WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.440 Thank you so much. 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.140 If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 10. 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:12.400 Romans chapter 10, I'm going to be looking at several different scriptures, but I'll 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.339 get there in a few moments. 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:18.460 Satan is at work in our world. 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:20.440 He's on attack. 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:27.960 You can identify a satanic attack knowing that it is deliberate. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:31.019 It is willful. 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:33.579 It is intentional. 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:36.679 And it is well planned. 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:41.760 It is to keep people from coming to know the Lord personally. 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:49.820 It is to keep Christians from sharing the hope of salvation with others. 00:00:49.820 --> 00:01:02.359 And to keep us from using our spiritual gifts for the cause of Christ in a way that profits 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:04.359 the kingdom of God. 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:09.480 He goes overtime to try to thwart the work of God. 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:14.159 And as long as we're alive, we're going to experience spiritual attacks. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:24.700 If you're a child of God today, if you surrender your life to the Lord Jesus, spiritual attacks 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:29.359 can keep you from thriving in your walk with God. 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:31.739 Satan will deceive you. 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:34.759 He will attempt to destroy you. 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:37.379 He'll play mind games with you. 00:01:38.259 --> 00:01:40.159 He'll try to destroy your relationships. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:46.200 He'll try to discourage you in your walk with the Lord. 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:48.819 He'll try to discourage you in all life, quite honestly. 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:53.000 And he'll try his best to divide the church of Jesus Christ 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:58.539 by letting a bunch of other matters come in the way of the main thing. 00:01:58.840 --> 00:02:03.019 And all of it, all of it serves as a distraction 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:07.560 to keep people from coming to know the Lord 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:13.539 and to keep people from growing in the Lord if they know the Lord. 00:02:15.019 --> 00:02:21.240 Satan's aim is to defame the name of Christ 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:26.039 and he'll use us to do it. 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:32.719 There's not a day when strategic satanic attack 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:38.219 has not been devised about your spiritual life, 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:42.579 about my life in the spiritual world. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.680 Some of us are easier than others to deal with. 00:02:48.959 --> 00:02:51.939 If Satan can just keep us dead in our sins, 00:02:52.079 --> 00:02:54.180 we'll never come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:56.340 We'll never be saved. 00:02:57.420 --> 00:02:59.599 And the reality is, Scripture's very clear 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:03.159 that we'll spend an eternity apart from God in a devil's hell. 00:03:04.060 --> 00:03:08.099 And if Satan can keep Christians casual in their faith, 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:09.420 just getting by, 00:03:10.480 --> 00:03:12.020 we will do little for the kingdom. 00:03:12.760 --> 00:03:14.200 We'll make little difference. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.060 And when God gets ready to move, 00:03:17.420 --> 00:03:19.480 he'll move on to somebody else 00:03:19.480 --> 00:03:21.580 because we're not hungry enough to allow him to use. 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:27.780 This morning, I want to look at biblical examples 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:30.500 of how Satan works in our world. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:38.620 I shared some demoralizing devices that he uses last week. 00:03:38.820 --> 00:03:41.260 And I want to, off of that, 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:46.880 I want to speak to how we see examples clearly in Scripture 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.500 of how Satan manipulates, how he moves, how he works. 00:03:52.859 --> 00:03:54.939 They're not the only examples in Scripture, 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:57.599 but I think they're good examples in Scripture. 00:03:58.240 --> 00:03:59.759 Case studies, if you will, 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.219 that his techniques, quite honestly, 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:04.879 have hardly ever changed. 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:08.000 Satan's still up to the same thing he's always been up to. 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:10.879 He's trying his best to manipulate us 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:12.800 to do what he wants us to do. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:17.199 I want us to first look at the doubts that he brings. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:19.740 We spoke of doubts last week, 00:04:19.860 --> 00:04:23.480 but now I want you to see how he does that. 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:28.460 And the reality is this mess was from the very beginning. 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:30.360 As a matter of fact, 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:32.360 earlier this year, 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:36.259 I preached on a series I called From the Start, 00:04:36.460 --> 00:04:40.300 which was really talking about creation 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:43.319 and talking about the fall of humanity 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:45.680 and what happened in the garden 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.600 and the ramifications of that. 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.759 And when I got to Genesis chapter 3, 00:04:51.860 --> 00:04:54.280 which talks about the fall of Adam and Eve 00:04:54.280 --> 00:04:55.819 and therefore the fall of all of us, 00:04:56.340 --> 00:04:58.300 and I got to looking at the questions 00:04:58.300 --> 00:05:00.560 that the ancient serpent asked Eve, 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:02.480 it's that very Scripture 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:05.139 that God led me 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:08.500 to this series called The Real War. 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:10.300 I couldn't help but think 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:12.199 about how the devil is seeming 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:13.899 to have his way in our world today. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.399 He had his way in the garden that day. 00:05:16.779 --> 00:05:19.959 He seems to have his way in our world today. 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:22.459 And part of the reason he's having his way 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:24.959 is we don't realize who we're dealing with. 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:30.740 And the doubts that he threw out to Eve 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.199 in the garden were about the Word of God, 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.500 about what God had said to her. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:38.040 He asked in Genesis 3, 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:40.939 did God actually say? 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:43.839 And it really don't matter 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:45.360 what else is said after that 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:46.920 because he's questioning, 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:49.680 is God really who he says he is? 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:51.620 It really doesn't matter 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:54.959 what else he throws on that in our lives. 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:57.399 His purpose was to bring doubts to her. 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.279 He wanted her to doubt the Word of God. 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:02.160 If you doubt the Word of God, 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.120 then you doubt the character of God. 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:06.600 And anytime people want to question 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:08.120 the validity of God's Word, 00:06:08.280 --> 00:06:09.780 I'll tell you where it comes from. 00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:10.980 There's somebody behind it 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:12.000 and his name's Satan. 00:06:14.840 --> 00:06:17.100 How better can you defame the cause of Christ 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.780 than to go after the Word of God? 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.699 He loves for us to doubt God's Word. 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:24.699 He'll make, he made her doubt, 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.280 he'll make you doubt if you're not careful, 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:28.920 if you don't trust the Word of God. 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:31.400 And when we have doubts, 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:33.400 when they come, 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:35.780 we need to know how to handle it. 00:06:36.780 --> 00:06:38.759 I'll tell you how you deal with doubts 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:39.780 about God's Word. 00:06:39.900 --> 00:06:42.060 You deal with it with God's Word. 00:06:45.080 --> 00:06:48.000 One area he loves to mess with Christians about 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.560 is to doubt their salvation. 00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:54.360 If he can make you doubt your salvation, 00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:55.560 you're not going to share a faith 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:56.560 that you're unsure of. 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:58.699 You're not going to make a whole lot of difference 00:06:58.699 --> 00:06:59.740 in somebody else's life 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:01.280 if you're still struggling with your own life 00:07:01.280 --> 00:07:02.100 and where you stand. 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:07.360 I know this well because at 18 years old, 00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:08.579 God called me in the ministry. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:10.180 I felt led to do it, 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.300 but I wanted a burning bush type experience 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:14.300 to be verified in that. 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:15.720 And at 18, he called me in the ministry. 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:17.100 And after I was called to ministry, 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:18.720 I felt like I wasn't saved. 00:07:18.840 --> 00:07:20.560 I questioned whether I was saved. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:23.800 I struggled with that 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:25.840 because I made a decision early in my life. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.519 That's one reason why I love to be very thorough 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.119 with children to make sure they don't question it 00:07:32.119 --> 00:07:33.959 later on down the road as best we can 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:36.959 to secure that. 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:39.560 And I struggled with that. 00:07:39.620 --> 00:07:42.059 And I'll tell you what I did to deal with it 00:07:42.059 --> 00:07:44.120 is I went back to the very scripture 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:45.939 that I had shared with others 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:48.859 as I tried to lead them to faith in Christ. 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:53.580 I remember when I was seven, eight, nine years old, 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:55.500 we had the basketball goal in the yard, 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:56.639 I mean, in the neighborhood. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:07:58.860 And they came to our house to play basketball 00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:01.920 and I'd pull some kid off the basketball court 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:03.180 and bring him in the garage and say, 00:08:03.280 --> 00:08:04.580 have you ever come to the point in your life 00:08:04.580 --> 00:08:05.280 where you know Jesus? 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:07.439 Or something like that, you know. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:12.040 And when I struggled with that at 18, 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:13.860 even though I had led people to Christ, 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:16.399 but I struggled with that 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.180 because that's the stuff the devil loves to work. 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:21.180 He didn't want me standing here today, folks. 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:23.019 And he didn't want me doing it when I was 18. 00:08:23.019 --> 00:08:29.379 And what I went back to is the very scripture 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:34.199 that I used with others to lead them to Christ. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:38.639 The pivotal passage is Romans 10, verse nine. 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:40.759 When I looked at Romans 10, nine, 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:43.000 if you confess with your mouth Jesus, Lord, 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:44.720 and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:45.519 you will be saved. 00:08:45.579 --> 00:08:48.199 And I realized, yes, I had openly confessed the Lord. 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:51.919 I knew the Lord Jesus. 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:53.979 I shared the Lord Jesus. 00:08:54.099 --> 00:08:54.500 I knew that. 00:08:54.599 --> 00:08:55.879 And did I believe in him? 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.279 I dedicated my life to him. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:59.419 It was the evidence of scripture 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:02.219 that caused the doubts of salvation to go away, 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:02.979 quite honestly. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.819 But he loves to go after us like that, to doubt it. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:08.759 And I said last week, and I'll say again, 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:11.120 if you have doubts about your salvation, 00:09:11.339 --> 00:09:13.699 let that be a glaring red flag. 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:15.139 Let's talk about that. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:20.719 And when we do, I'm going to take you to Romans 10, nine. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:23.879 I'm going to take you to the word of God. 00:09:25.199 --> 00:09:27.000 Because that's where we find our security. 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:29.379 But he brings doubts about salvation. 00:09:29.459 --> 00:09:31.679 He'll bring doubts about the Lord's presence. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:35.719 When you're going through a difficult time, 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:38.000 he'll make you think you're all alone. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.639 He'll tell you nobody cares about you, 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:42.759 especially God don't care about you. 00:09:42.939 --> 00:09:46.439 Why would God let you go through this if he cared about you? 00:09:46.839 --> 00:09:49.299 He loves to give you doubts about God's presence. 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:52.419 And when he does, I want you to look at Hebrews 13, five. 00:09:53.740 --> 00:09:56.419 I will never leave you or forsake you. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:09:58.859 He'll never leave you alone. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.399 He will come to you. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:05.120 He'll give you doubts about the truth of his word. 00:10:07.479 --> 00:10:08.899 Did God really say? 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:11.859 Can I trust God's word? 00:10:12.859 --> 00:10:13.799 Is it outdated? 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:15.839 Does it speak to where I live? 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.399 What does it say about that? 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:22.180 2 Timothy 3.16 is clear as it can be when it says, 00:10:22.420 --> 00:10:26.259 all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:30.759 for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.460 In other words, you can rest in the word of God. 00:10:33.660 --> 00:10:34.560 It is perfect. 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:35.840 It is without error. 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:37.420 Trust the word of God. 00:10:37.680 --> 00:10:40.759 It will take away your doubts. 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:44.980 But the devil loves to cause doubts. 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:47.419 There's the doubts. 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:48.539 There's also the desert. 00:10:49.439 --> 00:10:50.980 And I want you to see what he did in the desert. 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:56.100 Satan always wants to thwart God's plan of salvation. 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:00.639 And if he could defeat that, we'd all go to hell. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:01.700 We'd have no hope. 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:06.220 He's tried to do that since the birth of Christ. 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:06.779 How? 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:12.379 He used King Herod to try to kill Christ as a child. 00:11:13.180 --> 00:11:14.920 And we don't talk about it at Christmas time, 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.580 but there's a lot of babies that died in a search to find Christ. 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:27.300 King Herod was bloodthirsty to shut down who possibly could reign as king one day. 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:33.620 He also tried to, Satan also tried to tempt Christ in the desert. 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:37.960 When Christ went for what I call his seminary experience, 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:43.179 he went to the desert to spend time with the Lord before he went public with ministry. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.200 And it was in that time of fasting and praying that the devil came to him and tempted him. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.600 And he hit Christ hard when he was most vulnerable. 00:11:52.179 --> 00:11:55.000 Matthew 4, all the synoptic prophets speak to it of some degree. 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:56.820 Matthew 4 speaks to it the most. 00:11:57.060 --> 00:12:01.460 And he tells us that Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights and he was hungry. 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:05.379 So Satan tempted him to turn the stones to bread. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.360 But he didn't stop there. 00:12:07.420 --> 00:12:08.259 He tempted him again. 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:15.139 He threw out a temptation to tell him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple. 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.900 Probably referring to the highest point on that wall. 00:12:20.040 --> 00:12:24.080 That's the southeast corner of the wall that surrounded the temple. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:29.759 If you jump off that, that would throw him into the depths of the Kindred Valley. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:31.560 The low spot there. 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:34.400 Why did he give him such a temptation like that? 00:12:34.660 --> 00:12:39.460 So Jesus could worry about proving that God the Father was protecting him. 00:12:41.160 --> 00:12:44.200 Third, he gave him another temptation and told Christ. 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:47.139 He tempted him with the rule of the whole world. 00:12:47.420 --> 00:12:50.420 And he said all he'd need to do is bow down to Satan. 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:52.259 And he could have the whole world. 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:56.220 And Christ answered each and every one of them with Scripture. 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.580 Every time he answered with Scripture. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.019 Satan tried to manipulate Scripture. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:04.519 Use it out of context. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.059 Not use it correctly. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.980 Christ came back and used it correctly. 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:14.759 But there's a lot more to these temptations in the desert, however. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.620 These temptations were really about the direction of Christ's ministry. 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:21.819 They were about the power behind his ministry. 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:24.460 They were about the positioning of the ministry of Christ. 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:28.400 They were all attempts to thwart Christ's ministry from the start. 00:13:28.920 --> 00:13:35.120 And the intent of the devil was to make him sin by defying God and choosing some kind of second route. 00:13:36.280 --> 00:13:40.879 The devil was not only the only one that tried to persuade Christ to do things that he was not to do. 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:42.760 The people did that as well. 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:51.600 Folks had a different expectation of what the Messiah was to be than what Jesus was. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.200 Some of them had read parts of prophecy. 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:56.059 Some of them had read other parts of prophecy. 00:13:56.299 --> 00:13:59.299 They had all kinds of ideas of what to anticipate and what to expect. 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:04.159 And they tried to mold him into what they expected him to be. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:05.500 People still do that today. 00:14:05.500 --> 00:14:10.399 Some of them just wanted a Savior on their terms. 00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:18.919 Others really believed that prophecy proclaimed him to be something different than who he was or do something different than what he did. 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:21.039 And they wanted him to provide for them. 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:22.720 Some wanted a social ministry. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:32.399 The stones to bread is a whole temptation about is his ministry going to be one where he just provides the needs for folks. 00:14:32.700 --> 00:14:36.800 A social ministry apart from the gospel is not a gospel ministry. 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:50.340 The second temptation about jumping from the high point is referring to the temptation of relying on the miraculous works for all of his ministry. 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:55.180 And Jesus did miracles throughout his ministry. 00:14:55.680 --> 00:14:58.220 But he always did them for a purpose. 00:14:59.300 --> 00:15:02.920 The miracles that he performed were never an end in themselves. 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:04.500 They never were. 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:06.660 They were always for another purpose. 00:15:07.300 --> 00:15:08.360 To show something. 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:09.879 I always try to encourage people. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:12.920 When you read about the miracles of Christ. 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.180 Hang around and get the message that comes forth from it. 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:18.379 Because there's always a message. 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:19.840 It's the only reason he did it. 00:15:20.759 --> 00:15:21.940 He didn't heal everybody. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:24.139 But the people that he healed, he had a message with it. 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:27.139 Why did he raise Lazarus from the dead? 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:29.080 Did you know that Lazarus is dead today? 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:30.980 He did die. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.060 So why did he raise him then? 00:15:34.160 --> 00:15:34.800 Why did he raise him? 00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:36.519 To show he had power over death. 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:38.500 That's why he raised Lazarus. 00:15:38.680 --> 00:15:40.740 What about the woman who was hemorrhaging? 00:15:41.680 --> 00:15:47.460 Fighting through cultural barriers and fighting through the crowd and everything he could just to touch the hem of his garment. 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:49.620 Why did he choose to heal her? 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.360 To show the power of faith and the difference that makes. 00:15:53.820 --> 00:15:54.940 He healed a blind man. 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:56.220 Why did he heal the blind man? 00:15:56.340 --> 00:15:59.480 John 9 says to open the spiritual eyes of others. 00:15:59.540 --> 00:16:00.860 That's why he healed the blind man. 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:05.019 The devil wanted Christ to focus on the miraculous and not on the message. 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:07.100 But Christ would not fall to the devil's wants. 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:09.139 Or he wouldn't fall to other people's wishes. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:12.580 You remember when he fed them? 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:13.700 Fed the 5,000? 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:16.340 What did he do after he fed them? 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:18.700 Matthew 14 says he said disperse them. 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:24.879 And then he went up on a hill to pray and told them to get across the water. 00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:26.360 Get away from those folks. 00:16:27.520 --> 00:16:27.879 Why? 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:29.980 Because they would just follow him to the next meal. 00:16:32.140 --> 00:16:33.780 They wouldn't listen to what he had to say. 00:16:34.680 --> 00:16:36.180 They didn't want their life changed. 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:37.280 They wanted their belly full. 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:38.660 And that was not his ministry. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:41.420 That was not what he was to do. 00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:43.300 He'd have made a lot of people happy if I'd been there. 00:16:43.299 --> 00:16:46.500 But he wasn't there to do what made people happy. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.000 Satan wanted to throw him off. 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:53.719 The third temptation speaks of the expectation that Christ would be a mighty warrior like David. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:59.120 A lot of people anticipated that when he came that he would come. 00:17:00.219 --> 00:17:01.579 And he would take over the world. 00:17:01.699 --> 00:17:03.799 He'd bring peace to Israel from their enemies. 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:06.980 And Christ does bring peace, thank God. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:09.319 But it's not about world peace. 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:12.619 It's about a peace that passes all understanding. 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:16.819 It's about a peace that he can give us that's unlike anything the world can give us. 00:17:16.899 --> 00:17:17.799 John 14, 27. 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:22.200 Jesus said, peace, I leave with you my peace I give to you. 00:17:22.419 --> 00:17:24.339 Not as the world gives do I give unto you. 00:17:24.419 --> 00:17:27.019 Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 00:17:28.639 --> 00:17:33.359 The temptations in the desert were about causing Christ to sin, to destroy his possibility, 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.579 to be the perfect lamb of God, to be the ultimate sacrifice. 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:41.359 But it was also about throwing him off, of course, in the kind of ministry that he was to have. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.679 But every time a temptation was thrown out, Christ succeeded with each temptation. 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:47.059 And do you know how he did it? 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:51.079 He did it by leaning on and by quoting the word of God. 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:57.000 And he came out of the desert not destroyed, but ready and certain of his purposes. 00:17:57.679 --> 00:17:58.259 And do you know what? 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:02.259 When he came out, the same kind of temptations that the devil threw out at him, people threw out at him. 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:04.259 And he was never fazed by it. 00:18:04.339 --> 00:18:10.640 We don't see him ever fazed by leaving the 5,000 after he had fed them and not feeding them their next meal. 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:11.759 He never fazed by that. 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:16.680 He wasn't fazed by them trying to make him an earthly king. 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.079 He was not fazed by that. 00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:18.480 You know why? 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:20.079 He had already dealt with that in the desert. 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:23.579 He came out with his face set on what he was to do. 00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:24.980 He knew exactly what it was. 00:18:25.419 --> 00:18:27.579 And he came out certain of his purpose. 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:31.419 And when people tried to sway him about those things later, he had already dealt with it. 00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:32.220 His face was set. 00:18:32.419 --> 00:18:36.099 He teaches us that when temptation comes, I want you to hear me. 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:40.919 He teaches us when temptation comes, we need to lean on God's word. 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:42.019 Know it. 00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:43.339 Bring it up. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:44.500 Hang on it. 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:56.740 We'll spend a whole Sunday morning talking about scripture that you need to know, that you need to have right before you so that when temptation comes, you can rest in the word of God. 00:18:58.019 --> 00:18:59.420 It was all in the desert. 00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.099 It's like a case study of how he works. 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:06.319 Third case study I want you to see in the devil's temptation is the disciple. 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:09.880 And I put that in quotes because Judas was never a disciple. 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:13.579 Disciple means a follower of Christ. 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.779 It means a student. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.179 That's what the word means. 00:19:16.939 --> 00:19:18.579 And Judas really didn't follow. 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:21.879 And I'll be honest with you, it absolutely amazes me. 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.019 It amazes me because he walked with Christ. 00:19:27.139 --> 00:19:30.859 I mean, literally walked beside him through his life. 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:35.579 Watched what he did and how he ministered. 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:39.039 He heard sermons of Christ. 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:40.759 He watched people get healed. 00:19:41.159 --> 00:19:42.839 He watched people come back to life. 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:48.379 And the whole time, John 12, 16 tells us, he was stealing from the money bag of the Lord. 00:19:48.439 --> 00:19:49.299 The whole time. 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:58.279 Listening to all of that, taking in all of that and lost as a dime dropped in the depths of the ocean. 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:02.680 Do you know how I know Judas was not saved? 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:15.240 Jesus said in Matthew 26, verse 24, that it would have been better for that man if he had never been born. 00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:17.180 What a statement. 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:19.440 What a statement. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:31.380 And I can't help when I read that to think, you know, that's true for everybody who lives this life and never surrenders his or her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:37.840 Because scripture tells us they'll spend an eternity in a devil's hell apart from Christ. 00:20:37.840 --> 00:20:39.720 It would have been better if they had never been born. 00:20:42.600 --> 00:20:45.820 A lost man would be better off if he was never here. 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:48.100 And that's why Jesus died to save us. 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:52.519 However, I'll be honest with you, the devil works overtime to steal that opportunity. 00:20:52.659 --> 00:20:53.459 And you know how he does it? 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:54.719 I talked about this last week. 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:55.659 I won't talk about it again. 00:20:55.939 --> 00:20:57.699 The darkening of the mind. 00:20:57.799 --> 00:20:58.579 That's what he does. 00:20:59.659 --> 00:21:02.919 And you can be in an atmosphere on a regular basis. 00:21:02.919 --> 00:21:04.139 I want you to hear me this morning. 00:21:04.719 --> 00:21:06.079 Because it's a burden on my heart. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:20.819 You can be in an atmosphere and watch it happen and hear the gospel, witness it all, and never surrender your life to Christ and spend eternity apart from God. 00:21:22.879 --> 00:21:34.319 I've said again and again, the greatest burden that I have in ministry, the thing that will always haunt me in ministry, and I don't even know who they are, 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:42.039 are the lost men that attend the church that I pastor on a regular basis. 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:45.859 They follow their wives in. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:48.059 They come out of habit. 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:50.899 And they don't even know the Lord. 00:21:52.899 --> 00:21:54.220 And I don't know your heart. 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:56.399 I can't tell you who I'm talking about. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:22:03.460 But I'll never stand here and not be convinced that there's people that so often darken the doors of the church. 00:22:03.460 --> 00:22:06.720 And never know the Lord Jesus. 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.559 And Judas is a great example of that. 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:14.460 He walked physically with a bodily Christ. 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:17.200 And never got it. 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.299 It does not come by osmosis. 00:22:21.600 --> 00:22:24.579 And I'm not good at science, and I don't know exactly what that means. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:28.200 But I think it means you don't get it by just sitting here. 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:31.900 You have to surrender your life to the Lord Jesus. 00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:35.100 There was the disciple. 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:37.299 There was also the case study of the defiant. 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:38.720 The defiant. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:41.080 Peter gives us all an opportunity. 00:22:42.080 --> 00:22:45.720 Peter tried his hardest to be everything he could be for Jesus. 00:22:47.080 --> 00:22:50.440 And he overstepped again and again by trying too hard. 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:59.279 But his heart was so sold on Jesus that when filled with the spirit of God in the book of Acts, man, he did amazing things for God. 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:00.720 And Jesus saw it all the time. 00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:01.680 He knew he was going to do it. 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:05.039 However, he tried to correct Jesus one time. 00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:08.320 Jesus was telling the disciples. 00:23:08.840 --> 00:23:13.420 He was sitting down finally telling them exactly how it was all going to play out. 00:23:13.580 --> 00:23:16.259 And he was telling them how he was about to go to the cross. 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.900 And Peter pulled him aside and corrected him. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.660 Peter would have none of it. 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:24.319 He had a dagger on his thigh. 00:23:24.379 --> 00:23:25.359 He wasn't going to put up with anything. 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:27.519 He worked the safety team for the disciples. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:29.599 He wasn't going to put up with it. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.059 And he took Jesus aside and told Jesus, don't you speak of such. 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:35.279 He rebuked the Lord. 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:39.500 And I want you to notice what Christ did and how he did it. 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:42.019 It's in Mark chapter 8 verse 33 and it says this. 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:49.819 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. 00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:54.700 For you're not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man. 00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:01.420 He rebuked Satan directly to Peter. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.480 Now, was he calling Peter Satan? 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:05.220 No. 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:08.059 Was Satan in Peter? 00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:08.779 No. 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:11.440 Peter was a child of God. 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:14.359 Satan came and dwelled the same place the Holy Spirit is. 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:21.619 He knew that Satan was using Peter as a tool. 00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:25.799 And Peter was well-intentioned and he was defiant and he was looking out for the Lord. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:32.579 But what he said could easily serve, I want you to get this, as a distraction to what Christ was doing. 00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:35.099 And that is exactly what Satan was trying to do. 00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:37.539 And Jesus recognized it for what it was. 00:24:37.939 --> 00:24:40.799 And so he said, get behind me, Satan. 00:24:40.939 --> 00:24:47.059 Because it was Satan that was leading Peter to defy the Lord about that. 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:49.939 There's the defiant. 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:52.339 And then the other example is the discouragement. 00:24:52.339 --> 00:25:03.599 Christ used the Apostle Paul to spread the gospel like no one has ever before and no one has since. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:09.779 A little over 23% of our New Testament is written by the Apostle Paul. 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:14.000 He was a mighty warrior for the Lord. 00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:16.559 He had a pedigree with strong religious background. 00:25:17.959 --> 00:25:20.679 He saw Christ himself on the road to Damascus. 00:25:21.679 --> 00:25:23.259 He was on his way to go kill Christians. 00:25:23.379 --> 00:25:25.299 And Christ appeared to him and he saw him himself. 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:28.759 He went to the third heaven. 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:30.680 He speaks of it in 2 Chronicles 12. 00:25:30.899 --> 00:25:32.200 Speaks of it in a third person. 00:25:32.659 --> 00:25:34.099 But he was really talking about himself. 00:25:34.659 --> 00:25:41.819 And when I say third heaven, if you go out today and look outside, when you walk outside, you'll see what Scripture calls the first heaven. 00:25:43.159 --> 00:25:46.839 Tonight, if it's clear and you can see the stars and the moon, you'll see the second heaven. 00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:50.579 And then the third heaven is that that we cannot see. 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:52.659 That a rocket can't reach. 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:54.879 It's where the dwelling of the Lord is. 00:25:55.480 --> 00:26:01.140 And here that's what he speaks of in 2 Corinthians 12. 00:26:03.300 --> 00:26:08.920 Interestingly, I want you to notice, if you read that passage later, he does not describe what he saw. 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:13.360 He says nothing about it. 00:26:14.800 --> 00:26:23.900 Now that's kind of fascinating to me because 20 years ago there was a plethora of books that came out about people who died for 90 minutes or some kid died and went to heaven. 00:26:23.900 --> 00:26:24.900 And all what they saw. 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:27.019 And they came back and wrote a book, a best-selling book about it. 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.120 Some of it was found later to be a farce. 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:40.399 But the reality is the one person that we know that's went to heaven and come back didn't say anything about it. 00:26:41.919 --> 00:26:47.099 I think it was too glamorous and too glorious, excuse me, too glorious for us to even imagine so he didn't bother sharing. 00:26:47.179 --> 00:26:49.179 How do you put in words what you can't even describe? 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:55.500 He had a lot to be proud of, yet he stayed humble. 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:59.700 And he tells us how in 2 Corinthians 12 verse 7. 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:02.000 He said, 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:19.039 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:24.819 Now I could tell you what thorn means in the Greek, but I learned it in the woods. 00:27:24.819 --> 00:27:30.240 So we had some woods close to my house when I was growing up. 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:35.019 And we made bike trails and stomping trails and built dams in the creek and then played there. 00:27:36.439 --> 00:27:40.179 And every now and then, we'd get off the beaten path. 00:27:40.299 --> 00:27:42.539 Maybe we were playing war or something else. 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:44.759 And we'd go into the untamed forest. 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.259 And then all of a sudden, we'd come to a dreadful stop. 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:50.220 Because we done ran into a thorn bush. 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:59.519 And I learned there before I ever took the first Greek class that thorn means in the Greek something sharp and painful that sticks deeply in the flesh. 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:01.000 That's exactly what it is. 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:04.599 And that's how Paul described his circumstances. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.779 A thorn in his flesh. 00:28:07.579 --> 00:28:12.519 Now when he says in his flesh, that sounds like possibly a physical ailment. 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:18.859 And we have a clue of what he speaks of from Galatians chapter 4 verse 13 and 14. 00:28:19.019 --> 00:28:22.400 When he talks about a physical trial that he's undergoing. 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:28.559 And he says there, you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first. 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:37.519 And though my condition was a trial to you, you didn't scorn or despise me but received me as an angel of God as Christ Jesus. 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:42.039 Some theologians said that he could have suffered from inner ear. 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:44.359 Some said it could have been migraine. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:46.220 Some said malarial fever. 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:47.400 Some said epilepsy. 00:28:48.139 --> 00:28:50.019 Some said that he had an eye ailment. 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:52.519 Possibly solar retinitis. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:57.420 Because of what happened to him on the road to Damascus when he saw the Lord and was blinded for three days. 00:28:58.259 --> 00:29:01.259 He gained his sight back but maybe he never gained it all back. 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:05.720 In Galatians chapter 6 verse 11 he talks about having to write in large letters. 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:09.859 Like one that cannot see very well. 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:13.679 He could be speaking of the torment that he went through. 00:29:13.819 --> 00:29:16.299 It could have been several problems of what he went through. 00:29:16.659 --> 00:29:20.319 2 Corinthians 11 verse 24 through 27 talk about what he went through. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:24.259 He says five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 00:29:25.219 --> 00:29:26.779 Three times I was beaten with rods. 00:29:26.899 --> 00:29:28.019 Once I was stoned. 00:29:28.659 --> 00:29:29.819 That's not on drugs. 00:29:29.899 --> 00:29:30.659 That's by rocks. 00:29:30.699 --> 00:29:30.939 Okay. 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:31.699 Just to be clear. 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:33.700 Three times I was shipwrecked. 00:29:34.620 --> 00:29:40.420 A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers. 00:29:40.900 --> 00:29:41.940 Dangers from robbers. 00:29:42.080 --> 00:29:42.920 Dangers from my people. 00:29:43.080 --> 00:29:44.140 Dangers from Gentiles. 00:29:44.580 --> 00:29:45.340 Danger in the city. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:46.120 Danger in the wilderness. 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:46.960 Danger at sea. 00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:48.779 Danger from false brothers. 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:51.240 In toil and hardship through many a sleepless night. 00:29:51.460 --> 00:29:52.779 In hunger and thirst. 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:54.240 Often without food. 00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:56.779 In cold and exposure. 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:56.940 Danger. 00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:02.319 Some say it could have been depression that he dealt with. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.660 No wonder he'd been through so much. 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.779 The persecution that he suffered. 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:12.500 Or the constant adversaries of the Judaizers that went after him. 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:14.339 They constantly dogged him. 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:16.059 They plagued him when he was in Corinth. 00:30:16.119 --> 00:30:16.899 He talked about it. 00:30:18.139 --> 00:30:22.160 It could have been some kind of socially debilitating disease. 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:26.660 Or some kind of disfigurement that caused ridicule or defamation. 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:31.160 He talks about flesh quite a bit in his letters. 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:34.820 It could have been a battle for blasphemous thoughts. 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:37.200 Maybe a battle in the conscience. 00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:38.860 Or maybe struggles with lust. 00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:43.980 Maybe it was somebody on a persistent, vicious personal attack. 00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:45.800 That's a messenger of Satan. 00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:47.620 It could be any of these. 00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:51.400 The truth is we don't know what it is. 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:52.680 Nobody does. 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:56.080 And don't let somebody claim that. 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:57.380 I've got my opinions. 00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:58.480 But that's all they are. 00:31:00.340 --> 00:31:02.620 Why is it ambiguous here? 00:31:03.580 --> 00:31:04.860 I believe it's ambiguous. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:05.680 And I want you to hear me. 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:06.560 I believe it's ambiguous. 00:31:06.560 --> 00:31:10.340 Because the Lord left it that way to relate to every one of us. 00:31:10.800 --> 00:31:13.220 Because we all have stuff that humbles us. 00:31:13.620 --> 00:31:15.580 Or at least ought to humble us. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:20.200 Remember pride is just a fragile shell over a more fragile person. 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:23.980 It's just somebody trying to hide the fact. 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:27.180 That they have an insecurity. 00:31:28.320 --> 00:31:29.980 And so they try to look over secure. 00:31:31.280 --> 00:31:34.180 And there's no need to have it. 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:36.120 Paul didn't have it. 00:31:36.540 --> 00:31:37.580 He was hurting too bad. 00:31:37.579 --> 00:31:43.500 Why would God allow somebody that loved him so much, that did so much for him, 00:31:43.919 --> 00:31:46.720 why would he allow that to happen to somebody close to him? 00:31:46.899 --> 00:31:50.939 Because in reality, because of the ailment that humbled him so, 00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:53.119 he was more like God. 00:31:53.259 --> 00:31:55.399 He was filled with more of God. 00:31:55.399 --> 00:31:59.519 You have to get yourself out of the way to let God lead the way. 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:08.500 Henrietta Mears, in many ways, set the standards for Sunday school in America. 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:13.460 She founded a publishing company still in existence, Gospel Light. 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:18.319 Wrote a million plus bestseller called What the Bible is All About. 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:20.859 A great review of the Bible. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:23.460 She influenced a young Billy Graham. 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:28.480 She influenced Bill Bright, the one who started Campus Crusade for Christ. 00:32:29.259 --> 00:32:33.799 She influenced Richard Harvison, a former chaplain of the U.S. Senate. 00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:38.299 And Henrietta suffered from childhood with extreme myopia. 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:44.319 The weakness and the irritation of her eyes plagued her throughout her life. 00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:48.019 And Henrietta often said, 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:52.460 I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight. 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:58.259 For it has kept me absolutely dependent upon God. 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:08.759 Because whatever your thorn is, 00:33:14.759 --> 00:33:22.039 whatever that difficulty is that stays with you, child of God, 00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:25.380 God's grace is sufficient. 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:28.559 God's grace is sufficient. 00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:36.400 It's sufficient to save us through the love of Christ. 00:33:37.940 --> 00:33:41.500 God's grace is sufficient to sustain us in our every weakness. 00:33:43.660 --> 00:33:47.779 God's grace is sufficient to lead us through any trial that we face. 00:33:47.779 --> 00:33:49.259 God's grace is sufficient to lead us through any trial. 00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:50.220 God's grace is sufficient to lead us through any trial that we face. 00:33:50.220 --> 00:33:53.119 So just know today, Satan is alive and well on attack. 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:56.799 He's prowling around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. 00:33:57.700 --> 00:34:00.200 And by seeing how he's worked in the past, 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:03.160 we can understand how he works today. 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:04.680 He hasn't changed. 00:34:04.819 --> 00:34:06.319 It's the same old schemes. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:12.440 and no matter what it may be 00:34:12.440 --> 00:34:14.679 you can know today 00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:16.400 and I want you to go home with this 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:19.360 one you can know 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:21.159 we are not alone 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:22.940 we are not alone 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:25.480 Satan will whisper in your ear 00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:26.799 nobody cares 00:34:26.799 --> 00:34:27.539 he will 00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:31.259 he'll whisper in your ear 00:34:31.259 --> 00:34:32.500 where's your God now 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:37.440 he'll try his best 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.079 to get you to lose your confidence 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:41.739 in your Lord and Savior 00:34:41.739 --> 00:34:43.840 Jesus Christ in the midst of your battle 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:45.340 he'll try his best to do that 00:34:45.340 --> 00:34:46.760 and I want you to know today 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:49.460 based on the word of God we're never alone 00:34:49.460 --> 00:34:51.579 he walks right there 00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:52.139 with us 00:34:52.139 --> 00:34:54.340 you can rest in him 00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.539 number two and get this now 00:34:57.539 --> 00:34:59.659 we are not an exception 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:01.579 I'm not 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:03.940 you're not an exception 00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:05.480 we don't have an excuse 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:06.799 for the sin in our life 00:35:06.799 --> 00:35:08.599 don't say 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:10.059 if anybody else experienced 00:35:10.059 --> 00:35:10.920 what I experienced 00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:12.380 they'd be doing the same thing 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:14.219 that's not an excuse 00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:15.880 you're not an exception 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:18.480 your circumstances are not exceptional 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:21.699 we walk on common ground folks 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:24.799 we need a Savior for every one of us 00:35:24.799 --> 00:35:26.619 we are not an exception to the rule 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:30.039 don't ever let the devil 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:32.019 excuse your sin away 00:35:32.019 --> 00:35:32.739 in your life 00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:34.340 and you be convinced by that 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:35.820 and continue on in that pattern 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:37.400 because you're not an exception 00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:41.679 third thing is this 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:44.059 we can resist 00:35:44.059 --> 00:35:45.360 and we can win 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:46.960 God's going to let me bring this up 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:47.940 every week 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:50.019 because somebody needs to hear it 00:35:50.019 --> 00:35:51.139 James 4 7 00:35:51.139 --> 00:35:52.820 resist the devil 00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:55.039 and he will flee from you 00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:58.139 you can walk out of your sin pattern 00:35:58.139 --> 00:35:58.819 today 00:35:58.819 --> 00:36:01.480 only by the blood of Christ 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:04.339 only by the grace of God 00:36:04.339 --> 00:36:07.000 and find victory 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:08.179 we can resist 00:36:08.179 --> 00:36:08.900 and we can win 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:12.039 and the fourth and last thing is 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:14.219 the only hope we've got 00:36:14.219 --> 00:36:17.539 we must rely on Christ 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:18.839 we must 00:36:18.839 --> 00:36:20.920 and we don't need to do that 00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:21.639 every Sunday 00:36:21.639 --> 00:36:24.900 we need to do it 00:36:24.900 --> 00:36:26.179 every day 00:36:26.179 --> 00:36:27.379 every day 00:36:27.379 --> 00:36:28.859 we need to rely 00:36:28.859 --> 00:36:30.179 upon Christ 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:34.379 and if you're one of those 00:36:34.379 --> 00:36:35.759 unspoken that I pray for 00:36:35.759 --> 00:36:38.919 and you're here today 00:36:38.919 --> 00:36:40.039 and you've never given 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:40.779 your heart and life 00:36:40.779 --> 00:36:41.559 to the Lord Jesus 00:36:41.559 --> 00:36:44.819 you've never surrendered to him 00:36:44.819 --> 00:36:47.359 I got good news for you 00:36:47.359 --> 00:36:49.419 today's the day of salvation 00:36:49.419 --> 00:36:52.119 if you feel any inkling 00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:53.219 of the need to come to Christ 00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:54.000 you didn't come up with it 00:36:54.000 --> 00:36:54.440 on your own 00:36:54.440 --> 00:36:55.599 scripture says you're dead 00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:56.960 in your trespasses and sins 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:00.039 you couldn't do it on your own 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:02.460 it's God leading you 00:37:02.460 --> 00:37:03.340 it's the Holy Spirit 00:37:03.340 --> 00:37:04.179 pricking your heart 00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:05.840 so you respond to him 00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:06.539 and be saved 00:37:06.539 --> 00:37:07.740 and change forever 00:37:07.740 --> 00:37:08.240 empowered 00:37:08.240 --> 00:37:09.980 are you going to be perfect? 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:11.159 no you're not going to be perfect 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:13.159 but your position's going to change 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:15.579 and because of that positional change 00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:16.700 you'll have a strength 00:37:16.700 --> 00:37:17.360 beyond measure 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:17.840 to fight 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:18.940 whatever it is 00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:19.619 that you're fighting 00:37:19.619 --> 00:37:22.500 you can have victory 00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:23.139 in your life 00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:24.679 but only through Christ 00:37:24.679 --> 00:37:25.079 and only through 00:37:25.079 --> 00:37:26.179 by relying upon him 00:37:26.179 --> 00:37:29.019 maybe you're here today 00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:31.000 and you've done that privately 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:31.960 but you've never acknowledged 00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:32.579 that publicly 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:34.219 we're going to baptize 00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:34.920 in a couple of weeks 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:36.059 and maybe you've never 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:37.339 been baptized as a believer 00:37:37.339 --> 00:37:39.599 Jesus by his example 00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:40.400 and by his commission 00:37:40.400 --> 00:37:41.079 shows us 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:42.219 that it's the first step 00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:42.679 of obedience 00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:43.539 for us to follow 00:37:43.539 --> 00:37:45.059 and if you don't do that 00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:45.799 it'll be a hindrance 00:37:45.799 --> 00:37:46.299 in your life 00:37:46.299 --> 00:37:47.039 I promise you 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:48.239 it'll hold you back 00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:48.699 from being 00:37:48.699 --> 00:37:50.219 what God would have you to be 00:37:50.219 --> 00:37:51.199 if you've never done that 00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:51.940 as a believer 00:37:51.940 --> 00:37:53.539 I encourage you 00:37:53.539 --> 00:37:54.559 just follow his lead 00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:55.400 and obey 00:37:55.400 --> 00:37:56.460 you come 00:37:56.460 --> 00:37:57.500 we'll talk about it 00:37:57.500 --> 00:37:59.599 maybe God's drawing you 00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:00.480 to First Baptist Church 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:01.500 wonderful things are happening 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.440 thank God for that 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:03.800 maybe he's drawing you 00:38:03.800 --> 00:38:04.779 to be a part of this 00:38:04.779 --> 00:38:06.639 I encourage you to come 00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:08.579 I'd be happy to guide you 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:09.480 in that process 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:13.300 and there's the rest of us 00:38:13.300 --> 00:38:16.559 and maybe some of those too 00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:20.059 that in reality 00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:20.860 there's stuff 00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:21.880 that we're battles 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:23.340 we're fighting in our life 00:38:23.340 --> 00:38:26.380 we're fighting it 00:38:26.380 --> 00:38:27.159 with tooth and nail 00:38:27.159 --> 00:38:28.320 doing everything we can 00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:29.739 except what we could do 00:38:29.739 --> 00:38:33.579 and that is to rely upon 00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:34.840 the word of God 00:38:34.840 --> 00:38:36.079 and to rely upon 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:37.299 the strength of God 00:38:37.299 --> 00:38:39.039 to rise above that 00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:42.239 and church 00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:43.259 I'm asking you today 00:38:43.259 --> 00:38:44.539 before you leave this room 00:38:44.539 --> 00:38:45.599 whether you do it 00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:46.539 right where you stand 00:38:46.539 --> 00:38:47.059 or whether you do it 00:38:47.059 --> 00:38:47.559 at this altar 00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:48.079 or whether you do it 00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:49.259 with a pastor praying for you 00:38:49.259 --> 00:38:51.239 regardless of how you do it 00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:51.940 today 00:38:51.940 --> 00:38:52.960 will you 00:38:52.960 --> 00:38:54.639 ask the Lord Jesus 00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:56.719 to give you victory 00:38:56.719 --> 00:38:57.880 in those areas 00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:00.400 to give you the grace 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:02.159 that would be sufficient 00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:03.440 for the thorn 00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:05.139 that's so nagging you 00:39:05.139 --> 00:39:08.980 that you'll gain strength 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:11.019 in the midst of weakness 00:39:11.019 --> 00:39:14.299 the devil would love 00:39:14.299 --> 00:39:15.119 to bridle us 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:16.319 he'd love to hold us back 00:39:16.319 --> 00:39:17.159 from being everything 00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:18.460 that God would have us to be 00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:21.279 and he uses these things 00:39:21.279 --> 00:39:23.639 he's been doing it 00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:25.699 since the earth was created 00:39:25.699 --> 00:39:29.199 to try to hold us back 00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:31.440 from God's very best 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:32.059 for our life 00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:34.440 God wants his very best 00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:34.840 for you 00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:36.900 he wants his very best 00:39:36.900 --> 00:39:37.340 for me 00:39:37.340 --> 00:39:39.119 and the devil 00:39:39.119 --> 00:39:39.980 don't like it 00:39:39.980 --> 00:39:40.940 hey listen 00:39:40.940 --> 00:39:42.279 he don't like us 00:39:42.279 --> 00:39:43.119 talking about it either 00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:46.920 but we have victory 00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:48.619 where his grace 00:39:48.619 --> 00:39:49.219 is sufficient 00:39:49.219 --> 00:39:52.599 Lord Jesus 00:39:52.599 --> 00:39:53.320 I love you 00:39:53.320 --> 00:39:55.219 I thank you 00:39:55.219 --> 00:39:55.920 for your word 00:39:55.920 --> 00:39:57.179 how it gives us 00:39:57.179 --> 00:39:57.840 guidance 00:39:57.840 --> 00:39:58.900 in the stuff 00:39:58.900 --> 00:39:59.840 that we face 00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:02.420 stuff that we don't understand 00:40:02.420 --> 00:40:04.360 but yet 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:05.579 your word 00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:06.640 gives us guidance 00:40:06.640 --> 00:40:08.140 leads us through that 00:40:08.140 --> 00:40:09.140 God I pray today 00:40:09.140 --> 00:40:11.360 that we'll drop our pride 00:40:11.360 --> 00:40:13.440 that we'll drop 00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:15.280 our stubbornness 00:40:15.280 --> 00:40:17.019 our defiant nature 00:40:17.019 --> 00:40:17.579 and that God 00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:18.539 will humble ourselves 00:40:18.539 --> 00:40:19.240 before you 00:40:19.240 --> 00:40:21.559 that we'll seek your face 00:40:21.559 --> 00:40:22.100 and that God 00:40:22.100 --> 00:40:23.019 will walk away 00:40:23.019 --> 00:40:24.180 from the sinful patterns 00:40:24.180 --> 00:40:24.900 of our life 00:40:24.900 --> 00:40:26.400 that so plague us 00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:26.680 God 00:40:26.680 --> 00:40:28.740 give us strength today 00:40:28.739 --> 00:40:29.699 to simply obey 00:40:29.699 --> 00:40:30.859 as you speak 00:40:30.859 --> 00:40:31.319 to our hearts 00:40:31.319 --> 00:40:31.779 and lives 00:40:31.779 --> 00:40:32.279 right now 00:40:32.279 --> 00:40:33.199 Father I pray 00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:35.239 in Jesus precious name 00:40:35.239 --> 00:40:35.659 Amen 00:40:35.659 --> 00:40:43.539 and intersection