Temptations of Jesus

Good evening. Would y'all stand? Just for one song. I want to welcome you to Calvary Chapel this evening. And those of you who are joining us online, we welcome you.

Would you join me in prayer? Father, we thank you for this opportunity this evening to gather to worship in song and to study your word. Father, we lift up all that's going on here at Calvary Chapel tonight, the youth group, the children's church, the nursery, and our time in here, Lord. And would you be glorified? Would you fill us afresh by your Holy Spirit tonight

as we worship in song and study your word? And we'll give you all the thanks, Lord. You step down into darkness. Open my eyes, let me see. This heart adores you.

To see, to say, interceding for us through my joy.

Like sin. Oh, Satan shall be silent. The God is good.

Sorry about that. Can't see where the lick.

And that's pretty much the truth nowadays. Okay, would you turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 4?

Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you for this opportunity to gather this evening, Lord, to spend time in your word. Father, would you bless our time? Would you give me the words to say? Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to perceive what you want for us tonight, Lord, out of your word. Help me share what you want shared, and those things that come out of my mouth that should be forgotten,

may they be. I would just ask for your blessing now on our time in Jesus' name. You know, Ryan's teaching through the book of Ephesians, as you know. And he, I can remember a time sometime back that he had addressed this area in Ephesians, and he said, Ephesians 6, and I'm not going to go over to Ephesians 6, but there, in the armor that God has given us, that offensive weapon, after he's talked about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, helmet, you know, your helmet of salvation, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, and on down the line, there to the sword of the Spirit being that offensive weapon.

Those others are defensive. The sword of the Spirit is the offensive weapon, and of course we have prayer. But that word, sword of the Spirit, there, we want to focus on because it is, remember, in that whole armor, that armor is what they're wearing, and it's a picture of what the Romans wore to give us the glory of God. And it's also a physical picture to discuss the spiritual armor we have.

And the sword of the Spirit there is the word rhema. You know, we have logos, the word. But in this particular place, it's rhema, the spoken word. And so, and I heard John Corson and some of them say, it'd be like kind of when you're in that battle, you see, you might be having that, that dagger-type sword, that different kind that's, you know, you're using in hand-to-hand combat.

You got the shield of faith and all. But that spoken word. And I heard Dave Jeremiah point this out, and I, of course, knew this, but as I heard him point this out in the study when he was doing this, and he pointed out how that's, Jesus gave us such a good example of the spoken word as he dealt with it. He dealt with the temptation that he went through. And so, I want to focus on that tonight

and hopefully encourage us in that area, and we'll see Jesus' response at his temptation. And so, as we're here in Matthew 4, and it's just a very good example of that teaching in this area of the spoken word. The spoken word and how Jesus responds and how important we want to consider. As I know you know, I'll be saying things you know oftentimes. You know, we repeat.

As we teach, we repeat. And you know, Peter said in his second epistle, he saw that necessary to put us in remembrance. Amen? We are sheep, huh? And we know, we understand that a sheep doesn't have a very long attention span. So, that's why Peter probably said, I want to put you in remembrance of this, you know? And so, I want to put us in remembrance of this section again, and I'm speaking to me too,

in how Jesus responded to the temptation. I want to begin reading in Matthew chapter 3, though, over, starting at verse 13. Excuse me. I want you to see how Jesus actually identified with us and how he responded to the temptation. And he followed the word of God, what God had commanded him to do, all the way through. And he didn't fear from the left or right,

but he was obedient unto death, the death on a cross. Amen? So, let's look at this. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me? And so, notice what Jesus says. But Jesus answered and said to him, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting

for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him, when he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And I think that's interesting

because you see, it's during this time we really see his ministry, it takes off. He identifies with us, as Dr. McKee said, in baptism. And then we see Jesus facing after that baptism time of testing. And you know, many times at the top of many times after mountaintop experiences, temptations, testings, trials, can come. And as we're all, as you all are sitting out there,

and I'm sitting up here, I can remember various times where, man, you're going, wow, that is so heavy. God blessed in such a way. And boy, you get down toward that valley, and Satan wants to hit you with something. You know what I mean? Because, and then there, you know, and you can, if you're not careful, get drugged down. And so, let's look at verses 1 and 2

of the chapter. And then we're going to just start jumping in. Here we go. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterwards he was hungry. That does make sense. And so as we look at that section here, those first two verses,

now let's,

as we look at those first two verses, let's look at the purpose for which he was led. To be what? Tested or tempted of the devil. And then we see the conditions. He's having fasted 40 days and he was hungry. And so it, you could say, very God and very man, knew what it was like to be hungry, and we're going to see, he knew what it was like to be tested or tempted

and we're going to see that he will not heed to it, which just encourages the fact that we knew he is God and that just proves so. And to think of the temptation he would face, you see. The pure son of God and son of man. The emphasis of temptation on him would be pretty heavy because he is not going to be enticed to do wrong or to do evil, you see. Because he's God, the son.

Now when we think of that word tempted, we know that God never actually tempts us to do evil. But we can go through a time of testing which God uses to reprove us or strengthen us or to build us up. So there are those times of testing that we all go through. Now, that word for testing or temptation it has both, you've got the both emphasis God will allow tests in our life which doesn't work in our life and of course Satan will also tempt us.

And so Satan will tempt us or entice us, you see. He tempts us or entices us to sin. But remember ultimately God is in control. And through it all, God ends up using even the tempting itself that takes place when Satan is enticing us. That ends up being a test too, doesn't it? How we respond to that.

And we're going to see Satan wanting Jesus to do some things that is not what he's to do in this situation. And Jesus is in that state of hunger. He's fasted 40 days. I want you to turn as we're looking at this let's look at some scripture concerning tempting and testing. And so we're going to look at James chapter 1. And so remember ultimately God is in control.

Tests, tempting those various things go on in our life and they're used by God. One way or the other. And it's how we respond of course. And this is what we're going to see in the beautiful picture of this section of scripture, how Jesus responds and how he handles this time of testing. James chapter 1, let's begin with verse 12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation

for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. And so there's that blessing in, you know, enduring. Verse 13. Let no one say when he is tempted I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt himself. Oh, but here's what happens. Look at verse 14. But each one

is tempted when he is drawn away, what? By his own desires and enticed. Oh, we have that flesh, don't we, we deal with? And when, you know, and Satan will push those buttons, you see. And each one is tempted when he is drawn away. And it's by his desires. And we're going to see as we go down through here, the various ways that Satan will use in his strategy

and tactics to use to try to entice us, you see. Verse 15. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin when it is full grown, brings forth death. And you see what happens when that takes place. When sin is allowed, when we yield to the enticement of sin, what happens is we become dull to that which is around us and those who are around us and what God

is doing sometime. It puts up that little wall, you know. Now over in Hebrews, you see, Jesus, though, I want you to know, Jesus understands. Before we look at the example of Matthew 4 and how he responded, let's see what Hebrews go over to chapter 2 beginning in verse 17 and let's see what Hebrews says about this. He says, therefore in all things he had to be made like

his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. In things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Oh, isn't that interesting? You see, he was a different high priest than Aaron and all his boys. They would have to sacrifice, you see, for their sins as well as the people, representing the people. Jesus never sinned, but he knew

you see, then when he knew then he had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. And so he was a perfect high priest who could die on that cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us, you see. He died on that cross. In our stead, you see, that great high priest after the order

of Melchizedek, you see. We won't go into all that. We've been talking about that on Monday nights. Verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. Isn't that a good promise? Isn't that wonderful? You see, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. And so Jesus knows.

Hebrews, now let's go over here to Hebrews 4 now, starting in verse 15.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted, as we are, yet without sin. Amen? And so you see, now think of it this way. Now let's look at verse 16. In light of all that, let us therefore come boldly, freely, to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Amen? Grace in time of need. Our great high priest. So we see that Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, by the devil. We also see that when he had fasted those 40 days and 40 nights, afterwards he was hungry. Now, in verses 3 through 10, we see Satan tempt Jesus. Three different times. And we see Jesus' response. We're going to watch how he responds.

You know, it's interesting. Solomon said, there is nothing, new under the sun. We will see in this portion of Scripture, three typical ways Satan tempts us. He seems to use different disguises, strategies, techniques, but it usually comes down to be, seems to be, that it's dealing with through the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

And when you stop and think about that, we've got the world and its system that we deal with. We've got the devil that is out to kill, steal, and destroy. And then we're living in this body of flesh. We've got that new man, that new, we're a new creation, but boy, that old man wants to take over any chance he gets, right? And so then, Satan will try to entice us,

you see. But it's wonderful to know that through it, God, we're His, and even in that enticement, God can use it for a test to get us through. But, God also will allow tests in our life that doesn't show Him anything about us. He already knows, but it shows us things about ourselves. Amen? And so then, as those tests come, He shows us that we are His. And He allows us

to go through things that build character that encourages us to trust in Him, you see. If He just, you know, if we didn't have to go through anything, this old flesh and this old mess that we are, we'd get complacent. But He wants to all things are working, over in Romans 8 28, all things are working for the good, for those who are called according to His purpose. To those who love Him, are called according to His purpose, you see.

To draw us closer into the image of Christ. And so, all the different things that we don't feel like are good, are working for the good. How many times do we find ourselves going through, we don't, we're not excited about the thing that's happened, but as one thing happens on another, as they come together, they become part of the puzzle to draw us closer to Him. And also, I probably said this before, you know, like I said, we repeat, or I do.

Anyway, another thing David Jeremiah pointed out in that scripture, all things are working together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. You know, there are certain things, I think salt is, what is it, sodium chloride? That comes together. Now, when they're put together, it's a good thing. It tastes good, huh? But they say, them

separately, wouldn't be so good. But see, they're working together for the good when those two things that might not be good otherwise on their own, you see this principle? And so God is working those things. Now turn over to 1 John chapter 2. We'll work our way through here. 1 John chapter 2 beginning in verse 15. And let's just look it over here. We're kind of, we're just getting some background

here, you might say, of just what we face. And then we're going to see how Jesus faced it as we keep going through. 1 John chapter 2 verse 15 begins, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. That doesn't work, does it? If you're loving the world, this world system, which is all about me,

then you can't put God first, you see. Verse 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. Verse 17. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Amen? And ultimately the will of God is for us to believe on him

who God sent, right? It starts there. Because until you come to Christ, you're going to go nowhere quick. Well, you'll go somewhere, alright. How quick, we don't know. But it's either heaven or hell, right? Yeah. And Jesus talked about hell more than anybody, I think. Not that he wants to send anybody there. I understand it's prepared for Satan and his demons, but

those who choose not to follow Christ, that would be the destination. So we see the tactics used on our first parents also. After Satan had deceived Eve, we read in Genesis 3.6 and remember, chapter 3, the first two chapters of the Bible and the last two chapters of the Bible, hey, they're pretty jazzy. But beginning in chapter 3 of Genesis, up through 20 of Revelation, we see the work of God working in the lives of sinful man, right, basically?

Drawing and sending his son, Jesus Christ. And so beginning in chapter 3, you remember, and Eve really probably wasn't, she probably didn't, her whole response, anyway, you know, the serpent comes up and he starts casting doubt in her mind. Did God really say? You see, that's what Satan wants to do. He wants to cast doubt in her minds. Is God's word really true?

Did God really say you would surely die? No, you're gonna be like him and be like God. There's no difference between good and evil at all. And so when you get down to verse 6 though, it says this, So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also

gave to her husband with her, and he ate. And we see the result. Amen? And from then on, when you get to verse 15, we begin to see the work of redemption start. You see.

So let's read 3 through we're gonna read 3 through 5, I believe, okay? Now when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Just 4, just 3 and 4. So, as we look at this, the word if would be probably

better rendered since you're the Son of Man. And so we see the tempter tempting Jesus to use his gifts and his power to turn the stones into bread. You see. There was gonna be bread. In fact, when we get down further, we'll see. Hey, the angels are coming. He's gonna get food, you see. But he wasn't to go this direction, you see. We know any time Satan is tempting

that the goal is not of right. Amen? That's right. So it looks like Satan is tempting him to use his gift for his own purposes. So Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy A3. It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord. Well, good grief, I just read it. Come on, brain. I can blame that on something maybe, but I won't. So when the tempter came to him and said, You are the

Son of Man, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So we see here Jesus using the sword of the Spirit, don't we? Does he not use the word there? He doesn't stop and say, Oh God, I'm really being faithful, turning these stones

into bread. No. He says it's written. And so he stood on the word of God. How important he quoted the word of God. It's so important, you see, that we know the word. That we know the word. Now, stop and think about this. It doesn't mean you're going to remember all the time every scripture you've read, but you can know yourself and know what helps you be able to look at scriptures

or those things that when you're facing some heavy duty thing, and as you begin to begin to access those more and more, and you know the principle, for example, at some point, Satan may want to tempt you to take something. It wouldn't hurt to cheat on that. I worked hard. One of those weren't hurt. You know, we're not supposed to steal. You know what I mean? And you remember what the word says.

And you say, Lord, I know your word told me this, so would you give me strength to stand on that? You see how you can use the word in your heart. Speak it out in your heart. And so we see that attack on the lust of the flesh here, don't we? And those times that man, and do we not get attacked in the flesh all the time in some way? You see, our flesh is weak.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But God is able. Amen? That's right. That's right. Now, so that's the first thing we see happening here. The lust of the flesh where Jesus, where Satan is tempting him to turn those stones into bread. And it really is Satan wanting to be in control here. Right? Telling Jesus what to do. Tempting him to do something.

You see? Now let's look at 5 through 7 and talk about that a little bit. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, notice how he wants to use scripture now. Yeah? If you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you. And in their hands they shall

bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Verse 7. Jesus said to him, it is written, again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. And so you see again what's going on here. Here we see the attack concerning the pride of life. We see here Satan quoting scripture. Psalm 91 verses 11 and 2. Satan left I think it was David Goosley who pointed out that Satan

left out to guard you in all your ways. Right? And doesn't he not you know, he's going to use what portion of scripture that might help him to entice us to do something we shouldn't. You see. It'd be like, there used to be an old saying that people kidded around about years ago, anyway. It'd be like saying Judas went out and hung himself and you go out and do that

likewise. You know? Now God may tell us to do something likewise, but he's not going to tell us to do that. You see what I mean? And so Satan is he's not quoting the whole thing. You see. And so as we are walking in the ways of the Lord, we can trust him as he guides us. You see, he guides us. Now, I want you to think about this. I want to give you an example.

You remember over in Acts, and it's toward the end of Acts, probably, it may be the end of 27, first part of chapter 8. Paul and his boys are on the island of Miletus, and so as it's damp, it's cool, it's dark, and so they're trying to build a fire. And so Paul's reaching in and he's getting, trying to get wood, and he comes out with a viper on him, right? Now, God protected him. Now,

Paul didn't purposely reach for that viper. Oh, God, I know you'll save me if I grab that viper. No. Paul wasn't testing the Lord. He wasn't tempting the Lord. God protected him. There used to be those, I don't know what goes on anymore, but I guess there was those at one time in some kind of a cult where they would take snakes and pass them around and, you know, and do all

that weird stuff. Like, he'll protect us, you know. I'll tell you one thing. If you jump off of something, gravity will take you down. So don't tempt the Lord. I found that out over at Wendy's one time. Walked off the ledge. Gravity took its hold, you see. Now, I've made it through. I wasn't tempting the Lord to see if I could jump off that thing and not hurt my body.

But, if you jump off of something real high, just to see if God will keep you from falling, don't count on it. We do have God's laws. The law of gravity. Amen? So we're not to test the Lord just to see if He'll do something, you know, and put Him to the test like, God, you can do this. We're in subjection to God, you see. But we can trust Him to guide us, though.

And there are times that He does protect us, and we'll get into situations that He directs us and guides us through when it can be pretty dangerous. And again, Jesus quotes Scripture, you see. Deuteronomy 6.16. So we can trust God. Always remember, we can trust God in every area, you see, to take care of us, but we are not, again, to tempt or put Him to the test. Amen?

Now let's look at, let's read verses 8-10 now. Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And He said to him, All these things I will give you will fall down and worship Me. Verse 10. Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan. And again, He quotes Scripture. For it is written,

You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. Wonderful. And so you see what He does here. Each time He's quoting the Word. So again, we see the attack on here, on the lust of the eye. You see. Notice Satan, his tactic this time. Notice what he's doing. We see what he offers Him. He's got Him up, you know, and showing Him the kingdoms and all.

It's interesting because in 2 Corinthians 4-4 we know that Satan is referred to as the God of this age or world. In Ephesians 2-2 Satan is referred to as the prince of the power of the air. You see, Adam and Eve gave it up, didn't they? The earth. They're on the Garden of Eden and God had given them dominion over all, you see. And that fall changed things. And so this world

we're in. We're in a world system. Yes, we have the earth and all the beauty thereof and of course the thorns and thistles too. And so Satan, what is he doing here? Is he offering all this to Jesus if He will worship Him, right? And as I've heard some say, it's like tempting Jesus to not go the way of the cross. You see, Jesus is going to pay for it all. And there's going to be a new heaven and earth, right?

Amen? Yes. And Ryan was talking about that out of 2 Peter chapter 3 the other day. You know, the flood happened first, but it's going to be a different ballgame next, you know. The elements will melt and all that. And so notice Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6-13 there. I would say that's an important book to read. If Jesus is quoting it, amen? Amen. So remember the example

Jesus gave us. He quoted scripture. The Son of God who came to earth as a man yet being God responded to these temptations as a man exampling to us how to respond. It is so important for us, again, to hide God's word in our hearts. To hide it in our hearts. And that scripture, there in Psalm 119.11 is talking about, Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might have sinned against

thee. Verse 9 in that portion of Psalm 119 says, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse thy way? By taking heed to thy word. So you want to take heed to the word, and I'm not remembering verse 10, but how can we, how can a young man cleanse his ways and take heed to his word? You gotta get to know it. Amen? You gotta hide it in your heart. When it's hiding in your heart, we're also

talking about treasuring it. Treasure it in your heart. And as you read it, pray. Let it speak to you. And as you constantly read through the whole Bible, if there's certain scripture that stands out to you, put it down so that you can refer back to it. Because as you go through the word of God, it's kind of neat because you see the Old Testament is the Gary,

he can straighten me out if I'm wrong on this. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Right? Amen. And so you see as we're reading through that Old Testament into the New Testament, oh, it begins to make sense. All those sacrifices, see, it all looked to Jesus. And when you go over there to Hebrews 11,

the hall of faith, you see how those boys and women, when you read about them in Hebrews 11, you see them as having God sees them as the finished work. He's there, doesn't He? You see, He sees us. He knows us. And the finished product, we go to be with Him too. Amen? But He's working in us both to will and do of His good pleasure. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

for it is God who works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure. And so you've heard us explain this before. Work out your own salvation doesn't mean work to get saved, but work it out in that you're living it out day by day. And as you're living it out day by day, you're going to be tempted. You're going to sin. But as you, as we get to know the Word,

and that thing hits us in the face, in our head, and it's something we know that the Word of God, maybe He's tempting you to lust after someone. Maybe He's tempting you to stop work way earlier. And you know that's wrong, and you say, Lord, I know Your Word says this. I know in Your Word, Your principles state this. Would You give me the strength to back off from that and do what I'm to do?

And He will. But you, but let the Word of God be your weapon. Amen? So we can let it be our offensive weapon against the temptations of the devil. Now, let's read our last verse, and we're going to quit talking here pretty soon. And you're thinking, oh boy, I've got to go to the bathroom. No, I'm just kidding. Verse 11, Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came

and ministered to him. Now I think when you read over, I think it's, maybe it's Mark, his account, you know, it didn't mean the devil left him for good, right? You know, when you get victory, he's still going to come back. So the devil left him, and the angels came and ministered to him. The idea there is that he was fed. You see? He still got fed. And he didn't do it the way Satan wanted him to

turn the stones into bread. Amen? He waited on the Father. The angels were used to minister to him. This is our ultimate example. We will sin and fall short. God is forgiving. Jesus paid it all. We will go through times of testing. Just count on it. The tests show us who we are. God already knows, you see. God knows what is needful to draw us closer to Him.

To build character in our life. Without Him, we are lost and can do nothing effectively. I love Philippians 4.13. You know, Paul is there writing this from his house arrest there in Rome. And he says in 4.13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And then we'll finish with this verse with this scripture here. 1 Corinthians 10.13 Okay? Now remember,

we're faced day by day with temptations and trials and testings and those kinds of things. But 1 Corinthians 10.13 says this, No temptation has overtaken you except such is common to man. Don't think about that. If you start looking over at Brother Don and say, boy, he just looks like he just never had any trouble. You can count on it. What does this say? No temptation

has overtaken you except such as is common to man. Because we're sinners saved by grace. And here's that wonderful conjunction that we see so many times and so many places in contrast. But God. Amen? Oh, praise God. But God is faithful. That's the first thing to remember. And He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation

will also make the way of escape. That you may be able to bear it. Amen? I just want to encourage you. Jesus gave us the wonderful example of how He responded to that time of temptation, that testing. He responded. He quoted the Word. Now, I want to encourage you to be in the Word. Write down Scripture, you know, a Scripture that stands out to you. And remember,

it's always wise to be in the Word, get to know the Word. Now, you may be afraid that you won't be able to respond right. But Jesus did tell the disciples, didn't He, over there in Matthew, that don't worry what to say at all. The Holy Spirit will tell you. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be knowing the Word. But boy, when you know it, and the Holy Spirit brings it to mind. See, He'll bring it to mind.

You see. In fact, in my earlier years, probably getting late. I'll say one thing. In my earlier years as a Christian, I remember when I first, one of the first times I read through 2 Timothy. And as I was going through 2 Timothy there, you get to, you get to, you know, just starting in chapter 1. And by the time you get to verse 7, He says, God hasn't given you the spirit

of fear or timidity, but of love, power, and a sound mind. You see. Now, here's the thing. We all have different personalities. Some are timid, more timid. And in fact, I think he was doing right, reminding Timothy of this, because Timothy was more of a timid person. But see, in our timidity, God can give us, as we love Him and love others, and trust in the power of the

Holy Spirit, He can give us the wherewithal to live and be His witnesses and speak where we need to speak, and give us a sound mind. Amen? So God's Word is that offensive weapon we want to hang onto. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this opportunity to be in Your Word. Father, would You encourage us in our walk and witness for You? Would You continue to give

us a hunger for Your Word and a desire for the things of You? Would You cause us to fall more in love with You? And the Word is, it's Your Word. It's not, we don't worship our Bible, we worship You, and thank You for what You have told us in Your Bible, Your Word. And we thank You that it's a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. We ask that You would help us, again,

hide it in our hearts, that we won't sin against You. Oh, we thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you all.

Amen.