It's What God Says about you that Counts

Three Voices that Jesus heard

1. The Voice of God in the Jordan
2. The voice of the Enemy in the wilderness
3. The Voice of the World

1. The Voice of God in the Jordan – Luke 3

21. When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
22. and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
23. Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. …

2. The voice of the Enemy in the wilderness – Luke 4

1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
2. where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.”

Luke 4 cont’d

9. The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.
10. For it is written:
    “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
11. they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
12. Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Luke 4

14. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
15. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
17. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

Luke 4 cont’d

18. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to preach good news to the poor.
18. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
    to release the oppressed,
19. to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4 cont’d

20. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
21. and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

3. The Voice of the World – Luke 4

22. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

1. The Voice of God in the Jordan
— Luke 3

22. …a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

• Jesus is affirmed by his Father before he has done anything
• Our affirmation is from heaven and it’s ours in Christ, not based on our performance

The voices in our head

• What is shaping your self-talk?
• Listen to the voice from heaven
• “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psa 139:14)

2. The voice of the Enemy in the wilderness
— Luke 4

3. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
9. …”If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.

• The enemy sows doubt
• He is a liar from the beginning.

Three things we need to do

1. Recognize where thoughts are coming from
2. Reject it when it is not coming from God
3. Replace it with the truth of what God says

Three Voices

1. The Voice from Heaven
2. The Voice from Hell
3. The Voice of the World

3. The Voice of the World – Luke 4

22. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

• They “smallened” him
• Have words been spoken to you that reduce you?

Recognize,
Reject,
Replace

“What manner of love the the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)