Seeing Clearly: Did God Really Say?

September 25th, 2022/Casey Middle School

Illust: Darkness & Light

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. - Psalm 119:105

The revelation of your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced. - Psalm 119:130

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12

In the darkness it’s nearly impossible to know what’s true

It’s so challenging to have any sense of direction at all

And it’s impossible to see clearly when you cannot see anything at all

Let the light in. Turn the lights on. Let your light shine bright.

Intro: In this passage we see the lights turned on against the lies of the enemy. The truth in the face of lies, the light in the midst of extreme darkness. What was Jesus' strategy and how can we follow His example? Let’s take a look.

Passage: Matthew 3:13-4:11 CSB

The Baptism of Jesus

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?” 15 Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized. 16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.

Pray:

Background:

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” 12 Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.” - Mark 1:9-13 CSB

Title: Did God Really Say?

Big Idea: The enemy will try to tempt you, but God gives us an example to follow and a weapon to fight with.

Bible Preaching Time:

1. Jesus went from being surrounded by people, to complete isolation

   1. Hearing from heaven, to hearing the voice of hell
   2. From water, to warfare
   3. Word in the water, warfare in the wilderness

   4. God was declaring this over Jesus, His one and only Son. And in Christ we need to hear it loud and clear… that I am loved, I am a child of God, and He is pleased with me.

   5. The enemy is declaring you are unlovable, you are illegitimate, and you’ll never be enough! SEE CLEARLY HIS LIES!

   6. The same Spirit that descended in the water, is the same Spirit that led Him into the wilderness.

   7. The Enemy is waiting…

   8. The enemy waited for just the right time to attack. Jesus was hungry, and the enemy tempted Him with food. Often the enemy will attack on that which you desire the most.

   9. Snakes are one of the only animals that don’t blink… the enemy is always watching and waiting…

   10. The enemy will try to get you to forget, the word of God helps you remember

   11. The enemy will affirm whatever your heart desires, God’s word will give you clarity on God’s heart for you

   12. The enemy will tempt you with more, the Word of God is the only bread of life that will satisfy.
   13. When there is doubt, determine to stand firm and fight toward faith. Doubt is not meant to be a resting place, but a work in progress.

   14. In the Water, the Word was falling on Jesus. In the Wilderness, the Word was coming out of Jesus.

   15. Jesus was obedient in the Water and in the Wilderness as an example for us to follow.

   16. How did Jesus fight back? He recited the Word!

   17. Application: We are tempted in the same way today. And we have the same choice.

   18. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:15 CSB

Bible Teaching Time:

Passage: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 CSB

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Background: This is a letter from Paul to Timothy. Paul is in prison and about to die, and he’s writing to his protege, Timothy.

Main Points:

1. VALIDATION - “All Scripture is inspired by God”

   1. Our view of Scripture determines our value of Scripture.
      1. If you believe that the Bible is a book of rules, then you probably wouldn’t place it very high on your priority list.
      2. If you believe the Bible has error and is full of lies, then you are probably not going to waste time reading it.
      3. If you believe that the Bible is not relevant for today, then you’re more likely going to turn to more current self help books over the Word of God.
      4. Question: It all really comes down to one question: Is the Bible the Word of God? If the answer is no, then it’s just another book. In your view it may have some good teachings that could improve your life, but it’s still just a book nonetheless. But if the answer is yes, then there’s nothing greater we could do with our lives than read, study, and know the Word of God.
   2. 40 different authors, on 3 different continents, in 3 different languages, at different eras of time, independently of one another, over the span of 1500 years, to write 66 books, all with perfect harmony, about 1 man, 1 messiah that would come to save the world.

   3. The Manuscripts

   4. Dead Sea Scrolls

      1. The Dead Sea Scrolls took our manuscripts from 900AD back to as early as about 250 BC. Fragments of every Old Testament book except Esther were found.

      2. The Isaiah scroll matched our Hebrew text in more than 95% of its wording, the rest being mostly spelling and slips of the pen (Gleason Archer).

         5. The Disciples & Apostles

      3. According to early church tradition most of the apostles died for this message. James, Peter and Paul certainly did.

      4. The New Testament was written by apostles or their close associates.

      5. “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21

         6. Prophecy

      6. Jesus fulfilled prophecy after prophecy, often counted at around 300.

      7. If you want to look deeper at the probability of all of these prophecies being fulfilled in one man look up Peter Stoner’s book Science Speaks (1958), which estimates the odds. It will blow your mind!

         7. #1 Best Seller

      8. Guinness World Records has the Bible as the world’s best selling and most widely distributed book. (Non-fiction book that is…)

2. SATURATION - “teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness”

   1. Time in the word vs. time on Instagram

      1. There’s always going to be something grabbing for our attention that will draw us away from spending time in the Word.

      2. For the benefit of all of those other things, it’s critical that you are saturating yourself in the Word and spending time with God.

         2. Biblical Framework:

      3. Biographical/My profile

      4. Historical/Context of my life
      5. Theological/Anthropology (Know the nature and character of God vs know nature and condition of the world)

      6. Practical/Theoretical (The difference of knowing and growing vs knowing and pondering)

         3. Hermeneutic - interpretation of Scripture
         4. Homiletic - preaching of Scripture
         5. How to see the Bible:

      7. Exegesis - extracting from the text

      8. Eisegesis - reading in to the text (i see me instead of Jesus)

         6. Illust: Bucket of water and sponge
         7. We like to give God a little. A little prayer, a little bible reading, a little relationship, but when the pressure is on, a little is not going to be enough.
         8. When do we usually give God the least? When things are the best right? But what happens when things all the sudden aren’t so great? What you’ve saturated yourself in is what’s going to overflow when the pressure is applied to your life.
         9. Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. - Romans 15:4
         10. Story: Water & The Wilderness

      9. Matthew 3:13-4:11

      10. When pressure is applied, when temptation comes, when you are hungry in the desert, you have living water inside of you! You have the light of the world to guide you!

3. TRANSFORMATION - “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

   1. The bible was not given for information, but transformation.

      1. The Bible is not a book of rules, although it does tell us how to live. It’s a beautiful love story of God’s redemptive plan for all humanity.

      2. This is a message of total transformation. Grace changes everything.

         2. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12
         3. Not only does the Word of God make us complete, but it equips us for every good work.
         4. Illust: 3D Glasses

      3. Right is the lie. You think you are right in your own eyes.

      4. Both eyes open, the blood of Jesus and the truth of Scripture helps you see clearly the truth!
      5. Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. - Luke 11:34
      6. Here’s how I’d apply that: it’s time to start living with both eyes open! Seeing clearly through the lies. Seeing clearly the truth of God’s Word.

Big Idea: Reading and studying the Word of God is not just a daily habit, it’s intentionally building a deeper relationship. Intentional and focused time to know God more and listen to what He’s saying to you. Relationship, relationship, relationship.

Walking Points:

1. Read

   1. SOAP Method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer)

   2. Variety of Bibles and Translations

   3. Memorize

   4. Respond

   5. James 1:22 says “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

   6. There’s several practical ways you can follow through with obedience, but the one I’ve found to be most helpful is by writing out how you will obey either in the form of a prayer or “I will…” statement.

   7. Repeat

   8. Do it again.

   9. Illust: Working out and wanting gains

Communion is recognizing the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.