God’s love for you is never based on your performance.
and maybe you need to hear that God’s
love for you is never based on your
performance before he ever did anything
it’s kind of like he got the trophy
before he even showed up for practice
it’s kind of like God does not validate
how people validate because people will
validate you based on what you do for
them people will validate you based on
the value that your actions carry that
will contribute directly to their
well-being but God does not validate
based on performance he validates based
on relationship he did not validate what
Jesus would do he validated who he was
and just in case you haven’t heard it in
a while and you feel kind of dirty and
kind of ashamed of yourself and kind of
like you don’t belong in the presence of
God and kind of like you’re not one of
those good church people I want you to
know you’re still his child
you’re still made in his image you’re
still bought with his blood every drop
he spilled was on purpose and one of
those drops had your name on it and if
the blood was enough for me it was
enough for you and you don’t have to
stand here ashamed and look forward to
one day when God will never love you any
more than he loves you right now
I said you’re free right now loved right
now cleansed right now healed right now
somebody shout I am
I am his child I am accepted Jesus did
not perform his ministry for acceptance
that’s why he didn’t care what anybody
thought about it when you know somebody
more important approves of you
it makes the opinions of people a whole
lot less significant isn’t that true I
I don’t care this sounds bad
this sounds unpastoral but I don’t
care as much what you think about this
sermon I care I will check Facebook
Instagram
but before that before everybody say
before I’ll walk off the stage
Holly will meet me and I’ll look at her and
she’ll be like you slayed it when she
says that that will matter a little bit
more a little bit more because she lives
with me and if the person who knows me
the best here’s what I have to say and
feels like it was aligned with the
character of my life I don’t need the
gram no I think this is
important I think it’s so important that
we receive the validation of God each
day or we will need from people what
they are not capable of giving us how
are they going to accept you
unconditionally
they don’t even like themselves some of
the time and a voice came and a voice
came John came that’s preparation a
voice came that’s validation but notice
when the voice
spoke church you gotta pay attention to this little stuff in the
Bible don’t just read 7 verses
then get coffee and post about
read it slow down and read it
it came before he performed any miracles
it was not contingent upon his
performance and it came after his
obedience at that time Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee was baptized by
John in the Jordan check it out verse 10
is verse 10 on the screen is it on
there as he was coming up that means as
he was doing what he was supposed to do
as he was coming up he saw heaven torn
open is that what it says my eyes are
closed I’m depending on you to validate
the heavens torn open and the voice
spoke so he saw a vision and he heard a
voice but he didn’t see it until he was
on the way up
so it meant that he went all the way out
to the Jordan
got in the water went down and on the
way up
God said I’m proud of you and when
he came up notice this the synergy of
the text is this when he came up the
dove came down when he came up to
fulfill that which was spoken of that
which was prophesied about him in
obedience when he came up now here’s
where a lot of us get it twisted we want
the dove to come down before we get into
the waters of obedience we want God to
give us peace about a decision that we
know we need to make but I found out
that peace comes after obedience so when
Jesus went down into the waters which
signified his death and came back up
which signified his resurrection
it was on
the way up it was as he was doing the
will of his father it was as he was in
the process of fulfilling the purpose
that he was put on the earth for that he
saw the heavens open and he heard the
voice of God saying this is my son
and the dove came down but the dove
didn’t come down until Jesus came up and
you know what you are not going to get
the peace of God in your situation until
you commit yourself to obey what he’s
speaking to your heart peace comes after
obedience and if you don’t have the
peace of God in your situation God’s
peace might be awaiting your obedience
but we want to experience before what we
can only experience after so we put
stuff off you know like well I’ll do it
when I feel a peace about it that’s a
Christian thing only Christians talk
like that
people who don’t have this religious
jargon to throw around to cover up their
lack of decisiveness have to either do
it or don’t but we wait for a peace I
was just reading that text over and over
and as he was coming up the dove didn’t
follow him down to the water come on
Jesus you got this come on this is the
right thing to do I promise you I
promise you the dove did not make its
appearance until Jesus was already wet
until you died to yourself and go down
in the water and as he was coming up the
dove came down so I had to do something
the other day and I didn’t want to do it
in my flesh in my spirit I am reborn
and I told somebody I was gonna do it
and they said I
guess you have a peace about it I said
no that’s why I’m doing it because I
want peace and I don’t have peace and I
have spent the last several months
waiting for peace that only obedience
can produce now the love of God did not
come because Jesus obeyed but the peace
of God the dove the validation came as
he obeyed I said I’m gonna do what I need
to do and the peace will follow I’m
gonna do what doesn’t make sense and the
peace will follow I’m gonna join an eGroup
at Elevation Church I thought my
leaders would shout and the peace will
follow but the peace came after the
obedience peace comes after obedience
peace comes after obedience it’s my
whole message and so I’m repeating it in
case you think this is a sub point it is
not everything up until now was just to
tell you this Lake Norman peace comes
after obedience Jesus went down Jesus
came up as he’s coming up the dove comes down the voice from heaven speaks and
the validation of Jesus Christ came
after his obedience stop waiting to feel
like it stop waiting for people to
understand it stop waiting until
everything gets just right this is the
day that the Lord has made I will
rejoice today if you hear his voice do
not harden your heart
and then the peace of God which passes
all understanding will guard your heart
and your mind in Christ Jesus the peace here comes the dove here comes the dove here
comes the dove but this dove this dove
has a mind of it’s own this dove this
Holy Spirit that’s what it symbolizes in
the Bible and the dove comes down and the
dove is so beautiful come on LJ
play some dove music some dove descending
music
I think that’s twinkle twinkle little
star and then abrupt change you got to
get used to Mark because he’s our tour
guide for this entire series at once
verse twelve he doesn’t even give us
time to hang out with the dove get a
selfie with the dove at once
immediately
suddenly the Spirit the dove sent him
into the desert why is he going to the
desert verse 13 fills it in and he
was in the desert forty days being
tempted by Satan why would the dove lead
you into a place where the devil was
waiting I don’t like that dove
I want the other dove give me the another dove real quick
and suddenly right after the validation
came the temptation because any time God
speaks a promise over your life you will
immediately have the opportunity to
prove the promise in the dessert the same
dove that presided over his baptism now
leads him into the desert which seems on
the surface to be a contradiction of the
Lord’s prayer you know our Father who
art in heaven hallowed be your name your
kingdom come Jesus taught us this prayer
your will be done on earth I know people
think that a football locker room
made this prayer up but Jesus taught this
prayer on earth as it is in heaven give
us this day our daily bread forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors and
lead us not into temptation so why did
the Spirit of God lead Jesus into the
very temptation that he told us to pray
against see Jesus was a savage and he
knew what to do in the desert and he
knew that the desert is the place where
you prove the promise of God I wanted to
include this point because some of you
are not in the place of validation as I
speak today you are in the place of
temptation so remember Mark doesn’t
really break it down he just tells us
real quick because Peters just giving
him the highlights and he’s writing
in a style that keeps the action moving
because this thing is headed to the
conflict of the cross and he has no time
to waste so he just tells us simply he
was in the desert forty days he doesn’t
even mention that Jesus didn’t eat in
those forty days doesn’t even mention it
being tempted by Satan he was with the
wild animals and angels that’s all he
says about it if I went 40 days with the
animals I would want to describe every
detail of it but Mark says he was there
and he was tempted but it didn’t work by
the way you don’t have to you
don’t have to explain every nuance of
all of the trials that you go through
sometimes we are so busy describing what
we are going through that we miss the
opportunity to declare the praises of
the one who brought us through it
he gives one verse to 40 days he was
tempted and then the angels came but the
angels did not come to protect him from
the temptation the angels came after the
temptation and sometimes we are
expecting God to protect us from stuff
when he wants to use the stuff to prove
his power in our lives and so he puts
you in a lonely place but even in a
lonely place you are under an open
heaven the greatest temptation of life
is to find your validation in a source
other than Christ it is life’s greatest
temptation where will you find your
validation and so Satan says to Jesus if
you’re hungry turn the stones into bread
Jesus said I don’t need it I don’t live
by bread alone
I live on every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God by the way it’s a bad
idea to get in a scripture quotation
contest with the one who is the Word of
God he didn’t just write it he was it
now you’re debating scripture with the
one who is it in flesh okay then
prove it
this is life’s great temptation to find
your validation in anything other than
God
prove it throw yourself off the temple
prove it make more money prove it show
them how great you are prove it
Jesus said I don’t need to prove it it is
written it is written
I’ve already been validated in the
waters so I don’t have to prove anything
in the wilderness hey thank you for
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watching