The Helmet & The Sword

I thought communion, I never thought of it this way until this weekend, and I thought, man, we've been essentially reflecting on communion all year with Ephesians 4 verse 1. Would you say it with me? Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. I was thinking about the fact that that is all a result of this. We can lead worthy lives because even when we are unworthy, the worthy one hung for us. So with that in mind, can you take the bread together, appreciating, appreciating the body of Christ that was broken in place of ours? Not only that, but the Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins, meaning that God is just and that every consequence requires an equal punishment. I'm sorry, every crime requires an equal punishment. And Jesus said, I know that's why I'm here. And the Bible says that his blood is enough. So with that understanding, let us take the cup together, understanding that our past, present, and future sins have been washed by the blood of Jesus. And when you understand that, it does make the blood precious. It does remind you that it is the precious blood of Jesus that makes us white as snow. Not our behavior, not our efforts, not our righteousness, but the righteousness of God. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to boldly come before your throne and obtain mercy in our time of need. I pray, God, that in these next few moments that we don't just hear words, but we hear the heart of a father who loves us. Allow the word of God to transform us, to change us, to resurrect any dead areas that you desire to bring life to. Show us so that we can leave here looking more like Jesus and less like us. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen, amen, amen.

Well, you can be seated. Want to welcome everybody that's joining us from all over the world. We had Hawaii here today and all sorts of places. So welcome wherever you are. We're glad that you made it a priority to just be a part of Legacy Church. Can we welcome them? Come on. That's a terrible welcome. Can we welcome them? That's... That could be your family member. That could be your friend. I could be anyone. Grateful to welcome all our family and gated communities that we're able to reach because of God Behind Bars. Welcome you as well. Want to continue. We've been in this series, Spiritual Warfare, and we've gone through piece by piece. And my goal was to continue that, form that. But I want to read again Ephesians chapter 6, starting at verse 10, and see what God does today. It says this. A final word. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you'll be able to resist the enemy in the

time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the piece that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. As I was preparing for this weekend, I just felt a conviction that when it comes to these last two pieces of armor, you can't efficiently or effectively use one without the other. And so for today, I want to talk to you. from this thought, the helmet and the sword. The helmet and the sword. As a matter of fact, turn to the person next to you and say, neighbor, you need the helmet and the sword. Now turn to the person you ignored the first time on the other side. I don't know why. That's your business, your choice. Let's say, better neighbor, you really need the helmet and the sword. Holy Spirit, help us. Help us to hear, receive, and reflect your word in a way that honors you and brings the kingdom of heaven into the earth. In Jesus name, amen. Amen, amen, amen. The helmet and the sword. So in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 7, oh, you know what? I should have probably started off with this. I apologize. If it sounds a little off today, get used to it. That's gonna be the next six to eight months. I got my braces off and I'm an adult now. I'm officially an adult now. But they gave me this retainer that I have to wear permanently, or consistently, for the next six to eight months. I'm like, well why don't you take it off while you're preaching? Because I'm not going back, okay? I'm not ... look at what the Lord has done, okay? And an expensive dentist. But anyway, so just bear with the lisp. You'll get used to it. But in Ephesians chapter 6, in verse 17, he says, put on salvation as your helmet. Put on salvation as your helmet. And so when you when you think of salvation, it's interesting that for every other body part and armor part, I would say, he ... it's very practical. Faith, hold it. Shoes,

walk in them. Put them on. Belt, put that on. You know, like everything makes sense. But he separates salvation. He says, put salvation on as your helmet. And we understand salvation, right? We're Christians, so we know that our salvation is through Jesus. We just sang about it for 20 minutes. And we understand that because of Jesus, our souls are saved and we get to spend eternity with God in heaven. And I used to always struggle with that a little bit, because my thought then would be, and I know you're a better human being than I am, or was, but I used to think, well if Jesus is only saving my spirit, why do I got to give my whole life to him? Like, if this is only gonna change what happens after I die, then why can't I live how I want to, and then be like the thief on the cross, and be like, hey I'm sorry. And then it's like, you're safe. Like, what's the point of making all these sacrifices, and following all, following the whole Bible, and doing all these things, if it's like, I still got to go through a living hell? Some of y'all are like, I don't know if I believe in hell. Keep staying here all summer. You will believe. We are right above it. But y'all are looking at me judgmental. Maybe it's someone in Hawaii who understands. Like, like, what's the point of giving everything? Like Jesus says, you must, you must love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. I mean, you seen these neighbors? I don't know man. Like, but what's the point if all he's doing is saving my spirit? But that's because I misunderstood the power of salvation. You see, on the surface, actually just logically, there's no point in fully trusting a Savior if he only can save part of you. But Jesus did not say, I came to save part of you. He said, I came to give you life, and life to the full. Not only that, the Bible says that Jesus bled, suffered, and died, not just to save your soul for eternity, but to save your heart, soul, mind, and strength in the temporary. Because Jesus is not a partial Savior. He is a full Savior. He is fully God. He fully cares. His salvation is more than enough. How do I know that? Because there's been some situations that I need Jesus to save me, and I could not afford to wait until I got to heaven. I needed him to save my mind yesterday. I needed him to save my

relationship yesterday. I needed him to save my family yesterday. I need the diagnosis to be changed and saved right now. I can't wait to it. Is there anybody else that says, God saved me from some things, and I've experienced the salvation? Take 10 seconds to just let the redeemed of the Lord say so. He saved me. in the middle he saved me yesterday and since he saved me before i trust him to save me again matter of fact that's actually the definition of salvation the the definition of salvation it's soteria and soteria means deliverance rescue preservation and safety and it is not just a a future tense it is a present tense he's a present help he's a present savior and and anytime in scripture soteria is soteria is not just a noun it is a verb matter of fact anytime in scripture where you would see someone where jesus would say your faith has made you well or your faith has saved you he was using the same context meaning that you are saved right now the uh the blind or the beggar would say jesus son of david have mercy on me save me he said your faith has saved you why because faith is not just for eternity it's for today which allows the helmet of salvation to be very beneficial because it means i don't just need it when my mind and my body are separated i actually need it to keep me whole one of my favorite movies is avengers and in avengers there's a scene and if you haven't seen it yet you're right that's on you okay spoiler alert it's been 10 years golly so anyway there's this thing where thor is uh they're fighting all the avengers are trying to fight this dude named thanos thanos is the boss and like he has all these rings and he's like anyway you got to be in the multiverse okay so so thanos is been killing the avengers but then they jumped him and they got him and then thor comes and he takes his hammer and he throws it right and pierces him in the heart and so thanos is laying there and and thor he's such a boss he comes up and he says i told you i would end you and thanos can barely breathe he looks at thor and he puts out his hand and he says then you should have aimed for the head and then he snaps his fingers and he disappears and everything disappears it's crazy and then the movie you gotta wait six months for the next movie to come out and it was the longest six months of my life anyway but i think that statement is significant because even the way that paul describes the army armor it's almost as if you can still function to a level of degree in the middle of a warfare because even if you drop your shield which you shouldn't but if your faith fails you in a moment

you're not over but even if your heart is hurt by someone the breastplate of righteousness just was not put on that day it's not over and even if you were supposed to put on the shoes of peace but you chose violence and black air forces that day like it it's not over and even though you should know the truth but you believed a lie like it's not over why because as long as your salvation is intact as long as you know that i'm still saved you're okay which proves that most of the time the enemy does not waste his time trying to belittle your faith or your feet or your belt the majority of the warfare you will experience spiritually is actually mentally because he understands if i aim for the head everything else will fall apart and i wonder what you're going through right now up here that no one else can see because physically you got it together the braces is off you cute or whatever you know um god is good and all the time so why aren't you good why are you so depressed why are you so bitter why are you constantly struggling not just to believe in god but to know god believes in you to the point to where it's hard for you to wrap your mind around the word to where even though you know the verses to quote it is not being reflected in the life that you live and so today i want us to really look at this two ways we're gonna attack it spiritually and by out biologically why because the mind is not just a spiritual thing it's a biological thing and so i want us to i want to teach you and then i'm going to show you so i need you to lock in so pull out your phones you probably already on your phones but get off the draft kings get off the instagram pull out the notes app i need you to take a lot of notes or pull out the camera just take a lot of pictures because i want you to i want you to really come back to this and reflect on this throughout the week because it's going to be too much for me to like really dive in all the way in the few minutes that I have. Okay. So lace up your boots, put on your backpack. It's time to ride. Right. So if we're going to talk about the nuances and the intricate details of the mind, I'm not the expert. So I looked up an expert and her name is Dr. Caroline Leaf, and she's a neuroscientist and an expert in neuroplasticity. Okay. And what is that? Neuroplasticity is your brain's ability to physically reorganize and adapt its structure throughout your entire life. Now, this is good news for my seasoned saints, the people who don't wear braces no more, because the quote is you can't teach an old dog new tricks. The word is you're not a dog. You're the imago dei of God,

and he designed you in a way to where you can continually grow. That's why the brain is not made out of this static concrete, but it's more like clay, which is why David said you're the potter, we're the clay, because he knows that we're constantly being shaped if we leave our minds and lives in the hands of the potter. And so neuroplasticity proves this. It proves that your mind is malleable and that the thoughts you have actually affect, not just metaphorically, but physically the structure and the makeup and the direction of your brain. So there's actually a difference between your mind and your brain, because what happens is your brain is the way it's designed is it has neurons and it has pathways, and what happens with neuroplasticity is as you have new experiences and as you learn things and try things and you go in different environments, it expands and it opens up. And as you're exposed to things, it starts to cause the neurons to fire to keep up. And so the neuroscientists, they say it like this. Neurons that fire together, wire together. So anytime I repeat a discipline or rehearse or practice a sport or practice a language or train in something, my neurons are firing and it's expanding the strength of my brain. But the reverse is also true. Anytime I keep rehearsing negative thoughts and anytime I keep rehearsing traumatic moments and just replaying them over and over and over in my mind, the neuroscientists say neurons that fire apart, wire apart. So it undoes all the positive things you have been doing. This is what Dr. Carolyn Lee says. She says research shows that 75 to 98% of all mental, behavioral, and physical illnesses are tied to negative thoughts. It's almost like what the Bible says. So as a man thinkest in his heart, you see how science always has to catch up to scripture? But the beauty of what Dr. Carolyn Lee is arguing is that according to Romans, when Paul says, therefore be transformed by the renewing of your mind, he's not being spiritual, he's being practical. Because he understands that the mind was designed to renew itself. The mind was designed to heal itself. The mind was designed to expand as you introduced the the truth of who God was, and what God had created, and what God desired for you. It brought healing and wholeness to your mind, heart, body. That's why you want to love the Lord with all your mind, all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Why? Because all of it is really connected. And so when Paul also says in 2 Corinthians, take any thought captive, he again is being literal, not ambiguous. Because Dr. Carolyn Lee says, that's exactly what self-regulation does, is it

caused me to recognize that that that is not right. I'm not going to ruminate on that. I'm not going to rehearse that. I'm going to pull that. You do not belong in me, through me, or that's not for me. And I'm able to break the power of it through my mind. I'm trying to help someone that's been a slave to their trauma, because they don't understand the power of the of a saved mind. And you're allowing the trauma of your past to exalt itself over the power of the cross. And that's why Paul also said, we demolish anything that tries to exalt itself over the knowledge of Christ. We bring it down and we tear down strongholds. Like the point is not, I go around cussing people out. The goal is anything that is not of God, I curse it, bind it in the name of Jesus. That's the authority of the Imago Dei being in you and coming out of you and moving through you. So when Paul says put on salvation as your helmet, he's saying, listen, anything else might fold but it's repairable as long as you understand who and whose you are. And you allow the mind of Christ Jesus to be at home in your mind. So here's some practical things that we can do to exercise neuroplasticity in a healthy way. There's five things. Put the first one up, please. Number one, gather awareness. I got to be able to identify, wait, why am I feeling like this? Like what's going on? Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's normal. You can identify something like, that ain't right. So after I gather awareness, the next thing I can do is I got to reflect. I got to ask myself why. Why did my stomach turn up when they walked in the room? Why did I feel so attacked when they made that statement? Why did I, why did I get so defensive? Why am I allowing that to cause me to feel insecure? Like why? Then after you reflect, then you got to write. Because I don't want to just keep it in here. I want to get it out of here onto paper so I can see it. So then I write it out. And then after I write it, I recheck it. Well why? Because you want to start noticing, dang, every Tuesday I'm just over here stacking all these negative thoughts and lies and I'm allowing, I'm allowing Tuesday to ruin my entire week. You start to see the patterns. And once you see the pattern, you can get to the root. And that's when the active reach comes in, the last thing. And what is that? That's when I take a small practical

action or say a specific statement to practice a new healthy thought pattern. So it's so-and-so said something. Could be a spouse, loved one, co-workers, employer, doesn't matter. And I felt attacked, or I felt insecure, or I felt like, like they were, they were coming for me, or that I was, or they were saying what I already thought. This is why I don't try. This is why I don't. You never do. You know that's why that's why don't ever do it. Instead of, what does the word say? And it could be simple. It could be, I'm a prisoner for Singapore. I beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling for you've been called by God. Come on Justin. Lead a life worthy of your calling. You've been called by. God lead a life worthy of your calling. You've been called by God. Well they call me, but you've been called by God. Well I feel, but you lead a life worthy of your calling because you've been called by God. Well nobody else sees me. Lead a life worthy of your calling. You've been called by God. Well ain't nobody else. Lead a life worthy of your calling. Do you see how that starts there? Because as a man thinketh so is he. So all of a sudden I stop being a stowaway and a victim and I'm the captain taking captive any thought that does not line up with the word will or heart of God for my life, my mind. And because I believe it, I live it and I experience it. And I can be in situations that other people think you're unqualified for and it's okay. I'm unqualified but I'm called. And I believe I'm called so I lead like I'm called. I talk like I'm called. I respond like I'm called. I don't overreact because that's beneath my calling. It's so funny. I don't mean to be political but I'm gonna just say this. I think it's mind-boggling how frustrated people get with the president because of how he reacts or responds to things. And like he shouldn't be acting like that. You shouldn't be acting like that. You think his calling is better than your calling. That's why it's easy to crucify him. And I'm not justifying. I'm not. I'm talking about you. See how quickly we'll do that? Oh okay. See how you vote. No I'm voting for you to lead a life worthy of your calling because you've been called by God. And I'm tired of us deflecting and expecting everyone else to be better than what God called us to be. You're the president of your life. You're the

president of your family. They didn't even vote you in. They just got stuck with you. You're a dictator. So, so, so, so here's what I'm going with this. Craig Rochelle, he says it beautifully. If you don't like the outcome, change the pattern. If you don't like the outcome, change the pattern. All right. I know that was hard for a lot of y'all because y'all came like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well if I wanted science, I wouldn't went to science school. And I'm a gospel gangster. Let's talk about the sword. Okay. Only a legacy. Okay. So let's talk about the sword. The Bible says put salvation on as your helmet and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Now in Scripture, sword is defined two ways. There's this long sword that even John illustrates when Jesus, and when John's talking about Jesus in the book of Revelation, he talks about the sword that comes out of his mouth. And it's this long, two-handed sword where it's like anybody could get it, right? Like the big one. But when Paul is talking to the church of Ephesus, he does not use the same word that describes that sword. He actually uses a word called makeda, makira, and it's a short sword. And the long, broad sword, yeah, it does damage, but the short sword was actually more difficult to use because it took skill, it took proximity, it took training, it took discipline. The word of God is the sword, but the word of God is also described two different ways. You have the logos, which is the whole written word of God, but then you have the rhema, which is the specific spirit quicken word for a specific moment. Here's the problem.

Some of us are trying to use a logos sword for specific moments. And instead of it being the sword of the spirit, it's actually the sword of our feelings, the sword of our trauma, the sword of our flesh, the sword of our preferences. A sword without the spirit is just a sword. And we use the sword as a weapon of mass destruction as opposed to something to fight the actual enemy. So there's casualties associated with our version of Christianity instead of conversions associated with our version of Christianity. When's the last time somebody actually got saved listening to you use the truth of God's word? Also notice that the belt is the truth, not the sword, meaning the belt is used for protection, not punishment. And the sword is not used to fight people, but principalities and demons and dark forces. So you putting verses in every comment, arguing with people, isn't actually leading them closer to Jesus. It's making you look like a fool because the Bible says in Proverbs, if you argue with the fool, you're the fool. But the word says. Think about this. If you had a tragedy happen in your life and you asked me to come officiate the funeral and I came up to the podium and I said,

dearly beloved, we're gathered here today. And in the words of Jesus, let the dead bury the dead. And then I'll walk off. How would you feel? Like who brought him? Like whose pastor is that? Not my pastor. Like, you know what I mean? You know what would be more appropriate? If I came, but I mean, technically that's the word. That's the law of God. It's in the Bible. Jesus did say that. But if I instead came and said, dearly beloved, the scripture says that Jesus wept when he was at a funeral of someone who he knew he would resurrect, but they did not change the pace of the funeral. They changed the pain and the suffering of the moment because he understands he's acquainted with our grief and we can trust him because he can relate to us. Which one is more helpful? The second one, right? Jesus wept, not let the dead bury the dead. So in your version of Jesus, or the version of Jesus that people see through you, is it a bunch of dead bodies in your path or is it actually people that can connect to the heart of God? It depends how you use the sword.

So I wanna show us in scripture, how we see Jesus, who is the word, use the word as a sword to defeat the enemy. Let me show you, Matthew chapter four. In Matthew chapter four, Jesus has just been baptized in Matthew chapter three. And in Matthew chapter three, the heavens opened and God spoke, it was beautiful. But then you turn the page and in Matthew chapter four, verse one, this is what it says. Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. But Jesus told him, no, the scriptures say, people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. I wanna ask you this question. What is tempting you to rely on yourself instead of your heavenly father? I wanna add this caveat to it. Maybe you're actually feeling a real void, a real need. Maybe you're actually hungry. I find it very interesting that Jesus, who just fasted for 40 days, can you imagine 40 days? It's only been 40 minutes, some of y'all are like, I can't wait.

Wait to brunch. When is he done? 40 days. And then after the 40 days, what is he rewarded with? Lucifer. Telling him, hey, if you're really him, turn that granite into a cinnabon that you want. Some of y'all have been like, the Lord is my shepherd. He know what I want. Like, easy. What's also interesting is that it was not a sin for Jesus to desire bread. What are you desiring right now? What is the thing that is missing in your life right now? What is the thing that like, you've been working really hard for really long, and there is something that you need. Like, you do need bread. The Bible doesn't say you don't need bread. It just says bread. Man doesn't live by bread alone. But you still need the carbs or the carnivore diet, whatever you're on. I don't care. My point is there's still felt needs that you need to live. And how cruel of the enemy that at the most vulnerable state of Jesus's journey, he tries to manipulate him into doing God's will his way. What do I mean by that? Well, that's Matthew chapter four. But in Matthew chapter 14, Peter and the disciples will come up to Jesus like, hey, you've been preaching a long time. Everybody's hungry. We got to feed them, or they got to go get food. Jesus says, what you got? You feed them. He's like, all I got is a Lunchable. It's not even mine. It's this little kid I found. And he takes the Lunchable. Jesus takes that bread, gives it to the Father, blesses it, and multiplies it to thousands. Why does that matter? Because the issue was not Jesus needing bread. It was the voice that was directing him. Sometimes it's not the bread. It's the voice. It's when Lucifer is telling you, hey, turn this, do it your way, because you don't know when God's going to do it, so you might as well just do it your way, versus when you have the trust to say, I can't live off bread alone. So I can live off of every word from the Word of God. I can trust the Word of God. What is happening in this moment? The devil is trying to prove a point. The last time someone was struggling and wanted something and saw something, all he had to do was show up and said, well, if you really wanted to be like God, just eat the avocado. I'm assuming it's an avocado, because I don't like avocados. And the Bible says that Adam and Eve ate it. And the Bible says that Jesus is the second Adam. Why does that matter? Because the first Adam was in a perfect environment and still failed. So the enemy thought, well, if you really are the son of

God, the last time there was a son of God, I got him and his baby mama into the garden to mess everything up, and they were in a perfect situation. So now that you're in the worst situation of your life, I bet you'll compromise. And Jesus let the devil know, I'm not him. There's a difference. Not only that, but for 40 days, 40 days, 40 is significant because the children of Israel, they struggled in the wilderness for 40 years. And the reason they were lost and wandering in the wilderness for 40 years is because they kept complaining, even though God was making it rain Chick-fil-A biscuits from the sky. And that wasn't enough. And then God provided water to them from a rock. He said, just speak to it. It'll come. And what happened? Moses, the first deliverer, and the children of Israel, God's chosen people, they both failed in the wilderness because they did not trust the voice of the Father. So the enemy is saying, if you're really him, it's been 40 days. And Jesus said, I came here just to prove to you and to humanity where they failed, I won't. And it is written, man will not live, cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, meaning I can trust every word of the mouth of God. And here's the beauty of that, because all this happens in chapter four, but 10 chapters later in chapter 14, not only does Jesus make bread for himself and his disciples, but over 5,000 people were fed and there were baskets full, meaning that sometimes the enemy is trying to distract you in chapter four, but if you would just keep walking, chapter 14 is coming, and God has something in store for you that will not just change your life, but it will change the trajectory of everyone connected to you. Your cup will run over. There will be more than enough. Bread is the least of your worries. Just trust the right voice. Tell the person next to you, trust the voice, trust the voice, but the voice of the Father, the voice of the Father. That's why he said, it is written. But then the Bible says this, then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple and said, if you are the son of God, jump off. for the scriptures say he will order his angels to protect you and they will hold you up with their hands so that you won't even hurt your foot on a stone jesus responded the scriptures also say you must not test the lord your god here's my question for you legacy are you testing or trusting god well i don't know what's what's what's the difference i didn't understand at first why the enemy took jesus to a temple and told him to jump like that's dumb that was a waste of a wish ain't nobody doing that

but what he was actually doing was trying to placate to a potential desire that all of us have which is not just to be fed or provided for but to be seen every human being has a a natural you were wired to be loved seen and needed so if you feel like no one needs you you'll live your life that way like it doesn't matter if you feel like you're not seen there will be no standard because you're like it doesn't matter or you'll keep doing things to be seen well if you do this you can grow your follower account if you do this you you can probably get the promotion if you do this and and what he's trying to do is say why don't you just jump off because god knows your heart god will work it out god works all things together for your god god always works it all out god always has a plan that's not what the scripture says first of all bible says in psalms 91 that he if you will protect you to keep you in your way lest you dash your foot against what does that mean it means that when you're being obedient to the word and the will of god he's not expecting perfection he's expecting persistence and he already calculated that you would stumble a little bit and he says as soon as you stumble don't trip i got the angels coming meaning that even when you feel like you failed as a parent don't trip i knew that and i still gave you those kids and so what the enemy is trying to do is say hey if you jump now everybody can see you see you and then they'll really know you are the son of god but i love what uh jenny said during the generosity moment god wants to see your faithfulness with little your faithfulness when it's just you and him like that's actual faithfulness faithfulness isn't me posting about my quiet time faithfulness is me just being quiet with god faithfulness is even if this doesn't make me famous or financially set or secure i'll still honor god and so that was what the enemy was testing he says if you really are it'll work out don't worry about it's the same thing that we do yeah god knows my heart so i'm just gonna do what i feel like doing god said but that's not what i told you to do so now you're testing me to see if i'll keep bailing you out and i just want you to know my love is forever but my patience has a limit and he's still a good father and his mercies renew every morning but you don't know if you get the next morning so the enemy's testing him but he says it is written you must not test the lord your god here's here's the next verse verse eight next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory i will give it all to you he said if you will kneel down and worship me get out of here satan

jesus told him for the scriptures say you must worship the lord your god and serve only him then the devil went away and angels came and took care of jesus here's what i find fascinating about that i i didn't understand that when he was like dude you you you really won for three the the bread to the stone i would i might have folded not gonna lie but everything else that just sounds dumb until you remember that the bible says he was led by the spirit into the wilderness fasted for 40 days and then was tempted by the devil you know jesus never the bible says he never sinned but it doesn't say he was never tempted he actually was tempted meaning that this was not just avocado on a fruit tree this was actual things that he was struggling with in his humanity yes he was fully god but he was also fully man and i'm not saying he compromised i'm not saying fold i'm just saying the devil knew what he was doing how do i know because on the surface i'm like jesus isn't about to just take a knee to lucifer like this ain't no cult this ain't no illuminati mean what are we doing right now until i remembered that the other time jesus took a knee outside it wasn't the wilderness but it was a garden and his words were god if there's any other way let this cut pass yes and you know what the enemy was offering in matthew chapter 4 another way notice he no longer said if you are the son of god he tried that the first two times by the third time he's like oh he really is him Meaning, oftentimes the devil tempts you and tests you to see who is, what is in you, and what is on you. And the more you start to succeed, the more he recognizes, oh this ain't no average Joe. This is somebody with the anointing of God. This is someone with the Spirit of God. This is someone that is gifted and called by God. So what he does is, he starts to change tactics. And this time, this, on the surface, you'll miss it if you don't read it, he's actually conceding defeat. Because he knows the Scripture. He knows that the Prophet Isaiah, or the Prophet in Psalms, the Bible says, God told David, I will give you the nations as your inheritance. That was a prophetic word for the son of David, Jesus. And then Daniel said, I saw all the kings of the earth bowing to the King of Kings. That was a prophetic revelation of Jesus. So he understood that Jesus was really him, but he also knew the Prophet Isaiah that said, a man of sorrow and suffering, he will be wounded. The chest tight, like he will be bruised for our iniquity. The

devil understood the suffering Jesus is gonna have to go to and go through in the future, and he said, hey, we can bypass all that right now. No one else is here. Just me and you. Just taking me. And I'll bow out. I'll concede. I'll give you the, I'll give you the nations. I was wondering, and this was, I could not sleep last night, and I was trying to think of analogies. I was trying to think of things, and I just couldn't, and I just, I think it's because it's, there's so many of you that it's not a specific thing, but here's, here's the question I had for you that I want you to ask yourself. Are you chasing a crown without the cross? The enemy was trying to allow Jesus a way to reach the outcome he desired without the process he had to go through. And I think so many of us are in situations where we see the crown. We want the crown. We want, we want to hear well done. We want to be great parents. We, here's the problem. You can't be a faithful parent without being crucified by the same people you created. And some of us are too focused on being liked by our kids or not pushing our kids away that we don't understand our responsibility is to show them what it looks like to die daily, to flesh, to disappoint the ones you love because you understand that this is just chapter four. And if I give up too early on chapter four, I won't make it to the end of the book where they get to experience the joy of salvation. That's what it says in Hebrews chapter 11. It says, no, in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1, it said, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross disregarding his shame and is now seated on the right hand of the Father. What was the joy? The joy of salvation, knowing that one day you would be able to commune with him, both on earth and in eternity. That was the crown he wanted, was connection. But the crown had to come through the cross. And I don't know what crown you're chasing. I don't know what crown. I'm not saying it's a negative thing. I'm saying it's probably a God thing. It's something that God desires for you. It's something that God placed you here for. It's something that there is inheritance, a supernatural inheritance for you. It is your crown. But the crown only comes through the ... And I think too many Christians are trying to avoid the cross and just get a crown, and that's not how it works. That's

actually the path of the Antichrist, not the Christ. You have to get rejected by the ones you love and who say they love you, because Jesus did. You have to go through the wilderness. But I'm just tired. You don't understand. I've been doing this for so long, and I'm tired, and I get it. And some of us, now we're starting to rethink, what did I do to deserve this, or I do something wrong, and let me break that lie from the enemy. No, no. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, meaning it is your righteousness. It is the fact that you got baptized, and God spoke identity over you, and then God led you into the wilderness, and you're like, oh my gosh, there ain't no Cinnabons. It's just rocks. And I'm tired, and I'm hungry, and I'm missing, and I'm just, I'm tired, and I'm vulnerable, and I'm weak. And here's what I love about that verse. It says, Jesus responded, get ... I love the King James. That's how my grandma taught me. Get thee behind me, Satan. Come on. That is, that is different than just, get away, Satan. Like, get thee behind me, Satan. And then put up the verse. Put up the verse. Put up the verse, because this is important. Verse 11. It says, once Jesus responded to the devil, It says, then the devil went away and angels came and took care of Jesus. I don't know about you. I don't need Obamacare. I don't need this Medicare. I need the angel care. I need to know that I'm walking through the wilderness. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear any evil because I know God did not leave me here to leave me here. But not only did he leave me here, the spirit is with me here and that the spirit is with me here. I can get through the temptation. I can get through the test because I know that he who began a good work will see it through. He will complete it.

I just can't quit on chapter four because if I can keep walking through the wilderness, there's an angel on the other side. And maybe you're stopping in the middle of the wilderness, not knowing there's angels on the other side, ready to take care of all your needs, physical needs, mental needs, emotional needs, financial needs. There is a supernatural provision available for you. You just got to keep walking through the wilderness. Don't you dare quit in the wilderness. But well, how do I do that? Because honestly, I'm struggling with my faith. If I'm being honest, I don't know what to believe anymore because I'm hearing this and seeing that and I'm feeling this and not my trip. My belt is a little loose if I'm honest, that honestly, it's okay. Don't take off your helmet. Don't believe the lie that says if you were really saved, you wouldn't be going through this. It's because I'm saved that I'm going through this. But remember that I'm going through this, not to this. I'm going through the wilderness. The wilderness is not my destiny. The wilderness is not my permanent destination. The wilderness is a season. Forty days just represents seasons. But I know what I love is that 40 days in the wilderness prepared him for 2026 years later for you to look back at what Jesus went through in the wilderness and be like, I could survive Chandler. I could survive him. I could, I could, I could, this wilderness, I could, I could get through this. Here's what I want to ask. Everybody stand up, please.

I believe that many of us have come in here being attacked so hard in our minds that it's almost, it's almost broken us. And again, since it's here, no one else can see it. They just see you showing up still. They just see you sticking it out. They see you still provide and they see you still trying. They see you still performing. They see you still doing, but they don't know that you feel like you are one temptation away from dying in the wilderness, from caving in and maybe the reason that God brought you here today. So a chocolate angel could remind you that the spirit led you there, but it didn't leave you there. The spirit of God is still for you and the helmet of salvation is the only thing you need to keep going. I'm not belittling every other part. You need every piece of armor if you're going to stay standing. But if you still got the helmet, if you still know that my mind belongs to Jesus and Jesus has access to my mind, that means even if he doesn't change the external, he can change you. So here's what I want to do. I want to ask you this question. What lies or thoughts do you need to take captive and how will you use the word of God to defeat the enemy today? I believe this is a rhema word, a today word. This isn't, uh, yeah, this is, this is for you today. This isn't, Oh, let me really think about it. No, no, no. Right now. That's probably your problem. You overthink too many things.

Think on the word of God. Well, I don't really know a lot of scripture. I'm kind of new to this. You know, what's so beautiful about Jesus being tempted by the enemy? He only referenced one book the entire time. He only referenced one book of the Bible, Deuteronomy, the book nobody reads. Every quote he uses pretty much from Deuteronomy, which proves you don't have to have a theology degree to defeat the enemy. You just have to have faith in the word. You just need a word. You just need to know, you know what? I'm going to lead a life worthy of my calling because I've been called by God. I'm going to lead a life worthy of my calling because I've been called by God. You said that yesterday and I'm still called because he woke me up today. So I'm still going to lead a life worthy of my calling because I've been called by God. Hey, if you're still watching at this point, I believe that it's not an accident. I believe that if you're feeling something in your spirit, that is God trying to get your attention and invite you into a deeper relationship with him. And so if you're ready to take that step, I want I want to walk you through what that looks like. It's simple. We're going to say a prayer together, and it's just you acknowledging that you believe that Jesus is who he says he is, and that you're willing to commit your life to following him and learning what it means to be a son or daughter of God. So repeat after me if you can, Jesus, here I am. I believe that you love me, that you died for me, and that you want a relationship with me. I acknowledge that I'm a sinner and I need a savior, and I'm committing to learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus. If I mess up, I will not quit, because you've never quit on me.

I invite your Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me in your truth from today on. In Jesus' name, amen. Hey, we're proud of you. That's a huge decision, and we don't want you to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own from this point. We have a value, a legacy that says we follow Jesus for ourselves, but not by ourselves. So I would invite you to text the number below, follow the instructions, and we're going to send you resources so you can learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus and be on this journey of faith. Congratulations. Your life will never be the same. Thank you for watching. Hope you enjoyed the online experience. Hey, if this message impacted you, make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a friend so we can continue to share the gospel. Hey, here at Legacy, prayer is our priority. If you have any prayer needs, you can send them to prayer at legacyaz.church. If you'd like to financially partner with Legacy, you can text any dollar amount to 84321. You can also download the Church Center app. Visit our website at legacyaz.church. Click on Ways to Give. You'll find links to support Legacy Church. You can find us on social media. Otherwise, go out and love, live, and be like Jesus. We'll see you next week.