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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Hello everyone.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is Pastor Benjamin.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You're listening to Sermon Audio from New City, Orlando.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's Prayer.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For more resources, visit our website at Newcity Orlando.com.

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<v Peter Young>Would you pray this aloud with me?

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<v Peter Young>Holy Spirit, make us hungry for your word, that it may satisfy us, lead us, and bring us life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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<v Peter Young>If you're able Amen.

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<v Peter Young>If you're able to stand, please continue for the reading out of Deuteronomy.

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<v Peter Young>And as you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

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<v Peter Young>And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

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<v Peter Young>Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your feet foot did not swell these forty years.

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<v Peter Young>For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper, and you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

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<v Peter Young>Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today.

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<v Peter Young>Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built good homes and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart will be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

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<v Peter Young>Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

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<v Peter Young>You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day.

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<v Peter Young>This is God's word.

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<v Peter Young>You may be seated.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The reason why that matters is because Americans often remember the 1950s as the golden age of middle class prosperity.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, caveat, not for everybody, not for all Americans.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This was before the civil rights movement.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, so not everybody looks fondly on the 1950s, but there is this kind of American cultural nostalgia for that decade, which is strange because by almost every material measure, Americans are far more prosperous today than we were in the 1950s.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me just give you a few.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Some of us feel the pinch in our grocery bills with inflation, but listen, 29% of the average household's budget in 1950 went to food versus 13% today.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So I tell you those, there's many more, but why is it that the 1950s seem like this era that Americans can often long for?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Morgan Hausel has a book called The Same as Ever, and he he answers it like this.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says, There's no such thing as objective wealth.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Everything is relative, and it's usually relative to those around you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He goes on, he says, How we answer the question, what does life owe me?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What should I expect?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It usually comes subconsciously or not, it usually comes from looking around us, seeing other people, and going, What do other people like me have?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why don't I have that?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So the issue is the gap between 1950s and today is that we look around ourselves and we see everybody else seems to be doing better than us.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Social media does this to us.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so we feel like we're doing worse today than they were there and then.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But by every metric that I've got here, we've we're doing far better.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So this actually raises a surprising question, which is how much is enough?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How much is enough?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's a question I think is worth wrestling with.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And one of my favorite definitions of enough is this enough is what you have minus what you want.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because what it does is it addresses that it the only problem is not found in what you have, it's actually found sometimes in what you want.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Your desires might be defunct.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That might actually be the problem with your feeling that you never have enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so listen, Deuteronomy 8 is a chapter in the Bible where God is forming his people to be faithful when they have nothing and when they have everything.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so I want to ask that question: how much is enough?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And I've got three points.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>First, trust God when you don't have enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank God when you have more than enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember God when you think you're enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me if you have a Bible or a device or the worship God, get Deuteronomy chapter 8 in front of you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And let's look at how we trust God when we don't have enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 1.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Deuteronomy 8:1 says this the whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, God's intention for his people is that they will live and multiply, they will go in, they will possess.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But the question in this text is, can they handle the abundance of the promised land?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, before God brings Israel into the land, he leads them through the wilderness.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And we'll see why in verse two it says this and you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay, we're getting a God's eye view on the 40 years in the wilderness.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>From heaven's perspective, what was happening to Israel in the wilderness is they were being tested with the intent to humble them.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, we often hear about God testing people, and we think about it like college entrance exams.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We think about like the GRE or the SAT or something like that.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And we think that the way God tests is it's it's pass and you're accepted, fail and you're rejected.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But listen, God's tests are more formative than they are summative.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Can I get an amen for my educators in the room?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You know what I'm talking about.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So listen, there are two types of tests in scripture, though.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And they look like this.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>One type we call a trial, the other type we call a temptation.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Same root word in Hebrew and in Greek.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God tests you, quote, to know what is in your heart.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Satan tempts you to draw your heart into evil.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God tests us to try us like gold in a furnace, Satan tempts us to trap us like a bird in a snare.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, even in Eden, God gave Adam a test.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Why?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because without the test, Adam could be innocent, but he could not be good.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He could not be good.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so Adam was tested with food, Israel's tested with food, the Lord Jesus will be tested with food, and that's what we see in verse 3.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says this, and he humbled you and let you hunger.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know that he might make you know.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Listen, hunger, counterintuitively, hunger may be God's provision.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He let you hunger.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We think that God teaches us by addition, but often God teaches us by subtraction.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Said differently, the desert disciples by taking away.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the text here says that He let you hunger, because there's something that Israel could not learn, something they needed to know, but could not know any other way but through hunger.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, some of us are in a wilderness season right now, and you feel acutely, viscerally, you feel what's been what feels like it's been taken away.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You you're acutely aware of your lack or your loss right now.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you've been asking the question, God, when will you give me what I want?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>When will you give me what I need?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And and I just want to submit from this text, maybe the question should be, Lord, what do you want me to know?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What are you teaching by taking away right now?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In verse 3, it goes on, it says, That he might make you know.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's here's the lesson, that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There is a knowledge of God that is impossible to know except through depending on God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Said differently, there is a knowledge that can only be gained by experience that can't come through mere instruction.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And I think we actually have a good definition of secularism in our text here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Secularism teaches that man lives by bread alone.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's a good summary of what that means.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We live in a cultural moment.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We live and move and have our being in a world that says, I can explain my life without reference to God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Somebody has called this a self-sufficing humanism.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That defines our cultural moment.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so one pastor said it like this by his testing, God is proving to us that he is more real than we ever thought, and that by his grace we can become more real than we ever thought.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So as we internalize the words of God, as we take them in, as we inwardly digest them, the promises of God begin to energize our life.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want to I want to make that plain how that actually works.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Some of you in here deal with chronic anxiety.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And in there's a verse in Isaiah 26, verse 3.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Might write that down.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And here's a promise.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says, You keep him, you keep her in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because they trust in you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so this is what that might look like.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Lord, I'm setting you before me right now.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want you to be bigger in the windshield of my life than whatever anxiety is causing me to future trip about.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you begin to pray into Isaiah 26, verse 3.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Or maybe you're like me and you find yourself with decisions that make you feel out of your depth often.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you take up James chapter 1, verse 5.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I love that.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I don't know if you're like me, but I often feel this sense of I ought to know.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I ought to be able to figure this out.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And James tells us the Lord doesn't reproach you like you reproach you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He's not ashamed of you because you don't know.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He's like, You're finite.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You are not omniscient.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I am.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Ask.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I give generously.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So we take up James 1 and we we pray that back to him.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So, Lord, I need more wisdom than I have right now.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I don't know how to go forward unless you lead me here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But some of us maybe it's not decisions, it's actually discontent that's plaguing us right now.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Hebrews 13, verse 5, it says this, be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The principle beneath that text is if you're dissatisfied with what you have, recall to mind that the Lord has given him himself to you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And if that's true, you have enough.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How much is enough though?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the question that we're wrestling with right here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So, New City, what I would love is for us to be a living, breathing experiment that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We can we can live like this as we metabolize the promises of God into everyday life.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, notice everyday life is important because sometimes we think this is grandiose and miraculous, and it is miraculous, but it actually shows up in the everydayness of everyday life.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 4 with me.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Your clothing did not wear out on you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How many of y'all are wearing things that are 40 years old right now?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Okay.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Their clothing did not wear out for 40 years, and your foot did not swell these 40 years.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Anybody ever gone on like a weekend hiking trip?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Day one, you like crush it.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Day two, you wake up with blisters.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Day three, you're like, I need a hell of a get me out of here.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>40 years their feet did not swell.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I asked my uncle who fought in the Vietnam War, I was like, hey, tell me about the war.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What was it like?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He was like, one thing you had to do is change your socks every moment you could because wet socks meant no skin on your feet.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Listen, this is not a small thing, but pay attention to the Lord's attentiveness to the details.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He cares about the feet of slaves.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I set you free from Egypt.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm leading you in the wilderness, I'm gonna bring you into the promised land.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I care about the details, your clothing, your footwear.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How beautiful it is that the promises of God are for the mundane, the everydayness of life.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But often the temptation in the wilderness is to say, if God loved me, why would I be here right now?

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But sometimes the the miracle of the wilderness isn't escape from the wilderness, it's it's simple provisions that enable you to endure, like food and clothing and footwear.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The text goes on in verse 5, it says, Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Like a good father, God is initiating his sons and daughters into maturity.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And this is why this matters.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>When we hear discipline, we often think punishment.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But in scripture, I want when you hear discipline, I want you to think training for reigning.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's a summary of God's vocation for human beings.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In the beginning, he intended for us to be rulers over earth.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We squandered that calling, but he's trying to help us to reclaim that calling.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the only way to enable us to become the kind of people he can entrust with his power to do what we want to do is if he disciplines us.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now I didn't misspeak there.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He wants your wants, you to become the kind of person whose character or your wants begin to align with God's will.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And he can empower you to do what you want to do.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The only way to do that is by disciplining us.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In his book, The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter says this new research shows that depression, anxiety, and feeling like you don't belong can be linked to being untested.

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<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To being untested.

00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:51.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God is a good father.

00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:58.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 16 says that he might humble you and test you to do you good in the end.

00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:06.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now we have got to enter in the father heart of God here for a moment because God knows that life east of Eden is hard.

00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:17.679
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the temptation for parents, because you love your children and you don't want them to feel pain, is you shield and shelter them from the harsh realities of life east of Eden.

00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.679
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The problem with that is it's a good desire, but a bad strategy.

00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>A better strategy is what's called progressive overload.

00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:32.080
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You give them daily doses of difficulty such that they begin to be strengthened over time because they have to face the real world as it is.

00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:44.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And if we don't do that, if we're not disciplining our children like the father disciplines his people, what ends up happening is you have a child that grows up, not knowing life is hard, and they spend all of their days chasing comfortability.

00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What a waste of a human life.

00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But listen, like a good father, God is initiating his sons and daughters into maturity.

00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What does that maturity look like?

00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 6.

00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:05.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The fear of the Lord is a very important concept in the whole Bible.

00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:15.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And one way you can define it as the fear of the Lord is to live all of life with a Godword orientation.

00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:16.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the fear of the Lord.

00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And that's actually how Moses writes this chapter.

00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:25.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>If you look back over verses two through six, look who the subject of Israel's survival is.

00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:31.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God led you, God humbled you, God tested you, God fed you, God clothed you, God disciplined you.

00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:36.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, Israel's survival in the wilderness is a case study that God is faithful to his word.

00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:42.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>One of my favorite case studies is a guy named George Mueller who built his life around that conviction.

00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:44.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Some of you know the story.

00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:47.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He cared for more than 10,000 orphans by prayer alone.

00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:51.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He raised millions of dollars without asking anyone except for God for money.

00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:56.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He never took out a loan, never went into debt, and had 68 years where he took no salary.

00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:02.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And yet neither he nor one orphan even ever went hungry.

00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In his journals, he's recorded over 10,000 answers to prayer.

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And then this is what he says about all of that.

00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:12.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says, I'm not a super Christian.

00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is the normal Christian life.

00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:22.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says it like this stand still in the hour of trial, and you will see the help of God if you trust in him.

00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:25.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But we so often forsake the ways of the Lord.

00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:27.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what verse 6 says, in the hour of trial.

00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:31.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And thus we forsake the food for faith.

00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:35.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The means whereby our faith may be increased is lost.

00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:36.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Did you catch that?

00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:44.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>George Mueller said the food for faith is trusting God when you don't have enough.

00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:51.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But Moses knows that it's not just the test of poverty, it's also the test of plenty that we have to pass.

00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:56.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So look with me at the second point, which is we want to thank God when we have more than enough.

00:18:56.960 --> 00:18:59.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verses 7 through 10.

00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:03.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In these verses, Moses uses the word land seven times.

00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the number for completion, fullness, abundance in the Bible.

00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:12.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so let's just look at the lyrical list of abundance that God is going to give to his people in the land.

00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 7.

00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:23.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs flowing out in the valleys and the hills.

00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:24.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember where they've been.

00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:30.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 15 says, The great and terrifying wilderness, thirsty ground where there was no water.

00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:33.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>These people have spent 40 years in the desert.

00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Their tongues are parched.

00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the Lord is saying, I'm going to give you a land with Gatorade flowing through the rivers.

00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:40.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's going to be amazing.

00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It goes on in verse 8.

00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:48.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says, A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranate.

00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is a pomegranate?

00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:52.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They'd had to ask that question.

00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember, they grew up 40 years in the wilderness.

00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This generation only knows the wilderness.

00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They probably have no idea what a pomegranate is.

00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But the Lord gives us far more than we could ever ask or imagine.

00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:11.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And he goes on, he says, A land of olive trees and honey and a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.

00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How much is enough?

00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How about no scarcity?

00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How about enough to go around?

00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How about life without lack?

00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I just want you to rest in those words for a moment.

00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:22.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Pause.

00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:23.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Receive them.

00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:27.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You will lack nothing.

00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:30.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's God's intent for his people in the land.

00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's what he longs for for us.

00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:37.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But there's something interesting in the next verse.

00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:45.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>At the end of that verse, it says, A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:46.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's interesting.

00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:50.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God gives them the land, and yet they still have to dig.

00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:57.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, the land is not only naturally abundant, but it is culturally latent.

00:20:57.680 --> 00:20:59.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What do I mean by that?

00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:04.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's a journalist named Ken Myers who says culture is what we make of the world.

00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And he means it in two senses.

00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:13.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, we take the world and we, the material things in the world, and we make things out of them like teapots and Teslas.

00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:18.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But we also take the world and we make meaning out of it, like poetry and paintings.

00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:25.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, God's provision does not eliminate human work, it makes human work possible.

00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:35.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so we see here, Israel will plow and plant and mine and manufacture, but everything, even that which is man-made, is God given.

00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:42.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is important because both nature and culture, raw materials and manufacturing come from God.

00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And now Moses ends this section in verse 10.

00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:51.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says, And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land.

00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's the words He has given you.

00:21:55.039 --> 00:22:00.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Good land.

00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:02.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is what he's given.

00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:05.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, what should all this fullness produce?

00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 10 says, You shall bless the Lord your God.

00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:14.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Gratitude is meant to follow gift like thunder follows lightning.

00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:22.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is the intent of God in his generosity towards us, is that we just simply receive it with open hands and say, Thank you.

00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank you for all that you've given.

00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:28.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Fullness is only completed in thankfulness.

00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:29.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>G.K.

00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Chesterton has this great line.

00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:36.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He says, The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.

00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:44.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, some of us hear what Moses is talking about here, and we think, yeah, that's nice when they have no scarcity, but that's not my life right now.

00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Listen, I understand it.

00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In fact, I've been journaling around a question lately.

00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:54.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's the question: What is my irreducible minimum for joy?

00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What is my irreducible minimum for joy?

00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:00.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And sadly, my list is longer than I wish it was.

00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:04.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Comfort, full belly, nobody crossing my will, like those kind of things.

00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But I would love for that list to be shorter.

00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'd love for enough to be enough.

00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:18.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Corey Tinboom has this amazing moment where she learned her irreducible minimum for joy in a Nazi concentration camp.

00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:27.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And she was in an isolated cell by herself, and she began to thank God for a little line of ants that marched through her cell that she believed God sent to give her company.

00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:31.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's a pretty low irreducible minimum for joy.

00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:32.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want to get there.

00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:34.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But you can begin here.

00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I have a breath.

00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:37.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank you, God.

00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:38.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm alive.

00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:39.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank you, God.

00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:41.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I receive what I did not create.

00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:43.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I have breath that I cannot manufacture.

00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:46.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I have grace that I could never earn.

00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I can bless the Lord in all of that.

00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:52.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so we thank God when we have more than enough.

00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:55.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But Moses knows there's a danger here.

00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:03.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The same abundance that should produce thanksgiving can also foster forgetfulness.

00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:06.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me at verse 11.

00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:07.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is the third point.

00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:10.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember God when you think you're enough.

00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:15.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 11 says, Take care lest you forget the Lord your God.

00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The word forget shows up three times in this chapter.

00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 11, verse 14, verse 19, the word remember shows up two times.

00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is a significant theme in Deuteronomy 8.

00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:29.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You got to understand though, forgetfulness is not mere amnesia.

00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:32.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's not like Israel's gonna go from Yahweh to Yahoo.

00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:34.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Come on, I like that.

00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:39.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That was, I worked hard on that line and just like full sended it, and it was terrible.

00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:41.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm sorry.

00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To forget God in Scripture, to forget God is to explain your life without reference to Him.

00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me say that again.

00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:54.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To forget God is to explain your life without reference to Him.

00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:57.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's why abundance is so dangerous.

00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:04.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, spiritual decline rarely begins with open rebellion, but rather with functional forgetfulness.

00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Who is God?

00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:08.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What has He done for me?

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:09.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look at verse 11.

00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:17.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today.

00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:31.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied.

00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember, verse one said, This is what God wants for his people.

00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:36.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Go, live, multiply, possess the land.

00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I'm giving you good things.

00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:41.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He wants this for them, but there's a danger inherent to it.

00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:47.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, the wilderness had obvious dangers, snakes, thirst, hunger, scarcity.

00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:54.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The promised land has less obvious dangers like houses and herds, silver and gold, full bellies.

00:25:54.799 --> 00:26:00.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Scarcity threatens your body, but surplus threatens your soul, and Moses knows it.

00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:07.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Which is why it can be tempting to think, well, in the future, when I've got enough, that's when I'll be faithful.

00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:09.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And Moses is saying, No, no, no.

00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:12.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Actually, when you have enough, you're tempted to be forgetful.

00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:17.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And so, how is your fullness causing forgetfulness right now?

00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:20.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Like, what area of your life do you feel like I'm good?

00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I got enough.

00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:26.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you've just kind of sat back and forgotten where it all comes from.

00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:28.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This looks like verse 14.

00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:34.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It says, Then your heart will be lifted up and you'll forget the Lord your God.

00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:39.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In Scripture, the heart of the problem is always a problem of the heart.

00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:43.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And the problem of the heart here is what's described as a heart that is lifted up.

00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:48.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's a self-appraisal that has a sense of, I'm good.

00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:50.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I've got this.

00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:52.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I can handle things on my own.

00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:56.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is where I get this phrase of remember God when you think you're enough.

00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:03.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you look at the sequence in the text: full stomach, full house, full bank account, lifted heart, forgotten God.

00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the danger.

00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:14.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 14, it says, Then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:19.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's been said that every civilization decays by forgetting obvious things.

00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What are the obvious things for Israel?

00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:24.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's a good one.

00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:25.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How did we get here?

00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:33.200
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>400 years in slavery, 40 years in the wilderness, now we're in this land of abundance.

00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:34.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How did we get here?

00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:36.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And they forget.

00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:45.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because in their prosperity it conceals what the wilderness revealed, which is you were slaves, and God made you sons and then gave you everything you ever needed.

00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And yet you forget the Lord your God.

00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:58.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Verse 16, who fed you in the wilderness with manna, that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you to do you good in the end.

00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:01.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's what the Lord wants.

00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:05.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Rather than a heart that is lifted up, a high heart, he wants a heart that is lowly.

00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:11.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's somebody has said there's three reasons to be humble if you're a believer in Jesus.

00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:12.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here they are.

00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:16.319
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You have a reason to be humble because you're a creature, you're a sinner, and you're a saint.

00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:19.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You're humbled as a creature because you're totally dependent.

00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:26.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You're humbled as a sinner because you're totally depraved, but you're humbled as a saint because you're totally delighted in.

00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:30.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is what God uses hunger to teach his children.

00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:33.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He teaches them to be humble before him.

00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:46.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And then if you just ask an old saint in the room, you say, Hey, um, tell me about some of your wilderness seasons, they will tell you, you know, I wouldn't wish my wilderness seasons on anyone, but I also wouldn't trade them for anything.

00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:56.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because it's the season where the Lord loved me enough to humble me and to teach me, I'm a creature, I'm a sinner, and I'm a saint that's beloved by God.

00:28:56.640 --> 00:29:09.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Goes on in verse 17, beware lest you say in your heart, that's self-talk in the Bible, lest you say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:10.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Again, here's where I get this point.

00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:13.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Remember God when you think you're enough.

00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:16.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>What story does your wealth tell you?

00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:23.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, if you're in this room, you are probably in the top percentage of wealthy people on planet earth now and forever in human history.

00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:28.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So, what story does your buffered self tell you?

00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:35.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>About the world, about God, about you see, remember to forget God is to explain your life without reference to him.

00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:40.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And I want to slow down on verse 17 because something, Moses is doing something here.

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:46.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This phrase, say in your heart, shows up in Deuteronomy 7, 8, and 9.

00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:48.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>These three chapters, back to back to back.

00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:52.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's something going on in the overarching section of Deuteronomy.

00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:54.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's three stories that we tend to tell ourselves.

00:29:54.799 --> 00:30:01.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The first one, Deuteronomy 7.17, says this if you say in your heart, these nations are greater than I, how can I dispossess them?

00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:09.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In Deuteronomy 8.17, it says, Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:16.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In Deuteronomy 9.4, it says, Do not say in your heart, it is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land.

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Three stories.

00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:18.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let me summarize them like this.

00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:20.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I can't because I'm so weak.

00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:22.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I did because I'm so strong.

00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I received because I'm so good.

00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:33.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>All three are temptations to tell ourselves that story when we look at our wealth, or we look at ourselves, we have a sense of sufficiency on our own.

00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:35.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They all make the same mistake.

00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:37.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They leave God out of the explanation.

00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:40.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's a better story to tell yourself.

00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:41.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's actually a prayer, I challenge you to pray.

00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:44.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's found in Proverbs chapter 30, verses 8 and 9.

00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:48.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It goes like this Give me neither poverty nor riches.

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:51.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Feed me with the food that is needful for me.

00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.160
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's why.

00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:53.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Here's the dangers.

00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:57.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Lest I be full and deny you and say, Who is the Lord?

00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:59.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Sounds like forgetfulness, right?

00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:03.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:09.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In other words, the empty can forsake God and take all that they need.

00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:12.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>The full can forget God and take all the credit.

00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:17.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They both have the same underlying problem, which is self-sufficiency.

00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:22.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Now, to forget God is to explain your life without reference to him.

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:26.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:27.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Do you see what they did?

00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:31.680
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They turned the phrase, the Lord gave into I got.

00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:33.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>That's the temptation.

00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:37.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Moses tells a different story in verse 18.

00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:45.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You shall remember that the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.

00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:47.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is remarkable.

00:31:47.119 --> 00:31:51.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's one thing that the Lord might just give them straight up the resources that they have or need.

00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:57.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's another thing that he's saying, I gave you the ability to work hard to get the resources that you have and need.

00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:01.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You know, plenty of us in this room have been given a lot by the Lord.

00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:04.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We live with a level of abundance.

00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:07.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And Moses didn't say you didn't work hard for that.

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:09.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Moses went deeper.

00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:16.720
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He said, You're forgetting to explain your life in reference to God, who gives you power to get the wealth that you have.

00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:23.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>All that you have is a gift, even your ability to work hard to get the things that you've been given.

00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:25.759
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>This is a depth analysis here.

00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:30.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It's not a surface, superficial telling of all that you have in your life.

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:44.640
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And lest we think forgetfulness is a mere lapse of memory, Moses said forgetfulness is functional idolatry, so severe that in verse 19 and 20 it says, You shall surely perish.

00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:47.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Look with me at the verse 19.

00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:57.279
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.

00:32:57.279 --> 00:33:07.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:13.359
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Israel says, My power has made me something, and God warns, Forget me, and you will become nothing.

00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:18.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You will perish, you will come to utter destruction.

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:20.799
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So listen, in scripture, this is a warning.

00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:26.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In scripture, most people fail the test of prosperity.

00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:34.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Adam failed in Eden, Israel failed in Canaan, Solomon failed in Jerusalem until someone didn't fail.

00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:40.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Many of you know Deuteronomy 8 3 is quoted in the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:45.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>In Matthew 4, Jesus is in the wilderness and he's hungry 40 days without food.

00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:51.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And in comes a snake and says, Why don't you just turn those stones into bread?

00:33:51.839 --> 00:34:02.240
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>To which Jesus replies, quoting Deuteronomy 8, verse 3, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:05.839
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus refuses to live without reference to God.

00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:10.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus is the better Adam, he is the better Israel, and he is the better you.

00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:18.320
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He succeeded in the garden, he succeeded in the wilderness, and he is succeeding in your life too.

00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:22.079
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus was tested in every way that we are, yet without sin.

00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:25.760
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He hungered and he thirsted and yet he still trusted God.

00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:30.960
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He was offered riches and power and glory, and yet he still remembered God.

00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:35.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But listen, Jesus is not just our example, he's our savior.

00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:39.679
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So I want to go back to my question: how much is enough for God?

00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.719
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, God has a requirement over your life.

00:34:42.719 --> 00:34:46.800
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>It is personal, perfect, perpetual obedience.

00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:48.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>How are you doing?

00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:49.679
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Are you enough?

00:34:49.679 --> 00:34:51.360
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But listen to me.

00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:55.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>God our Father looks on the Lord Jesus Christ and he says, enough.

00:34:55.519 --> 00:35:00.880
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>He sees the obedience of his life and his death, and he says, enough.

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:03.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Fully sufficient.

00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:07.599
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>George MacDonald said, God is easy to please but hard to satisfy.

00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:13.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And yet Isaiah 53 says that Jesus will look on his own suffering and he will be satisfied.

00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:17.440
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, Jesus alone is enough.

00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:24.639
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And if Jesus is enough to satisfy the infinite heart of God, is it possible that Jesus is enough for you?

00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:34.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You see, even right now, the competing voices, the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the unholy serpent.

00:35:34.159 --> 00:35:39.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And what it sounds like is the Holy Spirit's always trying to get you to turn your eyes away from yourself to Jesus.

00:35:39.920 --> 00:35:44.719
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And what Satan does is he wants us to regard ourselves instead of Jesus.

00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:48.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Satan whispers, your sins are too great for pardon.

00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:49.199
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You don't trust enough.

00:35:49.199 --> 00:36:00.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And here's the insidiousness of Satan's four-tongue accusations.

00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:03.360
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They're true enough.

00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:09.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>They're true enough to be believable, but they are not the whole truth.

00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:13.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Because Satan wants you to focus on you and to see whether you're enough.

00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:21.199
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you will never find comfort or assurance by looking at yourself to see if you're enough, because you are not enough.

00:36:21.199 --> 00:36:26.639
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But the Holy Spirit comes and he turns your eyes entirely away from yourself.

00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:28.800
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And he tells us that, yeah, you're right.

00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:31.039
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We have nothing to commend ourselves to God.

00:36:31.039 --> 00:36:36.320
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But unlike Satan, the Spirit comes along and he tells us there is one who is enough.

00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:39.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Jesus Christ is all in all.

00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:41.840
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's enough for you in him.

00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:43.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>There's enough.

00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:47.519
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Your feelings and doings and prayers will never be enough.

00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:51.119
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>But you can look outside of yourself and ask that question, how much is enough?

00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:54.639
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And you can look to Jesus Christ and say, that's enough right there.

00:36:54.639 --> 00:37:02.400
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And when we do that, when we realize that enough is when we have minus what we want, we can turn to Jesus.

00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:08.239
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We can pray, oh Jesus, would you take what you want, but just leave me yourself and I will have enough?

00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:10.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Let's pray.

00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:15.199
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I want to step right into the prayer of response here.

00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:18.559
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>So I'm gonna, I'm just gonna prompt us through these three points.

00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:22.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And I'm gonna invite you to respond from the heart in prayer.

00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:32.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Father, you are the giver of all good things, including tests, including your leading us in seasons of wilderness.

00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:38.800
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I pray for my brothers and sisters, and we pray now, Lord, would you give us faith to trust you when we feel like we don't have enough?

00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:50.719
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We confess our temptation to grip so tightly with our fists around all that we have.

00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:55.920
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We open our hands and we say, take what you will, leave us yourself, we'll have enough.

00:37:55.920 --> 00:38:16.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank you for the very breath in our lungs that can respond and return in praise.

00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:22.000
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Thank you that you have given us more than enough.

00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:28.320
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We receive everything from your hand.

00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:29.199
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We have nothing.

00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:34.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And yet all we can offer is a simple thank you in reply.

00:38:34.159 --> 00:38:53.360
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Some of us in here have a self-sufficiency that's either led to despair or to arrogance.

00:38:53.360 --> 00:38:58.800
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>And Lord, in this moment when we feel like we are enough or aren't enough, we simply remember you, God.

00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:05.760
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>We set the Lord Jesus always before us.

00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:14.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>I praise you, Jesus, for your all sufficiency.

00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:18.159
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>You are enough.

00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:22.480
<v Rev. Benjamin Kandt>Amen.