Renewed: Overcoming Temptation Through the Truth

• Temptation and Identity [00:38:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the devil attacks identity ('If you are the Son of God') to create doubt, contrasting the enemy's desire to make us 'believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs' with God's desire for us to 'doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs.'
• Spiritual Warfare and Community [00:37:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor notes that hunger, tiredness, and isolation make one a 'sitting duck for the enemy,' emphasizing the necessity of community and people to help overcome temptation.
• Post-Spiritual High Vulnerability [00:37:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns that 'often after the high holy moments you have with the Lord... you might walk through the valley of the shadow of death,' citing Jesus' transition from baptism to wilderness temptation as the pattern.
• Temptation and Sanctification [00:40:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that temptation does not disappear with age or maturity; instead, as one grows in Christ, conviction increases, leading to the realization that sanctification is a lifelong process where one sins less but feels worse due to heightened spiritual sensitivity.
• Identity and the Enemy's Tactics [00:39:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the devil attacks a believer's identity to confuse them about who they are in Christ, urging believers to doubt their doubts and believe their beliefs in Jesus rather than believing their doubts.
• Renewal of the Mind [00:45:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the analogy of pouring concrete and painting, the pastor illustrates that renewing the mind requires stripping away old worldly patterns and lies before applying the new truth of God's Word, rather than just adding on new behaviors.
• Spiritual Warfare and Willpower [00:48:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor debunks 'beach ball theology' (sin management via willpower), explaining that human effort inevitably fails, and true victory comes from being strong in the Lord's might and understanding that believers fight from victory, not for it.
• Spiritual Warfare and Identity of the Enemy [00:50:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that the enemy is not human (flesh and blood) but a defeated spiritual force (the devil) who uses indirect tactics like misinformation and lies rather than frontal attacks because he knows he is already defeated.
• The Tactics of Deception [00:54:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that the enemy tempts and tricks believers through 'whispers' and lies, such as feelings of condemnation or the thought that the sermon doesn't apply to them, aiming to lure them away from truth.
• The Armor of God and Scripture [00:56:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the full armor of God directly to Scripture, identifying the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit as all being rooted in or derived from knowing and abiding in God's Word.
• The Nature of Truth vs. The Devil [00:58:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using John 8, the pastor contrasts Jesus' teaching that abiding in His word brings truth and freedom with the devil's nature as the 'father of lies' who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.
• The Nature of the Devil [01:00:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the devil as a liar and murderer who uses repackaged lies to steal, kill, and destroy.
• Baptismal Vows [01:01:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the sermon theme to baptism, highlighting the question of rejecting the ways of the world and demonic connections.
• The Three Categories of Sin [01:03:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor breaks down 1 John 2:16 into 'lust of the flesh' (desire to feel), 'lust of the eyes' (desire to have), and 'pride of life' (desire to be/status).
• Temptation and Strategy [01:06:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using a fishing analogy, the pastor explains how the devil tests different baits until he catches the individual, emphasizing the need to know one's specific vulnerabilities.
• The Genesis Deception [01:08:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes the serpent's tactic in Genesis 3, showing how it began with doubting God's word ('Did God actually say?') and led to the three sins.
• The Three Temptations (Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, Pride of Life) [01:11:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor maps the temptations of Eve and Jesus to the categories of 1 John 2:16, explaining how the enemy uses these specific lies to question identity and God's word.
• The Authority of Scripture ('It is Written') [01:14:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes Jesus' response to temptation, highlighting that rooting one's life in the Word of God is the primary defense against the enemy's lies and feelings.
• Feelings vs. Truth [01:15:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that feelings are 'decent guides' but 'terrible gods,' and that believers should proclaim God's truth even when their feelings do not align with it.
• Practical Application (Identifying Lies) [01:20:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor gives 'homework' to identify specific lies (categorized by lust of the flesh, eyes, or pride of life) and find corresponding biblical truths to counter them.
• The Lie of Money [01:21:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies a specific lie that money tells: 'If you love me, I'll love you back,' promising false satisfaction and security, and counters it with Matthew 6.
• Money and Materialism [01:22:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies money as a liar that promises satisfaction and security but is ultimately a deception, citing Matthew 6 to urge storing treasures in heaven.
• Sexual Immorality and Purity [01:23:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the cultural lie that sex is only physical, defining marriage biblically and citing 1 Corinthians 6 and Job 31 to urge fleeing sexual immorality and making covenants with one's eyes.
• Identity in Christ vs. Sin [01:25:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor debunks the lie that a person is defined by their past sins (divorce, addiction, etc.), asserting instead that believers are 'new creations' in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that only Jesus defines identity.
• Fulfillment in Jesus [01:28:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the desires for flesh, eyes, and pride of life are only truly satisfied in Jesus, who offers peace, eternal home, and sonship.

• Sermon Illustration [00:35:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his early church experiences in Southern Baptist churches, where the message was often reduced to 'God is good you're bad try harder,' and a specific preacher's claim that a real Christian wouldn't even want to sin, which caused the pastor confusion and fear about his own thoughts.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about being saved in 1952 and still facing the same temptations at age 52, citing John MacArthur's quote that as you grow in Christ, you will sin less but feel worse.
• Sermon Illustration [00:45:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy of pouring concrete into a form to explain the concept of 'conformity' to the world's pattern, contrasting it with the need to be 'transformed' by renewing the mind.
• Sermon Illustration [00:47:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analogy of applying new fingernail polish or painting a car, explaining that you must strip off the old finish before applying the new, illustrating how to renew the mind by removing old lies.
• Sermon Illustration [00:49:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The 'beach ball theology' illustration: trying to hold a beach ball under water with willpower eventually fails, but Jesus stabs the ball with a pocketknife to drain its power, representing the gospel's power over sin.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > A humorous personal reference to his ex-wife, joking that he didn't believe in the devil until he met her, to illustrate that our real enemy is not flesh and blood (like family or bosses) but spiritual forces.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a humorous anecdote about his ex-wife, joking that he didn't believe in the devil until he met her, to illustrate that human enemies are not the true spiritual adversaries.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a hypothetical scenario of the devil manifesting in a dorm room to illustrate that even the devil knows he will lose and thus avoids direct confrontation, preferring indirect attacks.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a hyperbolic analogy of Canada trying to take over America by 'drowning us in maple syrup' to illustrate that direct frontal attacks by the enemy are ineffective because they are already defeated.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes modern 'bot farms' and algorithmic misinformation campaigns as a real-world example of the indirect, dirty war tactics the enemy uses to divide people.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor confesses a personal tactic for dealing with the enemy's accusations: he agrees with the accuser (e.g., 'I know, right?') to disarm the lie, acknowledging his own failures while relying on God's grace.
• Sermon Illustration [00:57:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references a biblical argument in John 8 where Jesus confronts religious leaders who claim to know God but do not know Him, illustrating the difference between knowing religious words and knowing the Word/Author of God.
• Sermon Illustration [01:02:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares the devil's tactics to a restaurant that only serves repackaged dead fish, cows, and chickens, illustrating that the enemy uses the same three lies repeatedly.
• Sermon Illustration [01:06:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of a bass fisherman in Florida who tries different lures (rattle trap, hula popper, dark purple worm) to catch a fish, representing how the devil tests different temptations until he succeeds.
• Sermon Illustration [01:07:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asks the congregation to imagine a lion has escaped from the zoo and is specifically trying to kill them, illustrating how awareness of the enemy's specific intent should change their behavior and vigilance.
• Sermon Illustration [01:08:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor retells the story of Eve in Genesis 3, analyzing how she added to God's command ('neither shall you touch it') and how the serpent's lie led to the lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life.
• Sermon Illustration [01:22:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of money talking, suggesting it would say 'If you love me, I'll love you back,' promising satisfaction (like a boat) and security (bank accounts), but clarifying this is a lie.
• Sermon Illustration [01:21:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor mentions a church member who created an app called 'Word of God Speak' that categorizes Bible verses by topic (e.g., anxiety) to help believers find truth quickly.
• Sermon Illustration [01:22:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a humorous analogy of what money would say if it could talk, comparing its voice to Larry the Cable Guy, to illustrate money's deceptive promise of love and security.
• Sermon Illustration [01:28:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a real estate analogy, describing Jesus as a real estate agent preparing a place for believers, noting there is 'no HOA in the whole place' to illustrate the peace and permanence of heaven.

• Pastoral Charge [00:30:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > Attend the baptism class and go to the connect centers in the lobby after the service.
• Pastoral Charge [00:39:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > To actively pursue Jesus despite doubts.
• Pastoral Charge [00:44:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > To offer one's entire life to God as an act of worship.
• Pastoral Charge [00:45:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > To resist worldly patterns and actively renew one's thinking.
• Pastoral Charge [00:59:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor invites those unfamiliar with the Bible to remain in the church community, promising to teach them the word of God to help them discover a deep relationship with Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > Leave a church that twists the Word of God and never return.
• Pastoral Charge [01:20:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > Identify personal lies based on the three categories (lust of flesh, eyes, pride of life) and find specific Bible verses to counter them.
• Pastoral Charge [01:23:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > Memorize Matthew 6:21 to combat lies about money and security.
• Pastoral Charge [01:29:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor commands those who feel they need Jesus to stand up, sing, bring offerings, and pray.
• Pastoral Charge [01:31:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor leads the congregation in a verbal declaration of prioritizing God's kingdom and rejecting materialism.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[00:05:06] Let us not be people who just sing that but trust your name are we overcome by the word the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony and this room is filled with testimonies of your resurrection power testimonies of your redeeming nature when we look at calvary we look at everything that you went through so that we could be with you we are at a loss who are we that you would be mindful of us and god we declare in this room in this house tonight

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:24:05] that more miracle signs and wonders will happen at the mention of your name alone.
[00:24:12] We love you.
[00:24:13] We surrender to your power.
[00:24:15] It's in that mighty name of Jesus we pray, in Jesus' name.
[00:24:18] Amen.
[00:24:19] Y'all can take a seat.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:24:21] Amen.
[00:24:22] Welcome to the Church of 1122, where we are a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ.
[00:24:29] It's a joy to get to worship with all of you here at San Pablo and with all of you joining us online, wherever God has you.
[00:24:35] I want to make sure that you are aware of some things happening in the life of the Church of 1122.
[00:24:41] The first one is Night to Shine.
[00:24:44] Now, I don't know if you have ever been to Night to Shine.
[00:24:47] If you hadn't, you should listen to all of these people.
[00:24:49] What they know and what I know is that it is the happiest, most hope-filled, full of joy thing I have ever done in my life.
[00:24:57] It is a prom-style event for our brothers and sisters with disabilities.
[00:25:03] And don't you love Tim Tebow?
[00:25:04] He does these all over the world.
[00:25:07] These are our University of Florida fans on the left.
[00:25:11] He does these all around the world.
[00:25:12] But I want you to know that on February 13th, we're going to have Night to Shine Jacks.
[00:25:17] And you're going to want to be there.
[00:25:19] There's a ton of ways that you can serve.
[00:25:21] You can be a buddy.
[00:25:22] You can be a part of the paparazzi.
[00:25:24] You can be a part of the hospitality.
[00:25:26] There's so many things that you can do.
[00:25:27] And so I would encourage you to go to their website, nighttoshinejacks.com.
[00:25:31] But right now, you should plug in February 13th that evening on your calendar and make sure that you're there.
[00:25:37] Something else I want to make sure that's on your calendar is this Monday night and next Monday night at 630.
[00:25:42] We have Discover Groups here at San Pablo.
[00:25:44] I want to make sure that you know that you need people in your life.
[00:25:49] You need people to celebrate with you, but you also need people to walk with you through the difficult moments.
[00:25:54] And we call that a disciple group.
[00:25:56] And so if you're here tonight and you're not in a disciple group, I want to help you get in one.
[00:26:00] I'm going to be here.
[00:26:01] We're going to have dinner together.
[00:26:03] It's the Grom.
[00:26:04] It's incredible.
[00:26:05] And then we're going to open the Bible.
[00:26:07] We're going to talk about the sermon you're about to hear.
[00:26:08] I'll introduce you to some friends.
[00:26:10] And our prayer is that you will either join a group or we'll help you launch a group because we know that you need people in your life and there are people that need you.
[00:26:17] Speaking of people that need you, look around this room right now.
[00:26:19] There's not a lot of empty seats in this room.
[00:26:21] I want to ask a bunch of you to go on a mission trip with me to our 730 a.m. service or our 422 Sunday afternoon service.
[00:26:28] And here's the deal.
[00:26:29] you think somebody else is going to do it, this is the year to lean in. If you put your yes on the table, come worship with me there. You can come sit with me. I said, right over here. You
[00:26:36] can come sit with me Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon. Right now, we're going to continue to worship through baptism. Baptism is a public proclamation that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. And Jordan and Barry are going to come here and do that. And here's what I want to tell
[00:26:49] you to do. When they come up out of that water, I want you to come up out of your seat and I want you to celebrate with them the goodness of God in their life. Amen? Let's listen to Jordan's

[00:27:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:27:00] testimony. I was raised in a non-religious household. I knew about God, but there wasn't this like developing a relationship with Jesus. I met my boyfriend and he introduced me to Jesus and we like started going to church. Going to church a few times, I started feeling this
[00:27:23] feeling in my heart that was just like leading me towards a relationship with him. And I just said yes to the Lord before. It honestly just felt like my life was meaningless. I was just kind of
[00:27:39] trying to get guidance from people and other things. Now that I've found Jesus, I'm like developing this relationship with him. I'm learning more about him. I just feel like I'm not on this solo journey anymore.
[00:27:55] Baptism for me is just a way to show that I am a Christian and I want to show the world like I'm wanting to walk through life with Jesus.

[00:28:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:28:07] Amen, amen.
[00:28:08] Church, this is Jordan.
[00:28:09] Jordan, you're not on that solo journey anymore, sister.
[00:28:12] I have two questions for you.
[00:28:14] The first is this.
[00:28:14] Do you renounce the ways of this world, the sins from your past, anything dark or demonic you've been connected to and pledge your allegiance to Jesus Christ alone?
[00:28:22] Yes, I do.
[00:28:23] And the second question is, who is Jesus Christ to you?
[00:28:26] My Lord and Savior.
[00:28:27] Amen.
[00:28:27] It's based upon that public proclamation, we baptize you, my Christian sister, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:28:50] I grew up in the Baptist church from an early age.
[00:28:53] I was baptized when I was around six or seven years old and continued to attend church with my parents, maybe into my early teens.
[00:29:05] As I got married, I got a career, I got busy.
[00:29:08] I went to church less and less and less. I was a business executive at a very high level in a very large company, and I let that drive me, you know, rather than glorifying Jesus. I was actually what
[00:29:25] we refer to at 1122 as a one more, and ever since I started, it's probably been a year, a year and a half ago. I am on a journey right now to deepen my relationship with Jesus. I decided that this
[00:29:41] time that I was going to claim my faith publicly. And I know God loves me and I want to be able to love him in a way that I never was able to before. Amen. Church, this is Barry and Barry's crew all

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:29:56] here with him. Barry, this is your faith family and we have a question for you. Do you renounce the sins of your past, the ways of this world, anything dark or demonic you've been connected
[00:30:05] to and pledged to live your life to Christ and Christ alone? I do. And who is Jesus? My Lord and Savior. Amen. Based on that profession of faith, we baptize you, my brother, in the name of the
[00:30:15] Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Church, maybe like Barry, you know that you need to go public with your faith, or maybe you're a crew here tonight with somebody that you know needs to go
[00:30:37] public with their faith. We got a quick baptism class right after the service. You can head to the connect centers in the lobby and those men and women will get you there and we can't wait
[00:30:45] to celebrate with you right now we're going to continue to worship so you can sit down

[00:30:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:30:47] and let's watch this testimony together i grew up in a presbyterian church but i think i was going more for like the attention of others and the girls and things like that so i knew there was god i just didn't know what that relationship was really about freshman year
[00:31:09] high school I got into football. Towards the end of high school I ended up being very good and I started seeing the fruits of that. People gave me more attention. Scholarship offers came my way. It kind of threw me into a world I wasn't ready for. I really started drinking my senior
[00:31:27] year of high school. It became an instant way of life. I was thrown into a world of going out every night. Strangers became people that loved me and that's kind of where I was like other people
[00:31:39] giving me this attention kind of made me understand what my self-worth was based on what they thought of me. I pretty much drank for 20 years. I lost my football career, my education, friends, jobs,
[00:31:57] but I was losing myself as well. It's just very dark. My wife, for some reason, she stuck with me and I did reach a point where I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I didn't know what that meant,
[00:32:12] but I couldn't do it on my own.
[00:32:15] With my wife firmly behind me, urging me, but also standing with me, I decided to go to a treatment center.
[00:32:24] The first time I went to treatment, I took my Bible with me.
[00:32:27] Kind of was like an accessory, but I heard a lot of people saying the word surrender, and I didn't know what that meant.
[00:32:33] I literally opened my Bible.
[00:32:35] I saw the words to be in Christ was to live, and that's when I knew God was the only one that could help me.
[00:32:42] Maybe everything I've done for my entire life can be saved.
[00:32:46] Maybe I can be reborn, because I was definitely dead.
[00:32:50] I absolutely needed God to do for me what I could not do for myself.
[00:32:57] You know, I spent my entire life running from Him.
[00:33:00] But once I allowed myself to receive God, I was definitely a new creation.
[00:33:07] When I first came back home, we went to church that Sunday, And it just happened to be like two Sundays before beach baptism.
[00:33:14] They said, if you want to get baptized.
[00:33:16] And I said, I should have signed up yesterday.
[00:33:19] I was in and out of treatment centers for multiple years.
[00:33:26] And I still think that the devil comes at me a lot.
[00:33:29] But I want to be closer to God.
[00:33:31] You know, my prayer every morning is to lead with love.
[00:33:34] To go from anger to love really doesn't happen overnight for me.
[00:33:38] It didn't happen overnight for me.
[00:33:40] But I want to be more like Jesus every single day.
[00:33:43] I don't want to be like this world.
[00:33:45] I want to be that father, that husband, that lead repenter, the one that leads with love.
[00:33:52] I want to go with God.
[00:33:55] I don't know why he's done for me what I can't do for myself.
[00:33:58] I don't know why he's blessed me and changed me and changed my head and my heart and my life.
[00:34:04] But it is unbelievable.

[00:34:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:34:11] Amen and amen and amen.
[00:34:13] All right, church, grab your Bibles.
[00:34:15] We've got a lot of work to do.
[00:34:15] Matthew chapter 4 is where we're going to be. We're studying the book of Matthew all year.
[00:34:19] You need to get a Bible out. On your phone is fine. A paper copy is maybe finer. This sermon is from the Bible. It's about the Bible. That's what we do here. We teach the Bible. So don't
[00:34:28] just look at me. Get a Bible. All right, good. If you look at it, we're in chapter 4. We're going to do 11 verses, but we're going to be in about 11 different scriptures. So you have to
[00:34:38] bounce around quite a bit. You'll see that the title of it here is called The Temptation of Jesus and so some of this is going to be review if you pay attention once you know you know dozens
[00:34:49] of you do uh then you'll be like haven't heard some of this before yes but you're still sinning yeah so we got to keep covering this and here's why Jesus is tempted in every way that we are
[00:35:02] and when I when I first started going to church I didn't grow up in church maybe you heard me say that before I got saved as a high schooler I started going and I mostly went to southern
[00:35:10] Baptist churches all right and boy they love the Bible they love the Bible and they talked about not sinning a lot a lot mostly it's the only message I really heard God bless them I heard
[00:35:20] every week man God is good you're bad try harder see you next week but nobody told me how they just said don't and sometimes I remember one preacher telling me listen when you really when you become
[00:35:33] a real Christian you're not even going to want to sin and I thought well crap oh was that a sin did I just sinned was that one I don't know okay so I still struggle with temptation even today and
[00:35:50] I'm a professional Christian anybody else in the house struggle with temptation oh good just us and Jesus if you don't I don't even know what to tell you you're so disillusioned I can't even help you
[00:36:04] okay so this sermon is not only how Jesus overcame temptation all right because the Bible says he was tempted in every way that we are that's the book of Hebrews we're going to see Jesus be tempted by
[00:36:17] the devil himself not just his college roommate but his the devil himself is going to try to go after Jesus and then what I really want you to see though is lenses so that we can with the help of
[00:36:29] the word of God and the spirit of God in us overcome temptation and walk in the freedom that Christ has purchased for us so in the book of Philippians and Colossians when Paul tells us
[00:36:40] walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus he's basically just saying listen you have been set free so let us walk in that kind of freedom so here we go Matthew chapter 4 beginning in verse 1
[00:36:50] starts out this way then now you can't just here's all last week's sermon I wish I could have mashed these together but they don't let me preach for two hours straight but that's what this
[00:36:59] was then this is just after Jesus has his high holy moment he has this baptism remember he's Standing in the water, the heavens open up.
[00:37:08] God the Father speaks out loud, behold, my son in whom I am well pleased.
[00:37:14] Here's the thing you got to pay attention to.
[00:37:16] Often after the high holy moments you have with the Lord, pay very close attention because get ready, you might walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
[00:37:24] He's going to go from the water to the dry place in the desert.
[00:37:27] He's going to go from his dad speaking to him, God the Father, to the devil speaking to him.
[00:37:32] That's usually how it works.
[00:37:33] then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil verse 2 and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry do you think he's very hungry
[00:37:45] now it could be preparation but pay attention when you were hungry tired and isolated often times you were a sitting duck for the enemy this is why you need people you need community verse 3
[00:38:00] and the tempter that's what the Bible calls the devil here And the tempter came, and here's what he says to Jesus.
[00:38:09] If you are the Son of God.
[00:38:12] Now, what did God just say?
[00:38:14] Behold, my Son.
[00:38:17] And the first thing the tempter is going to do is he is going to lie to Jesus, because that's what the devil does.
[00:38:25] He's a liar, and every time he speaks, lies come out of his mouth.
[00:38:29] He is a tempter, and nobody ever amens this.
[00:38:33] temptation is tempting if it's not tempting it's not temptation to you and just because one group of people are tempted by one thing and you're tempted by some other thing does not mean you're more holy than the other group that we are tempted by temptation and the devil's been at
[00:38:54] this a minute and so he's a tempter and he came and he says to Jesus if you are the son of God you see he's a liar and the only thing he wants to do according to John 10 10 is to steal kill and
[00:39:06] destroy you and everything good and godly that you've ever had in your life and the way he's going to start just like he does with Jesus after God the father just spoke out loud behold my son
[00:39:17] in whom I'm well pleased and then right on the heels of that the enemy comes along he's like are you sure are you sure that you're the son of God if you are the son of God you see a part of the
[00:39:29] reason the enemy always goes after our identity is because if we actually knew who we were then we would know what to do. That's right. That the devil doesn't get to tell us what to do. The
[00:39:41] world doesn't get to tell us what to do. Only Jesus tells us who I am. And I know what some of you are like. You're like, yeah, but sometimes I have doubts. Okay, neat. You know what God wants
[00:39:50] you to do with your doubts? Pick up your doubts, follow after Jesus. What the enemy wants you to do is what he wants you to do is believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. And what God wants you to
[00:39:59] do is to doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. And if you knew who you are in him, then we would be able to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ I don't know if you
[00:40:11] ever thought about this but when we talk about temptation I've been a Christian a minute I mean a long time I got saved in high school in 52 do the math it's a lot and I'm still tempted a lot
[00:40:29] a lot and have you ever gotten to the place where you look at your own walk with Jesus and I'm really into it this is not a casual endeavor for me okay I mean I'm all the way in I believe in
[00:40:43] Jesus I love his word I love him I can preach the gospel I get it all I understand and yet I thought I'd be a little further along in my faith journey than I am right now like how in the world are some
[00:40:57] of the same things that tempted me as a 15 year old still tempt me as a 52 year old seems like wouldn't you grow out of that? Well, apparently not. I heard this incredible quote by John
[00:41:08] MacArthur, who's going to be with the Lord now. He was being interviewed. And he's an incredible Bible teacher. Not the sweetest soul you've ever heard from, okay? Pretty direct. And when he was talking to somebody about sanctification, he said this. I love this so much. He says,
[00:41:24] as you grow in Christ, you will sin less and you will feel worse. Isn't that so true?
[00:41:34] When I first got saved, I just thought if I was sober and celibate for several days in a row, killing it, I might be a saint.
[00:41:43] And now I will get the conviction of the Holy Spirit will overcome me like crazy if the tone of my voice isn't right to my wife.
[00:41:50] I think, oh, I'm disqualified from ministry.
[00:41:54] You see, the sanctification process is a thing.
[00:41:56] And we do have an enemy.
[00:41:58] And he's trying to steal, kill, and destroy you.
[00:41:59] And temptation will never go away until you go be with the Lord.
[00:42:03] Hey, listen to this.
[00:42:04] This is crazy.
[00:42:04] we're only three weeks into this year we've had 536 people surrender their life to the lordship of christ this year okay so do you you 536 guess what it's not getting easier it's not gonna it's
[00:42:22] actually gonna get harder that the enemy didn't even really mess with you that much before but now you are his enemy and so it's about to get real and so why then why if you love jesus a
[00:42:32] long time. I know some of you, by the looks of it, you've loved him a long time, okay? I can say that.
[00:42:39] Okay, here's why it doesn't get easier. If you wonder, well, why am I still tempted? Because the moment you got saved, what the Bible says is that your heart of stone was ripped out and that you
[00:42:50] were given a heart of flesh, okay? You were given God's heart. The Bible talks about your soul was taken from death to life. Your eternity is changed forever and ever and ever. You were adopted into
[00:43:01] the family of God all of those things happen in an instant but what didn't happen is God did not give you a new mind and you have the same mind that you have now what is offered to us according
[00:43:14] to Philippians chapter 2 is the mind of Christ but God doesn't reach in and take your brain out and give you a new brain so you have the same family history you have the same upbringing you
[00:43:24] have the same past you have the same birth order all of those things you know the way you were wired that you still have those things so in Romans chapter 12 Paul is going to say this I
[00:43:36] appeal to you therefore brothers and the reason that therefore is there is because in the first eight chapters of the book of Romans Paul just lays out the gospel in a way I don't even have
[00:43:47] time to go over it okay he just says I'm not ashamed of the gospel we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal
[00:43:54] life in Christ Jesus that God demonstrated his love for us in this that why we're yet still sinners Christ died for us that even though we have this internal struggle between sin who is going to save a wretch like me thank Jesus that therefore now there is no condemnation for those
[00:44:09] who encourage Jesus that's about the first eight chapters real quick as fast as I can go and so the chapters 9 10 and 11 are about God's people and their role in in the consummation of all things
[00:44:21] And therefore, based on the gospel and then based on really Israel's role in the consummation of all things, then 12 to the end of the book of Romans is how the gospel changes us and how we ought to live.
[00:44:37] So in 12.1 he says, therefore, since all that's real, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable acceptable I can't say the word you try it acceptable to God which is your
[00:44:55] spiritual worship in other words when you rightly see God for who he is the normative response is that you give your whole life as a living sacrifice to God and you're like okay cool Paul
[00:45:06] how he's gonna be glad you asked there's a two-step process to live a life where you give yourself to God in worship number one he says do not be conformed to this world number two be
[00:45:24] transformed by the renewing of your mind that's that's how you do it well why would you have to transform your transform your mind because you still got the same old sinful mind you still got
[00:45:34] the same patterns and the reason he uses the word conform do not to be conformed to the pattern of this world is conform as a building term and some of you most of this crowd doing our palatka crowd
[00:45:46] is going to know this have you ever poured concrete if you pour con I don't mean pay somebody to do it if you do it here's what you got to do the first thing you do is you build a form then you
[00:45:57] mix the concrete and you pour it into the form and it conforms to the pattern that you built so if you want your pool to be in a kidney shape you make a kidney if you wanted a heart you make
[00:46:07] a heart whatever it is and what Paul is saying is sociologically true that we live in a world that tells us how we ought to do life in our entire life pre-Christ we have been conformed into the
[00:46:22] pattern of this world and so Paul's like don't live like that anymore but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so the world is going to tell you to do sex one way and money one way and
[00:46:35] status one way right and then Paul's gonna be like whoa don't pour yourself into the conformity of the way this world does things but transform your mind how here's how you renew your mind okay
[00:46:49] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect and so here's how you renew something everybody
[00:47:01] knows this ladies when you get new fingernail polish what do they do they don't just add more on your fingernails will be that thick if that's what they just be a big glob of whatever's on
[00:47:15] there okay no no how do you do it if you're going to renew something you got to take off the old and then put on the new right fellas if you're going to paint your car you can't just paint over
[00:47:24] it it'll flake off you got to strip that puppy down you got if you're going to renew the floors You take off the old finish, you put on the new.
[00:47:32] This is what Paul is telling us to do.
[00:47:34] The way that we renew our mind is not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but we identify the old lies that we have bought into mentally, and then we renew our mind by standing on the truth of the word of God.
[00:47:49] So this is very, very important.
[00:47:52] If you flip over to Ephesians chapter 6, this is the preeminent text on temptation and spiritual warfare.
[00:47:59] We did an entire series on this last year, and the reason I want to point this out is because the primary Christian battle to walk with Jesus, it's mostly a battle in the mind.
[00:48:14] Ephesians chapter 6, beginning in verse 10, says this, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
[00:48:20] Whose might?
[00:48:22] Not your might.
[00:48:25] See, I was taught, not explicitly, I don't think people meant to tell me this.
[00:48:30] but but the way it was taught to me is that the good christian life was that of sin management and what you had to do if you were a good christian is that you had to get a hold of your
[00:48:41] sin and be a good christian and we don't drink and smoke and chew and go girls who do and we held that sin down and we tried some of us harder than others but even the best among us if it was
[00:48:57] left up to our own willpower we left defeated every time I call it beach ball theology try to try to hold a beach ball under the water how long can you do it well it depends on who you are you
[00:49:10] know some of you swallow up guys a little longer than others all right but eventually eventually if you were just relying on your own might either a wave hits you in the face or the sunscreen gets
[00:49:21] slippery or your arms get tired and when you let go of the beach ball what happens it does not just casually return to the surface and it explodes in your face and that's what you with just begrudging
[00:49:32] white knuckle submission will lead to the reality of the gospel is is that in my beach ball analogy Jesus walks by with a pocket knife and he stabs your beach ball and just sucks and drains all the
[00:49:43] power out of it so we have an enemy but we've got to be strong in the Lord in the strength of his might and here's how we do this verse 11 put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to
[00:49:55] stand that means fight stand against the schemes the methodia that he's that the enemy's got a game plan against you he has certain methods and what we're going to see is he's been using these
[00:50:07] same methods since the beginning of human history verse 12 for we do not wrestle or fight against flesh and blood you see you think your problem is your boss or you think your problem is the way
[00:50:18] you were raised or you think your problem is is your ex-wife bro she's not your enemy and i know some of you are like, you ain't met my ex-wife. Okay. I mean, I didn't believe in the devil and
[00:50:28] I met her. I go, well, at least, you know, he's got kids. No, no. See, here's the thing.
[00:50:34] What Paul wants us to understand is our battle is not against flesh and blood.
[00:50:38] When we think like spiritual warfare, oftentimes what we think, when we hear the word warfare, we think of like, we think of like World War II, the good guys versus the bad guys. And everybody
[00:50:49] lines up and they attack each other and may the best man win. Well, that is not how it works between God and the enemy you see the bible tells us in the book of revelation that the enemy the
[00:50:59] devil is like a dragon with a mortal head wound that the moment Jesus pushed up on his nail pierced feet and says it is finished he scurps he curbs stomp the devil right in the head and he's got a
[00:51:09] mortal flesh wound and he's flailing around until the last day when he's going to be sent into the lake of fire that's just how it goes so we're not fighting for victory we're fighting from victory
[00:51:20] And since the enemy already knows he's defeated, he's not necessarily going to show up and put a full frontal attack on us.
[00:51:27] Why?
[00:51:27] Because he knows he will lose.
[00:51:30] I mean, like, if the devil of hell came at you and manifested himself, like, at your dorm room tonight, you know, you'd probably call Christians.
[00:51:38] You'd probably pray.
[00:51:39] You'd probably run to God and not from him.
[00:51:42] And then he really knows he's going to lose.
[00:51:43] so much like right now our country has enemies all over the place and one of the primary tactics that they try to attack us as a country with is not a direct frontal attack I mean I've said this
[00:51:57] before but seriously like if Canada wanted to take over America what they gonna do kill us with kindness drown us in maple syrup like they don't have a chance we would just in one second squish
[00:52:09] America that's it right and so there are groups of people all around the world that hate us and so everybody knows this is just this is just common knowledge now there is a misinformation campaign
[00:52:22] going on all the time from places all over the place the people that hate us there are bot farms that feed things into your algorithm that's different than mine algorithm so we'll hate each other and they're doing a great job it's a it's a it's a dirty war campaign of misinformation
[00:52:39] this is what the enemy tries to do with us because he's already defeated and if he can get us if he lies to us and we think these things then we'll believe these things and if we think and believe
[00:52:52] these things and we'll begin to do these things and then he's got us so our battle is not against flesh and blood but our battle is against rulers authorities against the cosmic powers over this
[00:53:04] present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places you see and what the enemy does is the enemy wants to trick you and he wants to bait you down a road that you don't want
[00:53:15] to go down now again if you're if you're new here and you're like you mean to tell me in the year of our lord 2026 you believe in the devil and the demonic I do I do and if you don't you should
[00:53:29] make a fist and punch yourself in the face because you're too dumb to talk to man I mean you just haven't thought about this very much it's just true do you think the evil atrocities around the
[00:53:39] world are just chemical imbalances poor parenting mistakes no no no there's a thief and the only thing he wants to do is kill still and destroy you and if you don't realize there's an enemy if
[00:53:54] you don't wake up every day and you don't think the alarm clock is the is the bell to start the game you're always going to lose and so he says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood and so
[00:54:09] the primary way the enemy tempts us tricks us lures us is he he gives he lies to us just like he's doing to jesus if you are the son of god i call these the whispers okay ever happened to you
[00:54:25] like maybe rolling into church i haven't been here in a little while and you're like oh thanks of breaking that up, okay, and you feel a little bit guilty, you ever feel condemned? I'm up here
[00:54:37] preaching my brains out about something, and then you get this thought in your mind, well, he doesn't mean you. That doesn't count for you. That just counts for those good church people.
[00:54:46] Where do you think that comes from? You think that's your heavenly father speaking that word over you? And listen, man, I'm preaching a sermon against it right now, and I'm telling you, especially on Thursdays and Sundays, the amount of times I think in my brain, you can't live up
[00:55:01] to what you preach or if they only knew if they only knew like what's going on like how mad you get in the fast lane when those people aren't going fast enough okay whatever and that's like
[00:55:13] the only one I'm gonna say to you I'll confess some stuff to my group and I ain't just telling y'all everything all right so here's what I've found here's what I found when the enemy accuses
[00:55:24] me one of my best tactics is what this is what I do I just agree with him I just agree with him When he goes, who do you think you are?
[00:55:34] How are you going to do a whole series on act like men?
[00:55:36] You don't love your wife like Christ loves the church.
[00:55:38] I just go, I know, right?
[00:55:41] Yeah, it's actually worse than you think because you've only got tape on me and I know the crazy going on in here.
[00:55:47] And even though I can't live up to God's ideal, he still chose me, he still died for me, he still called me, he still anointed me and he uses a fool like me to proclaim
[00:55:58] that the cross is out of this all.
[00:56:02] And so Paul, for the rest of his time, is going to tell us how to fight, how to go to war.
[00:56:07] And what I want you to see here is that it's all rooted right here.
[00:56:10] It's all rooted in his word.
[00:56:12] The way that you put on the full armor of God is that you are invested into his word.
[00:56:18] Verse 13, therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand firm, stand therefore.
[00:56:24] The reason he says stand four times, that means like take a stand or stand your ground.
[00:56:29] It means fight, fight, fight, fight.
[00:56:31] And here's how you do it.
[00:56:32] Having fastened on the belt of truth, that means you're connected to Jesus and his word.
[00:56:37] Having put on the breastplate of righteousness, that's about identity, you learn it through his word.
[00:56:41] And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, the gospel is his word.
[00:56:46] And in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith.
[00:56:49] And the Bible says that faith comes by hearing his word.
[00:56:52] With which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
[00:57:01] This is the primary offensive weapon against the enemy.
[00:57:04] It's not the only offensive weapon because he's also gonna say like pray like a crazy person.
[00:57:08] But the primary offensive weapon against the enemy is his word.
[00:57:13] Now, how does this work?
[00:57:16] John chapter eight.
[00:57:18] Jesus is having an argument with religious people.
[00:57:20] You ever have arguments with religious people?
[00:57:24] If you want it, you can just have my emails if you would like to take over some, all right?
[00:57:29] it's unbelievable all right so in John 8 31 Jesus has this whole discussion oh man some of you make you so mad based on your comments I've read in your emails lately because Jesus is talking to
[00:57:40] religious leaders and he's simply saying this he's saying you don't know God and the religious leaders the Jewish leaders are going what you mean we don't know God we're the children of Abraham and Jesus is like time out one second if you knew the father you would know me because I and the
[00:58:04] father are one and they're like what you talking about and then he goes if you had the faith of Abraham you would know me because Abraham was pumped when he met me and they're like how you
[00:58:18] met Abraham he's been dead for a long time and Jesus says because before there was Abraham I am.
[00:58:25] And they were like, we're going to kill him now.
[00:58:26] That's the context of the talk that they're having here.
[00:58:31] And so here's what Jesus says in John 8, 31.
[00:58:33] He says, so Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
[00:58:42] Have you ever heard a politician say, you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free?
[00:58:45] If they don't directly, if they're tying it to their campaign, another word of God, run for us, run.
[00:58:52] Jesus says, if you abide in my word, abide is a relational term we don't use the word abide very much you know what I mean but abide means like stay close and Jesus is saying you want to know me you want to stay
[00:59:07] close to me you stay close to my word listen if you're going to be a part of this church and I hope you are we are a movement for all people to discover deep in a relationship with Jesus so
[00:59:14] if if today even when I said turn to Matthew and you're like are you Matthew and you don't know one thing yet no problem man you're in the right place we're going to teach it to you all right
[00:59:23] or if you were in Sunday school with Noah sweet all right you wouldn't be here everybody else died but you don't know the bible yet you don't even know that so listen we're going to teach the word
[00:59:32] and I don't know how to make you love something that I love but I love this word of God I love it okay because it's not just a book it's actually 66 books written over a couple of thousand years
[00:59:47] on different continents from 40 plus authors and it all has one unified message and it's all about Jesus and it's not just a it's not just a history book this is the revealed word of God and and of
[01:00:00] course you're going to read some parts in there that are going to sting a little but it's because he's a good dad and he's the author of life and he knows better how to live life than you do
[01:00:08] and there is freedom that he has for us and so as he's arguing with these guys he said Jesus says to the he says these religious leaders he's like listen you know the words of God but you don't
[01:00:23] know the word of God you've read your Bible but you don't know the author of the Bible and I just want you not to be slaves of sin but I want you to live in freedom and they're like what you mean
[01:00:35] slaves we are sons of Abraham we've never been enslaved that's what they said and I bet Jesus was like you didn't do good in Sunday school did you remember the Egypt part for like 400 years
[01:00:44] but don't worry about that then he says this in verse 44 he says that if you think Jesus was a like meek and mild teacher you've never heard one of his sermons he says you are of your father the
[01:00:55] devil you imagine if Jesus called you the son of a devil you are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father's desires he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand
[01:01:07] in the truth because there is no truth in him when he lies he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies you see the devil the world in your flesh they lie to us
[01:01:22] pay very close attention over the next several weeks as we celebrate baptisms over and over and over there are two questions that we ask the second one is who is Jesus Jesus Christ is my
[01:01:37] Lord and Savior and it's upon that public profession that we baptize you but there's a question that precedes that and it is this do you reject the ways of this world the sin of your past
[01:01:49] and anything darker demonic that you have ever been connected to and we've all been connected to it and everything the enemy does one is a lie and two it is to steal kill and destroy
[01:02:00] and so if the devil is a liar then I got some really good news he uses the same three lies over and over and over he just repackages them honestly it's like a restaurant there's really
[01:02:16] not much more than dead fish dead cows and dead chickens I mean you can throw pork in there it's all just repackaged recooked right that's just what it is some nicer than others and the
[01:02:25] enemy has been using the same three weapons the same three lures the same three tactics over and over and over this is all he's gotten how he's really good at it first John chapter 2 verses 15
[01:02:37] and 16 John says this do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world now again if you're new to bible study maybe you know John 3 16 and it starts with for God so loved
[01:02:50] the world he gave his only begotten son and you're like well wait a minute John says here don't love the world well which one is it was the same John that writes it it's two different things in John
[01:02:59] 3 16 the bible means that God loves the people of this world in first John 2 it means that we should not love the systems of this world and most often what Christians will do shamefully
[01:03:12] is that we reject the people of this world and we adopt the values and systems of this world and what we're supposed to do is reject the values and systems of this world and love all the people
[01:03:23] of this world he says don't love the world or the things in it and if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him for all that is in the world dash this next little thing
[01:03:35] between the dashes. He's going to tell us everything that's in the world. This is it.
[01:03:41] These are the tactics of the enemy. Now, the ESV, which I use, says the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. We're going to go back to the King James on this
[01:03:51] one because I just like it better. It just sounds better. It just preaches better. Ready?
[01:03:54] Instead of desires, the King James says lust. Say lust. That was a little aggressive over here, but you're into it, okay? One more time, lust. Just sounds dirty, doesn't it? It's because it is ready here's all that the world has to offer the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and
[01:04:13] the pride of life and it's not from the father but it's from the world and like what does that mean I'm glad you asked these are the three categories that virtually every sin falls into
[01:04:24] one the lust of the flesh now when you have lust of the flesh you think sex and it is but that's not all it is the lust of the flesh is a desire to feel it's a desire to feel it's when you begin
[01:04:37] to convince yourself I deserve to feel this way now it could be sex or it could be a drink or it could be six drinks honestly it could be drugs or it could be ice cream late at night anything
[01:04:52] when you say I deserve or I desire to feel this way and what I feel like is the loudest voice in my life and then I'm going to do whatever I want to do to feel the way I want to feel.
[01:05:05] That's what lust of the flesh is. The second one, lust of the eyes. This is this desire to have.
[01:05:12] This is about stuff. This is about possessions. This is when we put the hope of satisfaction or security in our finances or in our stuff. This is when you begin to really tell yourself, if I just
[01:05:25] had that car or if I could just live in that neighborhood or if I just had those pants, It's, oh, I'd be fully and finally satisfied.
[01:05:31] And we all think this about something.
[01:05:35] And then the last one is the pride of life.
[01:05:37] This is a desire to be.
[01:05:39] This is about status.
[01:05:40] This is about power.
[01:05:41] This is about position.
[01:05:43] This is why you get depressed when you look at everybody else's Instagram because you compare yourself to them and you think you deserve a better life than they do.
[01:05:49] That's what this is.
[01:05:51] These are the tactics of the enemy.
[01:05:55] And I've told you this before, but the devil is like a good bass fisherman.
[01:06:00] He doesn't care how he catches you.
[01:06:02] He just wants to catch you.
[01:06:04] And so he throws out the lust of the eyes and puts that rattle trap in front of you.
[01:06:08] And you're like, no, that doesn't do it for me.
[01:06:10] He's like, no problem.
[01:06:10] He clips that one off and then he ties on a hula popper and he throws that one out there and he gives you a little pride of life.
[01:06:16] And you're like, no, I'm still all set.
[01:06:17] And then he clips that one off and he ties on the granddaddy of all baits in Florida, that big dark purple worm.
[01:06:23] And he throws it out there and just jiggle, jiggle, jiggle.
[01:06:25] And that's the lust of the flesh.
[01:06:26] You're like, yes, ha, no, and he's gotcha.
[01:06:31] Don't believe me?
[01:06:31] Okay.
[01:06:32] James, the brother of Jesus, says it this way.
[01:06:34] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
[01:06:40] Now, being lured is not sin.
[01:06:42] It's temptation.
[01:06:44] But each person is being tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
[01:06:48] Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin.
[01:06:51] And when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death.
[01:06:56] And so this is what the devil does.
[01:06:59] Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life.
[01:07:01] don't say this out loud, you'll embarrass yourself, but if you were the devil, how would you try to catch you?
[01:07:07] You should have warred against that.
[01:07:11] If you were the devil, how would you try to catch you?
[01:07:16] And he knows, because he's been tracking you.
[01:07:18] He's seen your Instagram.
[01:07:20] He knows which one it is, all right?
[01:07:23] And the Bible says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
[01:07:29] If there was an actual lion trying to kill you, you would live your life differently.
[01:07:35] And there actually is.
[01:07:38] But like if the zoo called and said, hey, guy three rose over right there, let him know there's a lion that got out and he just wants to kill you, not everybody else.
[01:07:48] He doesn't like y'all, he just likes you.
[01:07:49] Think about how you would walk to your car differently.
[01:07:52] At the end of the service, you wouldn't just be like, I don't know if that's how you walk, but you wouldn't just go to your car.
[01:07:59] When you got to the doors, you'd talk to the, Hey, anybody, have y'all seen a lion?
[01:08:05] Is there a lion here?
[01:08:08] If you got kids, you'd send the one you like the least first.
[01:08:10] Hey, go under the car.
[01:08:12] See if there's a lion there.
[01:08:14] You would change.
[01:08:16] There actually is an enemy who's trying to kill you.
[01:08:21] And if you knew how the enemy was going to attack you, then don't you have the clear advantage?
[01:08:27] If you're in a disciple group, if you have mat carriers, the conversation I have with my mat carriers is this.
[01:08:32] if I was the devil here's how I'd try to kill me y'all check on me on in these areas and so the devil has been doing this from the beginning this is this is one of my favorite things about
[01:08:45] the scriptures it's just got one author if you go all the way back to Genesis 3 like when this whole thing got going it says this now the serpent same enemy was more crafty than
[01:08:55] any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made and he said to the woman did God actually say you see what he does here he comes with a lie the twist you see the enemy always wants us to doubt
[01:09:09] at least three things about God he wants us to doubt the word of God the work of God and the worth of God he wants us to say did God is that what God actually said in the Bible and then and
[01:09:20] then if you're like well he said it and then but yeah but he did I mean that's just an old book and what does he know God doesn't know anything about dating he didn't have a dating app he
[01:09:30] didn't know anything about money there was no stock market the enemy wants us to try to stand in authority over the word of God instead instead of standing under the authority of the word of
[01:09:40] God and I'm just telling you if you ever find yourself at a church because I know everybody's not going to live here forever if you ever find yourself in a church that stands in authority
[01:09:50] over the word of God be like well I know this is what it says but that's not what it means and if you'd kind of look through it with one eye and don't read that one part here's what it means
[01:09:57] you get up get your stuff get your kids leave don't ever go back that's not a church it's a cult okay because the church stands on the word of God and to move away from the word of God is to move
[01:10:06] away from Jesus this is where life is found and this is what the enemy's tactic has been from the beginning he says is that what really is that what God really said did God actually say you shall not
[01:10:18] eat of any tree in the garden and the woman said to the servant we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden but God said you should not eat of the fruit of the tree that's in the midst
[01:10:25] of the garden neither shall you touch it lest you die she added that last part that's classic legalism and in this time the reality is is god's for you he's not against you there was only one
[01:10:35] thou shalt not there was a bunch of thou shalts he's a good god and the servant said to the woman you won't die well that's a lie for god knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened
[01:10:45] and you will be like god knowing good from evil here's what he's saying you don't need god you got this that's a lie and so when the woman check this out this if you got hair this will blow it
[01:11:00] back ready and so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that's lust of the flesh that's what it is I deserve this and it was a delight to the eyes that was not that was not
[01:11:13] hard to figure out it's right there that's the lust of the eyes that's satisfaction I want this and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise that's the pride of life I tell me what to
[01:11:23] do she took of its fruit and ate and she also gave some to her husband who was was to say their fellows just as quiet as adam that's what got us into this problem that's all right now don't worry
[01:11:34] about it sorry to wake you up we just did a whole year on it but that's we'll come back okay sorry was with her and he ate okay so all of that was just set up so that we can understand what's
[01:11:51] happening in Matthew chapter 4. Why is temptation so tempting? How in the world does the enemy keep coming back to us? What is going on here? Because it's a dirty war campaign of the mind. He lies to
[01:12:03] us to try to question our identity and question the word of God and question the word of God and question the work of God. And if he can get us to think a thing, we can feel a thing. And if we think
[01:12:12] and feel a thing, we'll do a thing. And he leads us on a path to destruction. You see, right and wrong will never sustain you when it comes to temptation in your life but when we begin to
[01:12:22] understand that he's a good shepherd and every single time we obey his voice especially when we don't completely understand it it leads to abundant life because it leads to him and every single time we say forget you God I got this it leads to death and destruction Matthew 4 so then Jesus was led up
[01:12:42] by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights he was hungry and the tempter came and said to him if you are the son of God command these stones
[01:12:54] to become loaves of bread so I wish I had time to show you exactly how like Jesus is greater Israel because when Jesus when when the the people of God were let go out of Egypt and they were brought
[01:13:07] into the promised land and God gave them bread gave them manna every day they complained about it and so Jesus is going to fulfill all the things remember that was the whole point of Matthew
[01:13:14] you but I don't have time to get into it but that's what's going on and he says all right if you are the son of God then command these stones to become loaves of bread
[01:13:23] this is this is lust of the flesh does he have the ability to turn rocks into bread if he can do water to wine he can do stones into sandwiches no problem and so here's the lie here's the lust
[01:13:40] of the flesh you deserve to feel this way don't trust God to be your prince of peace you handle it yourself now here's what's crazy here's what's crazy the vastness of this temptation is is all over the place it could be everything from sexual immorality to you you binge eat
[01:14:04] because it makes you feel good in that moment and ultimately now the consequences aren't always the same like there's a difference between like crack and ice cream all right but the core of it's not
[01:14:21] the core of it's like I don't like the way I feel and I deserve to feel a different way and I'm not looking to you God I'm not looking to you I'm looking to comfort myself
[01:14:36] I'm going to self medicate me that's what it is so here's how Jesus responds but Jesus answered this is so important it is written here's the giveaway in all three temptations Jesus is going to say
[01:14:50] it is written I think I heard Pastor Britt say this about 10 years ago. He says the most three important, the three most important words in all of eternity are it is finished. The three most important words in living your life
[01:15:02] today is it is written. Every single time what Jesus himself is going to do is he's going to root his life in the word of God. He's not going to be ruled by his feelings and he's not going to
[01:15:15] believe the lies of the enemy. And so Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. You see, what Jesus is saying
[01:15:26] is my faith in God is greater than the feelings of my flesh. If we, if American Christians could get a hold of that one, the whole world changes. Don't believe all your feelings. Feelings make a
[01:15:41] decent guide, but they make a terrible God. And we live in a world that says you do you. Obey your thirst feel whatever you feel and let that drive you this what this world tells us and it is a lie
[01:15:54] the Bible says it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God you see this word it's well here's what the Bible says Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 for
[01:16:07] the word of God is a living and active it is sharper than any two-edged sword piercing to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart so what Jesus is saying here is regardless of your feelings God's word is true
[01:16:22] your feelings are going to be all over the place and God's word is going to remain true and if your feelings don't line up with it yet you proclaim the word of God and over time not
[01:16:32] overnight with the help of the spirit of God in you then maybe your life can be aligned with the word of God and so now the devil's going to change tactics verse five the devil took Jesus to a holy
[01:16:41] city set him on the pinnacle of the temple and he said if you are the son of God notice what he's doing? Just noodling at his identity. He says, throw yourself down for it is written. The devil's
[01:16:53] going to quote the Bible. Totally out of context. I mean, how are you going to out Jesus, juke Jesus?
[01:17:00] That's incredible that he even tries. He quotes from Psalm 91. You know all of Psalm 91 is?
[01:17:06] Psalm 91 is how God takes care of his children when they trust him. And so he quotes this out of Psalm 91. It says, he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear
[01:17:17] you up lest you strike your foot against the stone this is the pride of life he's like all right Jesus if you are who you say you are then why don't you make much of yourself did Jesus come
[01:17:27] to make much of himself no he said I didn't come to be served but to serve and give my life a ransom for many because when we make the world all about us at the end of the day all we'll have is us
[01:17:36] and it leads to a narcissistic idolatry where we worship at the throne of our own self-esteem it's not good what the enemy is doing is saying make God prove to you how much he loves you
[01:17:48] and Jesus said I don't have to neither do you by the way because Romans 5 8 says that God demonstrates his love for us in this that while we're yet still sinners Christ died for us verse
[01:18:00] 7 Jesus says to him again it is written you shall not put the Lord your God to the test he rejects the lie he stands on the truth verse 8 and again the devil took him to a very high
[01:18:10] mountain and he showed him there's a clue as to which temptation this is and you only got one left to pick from and he showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory and he said
[01:18:19] to them all these I will give to you this is the lust of the eyes if you will fall down and worship me and then Jesus said be gone Satan for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and
[01:18:31] him only shall you serve and the devil left him and behold angels came and were ministering to him and here's what Jesus is saying this stuff is never going to fully and finally satisfy me
[01:18:42] I don't worship stuff I worship the I worship God Almighty and this is why we say worship is war but what I want you to see here over and over and over is that Jesus rejected the lie of this
[01:18:56] world he did what Paul said to do in Romans 12 that he was not conformed to the pattern of this world when the enemy came along with lies he said no no I reject that I reject the lie and I'm I'm
[01:19:08] standing on the truth of God's word. And this is the reality. God has given us his word, the Bible, not to defeat the devil, but to remind us that he's already been defeated.
[01:19:19] And this is a constant supernatural reminder that if you're a believer in Christ, then you and I should walk in that freedom. And my hope for you and my prayer for you is that you would walk in
[01:19:30] that freedom. The battle has already been won. Colossians 2.13 puts it this way, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its
[01:19:50] legal demands this he set aside nailing it to the cross he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him this book reminds us of that in every area of
[01:20:02] your life here's the whole point of the sermon our enemy the devil is the father of lies do not believe the whisper but stand on the truth of the word of God not so that you will be victorious
[01:20:11] because the Bible is a reminder of that so how do you do this I'm gonna give you some homework and if you don't do it then okay see you next week it's be the same spot you're in right now
[01:20:26] but you know I don't know maybe you'll meet a friend or something but if you're serious about this what is the lie that you're believing it's going to be one of the three general categories
[01:20:38] Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, the pride of life.
[01:20:42] Identify that lie, okay?
[01:20:44] Identify that lie.
[01:20:45] And the more defensive you are about it, that's probably the one you need to go after.
[01:20:49] Yeah, but you, okay.
[01:20:52] And then find the truth of the word of God that speaks directly to it.
[01:20:57] There's a couple of ways you can do this.
[01:20:58] One is you can just Google it.
[01:21:01] What does the Bible say about lust?
[01:21:03] But get ready, it's gonna sting a little, okay?
[01:21:06] What does the Bible say about greed?
[01:21:09] What does the Bible say?
[01:21:10] Whatever the thing is.
[01:21:12] Also, there's a guy at our church heard this sermon years ago and created an app called Word of God Speak.
[01:21:17] And it's got categories.
[01:21:18] You can just go to there and click the thing and it's gonna say, here's all the verses about anxiety, you know, whatever.
[01:21:23] And then identify the lie and say, I'm not gonna believe this anymore.
[01:21:28] And you need to have some it is written that you don't have to look up.
[01:21:31] And honestly, you don't even have to try to memorize it.
[01:21:33] You read this thing every day and eventually the word of God is gonna be lodged into your heart.
[01:21:38] and right when you need it, the spirit of God is gonna bring this out and you speak the word of God so that over time you can renew your mind and align yourself with what Christ has done for you.
[01:21:49] I'm gonna give you the three biggies.
[01:21:54] Many people are believing the lie about money and here's the lie that money tells you.
[01:22:01] Money says if you love me, I'll love you back.
[01:22:04] You never thought about it that way but that's what it's saying.
[01:22:07] I'll either, I promise you, money says this.
[01:22:09] If money could talk, this is what money would say.
[01:22:10] come here come here he'd say it like it wouldn't sound like me sound real sexy whatever it sounds like to you okay I don't sound like that I sound like Larry the cable guy so whatever
[01:22:21] but money's like if you love me I'll love you back and here's the two things I'll promise you I'll promise you satisfaction you have that boat it'll do it for you or I'll promise you security
[01:22:35] I'll let you log on to this bank account and you'll make you feel all all secure and it's just a lie now the good thing is that's the easiest one to find verses about because Jesus talked
[01:22:49] about money more than anything else shocking isn't it and so in Matthew chapter 6 he says don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor
[01:23:03] rust destroy and where the thieves do not break in and steal maybe you could just memorize Matthew 6 21 for your treasure is there your heart will be also and you just begin to ask yourself do I
[01:23:14] want Jesus to have my heart do I want the enemy to have my heart because where my treasure is my heart is going to follow you could memorize another one from the same sermon same chapter
[01:23:26] seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you so maybe that's you that one's gonna be a hard one to identify you know why because nobody knows you're
[01:23:34] greedy so I dare you to ask somebody that'll love you enough to tell you the truth here's another lie here's a big one in our culture sex is only physical like it's not a big deal this could be
[01:23:50] fornication that means having sex with somebody you're not married to and again according to the bible marriage is one man one woman one lifetime and the supreme court is not supreme god is supreme he made up marriage and he gets to define it and i ain't hating on you man i love you okay
[01:24:05] i love you i want you to have freedom and listen even there i know the people clapping are married Christians you know what I mean I know some of you having sex outside of marriage like you get
[01:24:16] them oh wait nah so hear me there I just know this is one so many people in church have tried to stand in authority over the word of God and and you know you know it's the temptation that
[01:24:32] the enemy's just wearing you out on first Corinthians chapter 6 says flee sexual immorality every other sin a person commits outside the body but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body or do you not know the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from
[01:24:48] God you are not your own you were bought with a price so glorify with your glorify God with your body if you struggle with lust Job 31 1 I have made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look
[01:25:00] lustfully after a woman hopefully this isn't too much do you see me look that one up you know what you have to make covenants about stuff you struggle with the Bible said Job was the most righteous man
[01:25:12] on the earth and he's making covenant with his eyes and he will not look lustfully after a woman why because brother had a problem so you memorize this one of the biggest lies that are this
[01:25:24] crippling believers right now and it's actually a pride of life issue because ego and insecurity are really just rooted in the same thing you don't know who you are and one of the biggest lies that the enemy tricks us with all the time is this you are your sin you can't
[01:25:48] be loved by God because of something that you did and see he knows you he's seen you so he's got the tape on you so he digs in deeper and he goes to that place that hurts you the most no you are
[01:26:00] your divorce and you are your abortion or the one you paid for and you are your addiction and you are your failed career and you're your bankruptcy or your eating disorder or your affair or your
[01:26:08] whatever that thing is that's what the enemy wants you to believe and the bible would say no no no no only jesus gets to tell you who you are and if you could believe the truth of the word of god
[01:26:24] it would change everything about the way you live second corinthians 5 17 this is a famous verse this is therefore if anyone is in christ he is a new creation the old has passed away and behold
[01:26:33] the new has come and so when the enemy starts spitting his lies about you you're like whoa you're talking about the old dead me i don't have to do the things i used to do because i'm not the
[01:26:42] person I used to be I'm alive in Christ I'm a new creation and when Paul gets to the end of his gospel presentation in the book of Romans it's a bunch of verses but he says this what then shall
[01:26:53] we say to these things these things are the things that the enemy is trying to use to keep you separated from God he said what should we say to these things these lies if God is for us who could
[01:27:05] be against us he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things who shall bring any charge against the elect you're like well the
[01:27:18] devil's bringing a charge well great the Bible answers it is God who justifies who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of God
[01:27:30] who indeed is interceding for us who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword or might I say your past sin or that thing you're embarrassed about or your shame or your guilt or that junk
[01:27:45] the enemy keeps trying to bring up and then Paul answers the question no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I am sure that neither death nor life nor
[01:27:57] angels or rulers nor things present or things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
[01:28:09] that's who the Bible says you are then if you really want to go advanced the reality is that desire that lust of the flesh lust of the eyes and the pride of life is actually only going to
[01:28:28] be found in Jesus the lust of the flesh is the desire to feel Jesus says I am the prince of peace come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest for your soul
[01:28:39] That's better than a pill.
[01:28:42] Lust of the eyes?
[01:28:44] Oh, you want to live in a nice neighborhood?
[01:28:46] Guess what?
[01:28:47] Put your faith in Christ.
[01:28:48] He says, I'm going to go prepare a place for you.
[01:28:51] And when Jesus is your real estate agent, it's sweet, man.
[01:28:54] No HOA in the whole place, praise God.
[01:28:59] And maybe yours is the pride of life.
[01:29:00] You want a blue check?
[01:29:01] You want to be somebody?
[01:29:03] How about a son or daughter of God and co-heir with Christ Jesus?
[01:29:08] What we're actually looking for can only be found and fulfilled in.
[01:29:12] When we get our eyes fixed on that, fixed on him, the things of this world grow strangely, strangely dim.
[01:29:21] So I'm going to invite you to stand up, and I'm going to pray for you.
[01:29:26] And we're going to respond after I pray.
[01:29:30] And the only people that need to sing, and the only people that need to bring, and the only people that need to pray are people that need Jesus to walk this world out.
[01:29:39] If you think you got this, then you do whatever you want to do.
[01:29:42] But for those of us that say, oh, Lord, I need you.
[01:29:46] I mean, I need you.
[01:29:47] I need your help.
[01:29:49] i need to believe your word i need to quit believing the lie i need to quit going down the same roads over and over and over and expect different results lord i need you i need you
[01:29:58] then we're gonna sing and we're gonna bring and we're gonna pray let me pray for you a good and gracious heavenly father jesus i thank you that god you have given us your word god not just as
[01:30:10] like a guide but it's it's it's a supernatural revelation of you and your will for us and it ultimately tells the story that we can't do it on our own that we need you and so god that's what
[01:30:24] we do we fall on our face before you and say lord when the enemy comes we need you and jesus i thank you that you didn't just leave us advice but you left us with the helper the paraclete the
[01:30:36] the spirit of god in us the same spirit that resurrected you from the grave now lives in us so may we be able to say like you said devil be gone and then have angels minister to us lord i
[01:30:48] pray that even today standing on the truth of your word that we would say devil be gone and then we would be those messengers that would minister to one another God I pray for victory Lord I pray
[01:31:01] that chains will be broken I pray that men and women would walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus because we would no longer believe the lies but we would stand on your truth
[01:31:10] we pray this in Jesus name amen so folks we're going to sing worship is war against the devil himself he wants to rule over you and when we worship what we're saying is you don't rule me
[01:31:22] God does and I'm singing to him we're going to bring our tithes and our offerings we're going to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness say I'm not putting my love in this stuff God I love you and where my treasure is my heart will follow and I treasure you above
[01:31:37] all things have all of my heart God and we are going to pray let's respond

[01:31:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]
[01:31:44] you got some homework this week you need to identify how does the enemy tempt you what's

[01:38:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:38:45] that lure he comes after you with and then you need to get some it is written in your life so And when he starts slinging those fiery darts at you, you can preach the word back at him.
[01:38:56] And then you need to get some people in your life to help you do that, which is what we call a disciple group.
[01:39:01] And if you do not have one of those, I will see you on Monday night at 6.30.
[01:39:05] Be free.