1 00:00:06,940 --> 00:00:09,968 Good morning, church. Hello again. 2 00:00:11,628 --> 00:00:15,091 Hey, I need somebody to cart this table out for me when I'm teaching. Can 3 00:00:15,107 --> 00:00:18,676 I get any volunteer for that? Me. 4 00:00:19,374 --> 00:00:23,207 There you go. Thank you. So service 5 00:00:23,207 --> 00:00:26,874 opportunities. Okay. Anybody use our 6 00:00:26,874 --> 00:00:30,518 children's ministry here? Don't they do an amazing job? 7 00:00:31,545 --> 00:00:35,187 Listen, they need help, okay? I know my 8 00:00:35,251 --> 00:00:38,652 kids, I send them down there, they have to go through it down there. So 9 00:00:39,182 --> 00:00:41,845 if you have a heart to serve the children, we— they would love to have 10 00:00:41,845 --> 00:00:45,070 you. Also, guys, we need like 8 people 11 00:00:45,759 --> 00:00:49,465 to help us join our tech team and handle video 12 00:00:49,465 --> 00:00:52,883 and livestream and stuff like that. If we get 8 people, you would only have 13 00:00:52,883 --> 00:00:56,608 to serve one time per month in the second service. So if 14 00:00:56,656 --> 00:01:00,302 that interests you, please come see me after service. And I do want to make 15 00:01:00,302 --> 00:01:04,013 an announcement. Um, next Sunday is our baby dedication Sunday. 16 00:01:04,688 --> 00:01:08,221 Uh, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for that. And on the 17 00:01:08,221 --> 00:01:11,884 27th is our single service baptismal service. 18 00:01:12,317 --> 00:01:15,466 And next week is the last time, or the end of this week is the 19 00:01:15,466 --> 00:01:19,128 last time to sign up for that. So if any of those things 20 00:01:19,530 --> 00:01:22,710 If that would pique your interest, please come up and see us or sign up 21 00:01:22,758 --> 00:01:24,461 on the app. Let's pray. 22 00:01:27,674 --> 00:01:31,350 Thank you for the key change, Michael. That was cool. God, I thank you 23 00:01:31,350 --> 00:01:35,168 for your 24 00:01:35,232 --> 00:01:38,502 word that you have spoken. Lord, your word is 25 00:01:40,066 --> 00:01:43,524 beneficial to us for teaching and 26 00:01:43,524 --> 00:01:47,317 reproving and correcting and training In righteousness. 27 00:01:49,105 --> 00:01:52,792 It is here to complete us and equip us for good 28 00:01:52,905 --> 00:01:56,496 works, Father, in our lives of faith and love 29 00:01:56,770 --> 00:02:00,604 and righteousness and good works, God, are all to bring you glory, 30 00:02:00,878 --> 00:02:03,649 Lord. So Holy Spirit, we just pray 31 00:02:04,990 --> 00:02:08,404 that you would give us a love and a 32 00:02:08,453 --> 00:02:11,350 trust for every word 33 00:02:12,379 --> 00:02:15,335 That you have spoken. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 34 00:02:16,733 --> 00:02:20,508 So when Pastor Barbie told the teaching team that we're going to be 35 00:02:20,508 --> 00:02:24,348 going into a series called Discerning His Voice, one of the 36 00:02:24,348 --> 00:02:27,722 teachers raised their hand and said, is there any particular topic or 37 00:02:27,819 --> 00:02:31,595 nuance about his voice that you want each of us to cover? And she simply 38 00:02:31,595 --> 00:02:34,695 said, I want you to discern his voice 39 00:02:35,515 --> 00:02:39,065 when coming up with that. So it's like some real Mr. Miyagi 40 00:02:39,065 --> 00:02:42,758 stuff she did there, you know. And as I prayed and considered what I 41 00:02:42,758 --> 00:02:46,435 might teach regarding his voice, a memory came to me from over a 42 00:02:46,435 --> 00:02:49,599 decade ago when I was serving as a youth leader here at 43 00:02:49,599 --> 00:02:53,356 Springhouse. And we had a night where we asked all the youth to get up 44 00:02:53,356 --> 00:02:57,097 and share one testimony, something that the Lord was doing in their lives, as 45 00:02:57,194 --> 00:03:00,791 well as one prayer, something they were really believing in faith 46 00:03:00,823 --> 00:03:04,660 for. And I remember several kids getting up one after another, and 47 00:03:04,741 --> 00:03:08,112 all of them basically Many of them, not all of them, but many of them 48 00:03:08,209 --> 00:03:11,283 basically had the same exact prayer to 49 00:03:11,607 --> 00:03:15,393 audibly and clearly hear the voice of God. 50 00:03:17,028 --> 00:03:20,654 One of them, this one broke my heart, was asking 51 00:03:21,803 --> 00:03:24,247 why God wasn't speaking to them anymore. 52 00:03:26,173 --> 00:03:29,759 These were not careless prayers. These were not throwaway prayers. They weren't prayers 53 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,801 meant to sound good. There was sincerity in them. There 54 00:03:33,801 --> 00:03:37,552 was desperation in them. I knew these kids. I knew the challenges they 55 00:03:37,552 --> 00:03:41,399 were facing at home, the challenges they were facing at school every 56 00:03:41,399 --> 00:03:44,878 day. I knew that the, the thoughts and the feelings they were trying to 57 00:03:44,990 --> 00:03:48,821 process through a kingdom worldview, the temptations that were coming 58 00:03:48,837 --> 00:03:52,380 at them from the culture every day. And when they were asking God to 59 00:03:52,380 --> 00:03:56,067 speak to them, I sensed that they were asking in a 60 00:03:56,067 --> 00:03:59,722 way that their faith depended on it. They were saying, 61 00:03:59,755 --> 00:04:03,411 God, if you would, if I could just hear your voice, 62 00:04:04,870 --> 00:04:08,495 I would be, I would know, and I would be settled in my spirit in 63 00:04:08,495 --> 00:04:12,119 this wilderness that I'm going through, that I can get through. And that 64 00:04:12,167 --> 00:04:15,631 night I went home, I began to think, how could I, how in the 65 00:04:15,695 --> 00:04:19,255 world could I help encourage and minister to these kids that were 66 00:04:19,255 --> 00:04:22,735 so desperate to hear from God? And I remember at some 67 00:04:22,847 --> 00:04:24,371 point this question came to me. 68 00:04:27,624 --> 00:04:31,195 Not that question. Join us, question mark. 69 00:04:31,951 --> 00:04:34,926 Do I have slides, Pastor Will? Thank you. 70 00:04:36,374 --> 00:04:39,866 Is the problem that God is speaking to us less, or is the 71 00:04:39,866 --> 00:04:43,036 problem that we are listening less to what God has already spoken 72 00:04:44,622 --> 00:04:48,319 and therefore unable to distinguish between what is his voice and what is not? 73 00:04:49,830 --> 00:04:53,646 There's this warning in Matthew 12:38. The Pharisees and 74 00:04:53,646 --> 00:04:57,431 scribes had Jesus standing right in front of them, and they 75 00:04:57,528 --> 00:05:01,236 demanded a sign from him. They needed to feel 76 00:05:01,349 --> 00:05:04,993 more and hear more and experience more to be sure 77 00:05:05,057 --> 00:05:08,878 he was who he claimed he was. And because of chasing 78 00:05:08,910 --> 00:05:12,346 that sensation, they actually missed the 79 00:05:12,506 --> 00:05:15,171 gift of Jesus standing right in front of them. 80 00:05:16,359 --> 00:05:19,955 And I sense that in our culture today, we are sometimes, guys, 81 00:05:20,389 --> 00:05:23,722 tempted to overspiritualize and incorrectly 82 00:05:23,722 --> 00:05:27,235 categorize and attribute his voice to all 83 00:05:27,429 --> 00:05:31,056 kinds of thoughts and actions when it's actually 84 00:05:31,072 --> 00:05:33,390 more our feelings that are leading us. 85 00:05:35,126 --> 00:05:38,175 I was just talking to a friend of mine last week who told me a 86 00:05:38,207 --> 00:05:41,398 story. Uh, one of his buddies got a call from a girl and this girl 87 00:05:41,462 --> 00:05:45,223 said, the Holy Spirit is telling me I'm not supposed to date you. 88 00:05:46,590 --> 00:05:50,285 The very next week, That guy got a call from that girl again and said, 89 00:05:50,803 --> 00:05:53,621 the Holy Spirit is now telling me I'm supposed to date you. 90 00:05:55,152 --> 00:05:59,002 And here's a freebie for the youth group kids. If anyone 91 00:05:59,002 --> 00:06:02,207 ever says that to you, all you have to say is, 92 00:06:03,140 --> 00:06:05,464 the Holy Spirit didn't tell me that. Okay? 93 00:06:06,965 --> 00:06:10,661 This kind of thing happens all over the church today, and I just 94 00:06:10,677 --> 00:06:14,280 want to be careful that we are not chasing a sensation 95 00:06:14,393 --> 00:06:18,176 or an experience or an audible voice to the point where we forget 96 00:06:18,747 --> 00:06:22,042 Altogether, that we have the gift of his 97 00:06:22,300 --> 00:06:26,033 word right at our fingertips. We 98 00:06:26,097 --> 00:06:29,890 have the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, who 99 00:06:29,890 --> 00:06:33,457 according to John 14:26 teaches us all 100 00:06:33,586 --> 00:06:37,304 things, brings to our remembrance all that Jesus has 101 00:06:37,304 --> 00:06:41,057 said, or God has said. And I want to be clear about this up 102 00:06:41,057 --> 00:06:44,562 front. I don't want it to get twisted. This teaching is not a 103 00:06:44,562 --> 00:06:48,063 commentary on whether or not God still audibly speaks. 104 00:06:48,638 --> 00:06:52,323 Okay, it's not a commentary on that. I'm 0% 105 00:06:52,468 --> 00:06:55,817 interested putting him in a box like that. He can do as he 106 00:06:55,833 --> 00:06:59,679 pleases. But I think of that youth that 107 00:06:59,679 --> 00:07:03,509 was crying out, God, why aren't you speaking to me anymore? And I 108 00:07:03,509 --> 00:07:07,338 want to encourage, like, any heart that may be here today asking 109 00:07:07,354 --> 00:07:11,120 that same question, there are hundreds of 110 00:07:11,136 --> 00:07:14,277 thousands of words of scripture 111 00:07:14,582 --> 00:07:18,148 breathed out by God, accessible to each one of us. 112 00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:21,731 2 Timothy 3:16. These are not dead words. 113 00:07:22,615 --> 00:07:26,294 The effectiveness of these words are not confined to a culture and 114 00:07:26,375 --> 00:07:30,086 time. They are alive and active and sharper than any two-edged 115 00:07:30,086 --> 00:07:33,685 sword, according to Hebrews 4:12. So I believe 116 00:07:33,701 --> 00:07:37,332 our best hope for discerning his voice starts 117 00:07:37,622 --> 00:07:41,255 with knowing and loving and trusting what 118 00:07:41,255 --> 00:07:44,994 God has already spoken and having affection 119 00:07:45,059 --> 00:07:48,897 for him who spoke them as well. Today, 120 00:07:48,913 --> 00:07:52,408 if I encountered someone who was struggling in that way to hear his voice, I'd 121 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,073 probably ask them what their prayer life is like. I'd say, are you making— 122 00:07:56,170 --> 00:07:59,318 like, when you— are you just giving up prayers, sending up prayers, and then going 123 00:07:59,334 --> 00:08:03,001 about your day? What is your Bible reading like? Are you going through the Bible 124 00:08:03,001 --> 00:08:06,795 and then just giving time for him to speak to 125 00:08:06,795 --> 00:08:10,343 you through his word? These are all things, guys, that 126 00:08:10,536 --> 00:08:14,383 we really have to fight for. I know I 127 00:08:14,383 --> 00:08:18,229 do. My attention is always being pulled in all kinds of different 128 00:08:18,229 --> 00:08:21,643 directions, especially father of 2 young 129 00:08:21,755 --> 00:08:25,490 kids. Uh, my favorite time to get alone with the Lord and read his 130 00:08:25,586 --> 00:08:29,369 word is very early in the morning before my family wakes up. So 131 00:08:29,369 --> 00:08:33,183 I get up, make breakfast, get my coffee, get the word open, and 132 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,389 right about that time I sit down, these 2 happy little 133 00:08:37,540 --> 00:08:41,345 5-year-olds, a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old, the most extroverted 7-year-old you'll 134 00:08:41,361 --> 00:08:45,199 ever meet, come bebopping down the stairs and they're ready to go, 135 00:08:45,425 --> 00:08:49,042 right? So then I make their breakfast, get them situated, go back to the word, 136 00:08:49,284 --> 00:08:52,846 and now I'm trying to read Isaiah or something with cartoons and 137 00:08:52,846 --> 00:08:55,394 wrestling and yelling in the background. 138 00:08:57,362 --> 00:09:00,880 And I don't remember what comedian it was that said this, but he was 139 00:09:00,896 --> 00:09:04,269 referencing the advice they give parents of a newborn baby. 140 00:09:04,844 --> 00:09:08,622 And they say, just sleep when the baby sleeps. And anybody who has 141 00:09:08,670 --> 00:09:12,319 a baby knows that that's impossible cuz you have so many other things that you 142 00:09:12,319 --> 00:09:15,816 have to do. And his follow-up was like, yeah, and I'll do the taxes when 143 00:09:15,832 --> 00:09:19,470 the baby does the taxes. And I'll fold the 144 00:09:19,470 --> 00:09:23,285 laundry when the baby folds the laundry. In this sense, it's, I'll read Isaiah 145 00:09:23,285 --> 00:09:25,751 when the baby reads Isaiah, you know, but 146 00:09:27,314 --> 00:09:30,828 making and guarding that time for prayer in his word. 147 00:09:31,673 --> 00:09:35,519 is so important. It shows what we value. It's important because it 148 00:09:35,519 --> 00:09:37,900 allows us to better tune our ears to him. 149 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,759 His word is clear, guys, to tell us his 150 00:09:42,951 --> 00:09:46,664 voice is not the only one that we will encounter in our 151 00:09:46,664 --> 00:09:50,444 lives. And I'd probably argue that the 152 00:09:50,444 --> 00:09:53,820 voices that aren't his are much easier to hear on a daily basis. 153 00:09:55,374 --> 00:09:58,812 We experience news and information more than any other 154 00:09:58,812 --> 00:10:02,148 generation before. endless social media feeds, these 155 00:10:02,405 --> 00:10:06,147 voices constantly promoting unthinkable, 156 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:10,098 unspeakable evil, promoting, aiming, and tempting us. 157 00:10:10,757 --> 00:10:14,564 Voices that even claim to be in Christ but share 158 00:10:14,708 --> 00:10:18,017 a gospel that is not in alignment with his word. 159 00:10:19,029 --> 00:10:22,418 His word tells us that we are to test these voices. 160 00:10:22,964 --> 00:10:26,424 His word tells us that we are to test the words of prophets. His word 161 00:10:26,424 --> 00:10:30,267 tells us that our own hearts and thoughts deceive us. So this 162 00:10:30,267 --> 00:10:33,698 is what I'm getting at. In a world full of 163 00:10:33,762 --> 00:10:36,976 noises and voices and feelings and 164 00:10:37,218 --> 00:10:40,997 influencers and influence and devices and vices 165 00:10:41,353 --> 00:10:44,979 and uncertainty, the infallible and final 166 00:10:44,979 --> 00:10:48,168 authority of God's word is absolutely certain. 167 00:10:48,654 --> 00:10:51,973 It's a sure thing. Knowing his word, 168 00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:55,921 loving his word, Trusting his word. It's critical 169 00:10:55,953 --> 00:10:59,698 for every believer because every single voice that 170 00:10:59,730 --> 00:11:03,074 we encounter has the potential 171 00:11:03,831 --> 00:11:06,988 to echo that first voice in the garden 172 00:11:07,536 --> 00:11:11,208 that planted doubt in the heart of man and woman 173 00:11:11,788 --> 00:11:15,399 with one simple question: did God 174 00:11:15,737 --> 00:11:19,444 really say? Did God really say? 175 00:11:20,626 --> 00:11:24,390 The strategy of the enemy has been clear since the beginning: 176 00:11:24,809 --> 00:11:28,347 plant doubt that God has spoken, distort our understanding of 177 00:11:28,540 --> 00:11:31,651 what God has spoken, and by all costs cause us to lose 178 00:11:31,828 --> 00:11:35,207 trust that what God has spoken is 179 00:11:35,207 --> 00:11:39,006 absolutely best for us. So all of these realities 180 00:11:39,054 --> 00:11:42,653 are visible in our text today. Uh, we're gonna be looking at Matthew 181 00:11:42,653 --> 00:11:45,690 4. So if you brought your Bibles, please turn there with us. Jesus 182 00:11:45,947 --> 00:11:49,569 practically teaches us some really important ways to discern what is and isn't God's voice. 183 00:11:51,532 --> 00:11:54,697 through the use of his word. And also Jesus himself 184 00:11:55,629 --> 00:11:59,308 identifies himself as the living word, and he's made the way for us to 185 00:11:59,308 --> 00:12:02,262 turn our ears toward God once again. So this is Matthew 4. 186 00:12:06,213 --> 00:12:09,807 Do I got it? There we go. Then Jesus was 187 00:12:09,904 --> 00:12:13,195 led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 188 00:12:13,711 --> 00:12:17,503 And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the 189 00:12:17,503 --> 00:12:21,278 tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command 190 00:12:21,311 --> 00:12:25,074 these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, it is 191 00:12:25,171 --> 00:12:29,021 written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 192 00:12:29,021 --> 00:12:32,579 comes from the mouth of God. Then the 193 00:12:32,579 --> 00:12:35,700 devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the 194 00:12:35,700 --> 00:12:39,257 temple and said to him, if you are the Son of God, 195 00:12:39,597 --> 00:12:43,204 then throw yourself down, for it is written, he will 196 00:12:43,317 --> 00:12:47,151 command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they 197 00:12:47,217 --> 00:12:51,004 will bear you up lest you strike your foot against the stone. Jesus 198 00:12:51,004 --> 00:12:54,724 said to him, again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord 199 00:12:54,724 --> 00:12:58,373 your God to the test. Again, 200 00:12:58,566 --> 00:13:02,189 the devil took him to a very high mountain, showed him all the 201 00:13:02,189 --> 00:13:05,925 kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all 202 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,473 of these I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. 203 00:13:10,086 --> 00:13:13,681 Then Jesus said to him, be gone, Satan! For it is 204 00:13:13,778 --> 00:13:17,452 written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you 205 00:13:17,452 --> 00:13:21,251 serve. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and 206 00:13:21,251 --> 00:13:25,018 were ministering to him. And Luke 4 has a parallel telling of 207 00:13:25,018 --> 00:13:28,785 this story that ends with verse 13 and says this: When 208 00:13:28,785 --> 00:13:32,216 the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him 209 00:13:32,809 --> 00:13:36,063 until an opportune time. So we see from these scriptures, 210 00:13:37,217 --> 00:13:40,407 there is a crystal clear picture of the 211 00:13:40,407 --> 00:13:43,742 supernatural reality of spiritual warfare that is in 212 00:13:43,742 --> 00:13:46,316 motion around us at all times. 213 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,229 Supernatural reality of spiritual warfare right now in this very 214 00:13:53,229 --> 00:13:56,917 moment, tempting to distract us away from worship, 215 00:13:57,319 --> 00:13:59,686 distract us away from what the Lord has to say. 216 00:14:01,651 --> 00:14:05,499 We see that our enemy looks for these opportune times to tempt. He does 217 00:14:05,596 --> 00:14:09,399 it here when Jesus is weak, when Jesus is hungry and 218 00:14:09,399 --> 00:14:13,241 suffering through the wilderness. We should have no doubt that he would 219 00:14:13,273 --> 00:14:16,832 look for those moments in our lives as well. And this is what the Apostle 220 00:14:16,864 --> 00:14:19,958 Peter reminds us: be sober-minded, be 221 00:14:20,166 --> 00:14:23,741 watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a 222 00:14:23,837 --> 00:14:27,637 roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So we rejoice in 223 00:14:27,637 --> 00:14:30,538 a few things. The enemy is not 224 00:14:30,811 --> 00:14:34,578 all-powerful. Okay, we rejoice in that. The 225 00:14:34,659 --> 00:14:38,474 enemy is not omnipresent like God. Okay, 226 00:14:39,147 --> 00:14:42,576 he can do nothing outside of God's sovereign 227 00:14:43,153 --> 00:14:46,357 will and permission according to scripture. But 228 00:14:46,918 --> 00:14:50,764 Peter here is reminding us we should be mindful of his 229 00:14:50,860 --> 00:14:53,952 existence. We should be watchful of his 230 00:14:54,064 --> 00:14:57,878 tactics and his methods and his goals as they are revealed to 231 00:14:57,894 --> 00:15:01,563 us through scripture. And he's using the same method here on 232 00:15:01,659 --> 00:15:05,248 Jesus in the wilderness that he did in the garden all those years 233 00:15:05,281 --> 00:15:08,848 ago. And he still uses on us today. If you are the 234 00:15:08,848 --> 00:15:12,406 Son of God, like God says you are. So this 235 00:15:12,406 --> 00:15:16,219 moment is following the baptism of Jesus, where God says, this is my 236 00:15:16,267 --> 00:15:19,938 Son. So the devil is immediately saying, 237 00:15:20,212 --> 00:15:24,061 did God really say? Again, casting doubt on what 238 00:15:24,061 --> 00:15:27,580 God has already and really said. We notice here, 239 00:15:28,177 --> 00:15:31,150 Jesus' response to Satan with every 240 00:15:31,246 --> 00:15:35,035 temptation is the word of God. What God 241 00:15:35,035 --> 00:15:38,771 has already spoken. Okay. The first temptation to turn 242 00:15:38,868 --> 00:15:42,219 stones into bread is an appeal to 243 00:15:42,235 --> 00:15:45,988 Jesus's God-given desire to eat. This is something 244 00:15:46,004 --> 00:15:49,639 we all have. So the enemy likes to try to invert 245 00:15:49,639 --> 00:15:53,389 and pervert desires that God himself has put in us, 246 00:15:53,389 --> 00:15:57,226 put in each one of us. God has given us the good desire 247 00:15:57,226 --> 00:16:00,972 to delight in food and drink, The enemy tempts us to 248 00:16:00,972 --> 00:16:04,094 overconsumption. God has created us to be 249 00:16:04,094 --> 00:16:07,751 worshipers. The enemy tempts us to bring worship 250 00:16:07,751 --> 00:16:11,588 upon ourselves. God has given us the good desire for 251 00:16:11,588 --> 00:16:14,711 physical intimacy within the covenant of 252 00:16:14,711 --> 00:16:18,457 marriage. The enemy tempts us to pursue pleasures 253 00:16:18,457 --> 00:16:22,205 of that gift outside the boundaries of what God has 254 00:16:22,205 --> 00:16:26,042 designed it for. And that list just goes on and on and 255 00:16:26,042 --> 00:16:29,587 on. And on, on. This is what I noticed about 256 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:33,431 Jesus. He does not go to God and 257 00:16:33,593 --> 00:16:37,252 ask God to make exceptions for his or to his 258 00:16:37,381 --> 00:16:40,444 word. He trusts that God's word speaks what is best. 259 00:16:43,228 --> 00:16:46,625 We are not called to bring the word of God into submission to our 260 00:16:46,625 --> 00:16:50,408 desires. We are called to submit our desires to the 261 00:16:50,408 --> 00:16:54,191 word of God. We are not called to bring the word 262 00:16:54,191 --> 00:16:57,884 of God into submission to our desires. We're called to submit 263 00:16:58,028 --> 00:17:01,737 our desires to the word of God. I once heard this story, 264 00:17:01,801 --> 00:17:05,510 it's actually last week, uh, of a pastor that was interviewing for a 265 00:17:05,510 --> 00:17:09,251 staff position at a church. And he got all the way through the interviewing process 266 00:17:09,765 --> 00:17:13,457 and he got that last interview with the senior pastor. And the senior 267 00:17:13,457 --> 00:17:16,909 pastor was asking him about his home life, like it was about his wife. And 268 00:17:16,909 --> 00:17:20,618 the guy said, Well, me and my partner, we're not married because we don't believe 269 00:17:20,618 --> 00:17:24,151 in marriage in the traditional sense, but we're committed to each other. We 270 00:17:24,279 --> 00:17:27,426 love each other. We're going to live with each other forever. We already live with 271 00:17:27,426 --> 00:17:31,023 each other. And you know what? We prayed about it and 272 00:17:31,103 --> 00:17:34,716 we feel peace. And the lead pastor, no joke, 273 00:17:34,796 --> 00:17:37,895 had to look him in the eye and said, I don't know what voice 274 00:17:38,570 --> 00:17:42,391 gave you that peace, but it certainly wasn't God's. Okay. 275 00:17:43,949 --> 00:17:47,306 Here's what God's voice sounds like regarding this. 1 Corinthians 7:9, 276 00:17:47,885 --> 00:17:51,708 if they cannot exercise self-control, then they should marry, for 277 00:17:51,756 --> 00:17:55,579 it is better to marry than to burn with passion. So this is 278 00:17:55,852 --> 00:17:59,627 a good takeaway. The Holy Spirit will not lead 279 00:17:59,627 --> 00:18:03,273 us in opposition to the words that God himself has breathed 280 00:18:03,386 --> 00:18:06,984 out for us. The Holy Spirit will not lead us in 281 00:18:07,161 --> 00:18:10,502 opposition to the words that God has breathed out for us. 282 00:18:11,208 --> 00:18:14,369 And one of the interesting things 283 00:18:15,123 --> 00:18:17,737 through this, and we don't— I don't have time to make all the connections, but 284 00:18:17,754 --> 00:18:21,588 Jesus is replying using Deuteronomy 6 and 285 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:25,550 8, which is where we find Israel struggling through the wilderness as 286 00:18:25,614 --> 00:18:29,368 well. So we have all these amazing parallels of the garden and 287 00:18:29,785 --> 00:18:33,299 Israel struggling through the wilderness, and now Jesus in the wilderness. 288 00:18:33,475 --> 00:18:37,162 And this is the arc of the Redemptive story. 289 00:18:37,162 --> 00:18:40,952 It's showing us, guys, that Jesus will stand 290 00:18:40,952 --> 00:18:44,537 faithfully where Adam failed. Jesus will 291 00:18:44,537 --> 00:18:47,917 stand faithfully where Israel failed. 292 00:18:47,917 --> 00:18:51,399 Jesus will stand faithfully where we all 293 00:18:51,399 --> 00:18:54,985 fail as well. Jesus's second temptation, 294 00:18:54,985 --> 00:18:58,570 something that I see really affecting and 295 00:18:58,570 --> 00:19:01,643 challenging the church and lives of 296 00:19:01,643 --> 00:19:05,434 believers today, and that is scripture that 297 00:19:05,434 --> 00:19:08,916 is misquoted, misapplied and used out of 298 00:19:08,916 --> 00:19:12,707 context. Matthew 4:6, Satan says— he shifts 299 00:19:12,707 --> 00:19:16,498 now— it is written, and begins quoting Psalm 300 00:19:16,498 --> 00:19:19,982 91:11. That should floor us. That should 301 00:19:19,982 --> 00:19:21,314 bring us pause. 302 00:19:23,530 --> 00:19:26,716 Satan knows scripture well enough to quote it 303 00:19:27,285 --> 00:19:29,788 and use it against us deceptively. 304 00:19:31,094 --> 00:19:34,673 So it isn't always just like the obvious lies that we need to test 305 00:19:34,801 --> 00:19:38,042 against the word. Many times it's subtle omissions, 306 00:19:39,021 --> 00:19:42,295 distortions of truth that we need to be testing 307 00:19:42,728 --> 00:19:46,275 against God's word. When we pull up Psalm 91:11, and I'm going to 308 00:19:46,483 --> 00:19:50,206 add verse 12 to it, 'cause I think it's pretty interesting. This is what I 309 00:19:50,206 --> 00:19:53,720 see. For he will command his angels concerning you to 310 00:19:53,801 --> 00:19:57,186 guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands. 311 00:19:57,812 --> 00:20:01,371 So that you will not strike your foot against the stone. You will tread on 312 00:20:01,403 --> 00:20:05,010 the lion and the cobra. You will trample the great 313 00:20:05,010 --> 00:20:08,312 lion and the serpent. First of all, super 314 00:20:08,312 --> 00:20:12,031 convenient that Satan did not go to verse 12 in this. 315 00:20:13,377 --> 00:20:17,064 Super convenient. Secondly, within the 316 00:20:17,064 --> 00:20:20,302 verse that he quoted, he skipped guard you in all your ways. 317 00:20:21,617 --> 00:20:25,368 And that word, uh, word ways there is the Hebrew word Derek. It's not 318 00:20:25,368 --> 00:20:28,894 connected to the name that we know Derek, but figuratively it, it 319 00:20:28,911 --> 00:20:32,733 reflects Uh, it, um, connects to God's divine path 320 00:20:32,845 --> 00:20:36,541 for us, his ordered steps for us. So Psalm 321 00:20:36,541 --> 00:20:39,882 91 is not telling us to go and throw ourselves 322 00:20:40,380 --> 00:20:44,140 in front of lions and serpents in order to force God's hand 323 00:20:44,172 --> 00:20:47,610 of protection and provision so then we can learn to trust him. 324 00:20:48,204 --> 00:20:51,192 Okay. It's a promise 325 00:20:52,028 --> 00:20:55,578 that we can trust God to provide provision and 326 00:20:55,578 --> 00:20:59,055 protection In his wisdom as he orders our 327 00:20:59,055 --> 00:21:02,147 steps and in his timing and not ours. 328 00:21:03,065 --> 00:21:06,729 And what I love about this is at the end of Matthew 4, the 329 00:21:06,924 --> 00:21:10,623 angels do in fact come and minister to Jesus 330 00:21:11,710 --> 00:21:15,125 in God's timing. So 331 00:21:15,465 --> 00:21:19,223 simply hearing someone quote scripture is not enough 332 00:21:19,255 --> 00:21:23,084 to know that what they are saying is from God. The question 333 00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:26,859 is not only is this in the Bible, the question is, is that what the 334 00:21:26,891 --> 00:21:29,671 Bible means when that is said? 335 00:21:31,148 --> 00:21:34,666 And that this, guys, is like one of the reasons you often hear us up 336 00:21:34,682 --> 00:21:38,249 here say, Lord, will it— will you let anything that is of me fall 337 00:21:38,377 --> 00:21:40,980 away? We are fallible. Okay. 338 00:21:42,136 --> 00:21:45,429 But we also say, test every word that we say. 339 00:21:46,008 --> 00:21:48,979 Okay. You should be doing that. We all wanna be students of the word. 340 00:21:49,928 --> 00:21:53,711 And we have to contend with this kind of thing a lot in today's culture 341 00:21:53,711 --> 00:21:57,397 because we live in what I like to call catchphrase Christianity 342 00:21:57,493 --> 00:22:00,506 culture. This is the 343 00:22:00,717 --> 00:22:03,940 condensing or watering down of biblical truth 344 00:22:04,686 --> 00:22:07,245 into these small, palatable, 345 00:22:08,104 --> 00:22:11,468 marketable, easy-to-retain catchphrases 346 00:22:13,198 --> 00:22:16,676 that, in my opinion, are just unable to properly communicate the 347 00:22:16,676 --> 00:22:20,516 scope of the truth in scripture. So how many of 348 00:22:20,516 --> 00:22:24,094 us have heard this phrase, God will not give you more than you can handle? 349 00:22:26,410 --> 00:22:29,767 See, here's the deal. Everybody laughs at that, but nobody raises their hand. 350 00:22:30,542 --> 00:22:33,318 In first service, like, no one raised their hand, and I thought I was crazy 351 00:22:33,318 --> 00:22:35,077 and I was gonna have to take it off. But then when I asked it 352 00:22:35,077 --> 00:22:38,801 again, like, 20 people raised their hands. So let me ask again, how 353 00:22:38,801 --> 00:22:42,498 many of us have heard the phrase, God will not give you more than you 354 00:22:42,498 --> 00:22:46,025 can handle? Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. I thought I was 355 00:22:46,057 --> 00:22:49,776 crazy. We'll go to point 3. No. So this is what cracks 356 00:22:49,824 --> 00:22:53,319 me up. Taking that in concept, somebody goes up to 357 00:22:53,415 --> 00:22:56,445 Job, right? Says, brother Job, 358 00:22:57,342 --> 00:23:00,789 you're going through it, man. Like, I know what happened to your 359 00:23:00,789 --> 00:23:04,075 animals, stolen, killed. I know what happened to your 360 00:23:04,075 --> 00:23:07,522 servants, your family taken out in the most horrible way. 361 00:23:07,842 --> 00:23:11,513 Your wife is all crazy and, and mad at you and all this 362 00:23:11,561 --> 00:23:14,831 stuff. And also all these sores and these boils, but I've got some good news. 363 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,805 Good news, man. Be encouraged. 364 00:23:20,165 --> 00:23:23,618 The Lord would not give you more than you can handle. That's 365 00:23:23,618 --> 00:23:27,063 crazy. Don't say that. 366 00:23:27,836 --> 00:23:30,525 That's crazy. 367 00:23:32,957 --> 00:23:35,821 Sometimes it's just best to be quiet and hurt with people. 368 00:23:36,597 --> 00:23:40,335 Compassion. Now that phrase is really well-intentioned. 369 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,181 It's not like the same heart that Satan is using. But we 370 00:23:44,181 --> 00:23:48,006 have to be very careful because depending on how, when, and when 371 00:23:48,038 --> 00:23:51,754 we use that phrase and what we mean under the surface, that may not be 372 00:23:52,126 --> 00:23:55,957 truly consistent with God's voice in scripture. Here's why I say that. 373 00:23:56,005 --> 00:23:58,721 This is 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. 374 00:24:00,548 --> 00:24:04,021 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction 375 00:24:04,462 --> 00:24:08,247 we experienced in Asia. For we were so 376 00:24:08,568 --> 00:24:12,143 utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of 377 00:24:12,255 --> 00:24:15,878 life itself. So this thing that's happening to us, 378 00:24:16,102 --> 00:24:19,581 so beyond our strength, we wanted to die. That 379 00:24:19,581 --> 00:24:23,365 sounds like beyond what they can handle. Indeed, we felt 380 00:24:23,397 --> 00:24:26,843 we had received the sentence of death. This feels like a death sentence, 381 00:24:27,164 --> 00:24:30,659 but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on 382 00:24:30,771 --> 00:24:34,378 God who raises the dead. So 383 00:24:34,555 --> 00:24:38,034 with that, it feels like Paul is saying, you know what, he does allow 384 00:24:38,403 --> 00:24:42,187 more than we can handle. And when he does it, he is allowing it with 385 00:24:42,187 --> 00:24:45,890 a divine purpose in mind that we might not rely on 386 00:24:45,938 --> 00:24:49,530 our own ability to overcome or handle 387 00:24:49,610 --> 00:24:53,426 anything, but we might rely on his presence to sustain 388 00:24:53,474 --> 00:24:57,034 us. Using scripture catchphrases about 389 00:24:57,066 --> 00:25:00,577 scripture out of context may give us a sense of temporary 390 00:25:00,754 --> 00:25:04,497 encouragement, but it cannot give us long-term sustenance 391 00:25:04,545 --> 00:25:07,663 that comes from the truth of the word of God. 392 00:25:09,287 --> 00:25:12,795 And that appears to be consistent with what the enemy is 393 00:25:12,908 --> 00:25:16,546 going after here. Every chance he gets, he wants to 394 00:25:17,963 --> 00:25:21,564 misdirect and take our attention away from God who can sustain 395 00:25:21,677 --> 00:25:24,724 us and turn our attention towards temporary, 396 00:25:24,999 --> 00:25:28,618 momentary satisfaction. So about 13 or 397 00:25:28,618 --> 00:25:32,402 14 years ago, I was newly saved 398 00:25:32,643 --> 00:25:35,609 and I was just going through the most incredibly difficult, 399 00:25:36,266 --> 00:25:39,345 spiritually challenging season of suffering. 400 00:25:40,083 --> 00:25:43,642 And I was suffering through things that certainly felt like more than I could handle. 401 00:25:43,851 --> 00:25:46,865 And because I was so new to the Lord and new to his word, I 402 00:25:46,897 --> 00:25:50,361 really didn't know anything about what the word said regarding my 403 00:25:50,361 --> 00:25:54,145 suffering or how to process it. And someone came along and shared 404 00:25:54,193 --> 00:25:56,897 this verse with me. This is James 1:2-4. 405 00:25:58,799 --> 00:26:02,379 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various 406 00:26:02,492 --> 00:26:06,215 kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 407 00:26:07,832 --> 00:26:11,638 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, 408 00:26:11,702 --> 00:26:15,443 lacking in nothing. And when I heard that, it pierced my 409 00:26:15,508 --> 00:26:19,212 heart. I knew this is an important verse— verses. I need to 410 00:26:19,261 --> 00:26:22,952 hold on to this. But honestly, I was in such a fog 411 00:26:23,113 --> 00:26:26,352 of what I was going through. I really didn't know what to do with that 412 00:26:26,884 --> 00:26:30,669 to help me through. Okay. So I remember going to Pastor Wayne. 413 00:26:31,488 --> 00:26:35,248 Everybody needs a Pastor Wayne in their life. Okay. And 414 00:26:35,489 --> 00:26:39,169 asking him about it and him just patiently walking me through those 415 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:42,961 verses. It kind of felt like, uh, in Acts there's an Ethiopian 416 00:26:42,977 --> 00:26:46,753 man who's trying to read the book of Isaiah and Philip hears this and runs 417 00:26:46,753 --> 00:26:49,690 over to him and says, do you understand what you're reading? And he goes, how 418 00:26:49,755 --> 00:26:53,449 can I understand it if nobody guides me through this? Like, we need 419 00:26:53,449 --> 00:26:57,191 people to guide us through these things, being led 420 00:26:57,223 --> 00:27:00,885 by the Holy Spirit, of course. And Pastor Wayne was doing that. He was showing 421 00:27:00,917 --> 00:27:04,547 me the scripture is clear to say here, there 422 00:27:04,612 --> 00:27:08,290 are joys and there are trials. God 423 00:27:08,290 --> 00:27:12,032 intends for these trials to produce a fruit in you that you might not 424 00:27:12,225 --> 00:27:14,618 otherwise get if you weren't going through this. 425 00:27:16,016 --> 00:27:19,567 And he gave special attention to the count it all joy thing, and he gave 426 00:27:19,567 --> 00:27:23,246 me some real practical application here. He said, get a 427 00:27:23,246 --> 00:27:26,909 pen and paper, write down joy at the top of one 428 00:27:27,022 --> 00:27:30,605 column and trials at the top of one column. Write down all your joys 429 00:27:31,183 --> 00:27:34,558 and then all of your trials, and then take all your trials and 430 00:27:34,815 --> 00:27:37,626 literally move them over to the joy column. 431 00:27:38,574 --> 00:27:42,293 Count it all up. Count it all joy. And give thanks to 432 00:27:42,293 --> 00:27:45,900 God because the struggles and the suffering 433 00:27:46,078 --> 00:27:49,231 that you're going through is not meaningless. 434 00:27:52,654 --> 00:27:56,340 And that was so meaningful for me because 435 00:27:56,373 --> 00:28:00,123 he wasn't diminishing or discounting my trials down 436 00:28:00,172 --> 00:28:03,399 to something that I could just get over myself with enough 437 00:28:03,496 --> 00:28:06,548 willpower. He was simply pointing me to the word. 438 00:28:08,381 --> 00:28:12,124 The word shows that my suffering has purpose, that God is not 439 00:28:12,333 --> 00:28:16,011 distant from it, and that he is walking with 440 00:28:16,011 --> 00:28:19,690 me through it. This is evident in Matthew 4, because we remember the 441 00:28:19,706 --> 00:28:23,465 Holy Spirit led Jesus into this wilderness. I have 442 00:28:23,481 --> 00:28:26,276 no doubt that the Holy Spirit was with him this whole time. 443 00:28:27,416 --> 00:28:30,308 God's word studied and shared and taught and 444 00:28:30,468 --> 00:28:33,344 understood in proper context is 445 00:28:33,376 --> 00:28:34,452 sustenance. 446 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:40,575 Life-sustaining. Those— that truth, those truths that Pastor Wayne helped me in have 447 00:28:40,575 --> 00:28:44,339 served me through multiple times rough 448 00:28:44,451 --> 00:28:48,038 patches and suffering that I've gone through in my life. Man shall not live on 449 00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:51,414 bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. 450 00:28:53,519 --> 00:28:57,079 So when I looked up that phrase, God won't give you more than you can 451 00:28:57,095 --> 00:29:00,380 handle, try to figure out where that comes from, my searches 452 00:29:00,412 --> 00:29:03,989 suggested it was most likely some amalgamation of 453 00:29:03,989 --> 00:29:07,484 1 Corinthians 10:12-14, which says this. 454 00:29:09,522 --> 00:29:12,974 Maybe. There we go. Therefore, let anyone who 455 00:29:12,974 --> 00:29:16,087 thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 456 00:29:17,930 --> 00:29:21,530 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. 457 00:29:23,238 --> 00:29:26,623 God is faithful, and he will not let you be 458 00:29:26,623 --> 00:29:30,004 tempted beyond your ability. But with the 459 00:29:30,004 --> 00:29:33,090 temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, 460 00:29:35,216 --> 00:29:38,522 that you may be able to endure it. And therefore, my beloved, 461 00:29:38,586 --> 00:29:42,328 flee from idolatry. So we 462 00:29:42,376 --> 00:29:45,904 can see where that idea of that phrase comes from. We read those 463 00:29:46,001 --> 00:29:49,059 verses, we see it's more about our temptation than it is our suffering, 464 00:29:51,906 --> 00:29:55,641 which brings us back to Matthew 4. And 465 00:29:55,641 --> 00:29:59,031 we notice here that in God's faithfulness, 466 00:30:00,830 --> 00:30:04,655 he has changed our ability in some way to be able 467 00:30:04,688 --> 00:30:08,319 to choose God and flee from idols that we didn't have 468 00:30:08,352 --> 00:30:11,891 before the cross. And his faithfulness 469 00:30:11,891 --> 00:30:15,644 provided the way of escape. And I want to point out that that is singular 470 00:30:16,401 --> 00:30:19,220 and not plural. The way of escape. 471 00:30:20,458 --> 00:30:24,062 So not overcoming temptation in my own 472 00:30:24,095 --> 00:30:27,586 strength, of course, but through Christ in me. 473 00:30:29,780 --> 00:30:32,266 In the final temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, 474 00:30:33,509 --> 00:30:36,915 Satan takes Jesus to a very high mountain, shows him the 475 00:30:36,915 --> 00:30:40,658 kingdoms of the world and their glory, and says this: All these I 476 00:30:40,690 --> 00:30:43,851 will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. 477 00:30:45,022 --> 00:30:47,565 This is what we need to understand. Jesus, 478 00:30:48,306 --> 00:30:52,073 prophesied Messiah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, 479 00:30:52,346 --> 00:30:56,131 these kingdoms and this glory have all been appointed and promised 480 00:30:56,131 --> 00:30:59,723 to Him by His Father. But Satan is 481 00:30:59,916 --> 00:31:03,187 tempting Jesus in a very subtle 482 00:31:04,344 --> 00:31:05,280 and sinister way. 483 00:31:08,952 --> 00:31:12,454 Satan is suggesting that there is a way To have all the 484 00:31:12,518 --> 00:31:16,356 kingdoms and all of the glory without any sacrifice. 485 00:31:19,690 --> 00:31:23,071 A crown without a cross, glory 486 00:31:23,264 --> 00:31:26,581 without suffering, kingdom without obedience. 487 00:31:27,531 --> 00:31:31,129 And this is the voice, the lie of the enemy that the people of God 488 00:31:31,469 --> 00:31:33,990 have bought into far too often. 489 00:31:35,187 --> 00:31:38,856 To have the benefits of Christ without embracing the call 490 00:31:38,985 --> 00:31:42,665 to sacrifice and joyful obedience in him, 491 00:31:43,342 --> 00:31:47,028 as Pastor Wayne led us last week, chasing the living 492 00:31:47,144 --> 00:31:49,179 water but forsaking the fountain. 493 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,666 Jesus's response to this lie: Begone, Satan! 494 00:31:54,763 --> 00:31:58,487 For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only 495 00:31:58,487 --> 00:32:02,253 shall you serve. Now Jesus here is quoting Deuteronomy 496 00:32:02,285 --> 00:32:06,116 6:13, and that verse falls in the middle of an address 497 00:32:06,228 --> 00:32:09,979 to God's people Israel, where it actually starts in verse 4. And this 498 00:32:10,075 --> 00:32:12,688 is what it says: Hear, 499 00:32:13,858 --> 00:32:17,432 O Israel! Hear, O Israel! The Lord our 500 00:32:17,464 --> 00:32:21,263 God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 501 00:32:21,311 --> 00:32:25,062 God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with 502 00:32:25,142 --> 00:32:28,300 all of your might. So the first directive given in this 503 00:32:28,524 --> 00:32:32,323 address to those who are being called to hear the voice of their Father 504 00:32:32,612 --> 00:32:36,379 And respond to his voice is to turn our hearts and our 505 00:32:36,379 --> 00:32:40,226 thoughts and our affections to him and worship. 506 00:32:41,573 --> 00:32:45,020 So Jesus this whole time has not 507 00:32:45,276 --> 00:32:48,979 been showing us how to overcome sin by 508 00:32:49,204 --> 00:32:52,682 Bible memory verses. Okay? It's much 509 00:32:52,955 --> 00:32:56,049 deeper than that. This was not a supernatural 510 00:32:56,177 --> 00:32:58,437 JBQ competition. 511 00:33:01,460 --> 00:33:04,951 Jesus's words, God's words flowing through Jesus, 512 00:33:05,257 --> 00:33:08,813 were flowing from a heart that not only knew and 513 00:33:08,813 --> 00:33:12,509 trusted the words of his Father, but he also found 514 00:33:12,509 --> 00:33:15,810 supreme satisfaction in the Father 515 00:33:15,826 --> 00:33:19,517 himself. John Piper says this: sin is 516 00:33:19,614 --> 00:33:22,432 what we do when our hearts are not satisfied in God. 517 00:33:24,987 --> 00:33:28,087 No one sins out of duty or obligation. 518 00:33:29,676 --> 00:33:32,919 None of us wake up and go, I need to sin today. Let me get 519 00:33:32,919 --> 00:33:36,759 that off my checklist. We sin because it feels good 520 00:33:36,791 --> 00:33:40,620 and it holds some promise of happiness. John 521 00:33:40,669 --> 00:33:44,391 Piper continues, I know of no other way to triumph over 522 00:33:44,391 --> 00:33:47,952 sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a 523 00:33:47,952 --> 00:33:50,421 superior satisfaction in God. 524 00:33:54,058 --> 00:33:57,570 That's what I want. That's what I 525 00:33:57,699 --> 00:34:00,390 want for all of us— superior 526 00:34:00,390 --> 00:34:02,960 satisfaction in God. 527 00:34:07,228 --> 00:34:10,998 The temptations that Christ faced in Matthew 528 00:34:10,998 --> 00:34:14,444 4 was not the end of the 529 00:34:14,509 --> 00:34:18,256 temptations that he would face. That voice 530 00:34:18,645 --> 00:34:22,043 that left and was waiting for that opportune time 531 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:25,861 comes back again at the cross 532 00:34:27,932 --> 00:34:30,859 with that same lie again. Matthew 533 00:34:30,859 --> 00:34:34,546 27:40. If you are the Son of God, 534 00:34:36,490 --> 00:34:40,154 come down from that cross, throw yourself 535 00:34:40,223 --> 00:34:44,024 down. Guys, I'm 536 00:34:44,073 --> 00:34:47,833 so glad Jesus did not listen to that 537 00:34:47,833 --> 00:34:51,474 voice. That was 538 00:34:51,653 --> 00:34:53,158 not the voice of the Father. 539 00:34:55,357 --> 00:34:58,333 Through his perfect sacrifice and obedience to God, 540 00:34:58,996 --> 00:35:02,813 Jesus has reconciled what sin had separated. He 541 00:35:02,813 --> 00:35:06,593 himself became the way for those that put their faith and trust in 542 00:35:06,707 --> 00:35:10,223 him. Making a way for us to hear and 543 00:35:10,402 --> 00:35:14,069 know and love and delight in the voice of our 544 00:35:14,134 --> 00:35:17,926 Father again. Could I 545 00:35:17,926 --> 00:35:21,501 have a few people to pray? And if you would 546 00:35:21,501 --> 00:35:22,736 stand with me this morning. 547 00:35:31,072 --> 00:35:34,656 If you find yourself struggling this morning to hear 548 00:35:35,029 --> 00:35:38,459 God's voice, If you're struggling through the wilderness, 549 00:35:39,037 --> 00:35:42,315 struggling with your love for his word, struggling 550 00:35:42,974 --> 00:35:46,734 to overcome the same old temptations, the same old lies, 551 00:35:47,152 --> 00:35:50,301 struggling to see the joy of the cross that was once 552 00:35:50,542 --> 00:35:54,351 so clear to you, I want 553 00:35:54,463 --> 00:35:57,822 to end with the voice of your Father in heaven 554 00:35:58,336 --> 00:36:01,839 from Revelation 22:17. Come. 555 00:36:04,058 --> 00:36:06,453 Let the one who is thirsty come. 556 00:36:07,835 --> 00:36:11,499 Let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water 557 00:36:11,708 --> 00:36:15,420 of life come. So this morning, if that's you, 558 00:36:16,047 --> 00:36:19,678 please come. Let us encourage you and pray for you 559 00:36:20,546 --> 00:36:24,265 that you would see the goodness of God and 560 00:36:24,265 --> 00:36:27,919 put— and have joy and satisfaction in him and his word. 561 00:36:28,146 --> 00:36:28,503 Let's sing.