Flipside Christian Church

A man will welcome our first ever
second service of three.

Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah.

Hey, I was really interested to see
how everybody is going to divide out.

First service was absolutely packed.

And so good job for coming this one.

So we're, so we have some people.

Good for you.

Good for you at,

It's going to be a it's
going to be a good day.

It already has been.

I'm excited for what God's going to do.

Through this, our time together.

If you have a Bible
and brought one with you,

if you go to the book of Matthew.

We're going section by section.

Chapter by chapter, verse by verse
through the book of Matthew.

And my hope today is to get through
chapter three and part of chapter four.

But, we'll see how that goes.

I haven't really planned we're going to do
this section, on a Sunday morning.

We'll get through what we get through
and we'll just keep going through.

It's going to be a long study,

and so we're not going to rush it,
but we're not going to cut stuff short.

So, chapter three and chapter

four, we're going to see heaven
breaking through and hell breaking in.

In these, in these two sections.

In Matthew chapter three,

we're introduced to a person named John.

It's called John the Baptist.

Because he baptizes
people in the Jordan River.

John and Jesus, not John the disciple.

That's a different John.
This is John the Baptist.

John the Baptizer,
and Jesus, our second cousins.

Jesus's mother, Mary,

and John's mother,
Elizabeth, are first cousins.

John is about six months or so older
than Jesus, and they're second cousins.

And God has obviously called John to a
very significant and significant ministry,

which is to prepare people
for Jesus's public ministry.

And so we're introduced to John today.

And then we'll be introduced
to, what is commonly

referred to as the temptation of Jesus
before he sets out on his public ministry.

And so if you just follow along with me.

Verses one and two of Matthew
chapter three, in those days,

John the Baptist, the Baptizer came,
preaching in the wilderness of Judea.

Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

That word repentant or repent,

the act of repentance is a key motif.

It's, it's a it's a key, topic for John

and for Jesus and for the disciples

and for the first church,

to repent.

That word repent is not necessarily
a feelings word.

It's an action word.

It may come with feelings of remorse

and feelings of grief
and feelings of guilt.

But the word repent is an action word.

It's been said that

heaven's doors
swing on the hinge of repentance.

I titled this whole series Kingdom Now

because in Matthew,
Jesus will teach his disciples to pray.

And during that prayer,
part of his teaching on prayer

is this your kingdom come, your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In order for God's will to be done
and his kingdom

to come necessitates repentance.

Heaven's door swing on the hinge of it.

It in in Scripture,

when you look at this idea of repentance,
this this call to repent.

It's the first words of every major

New Testament message.

The first words of John
the Baptist are to repent.

The first words of Jesus in this sermon in

Matthew 417 is to repent.

The first words that the disciples
preach in Mark chapter

six is to repent.

Jesus's instructions to his disciples
after the resurrection.

The first thing he tells him is preach
repentance.

The first Christian message

was about repentance in acts chapter two.

The apostle Paul, his message
began and ended with repentance.

All through Scripture.

In the New Testament, the primary motif

of preaching
and teaching begins with repentance.

Repentance.

Well, I like to say it like this.

Repentance is not backward looking guilt.

It's forward facing surrender.

It's not just that
I feel bad over my past.

That's backward looking guilt.

And that may be a part of

the feelings that prompt repentance.

But repentance is really forward
facing surrender.

Repentance.

As I say this,
the proof of repentance is a changed life.

But you cannot repent without a change.

So what the word means
means a change of direction.

We can feel bad about sin.

We can be remorseful about sin,

and we can be feel bad
about the consequences of sin.

But repentance isn't in place
until a life is changed.

There's a change of direction,
a change of sides.

Repentance

is less about proximity
and more about direction.

And so

for any of

us to
claim that we have repented of our sin,

if that is in fact the case,
it will be seen by a change of life.

Does that make sense?

You know
you can't keep living the same life

and claim to have repented.

That's inconsistent

and it's disingenuous.

And so John's first words here

to the community at large is to repent.

Change sides.

So the first words of Jesus first rose,

the disciples
first words of the first church.

And he says, repent. Why?

Because the kingdom of heaven is at hand

when Jesus will teach his disciples
to pray, your kingdom come.

How does that happen?

But first, by repentance,

the kingdom of God cannot
come upon a life in life through a life

to any lives without first repentance
happen in your will be done.

What's that mean? It means repent.

When I go my way, that's called sin.

When I go
God's way, that's called repentance.

Your kingdom come.

It requires repentance.

Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Verse three.

For this is he
who is spoken of by the prophet

Isaiah when he said, and this is quoting

Isaiah,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his past.

John the Baptizer is the one
who is making the way

ready for Jesus, the Messiah
and his public ministry.

And the way of Jesus is prepared

by repentance.

Repentance prepares the way for Christ.

Repentance means Kingdom come and kingdom

come means repentance.

And requires repentance.

And the first thing
that we need to acknowledge right now,

every one of us,

is the need to repent.

Not just to repent for salvation,

but to live a lifestyle of repentance.

The church has gone astray and and

and lived in great misunderstanding.

When we think that repentance is Jesus,
I'm sorry for my sin.

Come into my life and make me a Christian
and I'm done.

I have repented.

Repentance is one of those things.

That on a regular basis,

we must live in the lifestyle
of repentance.

Father, I realize that my tendency
is to walk away.

I realize my habit is to go my own way,

and I repent.

I choose to go a different way.

It's pervasive.

It's profound.

It's grand.

It's expansive.

And in every way
of my life, father, I repent.

Do you understand?

This is the only way that the kingdom
comes.

It's the way through
which the kingdom comes.

It's the hinges that the doors of heaven
swing on.

It's required of every person

to live a lifestyle of repentance.

I don't have to know.

I ought not know. It's not my job to know

your need for repentance.

You need to know.

I know for my life
when God has called me to repentance,

just not to salvation,
but to godliness and holiness.

I know when he's called me to repent,
and I know there have been those times

when I've heard that word
and I've been obedient

and I've repented.

And I know those times when I've heard that word it to repent and I've ignored him.

Only to my

shame and disgrace and destruction.

So repentance was very necessary

in light of my sin

and in repentance.

Heaven comes.

I don't know what it is for you.

I don't need to know.

You need to know.

God is saying right now, repent.

Not just look back in guilt,
but look forward and surrender.

Father, I repent, I go a different way
and I surrender my future to your way.

Your will, your kingdom.

Do you understand this?

This is vital and crucial.

You cannot follow
Jesus without repentance.

We can claim to be Christian all we want.

We can try to be a good person
all we want.

It doesn't matter.

You cannot follow Christ
without repentance.

That's why it was the first message
of John the Baptist of Jesus,

or the disciples of the First Church
of the Apostle Paul himself.

Repent.

Verse four.

Now John were a garment of camel's hair

and a leather belt around his waist,
and his food was locusts and wild honey.

My gracious

God, I get a picture of this guy.

He's living out in the wilderness.

He wears a height of camel that can't.

If any of you ever ridden a camel.

So he just one year and rode a camel.

They're not nice creatures.

They're not comfortable.

They're nasty, dirty, stinky.

And this guy is covered in camel hair

with a leather belt eating

grasshoppers and honey,

I there's a lot of different ways

they made grasshoppers
and locusts back in the day.

I can't imagine any of them
being any good.

Unless maybe you put them on a Traeger. Because Traeger makes everything all right.

But I was

talking to someone last week about John
the Baptist, and they said, why did he.

Why was he so eccentric?

Why did he wear camel hair and leather
belt and live out in the in a wilderness

and here's here's why.

If you were to read Second Kings one,
you'll read about the great prophet

Elijah,

and he is of that model.

Just like Elijah.

Elijah wore hairy camel hair
and a leather belt that this whole idea.

And it's not that John
the Baptist is trying to emulate Elijah.

It was just that type of austere life
that the father called him to live.

And so he looks very much
like an Old Testament.

Matter of fact, the Bible says John
the Baptist, though he's a contemporary of

Jesus, is the last
and greatest Old Testament prophet

because it prophesied about the coming
of the Messiah before the resurrection.

Jesus will say of this man
that there is no greater man born of woman

than John the Baptist.

And so here's this man, camel hair,
leather

bill eating locust, and then he living out
in the wilderness somewhere.

He's not seeking a follower.
He doesn't have a hashtag.

He doesn't have a website,
doesn't have Instagram.

He doesn't have any of that.

So there's no mailing campaign,
there's no followers.

And look at what God's doing.

Verse five in Jerusalem and all Judea
and all the region about the Jordan

were going out to him, and they were
baptized by him in the river Jordan.

Confessing their sin like God is just.

He's setting the stage through people
repenting

for Jesus, his ministry, to take root.

And all these people from the surrounding

hills
are coming out to John in the wilderness.

They're seeking him out,
wanting to be baptized.

Now, I want to I want you to understand
the difference between the baptism of John

the Baptist that we read about here
and the baptism that we practice there.

Different.

John was baptizing for the confession
of sin, as people would confess their sin

and realizing they were out of line
with God in repentance,

changing their life,
being baptized in acknowledgment of that,

what we practice, if you

read, Romans six,
especially of verse three,

we're baptized into union

with Christ, into his death,
in his resurrection.

And so John was baptizing
for the acknowledgment of sin,

just that people would acknowledge
their sin.

We're baptized.

So according to the New Testament, into
the death and the resurrection of Jesus,

as this statement, I have joined my life
to the death of Christ,

died to my sin and joy in my life,
to the resurrection of Christ eternally.

It's different
than what John was practicing.

John's just saying that
listen, acknowledge

you're a sinner separated from God.

That's what his baptism was.

And all these people
are coming out to be baptized.

Now watch this.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees

and Sadducees coming to his baptism,
he said to them, listen to these words.

This this boy is is a rough dude, man.

You snakes,

you brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath
to come?

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Don't just talk about it.

Make sure it shows up in your life.

And do you do not presume to say
to yourselves, we have Abraham

as our father, for I tell you, God is able
to raise these stones up for children,

children for Abraham.

Even now, the access later
the root of the trees.

Every tree, therefore, that does not bear

good fruit is cut down
and thrown in the fire.

I mean, he just throwing the helm like.

He just knocking them out.

He said, well, who do you think you are.

Don't just talk about this

lip service of being religious.

Prove it by your life
because your life doesn't look like it.

Bear fruit in keeping with what
repentance.

You gotta change who you are.

You just talk about it.

Who warned you to flee from the wrath
that's coming?

Did you realize something
that when when someone accepts

Jesus as their Savior,
you know what they're saved from?

Let me tell you.

Let me tell you what you're saved from.

You're not saved from sin.

You're saved from the wrath of God.

That's
what we're saved from because of sin.

So in essence, when I accept Jesus
as a Savior, what I'm saved from is

God Himself.

I'm saved from God

and His wrath because of my sin.

And what John is saying here
is, who warned you to flee

from that wrath?

You talk a good game.

You talk like you're a religious
person. It means nothing

to these Pharisees and Sadducees.

These are the two primary religious
and political groups for the Jews,

two very different groups.

The Pharisees.

They were the larger group
and they were the conservative group.

They believe the Old Testament,
they believe the scriptures.

They were really, really moral.

They were conservative,

and they were part
of the Conservative Party, the Sadducees,

a much smaller group,
very vocal, very liberal.

And they had all the money.

Hmhmm.

The more things change,
the more they say the same.

And neither of them were good.

The Sadducees being liberal,

they didn't believe
in the eternal things of God.

They didn't believe in the miracles
of the Old Testament.

They didn't believe in eternity.
They didn't believe in heaven.

They didn't believe in hell.
They didn't believe in angels.

They didn't believe in demons.

They were sad. You see.

Have you ever

heard that dumb pastor joke before?

It's so old.

It's horrible.

They're just miserable people.

And so you got these conservatives on
one side, these liberals on those side

who are both giving lip service
to religion.

And John says,
you're both headed for destruction

because you don't live
in a lifestyle of repentance.

Who warns you to flee?

Every tree that therefore doesn't bear
good fruit is cut down

and thrown in the fire.

Verse 11 I baptize
you with water for repentance.

But he was coming
after me is mightier than I,

whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry.

And he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is already in his hand,
and he will clear threshing floor

and gather his wheat into the barn.

But the chaff he'll
burn with unquenchable fire.

That's a brutal message, man.

Says no more.

Are you religious people?
No more lip service.

Repent.

Bear fruit of repentance.

Show it in your life because otherwise
it doesn't matter and it's of no effect.

It says, I'm baptizing you with repentance
right now, so you acknowledge your sin.

But there's coming one after me
who will baptize you with fire.

And the Holy Spirit.

And he says these words, whose sandals
I'm not worthy to carry in this, in this,

this bondservant or slave culture,

the lowest of the slave in the home.

The lowest slave was the one
when the when the owners or the masters

would walk in the house, would unbend to
untie their sandals and carry their shoes.

For him
that was the lowest of the lowest slave.

That was their job.
Do you hear what John saying?

I'm not even worthy to be the lowest of
the lowest slave of Christ.

I love his humility.

He's not seeking a following.

He doesn't have some social media army
behind him.

He's not asking for followers.

There's no hashtag Instagram.

None of that.

He's the greatest of those born
among women.

And yet, he says, I'm not even worthy
to be the lowest of the slaves

for Christ.

That's a humble life of repentance.

Do you understand?

That.

Then verse 13, Jesus came

from Galilee to the Jordan
to John to be baptized by him.

John would have prevented him saying,
I don't.

I need to be baptized by you.

You even come to me.

Can you imagine?

Like like you're sitting in the backyard
by your pool of sun.

Jesus walks through the gate. Hey,
we got water.

How about you
baptize me? I mean, I want to

know.

I mean, the only time you could feel right
telling Jesus. No.

Like I'm going to baptism.

It makes no sense.

And I'm sure John's like, here's my.

You get this.

You need to baptize me.

And Jesus answered him, let it be so.

Now for us.

It is fitting for us
to fulfill our righteousness.

Then he continued, you can sin.

And so here's what's happening.

Jesus wants to be baptized by John.

Here's why.

In baptism,
Jesus is identifying with sinners

so he could later justify sinners.

Jesus is not being baptized
for confession.

Jesus is being baptized for identification

so he can identify with sinful humanity.

Not that he's sinful, but
as an identification with sinful humanity.

It's a baptism for Jesus of
identification, not a confession. Why?

Because Isaiah 5312

says that he was numbered
with the transgressors,

though never transgressed.

So for Jesus to identify with fallen,
sinful humanity,

he has to identify with fallen
sinful humanity.

And to do that, he does that in baptism
so that he can justify fallen,

sinful humanity. You understand?

The Bible says in Hebrews chapter four
that Jesus

as our high priest,
the model of the Jewish High priest,

was tempted in every way that we are, yet
without sin.

Jesus had to be tempted in every way.

He had to identify
with with us in every way so that he could

rightfully hold us accountable for our sin

and rightfully provide the provision
for the forgiveness of sin.

So he's baptized in identification
with sinful humanity,

so he can later justify
sinful humanity to follow.

That's why he's baptized.

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately

he went up out of the water and behold,
the heavens were open to him.

And he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and coming to rest on him.

And behold, a voice from heaven said,
this is my beloved son,

with whom I am well pleased.

So at his baptism,

which, by the way, the Greek word for
for baptized is baptism,

and it means literally to immerse
or dunk underwater.

That's why we baptized by immersion,
because the word means to immerse under

water.

That's why we don't sprinkle,
because the word baptize means to immerse.

And so when it says
Jesus came up out of the water,

it means by necessity
he was totally immersed in the water.

Do you follow so he comes up out
of the water after being totally immersed.

And the Bible says,
The Spirit of God descends

as like a dove,
and a voice from heaven is heard.

This is my son, in whom I am well pleased,

that what we see here

is a manifestation
of what's called the Trinity.

Have you heard about what the Trinity is?

You heard that word Trinity.

The Trinity is a Christian doctrine
that there's one God

manifest in three persons
God the father, God the son, God

the Spirit, equal in nature,
all being God.

Different manifestations.

The Father is God,
but the father is not the son.

The Son is God, but son is not the spirit.

The spirit is God,
but the spirit isn't the father.

They're all God.

Different manifestations now,

you may know or have been told

by people who don't understand
and by some cults,

that the Trinity,
the Trinity is not in the Bible,

and that therefore God is not equal

in three persons,
but distinct in different natures.

For instance,
that the son was created by the father.

That's false.

The Bible's

very clear
about the doctrine of the Trinity.

It is true that the word Trinity
is nowhere in Scripture.

You can look all through every page
and word of the Bible,

and you will not find the word Trinity.

It doesn't mean the Trinity isn't there.

The doctrine of the Trinity
for the Christian Church

was clearly defined, in at the Council

of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

and they said,
this is what the Scripture says

about the nature of God, God
the Father, God the Son, God the spirit.

That's put the verbiage around it
so everybody knows.

It was a response
to, heresy called Arianism,

that rejected the idea
that Jesus was eternal with the father.

And so they said,
let's set it straight for all Christians.

The doctrine of the Trinity
that God is one God.

God is Father, God the spirit, God
the Son, co-equal but different persons.

And so the doctrine of the Trinity
was really fleshed out in 325 BCE.

But the Trinity is all through Scripture,
Old Testament and New Testament here

and then the least
you have the Spirit of God

and the father saying, this is my son,

father, son, spirit.

You see that all at the same place
at the same time.

Okay, so don't doubt
the doctrine of the Trinity.

Don't be fooled by people's
arguments about it.

But I want you to, I want to I want to
point something else out about this to.

And this is just super practical, okay?

Especially for parents.

What does God the Father

say of God the Son in verse 17?

This is what

my beloved son finish it,

with whom I am well pleased.

This is the father saying over his son,

this is my beloved.

I'm so proud of him.

I'm so pleased with him up to this point
for what we know.

Scripture.

What had Jesus done to make the father
say, I'm so proud of you.

From from what we know, Scripture

and anything he showed up

and anything.

From what we know in Scripture,
he hasn't done anything.

And what does the father say?

Man, I love you and I'm so proud of you

parents, please understand this.

The love of the father,

the pride he has in his son

has nothing to do with performance.

Simply his person.

Parents get this.

Make sure that your children know.

That you love and your love for them.

And your pride in them
has nothing to do with their performance,

just simply for who they are.

When you get upset

at their lack of opportunity
or performance, what's that?

Tell them.

That you're pleased when they get it.

Parents,

please hear me on this,
especially if you got little.

I don't care
if they're little or old. Doesn't matter.

I, I just had my my middle son compete

in a jujitsu, competition
this last Saturday.

He took jiu jitsu for three months.
He got third place.

It's like it

and but but here's my point.

We're talking to him.

Had nothing to do
with how he performed it.

Just.

Man, I'm so thankful

that you still have this desire
to do stuff and you're able to.

And how fun that must have been.

I'm just proud of you for yourself
out there getting after it

had nothing to do with what he did.

So parents, please, please do this man.

You get a little girl, a little boy,
oh, boy, all that matters.

Listen, I just love getting to watch
you do your thing.

That's it.

I'm just proud of you.

Nothing to do with your performance,

parent.

You understand that?

Take if you from God the Father.

And so verse four

or chapter four, chapter three.

Heaven breaks through the Spirit
of God upon the Son of God.

For the father.

Chapter four.

Hell breaks in the moment this happens.

Great moment.

Then Jesus was led by the spirit into
the waters to be tempted by the devil.

He had to be tempted.

Jesus could not escape this life without
temptation in every way we are. Why?

Because he has to identify
with every temptation we face.

If Jesus was tiptoed in every way,
at the core of every way we are,

we can make a charge against him.

You cannot condemn me because of my sin,

because you don't know
what it's like to be me.

You understand that we would have
a charge against God.

So in order to take every charge away from
like we can't charge God with anything,

Jesus had to be tempted

in every way that we are
and had to face it without sinning.

And so he's led

is this great moment with the father,
and he's led in the desert to be tempted.

And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights,

I love how

simplistic
the Bible puts this next statement.

He's fasting 40 days and nights

and it says he was hungry.

You think?

I mean,
I didn't get breakfast this morning

and I would say I'm hungry.

40 have any of you fasted before?

Like like a biblical fasting
on a medical fast, but a difficult fast.

Yeah.

For like you missed a meal
and because you're busy

a day, two days,
three days a week, 40 days, anybody?

40 days and nights.

Have a church planner friend in Ohio?

He played right tackle
for University of Georgia back in the day.

He's a big, big man.

He's done 240 day fast.

He now he a lot of weight to lose.

No big deal. But I'm

but but

for 40 day fat that's that's
that's brutal.

And at some point
your body starts eating itself.

And so yeah he's found and for days
he was hungry no doubt.

And the temperature came to him and said,

we're going to see the three temptations
to Jesus in those same two ways.

We're tempted.

The devil isn't creative,
but he's consistent.

The devil cannot.

I said, if you are the Son of God, give
man these stones, become loaves of bread.

Couple things going on here.

One thing I want you to stand.

Regardless of the temptation.

There's a way out.

None of us has to give in to temptation.

When I was, When I was a little boy.

I've told this story
a few different times.

My mom and dad really want us
to memorize the Bible,

and they knew that the way to my heart
was through a Baby Ruth candy bar.

And so

my mom put a Baby Ruth candy bar
on top of the frigerator

not one of the cheap little ones,
like the big full thing.

And she wrote this verse
for first Corinthians 1013

on a, on a index card
and put on a mag on the refrigerator.

She said, when you memorize
that verse, you're gonna have a candy bar.

And it was first Corinthians 1013.

There is no temptation which come upon
you, which is common to everybody.

And God is faithful
and just and won't allow you to be tempted

beyond what you can handle
and will with the temptation.

Make a way out so you can handle it.

And so what that told me
is that whatever temptation

I face is common to everybody
else, I'm not special and neither are you.

Your temptations are exactly
what everybody else faces, nothing new.

So don't think that
devils singling you out special.

You're going to

be tempted in the way
everybody is tempted, and God is faithful

and just, and he won't allow
that temptation to be too much for you.

And even beyond that,
he'll give you a way out

that you can handle it
so you don't have to sin.

That's what I learned growing up,

Carl. You're not special

to every temptation
everybody else faces your dad.

Face it, your brother face it.

Your uncle's face it.

Your friends faces. Same.

And you can handle it.

And you'll even have a way out.

And what that told me is

I need to look for the way out.

And what that told me is,

sometimes I don't want to way out.

Sometimes I want to sin.

So God is faithful
and just to provide a way out.

He's also faithful and just to hold
me accountable for my sin,

because sometimes I choose it.

And he's also faithful
and just to provide, to provide

the payment for my sin through Jesus.

And so these temptations.

The devil starts with with Jesus.

If you are the Son of God, he's
saying a couple of things.

He's raising a question.

He said, do you think you got
a relationship with with God?

He's your father.

If he's your father,
why would he treat you like this?

You think this relationship
you have with him is

is is solid and good?

If so, why?

Why is he?

Why is he doing to you what he's doing?

He's also raising is raising this
this point.

If you are the Son of God,
why don't you prove it?

Why don't you prove it?

Do you see how the

devil just starts raising questions
in our minds about the father?

And this is the first temptation command.

These stones become bread loaves of bread.

Why does he start with that temptation?

Because. Why? Because he's hungry.

It's the temptation
of his greatest felt need.

And what the devil is saying?

The temptation, number one, is
you cannot trust the provision of God.

That's the.

That's the first temptation.

You can't trust

God to take care of you
because obviously he hasn't.

If you have this
great relationship with God,

why would he let you be

in such need right now?

Why would you trust him to provide
for you?

Because obviously, look back, he hasn't.

Do you understand this temptation?

If this relationship is so good
between you and the father,

why would he let you go hungry?

Why would he let you be in so much need?

It makes no sense.

Take matters into your own hands.

Do this yourself.

Anybody?

You can't trust God to take care of you

because he's left you without.

What kind of loving God is that?

That's a temptation.

It's the same temptation
of Eve in the garden.

When the devil came to even said,
why would you trust God

to provide for you?

Look what he's kept from you.

It's the same thing with Adam.

Or with, with Abraham and Sarah.

What?

God said he's going to give you a son.

How many years has it been?

You can't trust him to provide.

He hasn't done it yet.

Let's solve this ourselves.

But he answered, it is written,
man shall not live

by bread alone, but by every word
that comes from the mouth of God.

I love the how Jesus responds.

He just gives one Bible.

I'm not going to talk to you about it.
I'm not gonna argue with about it.

I'm not going to try to read anything.

Here's what the Bible says.

Here's what the Bible says.

There's no discussion.

Then the devil took him to the holy city
and sat him

on the pinnacle of the temple and set him.

If you are there, it is again, right?

If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down, for it is written,

he will command his angels concerning you,
and on their hands

they will bear you up, lest
you strike your foot against a stone.

The devil says, fine, Jesus.

You want to quote Bible up the Bible?

Do you know the Bible?

Or you know the devil probably knows
the Bible better than me, and you.

And so he takes so much to the pinnacle

the temple, the top of the temple,
the pinnacle, all the way down

to the bottom of the Kidron Valley
that it overlooks was 450ft.

And so the devil's like look, 450ft.

Go throw yourself down, the Bible says,
or you won't quote the Bible.

I'll quote the Bible.

The Bible says,
so come out and see angels.

Concerning is quoting Psalm 91

and he he's saying, here's the deal.

You based on the track record Jesus,
you can't trust

God's provision,
nor can you really trust his protection.

That's the second temptation

he hasn't provided for you,
and he will not protect you.

Like I said,
the devil isn't created a bit.

He's consistent.

And Jesus said to him, again
it is written,

you shall not put the Lord
your God to the test.

No discussion, just the Bible.

Friends take.

Let's take our cue from from Jesus.

Our response to every question,
our response to every temptation,

our response to every
whatever has got to be.

The Bible says

what the Bible says.

The Bible says

when we got to know the Bible,
but to our response

as we go, the Bible says,
but here's the thing.

The moment
you or I respond in this culture today,

the moment we respond with
the Bible says we're going to be labeled

ignorant and bigoted and whatever
other title you want to put on people.

Because it flies in the face

of culture to say the Bible says, let's
so all it's so archaic.

Well, the Bible says.

And we've got to be willing to bear that,

to bear that badge.

I'm a man of the Bible.

I'm a woman of the Bible.

We're a family.

The Bible in the Bible says that's just
that's just how it is.

You can label me however you want.

You can call me whatever you want.

That's fine.

But the Bible says.

In this culture,
there was so much confusion

and so much verbiage about all kinds of.

Identities and genders and relationships.

And the Bible says.

Roles and the Bible says.

Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain

and showed him all the kingdom
of the world and their glory.

And he said, all these I will give you,
if you will fall down and worship me.

What right does the devil

have to give kingdoms to God?

Well, in Luke four six

we learned that for a time being,

he's the ruler of this dark world.

See? And in the garden at the sin of Eve

and Adam, the devil was given
the title deed of the earth.

He owns it.

The good news is we read the last book
of the Bible, revelation chapter five,

and we see the lamb who was slain,
who gets the title deed back.

But in the meantime,

over this dark world,
the devil still yields power.

And the devil tells Jesus, look,
if the point of this whole thing,

let's just get pragmatic.

Now, if the point of this whole thing

is that the world worship
you, let's just circumvent the cross.

Why go through that?

Just bow down.

All the kingdoms are mine to give you.

I'll give them all to you.
They'll worship you.

Which is the goal anyway, right?

Because

after all, Jesus, you can't really trust
the promises of God.

That's the third temptation.

You can't really trust his promises.

You can't really trust his word.

And so let's get
let's get to where we want to get,

but let's do it a different way.

For me,

this would probably be
the greatest temptation.

I mean, other than the bread one,

because when I'm hungry,
that would be fantastic. But.

But I'm so pragmatic.

Let's understand what the goal is.

Let's get there by any way possible.

And if we can do it
easy, let's do it easy.

And that's what he's telling Jesus.

Well, we'll get to the worship

if you part, but let's do it
without the suffering part.

Let's do it off the cross.

You can't really trust the promise of God.

He has his promise of,

of of a resurrection, his promise
of redemption through your blood.

You can't really trust that.

Let's get it a different way.

And then Jesus said in verse ten.

Shut up.

You, you.

He's done.

Be gone, Satan.

And he doesn't say, be gone,
because I believe he does

say be gone because I trust
he doesn't to be gone because I anything

he says be gone because it is written,

you shall worship

the Lord your God and serve him,
and only him only shall you serve.

I love the fact man that Jesus.

He doesn't boil it down to what he thinks
or what he believes in. Nothing.

He boils it down.
This is what the Bible says.

This is what the Bible says.

And I'm going to build my life,

and I'm going to build my response
on what the Bible says.

Basically, what Jesus saying is

my job is to honor my father.

That's my job.

And however he wants me to do that,
I'm going do that.

I will believe his provision
because the Bible says I will believe

his protection, because the Bible says
I will believe his promise.

Because the Bible says

my job is just to honor him.

Verse 11
then the devil left him, and behold,

angels came and were ministering to him.

Jesus met every temptation with Scripture,

every temptation with Scripture.

That's our key.

The Bible says.

And and I want you

to understand this, that heaven
always means obedience with strength.

Heaven always

meets your obedience with strength.

Just be obedient, repent.

He'll meet you with strength.

And angels came and ministered to him.

I want to close with this verse
to wrap this whole thing up.

James four seven

submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.

This whole thing starts
with submitting ourselves to God.

It's repentance.

Father, I submit my will to yours.

I submit my agenda to yours.

I submit my future to your design.

I humbly submit myself to you.

You are king.

I'm your slave.

Do with me
as you will submit yourself to God.

Then resist the devil.

There's a lot of us
who have tried to resist the devil

and be good people,
and change our lives in ourselves.

It doesn't work.

Behavior modification doesn't work.

There has to be a submission to God first.

It has to be a repentance first.

And when we submit ourselves and repent,

then we're able to resist the devil.

And the moment the devil sees submission
to God in repentance and resistance,

he runs away.

Do you understand that?

But it starts with our repentance.

And so, according to what John

the Baptizer said, according to what Jesus
preached, according to the disciples,

according to the first church,
according to Paul, repent,

for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

I want you to pray with me.

Father, I thank you

that you've not left us her own devices,
as you not left us to,

to this world.

According to our effort.

I thank you
that you've given us your word,

that you've given us your son,
that you've given us your spirit.

And I pray that in these moments
that you would call us to repentance.

Not just our

remorse over our past, but in

submission of our future.

Friends,
I want to invite you in this moment.

Like I said, I don't need to know.

It's not for me to know

your need of repentance.

You need to know it

and the need to repent.

The moment

you live in repentance and submission,

which is obedience,

heaven meets you with strength.

And so I invite you in this moment,
just simply between

you and the father to say, God, I repent,

I repent.

I agree with you
about this part of my life.

I've lived in rejection

of your design.

I acknowledge that,

and I come before you today in repentance

and submission.

Not because of who I am,
but because of what you've done.

Jesus, I pray you, make me a new person.
I want to go a different way

and I give you my life.

I give you my future.

I give you my direction.

May walk in newness of life.

Now God.

And then in this moment,

would you then also commit.

Father I,

when I choose to resist the devil,

the attitude he creates in

me, the grudges he continues in me,

the habits he propels in me,
I submit to you,

I resist him, make him run away.

He has no authority in my life anymore

because I'm submitted to you.

Jesus, I love you.

Thank you for this opportunity.

Thank you for this church thing,
for these people.

May your kingdom come and your
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In your name I pray, Amen.

Friends, I love you.

I'm proud of you.

Good job.

For the first second service of the three.

I want you this

week to read chapter four
and get into chapter five.

Chapter five starts the greatest

message ever preached called the sermon
on the Mount, chapter five, six and seven.

There's a lot there,
so read those two. Chapter four.

In chapter five.
Let's get into that next week.

Invite your friends with you.

Invite your huddle
to come to church with you,

and live a lifestyle of repentance.

Heaven will meet you with strength

I love you. Let's sing.