Matthew 4:1-11 (#8.2021.05.09)

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:02

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there will be a link to the episode website at beholdingbibletruth.com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:00:49

So I always figure, you know, harder it is to get here and be ready, always think the more the Lord's gonna show up. It's not always necessarily true, but, generally, it's true today. The last couple of weeks have been really challenging as we prepare for, for our event. And in our small group at at home, we went through an exercise of going back and and listing out god's faithfulness and reminding ourself of times in the past where he has been faithful to us. And it was really it was a really good exercise, and and I kinda struggled through this preparation for this. And the Lord made it clear, that I was to, share stories some some of you know and some of you don't. So 27 years ago, after after a time of working for someone else, I quit my job, and Beth and I decided we were going to go out on our own and start our own, business, which at the time was a financial planning business. And so we, we fasted for a week.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:00

And I still remember that final day we had the kids at McDonald's, and Beth and I were you know, the Lord sustained us, but it was a week. You know? And it was it we were kinda sitting at the table and thinking, you know, tomorrow, we're gonna come off of the fast. And just we just just, you know, listed the the whole venture to to the Lord. And he was faithful in so many ways as we, got rolling. I mean, we walked away from from a job, and we just had to see his power. And we did. We saw it in lots of ways. Well, 10 years later, we were signing a document to split up a partnership in that business.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:41

And at the end of that day, June 25th, which, was also our wedding anniversary, 2004, we, took our company back over and we owed $463,459.15, to be exact. And I still remember that day what thinking where where we gonna be. And I reminded myself that, well, that wasn't all because we'd put every dime that we had. So if we added up what we owed on our house and other places, we were almost about 3 quarters $1,000,000 in debt. And then it got better. 6 months later, we had to lay somebody off. So my par our partner's gone. We had to lay somebody off.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:28

6 months later, we told everybody how bad it was, and the last two people quit. 1 at 9:30 on Monday morning. 1 at 9 and the other at 9:30. So I said, I'm gonna go home and throw up, and then I'll be back. And I remember sitting there. It's in the in the fall of of the year, which, you know, in Pittsburgh, you know, the the days are getting darker, and I thought it was gonna be a long, cold, hard winter. And as some of you know, we had, brought in a partner maybe 8 years before this who was a brother in Christ. We had discipled them.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:02

They were they were good friends of ours, and it started out really well, and then it it got not so well. And as a result of splitting up, there was a lot of anger, a lot of frustration on both sides, and we brought in, believers to to mediate through the process, and it was still really, really difficult. And so we would have, daily raw times. Raw stood for rant and walk. So we would rant and walk. And and not ranting at the Lord, but just ranting, just pouring out our frustration. And there were, you know, some folks came to our side and really helpful and some were not so helpful, including coming to us saying, how could you let this happen? How could you do this? Without knowing the details. And so we took a real hit in what we felt like was reputation, and it was it was really hard.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:01

It was very emotional and difficult time for us. And the the good thing about stories is you can fast forward because you're always waiting for the good part. But the days were hard. The days were long and the days were hard. And each week, we would we would get there. We felt like we owed the Grand Canyon of debt. So each week, we would get there. We'd say, is there a spoonful we can throw in this? Is there a spoonful that we can throw in this? And literally through supernatural means and, just day by day trusting in him, you know, within a handful of years, we were able to pay off the debt and rebuild our team, keep our business intact, and not lose one of our clients, not lose any of our clients.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:47

And I was sure during that time, if I was a client, I would have bailed. You know what I mean? Think about, you know, you see a partnership, one of the partners gone, and then all the people are gone. And say, you know what? I think I'm going somewhere else. You know? So we saw we really saw God's faithfulness through that time, but it was indeed a wilderness, experience. It was it was long and challenging. Not gonna lie. Not not easy. And we never doubted.

Scott Keffer [: 00:06:16

You don't doubt the Lord, through that or or ask him why, but you do walk through, like, what is going on? What is going on? How can this happen? And and how can this happen even among believers? You know, you wonder about all that stuff. And we clung to, you know, Genesis 50. And not that people did, but Genesis 50 is is is a practical reminder of God's sovereignty, where where he says where Joseph says, they meant it for evil. And the word meant means they planned it, they meditated, they purposed, and they executed it for evil. Right? It's not it's not willy nilly, they meant it. I mean, it literally the word means they planned it out, they purposed it, they detailed it, and they executed it for evil. That's what the word means. Well, that sentence by itself is not a surprise.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:19

Because you have people in your life who plan stuff out, who meditate, who purpose it, and execute it out for evil. Right? And then you have some people who just do do it, you know, do evil against you and don't necessarily plan it. I mean, there's all sorts of spectrums in that. Right? But the rest of that verse is the key to the sovereignty of God. Even though they planned it, they purpose it, they they they detailed it, and they executed it for evil, god, same verb, god planned it, purposed it, detailed it, and executed it for good. And that's the key, isn't it, in the wilderness of life? That's the only thing we have. That's the only thing we have. And one of our I was, the this week was with, they they were asking, well, how did, you know, how do you how do you go through those times? And I said, if if I don't have my feet in the footers of God's sovereignty before the winds of life come against you, you're in big trouble.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:30

It's hard it's hard to come to grips with God's sovereignty when you're in it, isn't it? You've gotta have your feet. So if you hang around me for long, you know that that is one of the keys that I focus on because that's what we have. We have the sovereignty of God, the providence of God, the assurance of God, over all things, over all things. Not few things, all things. God causes all things to work together for good. For good. For good. How many things? All things.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:07

Well, when you're in the wilderness, it's hard to see that, isn't it? It's hard to feel it. It's hard to understand it. It's hard to comprehend it, and you can't. That's the point. You cannot. All you can do is rest in. Lord, hold my feet into your sovereignty, And it's gotta be centered into the core of his character, his nature, who he is. So you gotta remind yourself.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:30

So we detailed that out. We remind ourself. We put down hopefully, we'll finish up this, but we wanna we wanna, video ourselves telling those stories because it behooves you to pass that on to the next generation, to tell them of God's faithfulness to you because you forget. And if you notice in scripture, it's really good to go through the old testament. God doesn't always regularly show up supernaturally. He's there, and and we are walking by faith in between the miracles. And the longer you go, sometimes the longer it is between the miracles. You know, when we first came to Christ, it's like boom boom boom boom.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:11

Why? He's encouraging you. Nah. Then he's saying, no. That's walking by faith as you have to trust in my sovereignty and my character. Yeah. But don't look good here. And so this picture is a great picture. Gigantic miracle, parting the Red Sea, promised land.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:34

What's in between? Wilderness. It's the picture of all of life for each of us. It's the picture of God's purpose over time and it's the picture of our life overall. Right? Where's the promised land ultimately? We'll be with him. Yes. Face to face. And then we go through many Red Seas, wilderness, and promised land. That's sort of life.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:02

So we go through that. So we should not be surprised. So I put on here here's the question. Is God sovereign in the wilderness? Is he sovereign in the wilderness? More importantly, is he sovereign in your wilderness? And I'm pretty sure of this, you're either in a wilderness, coming out of a wilderness, or you you're entering in the wilderness. Why? Because it is the pattern god's pattern. It is part of it. And his son his son shows us the way because he is the way. He shows us the way through, and he doesn't leave us on our own.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:57

He's there to go through it with us. So I said, here we are. Last time, what do we look at? John the Baptist, the 4 runner. He's baptizing. And it says all came, all Judah. Well, that didn't mean literally every person. So you have the people who are coming to be baptized and the ones who are ignoring it, staying home. And then the religious dude show up, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:22

He's got a message for them. Then Jesus Christ shows up, then the Holy Spirit shows up, and then God the father shows up. And he says, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. This is my son. The affirmation, the proof, the proving that God is the one who has sent his son. So I said, who's missing in this story? Who's missing? Well, it's the piece that we often forget. It's the peace that we don't see. And so I put on there that more than a human earthly story, because we tend to think about this, this is a cosmic battle.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:11

There is a cosmic battle going on. An invisible cosmic battle. Well, does it have to be a battle? Why is that, by the way? I actually, I don't know Other than this is God's purpose in all of this, and this is God's way. So it is a battle. And it's where our expectations go to this is something different than a battle that we get confused. Isn't it true? So let's take a look at this part in scripture, which you probably looked at many, many times. Temptation of Christ, Matthew 4:1 through 11. Let's stand out of reverence for god and his word, if we could.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:17

Reading in the New American Standard. It says, then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil After he had fasted 40 days 40 nights, he then became hungry. The tempter came to him and said, if you're the son of god, command that these stones become bread. But he answered him and said, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him into the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, if you're the son of god, throw yourself down. For it's written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands, they will bear you up so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. Jesus said to him, on the other hand, it is written, you shall not put the lord your god to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, all these things I will give to you if you fall down and worship me.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:32

Jesus said to him, go, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship Yahweh, your god, and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began to minister to him. The word of the god the word of the lord. Praise be to god. Thanks be to god. Amen. So we see the lord Jesus here. The messiah shows up and the messiah identifies with us.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:11

He takes on flesh and blood and he identifies with the sinner. Right? He identifies with sinners in baptism. Fully god, fully man. He identifies with sinners and baptism, and now temptation. And and the next point was Jesus learned human obedience through suffering, which is mind boggling. If you go to Hebrews, it says it was fitting for Christ, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory or it's it was fitting for god. God this would be god the father. And bringing many sons to glory to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:05

Really? For who? Both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one father, for which reason he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Therefore, in verse 14, he says, therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death he might render powerless him who had power over death, that is the devil, and he might free those who through the fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Verse 17. Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things. Why? So that attention to so that. It's like the therefore. It's the arrow that points. So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to god to make propitiation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:58

He absorbed the eternal wrath of god, satisfied it, for since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he's able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. How many want the aid of the son of God through whom all things have been created and made. He sustains all things through the power of his word, it says. Can he sustain you through the power of his word? He can. He can. He can. And he fast 40 days 40 nights. I have no idea what that was like.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:34

I felt like we needed God's provision to fast a week. He fasted 40 days 40 nights. Well, he is the fulfillment underline that. He is the fulfillment of Moses. He's the fulfillment of Elijah, if you will. They were the pointers, the law and the prophets. There would be a an Elijah to come. And then I put on there that Jesus will redeem the wilderness.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:06

It was the wilderness of sin and rebellion. It was the wilderness of Israel's failure, where they grumbled against God. They questioned his motives and his purposes. He is the redeemer. Bless the lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the lord, oh my soul, and forget none of his benefit, who who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. That's what he's doing here. He's redeeming the wilderness, Israel national failure.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:54

He's redeeming the wilderness and and their youth like like an eagle. And Jesus is the last Adam. The first Adam plunged the entire human race into sin and condemnation. Jesus, the last Adam, will rescue. Ruseby said, Jesus was tempted so that every creature, I love this, in heaven and on earth and under the earth might know that Jesus Christ is the underlying conqueror. The first Adam lost it in the garden. The second Adam is gonna show that he's sufficient. He redeems it here in the wilderness, and he will redeem the garden.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:46

Will he not? He will redeem the garden, which we will see. That's what he's come to do. He is the conqueror and the redeemer. So we see he he he tempts Jesus. Right? Seen this before. 3 temptations. So if you look at them, he is targeting, of course, the lust, but at the core of this, he's doing what he did at the very beginning. So let's go back to Genesis 3.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:14

This is nothing new. Genesis 3. The serpent was, still is, more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, hey. Hey. Indeed. I love that. Indeed.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:44

I wonder. Not right out targeting. Just indeed. As god said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden. Just a simple question. Right? You ever hear that question in your head and in your life? Yeah. Indeed. Is god really? Really? Is god really so what's at the heart of that? There's a tree he doesn't let you eat from? Wow.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:20

What kind of god is that? What's up with that? That's what he's saying. Right? Indeed, as god said. Woman says from the fruit of the trees of the garden, you may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, god has said you shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die. Is that what god said? You go back to 217 actually, 16, Yahweh God commanded the man saying, from the tree of the garden, you may eat from any tree. But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat from it, you will you will surely you will surely die. One commandment, one verse to memorize. That's it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:05

One commandment, one verse to memorize. How'd she do? On both accounts. Why? She says, you can't eat of it or touch it. Where'd that come from? You didn't say you can't touch it. You just said don't eat from it. Serpent says well, the how the serpent reply in verse 4? God is a liar. God is a liar. You're not you're not gonna die.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:33

He's lying. God is a liar. You won't die. God knows. In fact, he's not only a liar, he's keeping what is good for you from you. He knows that that tree is what you need. He knows that that thing that you he's he he's keeping you from is the thing that you need. From the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:05

See, at the core of this is, hey. You know what? Come on over here. You can be God. I'm trying it. Wanna try it with me? And hell is filled with people who will eternally get the opportunity to be their own god. They will get the opportunity to be their own god. In hell, everybody gets what they want, which is no god, except themselves. Their appetites, of course, she eats.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:40

So this is no different. This is no different. Shortly after I came to Christ, I was in the Bible Distribution Center downtown one night by myself, and it's probably the only time I'm sure I experienced the the presence of a demon. I mean, my skin was crawling. It was cold. It literally was like it got dark in the room. Very dark. Very cold.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:12

Very scary. Very scary. Early on in my Christian life. And it it took me a while to struggle with that to see what was going on. And the Lord was reminding me, you don't mess with the devil. You don't mess with the devil. This idea you're gonna take the devil on, you're staring down face to face. Come on, devil.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:34

You know, people shouting, come on, devil. Like, you're you're ignorant. You're ignorant of the power. He's not more powerful than the all powerful one, but he's a powerful being created by God, probably the most powerful being. Like, you don't mess with the devil. You do not mess with him. It was a great reminder. It's a great reminder.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:57

Not to be fearful, but to be, you know because what are the 2 things? We we ascribe too much power. We ascribe too little. Damn. Right? Be mindful. Be mindful. Well, so the first thing is god Satan questions god's provision. Satan questions god's provision. Right after he's fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he's hungry, and he comes and says, turn these bread into stone.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:25

And so he's gonna use the same. Right? The world system. What does the world system use? The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. Those are the three things that he comes at you with. He tempts you, he accuses you, and he deceives you. TAD, t a d. Well, do you Jesus didn't argue with the devil. What did he do? He says it is written.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:54

It is written. It is written. So if you look at first John 2 14 somebody read that if it would, please. 1st John 214. These are sort of the three phases of your Christian growth. Children, small children, teenagers, young men, fathers. So somebody read first John 214.

Speaker C [: 00:27:31

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong. And the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:50

So the word of god abides in you, and you've you've learned how to use it to overcome the evil one. In other words, you're in or in order to battle against his temptation. That's what he's saying. That we come to a place, not that we that not that we always do, but we have a general sense of the power of the word to be able to use it against the temptation and the accusation and the deception. He deceives, he accuses, he tempts. It is written. Don't argue with the devil. It is written.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:28

So he questions god's provision. Satan questions god's protection. He says if or or literally the, the Greek could be censure, the son of god, not like he was he was. He says, go ahead. Go ahead. Put yourself up there. Attempt. And then he quotes scripture.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:59

Satan quotes scripture. He leaves out some stuff, but he quotes some scripture. He says, hey. I'll quote scripture too, for it is written for it is written. So I put in there a reminder in in the book of John where he reminds us of the nature of Satan.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:20

This is

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:21

really important. He says, you are of your father, the devil. You wanna do the desires of your father. Here is Satan. He's a he was a murderer from the beginning. He's a murderer. He does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whatever he speaks is a lie.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:43

He speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and he is the father of lies. Now if he is a murderer and a liar from the beginning, it means he has been lying to human beings for a while, which should also suggest he's a pretty good liar. He's a pretty good liar, and he's gonna question God's provision for you. When you're weak, he's gonna question god's protection of you. And the last thing, he's gonna question god's purpose and plan. God's purpose and plan. It says he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to these, all these things I will give to you if you fall down and worship me.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:50

I was with a man who shared a story about when he was 9 years old and how somebody appeared in his room. Dark, light, kind of strong character, could literally almost make out a face. And he was going through a lot of really bad stuff, and he promised to make him strong and successful over his lifetime. And over his lifetime, he made him strong and successful. And I had the opportunity to share with him. Let me tell you who that is, and let me tell you who has defeated him. And it gave me goosebumps as he shared this. Here he is in my room, and he's come to me since then, and he'll he'll talk that the enemy is real that the enemy is real.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:51

And he said he gave me he gave me the ability to see when, there is a connection between somebody and the unseen world. And he said the reason that I'm listening to you is, he said, I can see this connection when you talk. He said, I can see it. I can see it in other people. So it's a reminder, there is a an unseen invisible world, and it's easy to live in the visible world only and forget. And the enemy, he masquerades as an angel of light. I've come here to offer you things, the things that you want and need. God's hold he's withholding them from you, and he knows they're good for you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:36

What kind of god is he? Come on. Where is he? How come he's not showing up in this moment? Make your own bread. Come on. He promises to protect you. Let's try him out. Let's give him let's put him to the test and see if he's really true. And by the way, in the end, if you will bow your knee to me, I'll give you everything you want. I'll give you everything you want.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:05

Just bow your knee. So he says to Jesus, bow your knee. Just bow your knee. That's what he wants. He wants to be worshiped. He wants to be like the most high. And so the lie for Jesus was forget God's plan. Forget God's purpose.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:25

I got a better way. You can bypass the cross. You can you can have everything that God promised, because God promised in Psalm 2, he would give them the kingdoms of the world. You can bypass the path of suffering. You can bypass the path of suffering. Who wouldn't want that? Who wouldn't want that? So he says, here's some things about temptations. I put when, not if. Says when the devil showed up.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:09

Spurgeon said, god had one son without sin, but he never had a son without temptation. It's a great reminder. Right? If Jesus was tempted, so will you. The temptation followed the mountaintop experience. Jesus is baptized. He's affirmed by the father. So be on the alert. Have you ever noticed that? If you have a have you have do you have a a mountaintop, a spiritual experience? Watch out.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:42

Just be on the alert. There's no way, unless you've been tempted, there's no way, unless you understand Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, To understand why is this in the prayer. Lead us not into temptation. You say, that's a weird thing. Lead us not into temptation. Pray. So that's his face. Pray.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:08

Lord, lead us not into temptation. Is that a good prayer? Yeah. He says, pray that. Be diligent to rightly divide God's word. Be diligent to rightly divide god's word. Why do we need to be in god's word? You need to be because the the enemy is gonna use it again you. He's gonna use it against you. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:41

And, again, that picture, which I've shared before, the Greek picture is here's Paul, a tent maker. And the picture rightly divide means cut the 2 pieces of cloth well so that they fit together so that it doesn't leak. Rightly divide the word of God. And we see the sword of the spirit with the shield of faith. With the shield of faith, with which who will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. He fires flaming missiles, flaming darts. They're not just arrows. They are flaming arrows.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:25

He dips them, and he lights them on fire. So So here's some things we can know for certain in the wilderness. God is sovereign over the devil. He is the god of this world, but god is the god of the god of this world. He said to Nebuchadnezzar, until you know that the most high god is ruler over the realm of mankind, even though Satan is the prince of the power of the air, that he is the god of this world. He says to Nebuchadnezzar, until you know this, that the most high is the ruler over the realm of mankind, and he bestows it on whomever he wishes, whenever he wishes, however he wishes. How does that make sense? I don't know. But he's sovereign over all of that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:23

There is no one in power for a period of time. Alexander the great ruled the world until God said, no. That's enough. And he ruled the world during that time because God said you can. Well, how is that? It is because he is sovereign. God is sovereign over the devil and the god of this world. Next is a reminder that god does not tempt you. But it says very clearly, Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:57

It says Matthew 41. Well, let's look that down. Jesus was led. Who was he led by? The Holy Spirit. Where? Into wilderness? Does that mean the Holy Spirit's gonna lead us into wilderness at times? Yeah. To tempt us know to be tempted by the devil. Right? To prove out Jesus. Right? And the devil shows up.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:28

So god does not tempt you. The devil tempts you. James reminds us, when you're tempted when you are tempted, you do blesses a man who perseveres. Once he's been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot tempt be tempted by evil. God is not tempted by evil. He himself does not tempt anyone. But let each one is tempted, he is carried away, enticed by his own lust.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:02

Right? Temptation comes. Temptation is not a sin. Following it through, of course, is. So there's a period, right, where we're tempted, then we start to be carried away and we're enticed by our own lust. When lust is conceived, it gives birth to sin. When sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived. Do not be deceived.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:24

God does not tempt. What does god do? Look at 17. Reminder, every good thing given and every perfect gift for is from above. God gives perfect gifts gives perfect gifts. Father of lights in whom there is no shadow of turning. The next is to remember that god always provides a way of escape. Way underline that. Way of escape, which, by the way, doesn't mean escape from it.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:56

It means escape through it most times. No temptation is overtaking you, but such as is common to man. God is faithful and not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but with the temptation, he will provide the way of escape also. So Hebrews 4, this is the important application of this. Super important. We've read this a lot. This is a cling to understanding. We have a great high priest who's passed through the heavens, Jesus, the son of god.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:39

He is our confession. So he says hold fast your confession. Why? For we do not have a high priest who is not able to sympathize, empathize, comprehend, understand why he has walked in your shoes. He has been tempted in all things yet without sin. But, lord, I'm in the wilderness. I've been in the wilderness. The enemy is accusing me. I've been accused.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:06

He's trying to deceive me. I've been deceived. He's attacking me. I've been attacked. Yeah, but I've sinned. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need. Those are two things, mercy and grace. Mercy is after grace is before.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:33

So I put on here, come boldly before you sin and after you sin. That's what we need mercy for for when we're tempted and we fall. How many times will we fall? The righteous man falls 7 times and rises again. The wicked stumble in time of calamity. The righteous man falls 7 times. It's not the fact that he falls that you'll get back up. And what the enemy will say is, you did that again? You did that again? You can't go you can't go to him. You can't go to God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:42:19

You better get yourself together before you go to God. How many have heard that? You better get yourself together before you gotta clean yourself up before you go to the one who can clean you up. Don't let him deceive you with that. The further you fall and the more you need him. And lastly, reminder that Satan rumbles about, doesn't he? He prowls about. What does he prowl about? Like a lion. But guess what? He ain't a lion. He prowls like a lion, it says.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:01

Like a lion. So I put on there, Jesus Christ is the lion of Judah. Satan prowls like a lion. Jesus is the lion of Judah, and he has defeated Satan. He has defeated his enemy, and he has defeated your enemy. He did it in the wilderness so that when you're in the wilderness, you can lean on him, trust in him, hope in him, seek his mercy and grace in time of need, before you sin and after you sin. Is god sovereign in the wilderness? Absolutely. Totally, completely, fully sovereign in all things, and you can trust him.

Scott Keffer [: 00:43:53

And he says, if you wonder, just look. I've been there. Wherever you are, I've been there. I understand it. I can empathize. I've been tempted in all ways yet without sin. He is a faithful high priest. Alright.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:09

Write down an insight and then we'll share a few. You know, it is a great we need to, encourage one another. That's what it says in Hebrews. Encourage one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. We need encouragement of God's faithfulness. Share your stories. Write them down. Share them with yourself.

Scott Keffer [: 00:44:29

Share them with other people. Right? Preach the gospel to yourself every day. Remind yourself of his faithfulness. Well, I'm glad you joined us today. I trust you heard from God. And may God, the God of the wilderness, the God in the wilderness, and the God through the wilderness, may he bless you May he keep you. May he cause his face to shine upon you. May he lift up his countenance and may he grant you his shalom so that you can walk with peace through the valley of the shadow of death.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:05

May he bless you and keep you. Amen.

Scott Keffer [: 00:45:10

Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time. May God bless you and keep you.