Matthew 4:1-10 | The Test called Temptation.

This is City Post Church. We're about three things.

Build equipped and send. All under the Lordship of Jesus.

Christ. A small church plant in Fort

Worth, TX. Who decided to do things a

little differently? Adoramos Ayesu cristo.

I love City Post because of the people.

It's where I belong. We truly preach the Word.

I love City Post because of the community we've been able to

build. To do ministry like Jesus.

For light to push back. Darkness.

This is City Post podcast. I actually grew up in South.

Florida, and not a Fort Worthian, but Fort Worth is

home. That's right, the funk.

I grew up in South Florida in Pompano Beach and we lived in an

area called Margate and in Margate down the street from our

home was a pond. Now as kids.

It looked like a lake. We.

We. Called it a lake.

And it's funny, you go back now you're just like, that's it.

Like that's that's tiny. But as a child, you're like.

That thing is massive so me and my friends we would spend.

Our days outside. Going to the lake and we would

go fishing all the time. We would catch our own bait.

We'd get crawdads, we get. Shrimp.

We get little minnows. And we'd just.

Be out there fishing. But the thing that worked?

Best was bread, and with bread you could catch.

Brim and all that stuff, but there was one day in.

Particular where I really. Wanted to go to the.

Lake I was. Feeling it in my bones, I was, I

think I was like 10 or 11 years old.

I'm like, I'm going to the lake today and I want to go fishing.

So I go to my mom and I ask my mom, Mom, can I go to the lake?

And what does she tell me? No, your brother's not with you.

Dad's almost home. We're going to have dinner.

You cannot go to the lake now. I'm in a little bit of a

conundrum now. Because.

You ever see those cartoons where you.

Have like the devil. And an Angel talking on your

shoulders and. There was a little.

Bit of me that was like, man, Ricky.

Just go to lake. Nobody's going to know.

And then this one's like, listen to your mom, you should obey.

And so anyway. So what I did was.

I got my little McDonald's toolbox.

I put my fishing can in there. I went to the kitchen and I got.

The butt of the bread. Because nobody pays attention to

it. And then I took it and I was

like, you know what? I could go.

To the lake, get a. Few minutes of fishing and run

back home and mom will never know.

So the mission was on. So I did all.

That and I snuck away when my mom was cooking dinner.

Went to the lake. Got to the dock.

I kept looking over my shoulder because this was scandalous.

I'm like disobeying my mom knowingly.

But I was like. But I got to get the fishing in

and as I'm fishing, no lie. I catch the biggest fish I've

ever. Seen in my life and that thing,

I pulled this brim out. It's about this big, and as a

kid you are now a superhero. Like this is what?

Legends are made of. Right, so I pull the.

Fish out and I'll people. Are like.

Gathering around me, if they had camera phones, it would be all.

Over, but it wasn't right. So people are like, wow, look at

that. Thing and I was so excited and

the one thing I thought of myself.

I got to go. Show my dad so I.

Take the fish. On the string with the line, I

leave everything there and I run home with my fish and I mean, I

am booking it. I'm so excited to show my dad

and I get there and my dad's at home and my mom's outside

waiting, but I'm not thinking about that.

'Cause I got the biggest. Fish I've ever seen in the

world. So I get there and I'm like,

Dad, look. At the size of this.

Thing and my mom's like, didn't I tell you not to?

Go look at the size of this thing.

You're grounded so no leg for the next like 2.

Weeks. And then we put it in the

bucket. My dad made me go take it.

Back it'll take your happy. Butt back, throw it and you're

in trouble 'cause you didn't listen to your mom.

You know what's funny? Is was that one moment worth

losing out the next? Two or three weeks.

And honestly, no, it wasn't. Because now I can't go with my

friends, Now I'm stuck. And when we talk about

temptation in our lives, temptation.

Always ties. An empty reward to it at the

time. When temptation comes at you, it

always seems wonderful. It always seems like man I.

Could just get this thing. Right here and right now,

instant gratification and it it has this.

Reward. That is very, very.

Empty. It's an empty promise.

It's a reward without value. It's a.

It's a. It builds a bridge that leads.

To nowhere with streets of nothingness.

And at the moment in time, it sounds like a great idea.

It sounds like there's something I could be celebrated with, but

the consequences of falling into temptation far.

Outweigh the rewards of life. We're going to look at Matthew

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, and this is. Our last, our our last.

Teaching in this this fight. Club series.

It's fight this. Whole idea of fighting

temptation. Jesus is about to go to.

The wilderness and Satan is about to meet him out there and

Jesus. Is about to be tested.

With temptation and I believe. That Jesus gives us.

An outline he maps out how to fight temptation off.

And this is going to help us. Today, man, I love what?

Luther said. Martin Luther, if you read his.

Stuff, he says. Prayer.

Meditation and temptation are the three best instructors for a

gospel minister. Temptation comes for every

single person. It's not only for some people,

it's not for good. People listen.

It's for all. People, especially with

believers, all of us are tempted by something differently.

But the fact that. Of the matter is that we're all

tempted. So what does it look like?

To fight this thing off, we have to look at the example that

Jesus gives us. So before we read the text, I

got to set. This thing up.

Jesus just got baptized. By John the Baptist So after he

is immersed in the water, a dove comes down, lands on his

shoulder. God speaks from the heavens, so

this is my son. Who I truly love and right after

Jesus gets out of the water it. Says in verse 1 then.

Jesus was led by who? By the Spirit.

The Spirit. LED Jesus into the wilderness to

be tempted. By the devil, see what Jesus.

About to teach us now he he is identifying with humanity and

baptism and he's also going to do this in temptation but the

thing about. Christ is that he's.

Going to be tempted, but he's never going to sin.

He is the great example for us to look at.

Now the Holy Spirit. Now listen, the Holy Spirit

cannot tempt you. That's.

James chapter one, verse 13. The Holy Spirit might lead us

into a place where we are tempted, but it's not to prove

something to God. It's for God to prove.

Something to us and God might pull you into these.

These temptations pull you into these times, allow you to

experience it so that way you may rely on Him.

That way he could grow you that way.

He could teach you something. Now what's interesting?

Here is that Jesus is about to there's going to be like there's

there's two realities that he's about.

To walk into He just came out of the cooling waters of the

Jordan. And he's about to go.

To the barren wilderness, huge crowds, to solitude and silence.

He has a dove that. Rests on him with the Holy

Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit is going to

take him to the wilderness. He has the voice of the Father.

Calling him my beloved son. Now he has the hiss of Satan

trying to tempt him. He is anointed and now he's

attacked. There's water.

Baptism. Now there's fire of temptation.

The heavens open up. Now he's about to go walk.

Through hell. And many of our temptations

usually come out of a time when we have experienced Christ in an

amazing. Way you you learn about Jesus,

God does. Something here comes the enemy.

What? Are you going to do and I love

verse 2. I think verse 2 is the most.

Realist verse in all of. Scripture after fasting 40 days

and 40 night. He was hungry.

That's real. I get hungry after four hours.

So I'm saying 40 days and 40 nights.

Jesus was fasting. The Spirit led him to the

wilderness to fast. Why he was about to.

Start begin his earthly ministry and when we look at.

Biblical. Fasting, Biblical fasting is

about. Food.

Now, I know we live in a culture where we like to fast from other

things. So we're like, man, I'm fasting

from chocolate, I'm fasting from Doctor Pepper, I'm fasting from

social media. Listen, those things are.

Great. It's a great way to reset your

life. But it's not biblical.

Biblical fasting is a fasting from food.

The best way? That I've heard it said.

Is that fasting is starving your body to fatten your spirit so.

Jesus is. Starving him.

He is seeking the father, he is fasting from food, and he's

getting to the end of his. Fast Moses was without food.

For in Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights, we see that in

Deuteronomy Chapter 9 verse 9. Elijah Fasted.

Deuteronomy 9:9

This long as well in First Kings 19 verse 8. 40 days and. 40

1 Kings 19:8

nights seems like a a a period of testing in the scripture.

We see this in both the days of Noah.

We also see this as the. Israelites are in the wilderness

for 40 years, but here's the difference between all of them.

Jesus was the only. One to successfully do it

without breaking the promises of God.

Jesus did it without. Sinning.

Jesus did it without grumbling. Matthew points out that he's

going into a barren desert if you study the wilderness of

Judea. It was just that it was a.

Desert. It's hot.

There's nothing that grows there.

He couldn't just find berries on the ground or streams of water.

It was a. Barren wilderness.

It was a barren desert and at the end of 40 days of not eating

anything. Your body, actually.

Enters into starvation. And I read this and I want us to

understand something about temptation, because there's two

things that's very like a common denominator.

There's a. Place and there's a condition

and what the tempter. Does, especially in our lives.

He's going to find you in a place of wilderness all.

Alone by yourself. There's always specific places.

That we have in our lives. There's.

Places that you and I get to emotionally, spiritually,

physically. Whatever that looks like for

you. Because we're all.

Different, but there's. Places that we get.

To in life, that temptation is most available.

To you. And then the condition that

you're in, for many of us, it's a place and a condition.

It's is I'm tired, it's I'm hurting.

I just had my heart broken. The temptation to go back to

that phone number in my phone is too strong.

The temptation to go back to that thing that I quit a long

time ago is pulling me in because I'm where I'm.

At Jesus was at a. Place where God told him.

To go. Into the wilderness and fast,

and he's at the point where he's almost done, and Satan is going

to tempt him to break that. And the whole goal of Satan is

to stop Jesus from getting to the cross.

It's been like that his whole entire story.

It is to stop Jesus. From going to the cross.

That's why we see the temptation here.

That's why they try to. Scourge him to.

Death. That's why Peter says.

Jesus, you cannot die. And Jesus looks at him, says

get. Away from me, Satan.

It's all about stopping Christ. From going to the cross the

enemy. Knows if he could stop Jesus

from getting to the cross, it'll stop the purposes of God.

And he can't forgive our sin. So there's.

A place, a location, there's a condition that hits us.

Here comes the tempter. Look at verse 3.

The tempter came to him and said.

If. You are the son of.

God tell these. Stones to become bread.

So verse 3, something I want you to notice, the tempter came.

So listen, it's not if you get tempted, it's when you get

tempted, it's coming. For you listen, we get.

Tempted all the time. What's the temptation for?

Is it to make you look ridiculous and makes you look

dumb? No, the temptation.

Is to pull you away. From the calling and the.

Purposes that God has for your life and if you.

Fall into that temptation, then he's going to yank.

You away your faith. Is going to get weakened up.

That's what the enemy wants. It's not if, but it's when.

Listen, the tempter came and then I love what Satan does

here. Because he says if you.

Are the Son of God a better translation if you look at like

the conditional like pronouns? Here it's since you are.

The Son of God. What Satan is doing is Satan is

not challenging the deity of Christ.

Satan knows exactly. Who Jesus is how crazy that the

devil has better. Theology than most progressive

theologians. Satan knows who Jesus is.

He's not. Challenging his deity, he's

challenging for him to. Prove it.

He's. Calling him out on it almost

like tempting him. Isn't that what he's doing?

He's tempting Christ. And then he says, listen, I know

you're hungry. He knows the condition he's in.

He knows the location. He knows where he's.

At Hey. If you're hungry and you're

since you're the Son of God, go ahead and just take one of these

stones and make them bread. Simple shouldn't be that hard

for you to son to God. What Satan wanted him to do was

violate God's plan. It was about using the gifts of

God for selfish ambition. He wanted him to satisfy himself

by denying what God told him to do.

Pretty simple Jesus, use your miraculous powers, make some

food for yourself. But you see Philippians 27, it

says that Jesus even 100% in his humanity, 100% deity.

Says that he put the deity side away to.

Take on the very nature of a servant.

So what Jesus does? Here in verse 4 is interesting

because. He could have easily soccer.

Kicked Satan to another Galaxy, but he didn't do.

That he chose to fight off. Satan and inside of his humanity

as a man, so now he has to rely on the.

Power of God's. Word and His truth.

So what does Jesus do? Jesus hits back by quoting

scripture. Right, so.

Jesus answered, It is written, Man shall not live on bread

alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth.

Of God. What Jesus does here is that he

is. He's showing us, he's imitating

and he's identifying with us. So that way he's giving us a

blueprint on how to fight temptation ourselves.

And it starts with Scripture and he quotes Deuteronomy 8/3.

This is what it says. Deuteronomy 8/3 He humbled you,

causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which

neither you nor your ancestor had known to teach you that man

does not live live on bread alone, but on every.

Word. That comes from the mouth of.

God what Jesus is. Going to do here is that every

time Satan comes at him. He's using.

Scripture from when the Israelites were struggling out

in the desert, right? So he's using Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 8 · chapter mention

Chapter 8 and he's like. Listen, I'm not.

I trust God. And what this scripture says

that Israel was. Questioning God because of their

condition. And what?

Jesus. Is saying he's like no, I'm not

questioning the father because we do not live on bread alone.

The word of God is. Worth more than bread, which we

see in the New Testament, which some we learned on Friday night.

Where Jesus says. I'm the bread of life.

Anybody who comes to me will not hunger ever again.

I will satisfy so if Jesus were to.

Fall into this? Oh, it would have been a mess.

It would. It would have.

It would have just. Turned his back on everything

that God had for him, but he didn't he uses.

The Word of God to. Fight off the enemy and.

What I love about this too is that Jesus.

Does not. Like silently disagree with.

Satan, he's not passive aggressive.

Here, he's not. Trying to find common ground.

No, he's like boom, absolutely not.

This is what God's Word says, and he shuns him away.

He shows that every. Word that proceeds from his

mouth should. Be of his of God.

But then. Verse 5 The devil.

Took him to a holy. City so the devil like.

It's something y'all. I don't know if you've noticed,

the devil's pretty. Persistent.

It's not just going to be. Who?

I fought them off. I'm going to see him in four or

five years. No, it's a constant battle.

It's constant. The Devil.

Took him to the holy city and had him stand at the highest

point of the temple Man. If you read, there's a a Jewish

theologian named. Josephus, He says that the drop

of. The temple was about 450 feet to

the ground in the area of the Kidron Valley.

What Satan is going to ask him to do here in verse 6, he's

like, listen, if you're the Son of God, since you're the Son of

God, go ahead and throw yourself down.

Go and jump off because doesn't the Bible say that He will

command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in

their hands so that you will not strike your foot against stone?

Look, look what Satan is is prompting.

Jesus with what? Satan is showing his appeal.

To the is the. Same thing that all of mankind

has. We want every we want.

God's approval. And we want God's approval in

front of everybody. We we don't just want his

approval. We want it publicly demonstrated

so that way the whole world can see.

That God is approving of me, He. Internalizes it, and what's even

crazier is that when Jesus tells him the first time he fights him

off with scripture, Satan comes back and Satan uses scripture to

try to tempt Christ. He quotes.

It, but he doesn't quote the whole thing Satan is reading.

What? Satan is quoting Psalms 91,

Psalms 91, verses 11, and. 12 So this is what.

Psalms 91:11

The Psalm says the. Psalmist says for he will.

Command His angels concerning you to guard you in all of your.

Ways they will lift. You up in their hands, so you

will not strike your foot against stone.

What Satan does is that Satan quotes the scripture, but he

doesn't quote. The whole scripture.

And listen, Satan is using scripture.

To try to tempt the. Lord and listen, many of us fall

into that trap where somebody could easily throw out and

sprinkle out a verse thinking like man, they're.

They're pretty. They're pretty sharp.

Y'all better know what scripture says This song we always.

Talk. You better have your the word of

God with you to check whoever is.

Telling you something that is truthful.

Satan is giving half truths. Go ahead Jesus, if you do this

the. Angels are going to rescue you

in a spectacular fashion. You're going to enter into your

calling and into this Kingdom. You're going to jump down.

Angels are going to save you. And in the whole, everybody's

going to see this. I think of like like Marvel

movies like Iron Man or like. Thor as they like.

Jump from the Galaxy and land on Earth.

He's like lands with his first in the ground and and like.

Waves of dust go. Everywhere and everybody's like.

Whoa. He's going to destroy everybody.

I could almost see that's kind of the temptation that Jesus is

point. I mean Satan is pointing Jesus

to man. Show up and show.

Outlet the whole world know that you.

Are the Son of God. But what we see is that Jesus.

Doesn't come into town that way. He shows up in a donkey, humble

servant going to the cross. He's trying to get Satan's

trying to get Jesus to demonstrate his power.

Look how Jesus answers him. It is written in verse 7.

Do not. Put the Lord your God to the

test. Same verse as the Israelites are

in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 616.

That's what exactly what he's man, he's recalling.

When the Israelites had this. Experience in Manasseh and they

were grumbling to the Lord and they were they were angry with

Moses because they were demanding that Moses bring water

like they trust God like God didn't just.

Save you guys from slavery. So what he does is Jesus is.

Quoting do not put the Lord. Your God to the test.

Don't do that. So again, verse A the devil.

Took him to a very. High mountain to show him all

the kingdoms of the world in their splendor and say it's

crafty y'all. So the first thing is you

hungry? You're beat down, man.

Go make some bread. The second one, you know what

you're about to kick off this ministry, man.

Let the whole world know. Show them your power.

You're you're God, right? And now what does he do the

third time what Satan does? Is he offers Jesus a shortcut?

He says again, he took him to the high mountain, He showed him

all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor.

And verse 9 he says. All this I will give to you,

Jesus, if you. Bow down and worship me.

I will give you everything if you become my #2.

You still get the. Perks of the number one.

Your name is not assigned to it though.

I. Will give you everything you ask

for. You don't have to go to the.

Cross you don't have to suffer for these people.

You could just ignore. What your father says, I will

give you. Everything and it sounds

wonderful, but no, because temptation usually breeds

rewards that are empty. It's not going to happen.

And what we know about saying is that right now.

We're he's. Operating in Satan's domain.

Jesus is very aware of who he's. Talking to, we know.

That scripture tells us. Satan is the ruler of the world.

That's John 1231. Satan is the God.

Of the Sage Little G. Right, Second Corinthians 4/4.

Right, the whole world. Lies in his power.

That's first John 5/19. He illustrates this in Daniel

Daniel 10:13

chapter 10, verse 13. Like we see all through

scripture. That Satan is not in hell right

now. That's coming in the Book of

Revelation when Christ comes. Back same will be casted.

Away and held forevermore. But right now he is the Prince

of this world and he does what he wants.

God is allowing him in his sovereignty to do it.

And Jesus recognizes this. And I love what Jesus does.

Almost like Jesus gets fed up with him.

He says Jesus. Said to him, away from me,

Satan, for it is written. Worship the Lord your God.

And serve him. Only Jesus is sighting, and he's

paraphrasing Deuteronomy 613 through 14.

As the Israelites are. Experiencing all these things

that are happening to them in the wilderness, Jesus continues

to use that text to push Satan away.

But he's not like with the he's not like them because he

withstands the temptation. He doesn't fall into it.

Which is where we could. Learn and I love verse 11.

Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended Christ.

The only other time we see this is in when Jesus in the Garden

of Gethsemane after he prays. And he's.

Bleeding out of his pores, the angels come and attend to him.

I don't know what that looked like, but when you look at this

story in Luke Chapter 11. It says that the devil had.

Luke 11 · chapter mention

Finished all this tempting and he left him until an opportune

time. What's saying is saying is like,

man, I'm going to. Wait until the.

Right time to come at you and we're going to do this again.

So. What do we know about

temptation? There's three things that that

Jesus tempts us or that Satan tempts us with.

That we all go through. We see it in first John chapter

1 John 2 · chapter mention

2. It is the lust of the eyes, the

the lust of the flesh. And the pride of life?

Break it down a little bit more easier.

What are we tempted with? Physical appetite, personal gain

and power. All of the temptations.

The common denominator of temptation is.

This right here SO. What am I?

What is my appetite looking for physically?

If I struggle with lust. The opportune time to be tempted

is when I am alone in my room with my phone.

If I struggle with alcohol, the opportune time to be tempted is

when I had a long day at work and that temptation comes in.

Like man, you know what, you had a long week, go ahead and go

get. Yourself a pack you deserve.

It I know I struggle with it, then why am I falling into?

That stuff because of. The condition and the location.

Because it appeals to the the physical appetite that we have.

Then personal gain, then power. Genesis chapter 3 we see the

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

temptation that Satan brings to Adam and Eve.

You may eat of the tree. Genesis 1 I mean 3-1 personal

gain. You will not die.

Power you will be like God. Same thing, we just.

Saw Matthew 4, You may eat by changing stones into bread.

Physical appetite, personal gain.

You will not hurt your foot if you jump off this thing.

Power. I will.

Give you all the kingdoms of the world first, John.

Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life.

So if temptation is constantly coming at us, the question is

how do we? Fight this so before we close.

I'm just going to give you 3. Quick, Three quick ways that we

could fight. Temptation.

Based out of the text of what Jesus shows us.

So when the tempter comes. At us if I'm a follower of

Christ. And the tempter comes at us.

Number one is that I the way that I effectively resist

temptation is by countering it. I I counter Saints.

Lies with the word of God, period.

What we see that Jesus does Jesus.

When he is countered with temptation.

He. Doesn't that's going to sound

bad, But he doesn't just fall on the floor.

He doesn't weep. He doesn't.

Cry. He doesn't pray.

What does he do? He quotes the word of God.

And listen, the more you know. The word of.

God, the more ready you're going to be when temptation comes your

way, the less you know. The word of God.

The more acceptable you're going to be when temptation comes your

way. Many of us think about why do I

always? Fall.

Why do I always struggle? Why do you always not read your

Bible? Guys, it's all about using God's

Word. And listen, if we're ignorant in

the Word of God, then we are going to be poorly equipped.

When temptation comes our way, we're going to find ourselves.

Back at. Square 1 and what?

Jesus does is as. Soon as Satan pulls up on him.

He starts to quote scripture. Now, I know some of us are

thinking, man, Ricky, but I ain't that smart.

It's hard for me to remember things.

Yeah, but you know all the lyrics from Taylor Swift songs

or Selena, you know, rap lyrics. You guys, you.

Could remember things if you want to and I always.

Try to tell people too, like if you.

Have a hard time remembering things?

Summarize it. It's like if.

Satan's coming at you and you're just like, I don't know, like I

feel like this temptation. You could easily.

Summarize stories in the Bible like you know what now?

Like there was this. Guy, that was.

Blind and Jesus healed him, and everybody was coming at him, and

they were like. Who did?

This he's like, I don't know, but I all I know is that I was

once blind, but now I see. Listen, you just start like

summarizing scripture. You start talking to about.

Scripture you just start. Throwing it out there and the

enemy runs. He has to because the word of

God is. Powerful Ephesians 6 Paul talks.

About the Word of God. As being a double edged sword,

it's a weapon not just of defense but of offense.

So when the enemy comes at you and you're feeling like all down

on yourself, your mind is like you're just in a bad.

Place you better. Take that thing out.

Start just slicing. You better take God's Word out

and you just start talking. To yourself about it, you pray,

you ask God to give you a. Revelation of His word Like

Lord, I know. You've called me to something

better than this. Lord, I know.

For a fact that light has. No business being with darkness.

Get me away from this place, and when you start using Scripture

and you start quoting the word of God, you're going to start

seeing a change. In how you battle.

Temptation, you're not going to fall into it as much.

You're actually going to start fighting it.

So number one, you got to highlight it.

You bring light. Of God's truth.

And you shine it on. The devil's lies.

But number? Two, we have to.

Learn that not everyone who. Quotes Scripture.

Or not everyone who quotes. God Word is of God.

Be careful. What?

Satan does the second time around.

Satan. Quotes God's word.

He just leaves a little bit out of it.

He takes it. Watch this.

He takes it out of context. You know, there's a lot of.

Wacky stuff that. Happens in our world.

I've seen scripture used for many things.

There's been political landscapes where they use.

Scripture to get. Voters, y'all remember the

rapture came there's been slave masters who have kept people

enslaved because of scripture. There's been cult leaders who

use scripture. There's been mass shootings

where people left manifestos and they.

Quoted Scripture. There's been millions of people

have been murdered. Because they use scripture,

Colts have used it to hold. People's attention and listen

Scripture is used in a improper way and it doesn't.

Show the way of Christ? Well, Ricky, how do I know?

Because it doesn't show Jesus. We've got to be careful.

That people are not just using scripture.

To sell stuff, or to get votes, or to like other people, or to

try to get people to like you be.

Careful men and and Peter. He talks about false prophets.

And how they were using God's word to get some money.

Out of you. So what do we got to do?

We. Better know His word, and we

better know it correctly, and we better know it.

Right, so that. Way when you hear scripture

being improperly used. You're able to.

Stand up and be like, no, that's not it, man.

I've had people pray and prophecy and try to push me down

and I'm looking at them like, Nah, this ain't it.

And they tried using God's word over my life and I'm like, Nope,

that's not it either. There's something off.

There's something wrong with the Spirit here.

And I would have known that unless I knew his word.

So. We've got to know God's Word and

be ready when somebody. Else tries to use it.

For something other than pointing.

You to Christ. So not everyone who?

Quotes God's word is of God be. Careful, know your word.

So you're able to use. It and then the last thing and

we'll close here. Be aware.

Stay late. I mean stay.

Be aware. Stay alert and pay attention.

How do you say the same thing three times?

Just like that. You're not smart, you're dumb.

You make bad decisions, guys. We have.

Got to have a. Spiritual awareness in our lives

that we know that something is a temptation.

How do I do that, Rick? How do I?

Have an A spiritual awareness to know that when things are coming

at me, I know that it's not of God.

Like I I've read the Bible. I have.

Scripture, it's just so how do I know the way that you're going

to end up knowing the more intimacy.

That you have with Christ. Everything in this world looks

strangely dim the more I know Jesus.

The closer I get to Jesus. The more I read His word, the

more I pray, the more I stay connected to the vine.

When things come my way that don't belong, it's going to be

easier for me to identify what doesn't belong.

How do I identify what doesn't belong?

Because I know what belongs. The way that you test.

If you know that I have a real $100 bill, I don't flood myself

looking at fake $100 bills. I look at the real ones.

So when a fake one comes my way, I am able to identify it.

It's the same thing with anything in this life that

you're trying to prove if it's real or not.

You don't focus on the fake, you focus on the real ones.

So how do I know how? Do I stay alert?

You got to be connected to Christ, intimacy with Christ,

knowing. Christ, it builds your

spiritual. Awareness When something shows

up in your life, you're going to be like, this sounds so good,

it's pleasing. Oh man, I might like it for a

season. It's a quick reward, but you

know it's not from him. And how do we know that this

thing could be trusted? Because Jesus.

Hebrews 415 for we do not have a high.

Priest. Who is unable to emphasize?

With our. Weakness.

But we have one who has been tempted in.

Every way, just as we are yet He.

Did not sin. Jesus went through it.

He was tempted just like you and I.

The only difference is that He never sinned.

So whenever we need to learn how to fight our temptation, we

don't go to books. I don't go to podcast, I go to

the word of God. Because he's the only one that

did it, right? He's the only one that did it.

We serve a God who knows. Exactly what you're going.

Through temptation is hard. The attack of the enemy is hard.

I'm not going to deny it. It is.

Listen, I get tempted with stuff all the time where I just want

to fall into it. But I have to stay in His word.

Sometimes I just say stuff out loud in my car.

Go for a walk. I just talk to God.

Just start quoting stuff. Why?

That's the one way that you. Resist the devil, use this word,

use it correctly, and be. Alert by staying close.

To Christ, we pray for us. So Jesus, we love you.