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