.480 that are not from Florida my wife and I can tell 00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:30.719 you When people go, oh, I just love Disney World. 00:38:30.739 --> 00:38:33.039 Did you go to Disney World all the time? We're 00:38:33.039 --> 00:38:38.050 like no What? Why didn't you go to Disney World? 00:38:38.130 --> 00:38:41.670 Well, first off, it cost a million dollars. But 00:38:41.670 --> 00:38:45.590 the other thing is, is you get to see behind 00:38:45.590 --> 00:38:49.550 the scenes. And it's not so magical anymore. 00:38:51.110 --> 00:38:54.570 Know what I mean? And so sometimes you just don't 00:38:54.570 --> 00:38:58.429 need to know because it takes away the beauty 00:38:58.429 --> 00:39:05.219 of life. Does that make sense? Obedience is not 00:39:05.219 --> 00:39:09.820 about logic. It's about love. But Adam failed. 00:39:10.679 --> 00:39:13.760 He grasped, he doubted, he reached for control, 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:16.800 and in the single act of rebellion, the dance 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:19.659 shattered. Humanity stepped out of rhythm and 00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:21.699 every generation since has repeated the same 00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:25.820 pattern. Satan still whispers the same lie. This 00:39:25.820 --> 00:39:28.699 idea of self -giving love, of vulnerability, 00:39:29.019 --> 00:39:32.179 of orbiting around God, it'll never work. This 00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:34.769 idea of humility, of not living for yourself, 00:39:34.969 --> 00:39:39.170 that'll never work. And that is exactly the lie 00:39:39.170 --> 00:39:42.230 he brings Jesus in the wilderness. But when Jesus 00:39:42.230 --> 00:39:45.530 answers differently, where Adam grasped, Jesus 00:39:45.530 --> 00:39:49.170 surrendered. Where Adam doubted, Jesus trusted. 00:39:50.170 --> 00:39:53.269 And where Adam disobeyed, Jesus obeyed. And yet 00:39:53.269 --> 00:39:55.230 the wilderness was not the final battle. Why 00:39:55.230 --> 00:39:58.510 was it not the final battle? Brothers and sisters, 00:39:58.570 --> 00:40:00.230 why was the wilderness not the final battle? 00:40:01.849 --> 00:40:04.389 Right, the cross, the climax comes in another 00:40:04.389 --> 00:40:07.829 garden, by the way. We have the garden of Eden 00:40:07.829 --> 00:40:13.329 and then the garden of Gethsemane. In Eden, God 00:40:13.329 --> 00:40:16.690 said to Adam, obey me about the tree and you 00:40:16.690 --> 00:40:20.769 will live. In Gethsemane, God says to his son, 00:40:21.349 --> 00:40:26.329 obey me about the tree and you will die. Is that 00:40:26.329 --> 00:40:30.599 not beautiful? He says to Adam, obey me about 00:40:30.599 --> 00:40:33.340 the tree and you will live. But he says to Jesus, 00:40:33.460 --> 00:40:35.780 his son, obey me about the tree and you will 00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:40.219 die. And Jesus does obey. He kneels in anguish. 00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:43.260 He sweats blood. He trembles beneath the weight 00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:46.880 of what is coming. And yet he prays, not my will, 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:51.039 but yours be done. This is the ultimate obedience 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:53.719 and this is the true dance that is being restored. 00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:57.159 Jesus defeats Satan at his own game, not by grasping 00:40:57.159 --> 00:41:00.219 power and not by demanding control and not by 00:41:00.219 --> 00:41:04.400 escaping suffering, but by surrender. You can 00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:07.880 write this down. Jesus doesn't merely survive 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:12.380 the wilderness, he conquers the grave. He goes 00:41:12.380 --> 00:41:15.619 into the heart of the battle, not to avoid suffering, 00:41:15.659 --> 00:41:18.199 but to redeem it. He walks the path that Adam 00:41:18.199 --> 00:41:20.579 abandoned and he fulfills the obedience Israel 00:41:20.579 --> 00:41:24.820 failed. He becomes the faithful son we could 00:41:24.820 --> 00:41:27.340 never be. And because he does, we are invited 00:41:27.340 --> 00:41:30.280 back into the dance, not condemned, not rejected 00:41:30.280 --> 00:41:34.420 and not abandoned, but welcomed. Again, he's 00:41:34.420 --> 00:41:39.019 saying, just come in the dance. And when you're 00:41:39.019 --> 00:41:40.719 tired and when you're hurting and when you're 00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:42.539 tempted and when you are weak, if you listen 00:41:42.539 --> 00:41:44.539 closely, you will hear the same words spoken 00:41:44.539 --> 00:41:49.619 over you. This is my beloved child whom I love 00:41:49.619 --> 00:41:55.420 with you, I am well pleased. Even when you feel 00:41:55.420 --> 00:41:58.300 tempted, even when you want to give up, if you 00:41:58.300 --> 00:42:04.320 just surrender to obedience, if you listen closely, 00:42:04.679 --> 00:42:08.019 you will hear those words. Not because of your 00:42:08.019 --> 00:42:11.920 perfection, but because you are in Christ and 00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:15.369 that changes everything. because now you don't 00:42:15.369 --> 00:42:19.590 fight for victory, you fight from victory. You 00:42:19.590 --> 00:42:22.469 don't dance to earn love, you dance because you 00:42:22.469 --> 00:42:25.590 are loved. You don't obey to gain acceptance, 00:42:25.670 --> 00:42:29.570 you obey because you already have it. Jesus danced 00:42:29.570 --> 00:42:32.170 into battle so you and I could dance into life. 00:42:33.150 --> 00:42:38.250 And I'm closing with this. I get asked all the 00:42:38.250 --> 00:42:41.030 time, not so much anymore, but I used to get 00:42:41.030 --> 00:42:44.940 asked a lot. How can you tell the difference 00:42:44.940 --> 00:42:47.860 between a professional musician and an amateur 00:42:47.860 --> 00:42:50.380 musician? And do you guys know the answer to 00:42:50.380 --> 00:42:56.380 that? One gets paid, yeah, yeah. Sometimes not 00:42:56.380 --> 00:43:04.500 a lot. But the answer is this, I can always, 00:43:04.679 --> 00:43:09.760 even if it's a good musician. Even if I'm impressed 00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:12.599 by the drummer that's up there and I'm like dang 00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:16.219 that guy's good. He's really good. I Can tell 00:43:16.219 --> 00:43:20.139 he's an amateur by one thing If he messes up, 00:43:20.139 --> 00:43:25.559 he'll stop But a professional messes up and you 00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:31.420 don't know it they just keep going You guys have 00:43:31.420 --> 00:43:34.659 probably been to a show of some kind a musical 00:43:34.659 --> 00:43:37.980 show of some kind and I guarantee you there was 00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:40.480 nothing perfect about it, but you never picked 00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:45.840 up on it. Unless singer forgot the words or, 00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:47.739 you know, something was out of tune or whatever. 00:43:48.219 --> 00:43:50.179 But usually you don't pick up on the fact that 00:43:50.179 --> 00:43:53.199 professionals have messed up. And so the reason 00:43:53.199 --> 00:43:55.320 why I share that is this. A few years ago, a 00:43:55.320 --> 00:43:58.659 professional ballroom dancer was asked what separates 00:43:58.659 --> 00:44:02.980 beginners from masters? And her answer surprised 00:44:02.980 --> 00:44:08.019 everyone. She said, beginners focus on the steps, 00:44:09.260 --> 00:44:13.719 masters focus on the music. Let me stop right 00:44:13.719 --> 00:44:17.579 here for just a second. Aria, I told you guys 00:44:17.579 --> 00:44:20.739 last week, she loves line dancing. What is it? 00:44:20.840 --> 00:44:24.159 Swing dancing, gosh. Just get into line dancing, 00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:26.440 will you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The church knows 00:44:26.440 --> 00:44:29.400 even if I don't. Boot scoot and boogie, baby. 00:44:31.320 --> 00:44:33.179 Well, when she was first learning to all the 00:44:33.179 --> 00:44:36.300 dances, She in and you guys have probably seen 00:44:36.300 --> 00:44:38.159 this before when somebody's trying to learn a 00:44:38.159 --> 00:44:40.199 dance. They're thinking about the movement, right? 00:44:40.219 --> 00:44:42.139 They're not thinking about the music so she would 00:44:42.139 --> 00:44:43.860 always be like, you know, she's not listening 00:44:43.860 --> 00:44:45.920 she's Thinking about what she's supposed to be 00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:48.820 doing and she would get so out of rhythm with 00:44:48.820 --> 00:44:53.519 the music and I would be like hey sis You got 00:44:53.519 --> 00:44:55.980 to actually do this in time. It doesn't matter 00:44:55.980 --> 00:44:58.260 that you know the steps You have to actually 00:44:58.260 --> 00:45:00.800 do it to the rhythm of the music and she's like 00:45:00.800 --> 00:45:03.550 I can't I can't And she, I mean, literally, she's 00:45:03.550 --> 00:45:05.030 saying, I can't watch you doing it. Right. And 00:45:05.030 --> 00:45:12.389 I said, listen, do you hear that? Yeah. I said, 00:45:12.469 --> 00:45:13.989 turn the music off and I just want you to do 00:45:13.989 --> 00:45:19.289 the dance to that. Feel that right there. And 00:45:19.289 --> 00:45:21.389 so she started doing it and she's listening to 00:45:21.389 --> 00:45:26.110 me. And then she begins to not focus so much 00:45:26.110 --> 00:45:29.409 on the dance steps. She's listening to the music. 00:45:30.170 --> 00:45:33.940 So back to. She explained that beginners are 00:45:33.940 --> 00:45:36.400 so afraid of messing up that they stare at their 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:40.539 feet. They count every movement. They panic when 00:45:40.539 --> 00:45:42.659 something goes wrong, and the moment they miss 00:45:42.659 --> 00:45:46.599 a step, everything collapses. But masters don't 00:45:46.599 --> 00:45:50.480 dance like that. They move to the rhythm. So 00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:52.920 even when they stumble, they don't stop. They 00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:56.900 don't freeze. They don't quit. They simply listen 00:45:56.900 --> 00:46:01.570 and step back into the flow. She said, when you 00:46:01.570 --> 00:46:04.650 trust the music, you can recover from almost 00:46:04.650 --> 00:46:07.869 anything. And that's the Christian life. When 00:46:07.869 --> 00:46:11.530 we spend so much time staring at our feet, obsessing 00:46:11.530 --> 00:46:14.369 over our own failures, terrified of mistakes 00:46:14.369 --> 00:46:18.369 or frozen by fear. But God is not calling us 00:46:18.369 --> 00:46:21.469 to perfect steps. He's calling us to trust his 00:46:21.469 --> 00:46:25.090 rhythm. The father sets the tempo, the spirit 00:46:25.090 --> 00:46:28.630 leads the movement, and the son shows us how 00:46:28.630 --> 00:46:32.219 to dance. And when we fall out of step, when 00:46:32.219 --> 00:46:35.280 temptation hits, when suffering comes, when battle 00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:40.699 breaks out, we don't quit. We just stop, we listen, 00:46:41.179 --> 00:46:43.980 we trust, and we step back into the movements. 00:46:44.780 --> 00:46:48.800 Because the invitation still stands. Step back 00:46:48.800 --> 00:46:50.780 into the rhythm, brothers and sisters, trust 00:46:50.780 --> 00:46:54.079 the Father, walk in the Spirit, and follow the 00:46:54.079 --> 00:46:57.880 Son. And when the battle comes, don't be surprised. 00:46:58.429 --> 00:47:01.309 Just keep dancing. Let's pray.