The old man took his place in the center of the rock and seemed unfazed by the whipping winds. But the young man began to cry out in despair. He was dashed against the rock, wave after wave. He began to swing wildly at the weather and shake his fists, but still he was beaten and bruised. Finally, the old man came to him saying, “Son, take shelter in the middle of the rock!” The young man shouted, “I am cast down! The breakers and the waves have gone over me!” The old man held out his hand and said, “When you pass through the waters, He will be with you; the waves shall not overwhelm you.”

The old man welcomed the young man to the rock in the middle of the sea. “How long have you been here?” asked the young man. “As long as I can remember,” he replied. “I know that the rock is sound. We are safe in the middle of the sea,” said the young man confidently. “Yes,” said the old man, his eyes glistening.
As they talked, they both marveled at the beauty of the sea. They commented about the perfect sun and the salty air. They spoke of birds and fish and the sky peppered with clouds. They laughed and rejoiced in the bounty that was provided from the sea. They never tired of talking from the safety of the rock. The old man taught the young man to fish and make fire. The young man began to grow strong and confident on the rock in the middle of the sea.
One day the clouds turned a darker shade. The birds slowly began to disappear, and the bright sun became dark. The air began to chill. “Does the weather often turn like this?” “Yes,” said the old man. “But we are on the rock, so we are safe.”
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The devil actually quoted the Bible. He got it right. Word for word. But did he notice what he missed? Surely he didn’t overlook it. Maybe he was hoping somehow that Jesus wouldn’t be familiar with that text. The devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12. Let me share Psalm 91:13: “You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” Wow! No wonder he stopped at verse 12! I sometimes wonder if Jesus chuckled. This is like fire in the veins. The devil wanted him to put God to the test, but Jesus knew Psalm 91:13.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Matthew 4:5-6
When the devil tempted Jesus, he did something unexpected. He had already tempted Jesus to value His physical needs over His spiritual needs. He had tempted Him to seek for glory outside of God’s will. And then, he pulled out the big guns: he tempted Jesus with Scripture. That’s right. The father of lies quoted the word of truth to the Word and Truth. To be precise, he quoted Psalm 91. But just like you would expect, when the devil quoted the Bible, he made a very convenient omission.
A Quick Word About the Enemy
Before I get into what the devil omitted, we need to know something about our enemy. The devil, “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). And when he comes around, did you know that he sometimes comes with an open Bible? We see it from the very beginning: “Did God actually say…” (Gen 3:1). The devil loves to use God’s word against God’s people. But just like he did with Eve, and just like he always does, the devil “twists” the Scripture (2 Peter 3:16). He loves to take God’s word out of context, or leave out key points, or misapply it. And he loves to confuse you on the gospel. That’s for sure.
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Soul, you were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ! Your sins were not marked to you, but they were marked. Your sins were laid on the Lamb of God, and you are forgiven and redeemed by His blood. You have been purchased with the most costly of fortunes. “Plentiful Redemption” (Psalm 130:7). Soul, rejoice with trembling, and serve the LORD with fear (Psalm 2:11)! 

An Address to My Soul,
“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O LORD, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). What a terrifying thought. If God Almighty marked iniquities, then no one could stand. If there is a marking of sins, then there is only a fearful expectation of judgment. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:27, 31). God, who burns with righteous indignation everyday, will not, can not, let the guilty go unpunished. Yet why does this verse start with “IF”? Do you mean to say that God might not mark my iniquities against me? Do you mean there’s a chance I can stand before God?
“But with you, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:4). What glorious news, the forgiveness of God! The only way that anyone can stand is through the forgiveness of God.
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When I hear kid noises, it means that seeds are being planted, however small, in the hearts of the next generation. It is no small thing to have children present while the living and active word of God is being proclaimed. I love kid noises.

On Sunday morning, we sit in the “families-with-small-kids” section. This is a section with, you guessed it, a lot of small kids. This is not an official section, but there are a lot of young families that sit around here. So there are rattlings, cooing, sounds of things dropped, sounds of things picked up, sounds of parents whispering small corrections. There are also sounds of crying, random laughter, and the almost constant noise of a parent taking a child out to the bathroom or for some relief. This noise can be distracting and can make it harder to pay attention, but I want to say this: I love kid noises.
What do the noises of these children represent? These noises mean that parents woke up on Sunday and purposed to bring their families to church. They brought small children to church. For the uninitiated, you might be tempted to think that it is a small thing, but let me tell you, it is a real task to get everyone ready and in their places on time. And these families have prioritized the meeting of the people of God over their comfort and convenience. I love kid noises.
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It is not a matter of strong or weak, but where we place our trust. If we are prideful then we will find ourselves in opposition to God. But if we humble ourselves, and see ourselves as we ought, then God gives more grace. May we be the blessed weak who lean on a strong God.

And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction
2 Chronicles 26:15-16
Did you know that it is not only the weak who are in danger of a spiritual fall? There are those who think, “if only I were stronger, then I wouldn’t be so (fill in the blank).” But this isn’t true. Over and over again in God’s word, it is the strong who find themselves in the worst predicaments. Uzziah is one example. He was famous. He was helped by God. “Till he was strong.” Do you feel the warning?
What Makes the Strong So Weak?
Why is it that the strong find themselves so often in opposition to God? Because those who are strong are tempted to believe the lie that their strength is enough. Enough to fight sin. Enough to find wisdom.
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Be faithful, even when you don’t see the fruit. Keep going back to God and trusting His promises. It is not a fool’s errand to run at his command. Because really, it all hinges on his faithfulness. You can count on it: there will be fruit after His faithfulness.

I look at my son, and I am amazed at how kind he can be. He has begun to default to politeness, and “I’m sorry,” and really jumping to quick obedience. He’s by no means perfect, but we’re starting to see real fruit. And, by God’s grace, this fruit was not an accident.
I remember early on realizing that parenting was not for the fainthearted. This same child poses some really difficult challenges. First, he was just physically challenging. He was big for his age, so that meant he could reach a lot of things that he shouldn’t have. Also, he was strong willed from the start. There was real constant trouble for longer than we thought possible. Faithful discipline was challenging. Parenting was hard.
Routinely, I would go to my wife and say, “What does God’s word say?”
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By His grace, He clothes us with a robe a righteousness (Isa 61:10), not by our works, but by faith (Rom 4:5). Like Abraham who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6), so we too place our trust in the Lord who declares us righteous.

I want to give you a quick reminder: Your righteousness is not dependent on your works. You may have woken up this morning and read your bible, prayed for an hour, and then served in a soup kitchen all day. Guess what? If you have repented and believed the gospel, then both of these things are true for you: “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isa 64:6) and “The LORD is our righteousness” (Jer 33:16). What if you woke up late, growled at a piece of burnt toast, and rushed home to a dirty house? “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isa 64:6) and “The LORD is our righteousness” (Jer 33:16).
The righteousness that we receive from God is not dependent on our works. Rather, it is dependent on the work of Christ.
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Jesus has true authority. He is the One who has all dominion and authority and majesty and might. He is the One who sees the nations as a drop in the bucket and commands the heavenly army. He is the One who has real glory. He is the Lord. So, don’t fear when you see men lording. There is only One Lord, and he is Lord over them. 

he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:15-16
I’ve always loved these verses. Paul’s ability to express these glorious truths about our Savior causes my heart to swell in worship. I used to read these verses as, “Jesus is the King over all the kings and Lord over all the lords,” and that is definitely true! But what’s interesting about these verses is that it actually is saying that Jesus is the King (noun) of kings (verb) and Lord (noun) of lords (verb). How does this change our understanding of this phrase?
He’s not just lord of all the lords, but He is the only Lord. He gets the real title, while everyone else is just “lording” and “kinging”.
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Here’s the good news: Jesus always accepts those who repent and believe the gospel. This is the Christian way. This is how we entered the Christian life (Mark 1:15), and this is how we continue in the Christian life (Gal 2:20). If you are still in your sin, hear this word: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Be wise, and don’t be ashamed to repent. 

Isn’t it strange how the things that make us seem most foolish to watching eyes are the very things we are afraid to turn away from lest others think us foolish? Sin makes us look foolish. Yet, when we are convicted because of that sin, we are hesitant to repent. The fear of man makes us ashamed of repentance. But we should never be ashamed to repent. Why then do we hesitate?
Deceit
To repent is to turn away from and change our mind about sin. I think some of the reluctance to repent comes from hiding sin that is in our lives. But that’s a misunderstanding. If you are currently hiding sin, let me tell you, you are only deceiving yourself. You’re not as good at hiding that sin as you think. Maybe folks don’t know the specifics, but they know something’s not right. And even if you’re better at hiding sin, “be sure your sin will find you out.” It will not be hidden forever. There is coming a day when, “according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Rom 2:16). And let’s just say that you have successfully hidden your sin from men. You’ve only succeeded in promoting a false version of yourself. Yes, you are seen as respectable, but it’s a counterfeit version of yourself. You are not actually respectable, you are just a liar.
Pride
We can also be reluctant to repent because we are embarrassed to admit that we’ve been wrong. But how silly is that?
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