River Corner Church

Appetite, Affirmation, and Ambition: Inventorying Our Need for Affirmation (Lent, Matthew 4:1-11)

March 05, 2023 Jeff McLain
River Corner Church
Appetite, Affirmation, and Ambition: Inventorying Our Need for Affirmation (Lent, Matthew 4:1-11)
Show Notes Transcript

On March 5, Pastor Jeff McLain looked at the second of the three seductions in Matthew 4:1-11, the temptation of Affirmation. In this passage, we saw how the need for affirmation is one of the ways that we are tempted to question God's protection. When we are insecure in our true identity, we will live into false identities, and seek the affirmations of others. If we lose our identity in Jesus, we lose out on what God has for us to experience.

Throughout Lent (2023), we explored how life (both the evil and brokenness in this world) tries to undermine the identity that we have in Jesus. The confidence that we have in our identity is often hijacked when life gets us to doubt God's provision, God's protection and God's promises. Doubts that undermine our confidence usually come through our temptations of appetite (Lust of the Flesh), affirmation (Pride of Life) and ambition (Lust of the Eyes). In this Lent series, we look at what it means to have our identity firmed up by Jesus and empowered by God's Spirit - so that we do not lose ourselves to our unhealthy and unhelpful appetites, need for affirmation, and ambitions.

River Corner Church is a growing church community of everyday people who gather to worship God, follow Jesus, and journey through life together. We gather on Sunday mornings, at 10:00 AM, at 524 River Corner Road in Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Learn more about our growing church community online through our website (www.rivercornerchurch.com) or our Facebook (www.facebook.com/RiverCornerChurch).

We invite you to gather with us on Sunday mornings at 10:00 AM.

You are welcome to come as you are, just be you. As a community of everyday people, we want to be a people who live and love like Jesus in the places we live, work, and play.

If you have a question about something you heard in this message, or you want to learn more about our growing church community, visit us online at www.rivercornerchurch.com.

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         I want you to think about a time someone has affirmed you in some way. There is something meaningful and encouraging about when we are seen and noticed by others. The affirmation of another individual makes us feel liked, empowered, significant, and valued. In many ways, when someone we highly value (perhaps a boss or family member) affirms us or affirms something we are doing, it will motivate, inspire, and encourage us to keep on, to take new action or to go after our goals. 

         Sometimes affirmations can help us understand who we are. Last week, I shared that it would be powerful if we as followers of Jesus could learn, through the Holy Spirit, to speak prophetically words of affirmation over each other, instead of critique and criticism. The boxer, Muhammad Ali, is credited with saying, “It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”[1] In other words, he is saying the more we hear something affirmed in us, the more we will belief it for ourselves, and eventually that belief will become a deep conviction – an understanding of who we are – and it is at that point that we can confidently live into our true identity. 

         In hindsight, I realize how my own journey to pastoral ministry started with such an affirmation. It took someone speaking value they saw in my life. That individual, Jerry, continue to not only speak to places he saw God at work in my life, and affirmed by gifts, but also affirmed me by making space for my gifts. Perhaps you are in the role you are in or have been in the past, because someone said, “I think you would be good at that!” When we have safe and mature people, through the Holy Spirit, prophetically speak words of affirmation over us, we get a better understanding of who we are. Mister Rogers, the children’s television host, once said “who you are inside is what helps you make and do everything in life.” When we speak affirmation to each other, with the Holy Spirit, we have a better understanding of who we are and when we know who we are inside, that makes every area of our life better. 

         At the same time, as with anything, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. You and I can prioritize the affirmation of others too much. The affirmation of others can hold more value in our life than it should. James Rohn, an American Entrepreneur, Author, and motivational speaker once said, that “affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.”[2] I am not sure how James meant that quote, but what I see in it is the danger of affirmations. I see a danger that if we are not careful, our need for affirmation without a check-and-balance, without a plumbline or anchor – will lead us into a land where we think we are greater than that we are, or it may lead us into only being able to believe about ourselves what others tell us.

         In fact, we live in a culture that is driven by the need of affirmation. It could be said that we live in a selfie-culture. There are social media networks built around the sharing of selfies, sharing selfies of your food, selfie-videoing of your dances, and more – so that you feel connected, celebrated, liked, and accepted. Posts are posted for likes, hearts, for affirmation. Just because you have social media, and post these things, doesn’t mean you have an unhealthy and unbalanced focus on earning the affirmations of others; but it is something to be aware of.

         However, at the same time, just because you don’t have social media, doesn’t mean that you donot have an unhealthy struggle with the need for affirmation. The struggle for the affirmation of others is much older than social media. 

For generations, individuals have dressed for the attention and ultimately affirmation of others. This may be a way of dressing that invites attention, or it may mean wearing a certain brand to fit in, or it may even be a way of dressing to portray a desired image of character, honor, or respect. For example, I was growing up, I heard more people talk about how they had to drive the nice car or dress up for church to meet the expectations of others, more than I ever heard people explain to me that they were dressing up to honor God (which was the narrative). Sometimes it is the way we portray our family, or talk about our family, because we don’t want people to know about the brokenness – so instead we communicate an image of our family in a way that invites others affirmation, rather than their critique. The need to communicate something about ourselves or our character in the way we dress is also a way in which we can give into an unhealthy or unhelpful struggle with the need for affirmation.

         I think the word affirmation has lost its meaning for many. Sadly, the word affirmation has been hijacked mostly to be a word we use in our conversations about sexual orientation.

The way we use this word the most in today’s time is when we describe a church or person as “open and affirming.” As a result, I think the word affirmation has become interchangeable with what it means to be liked and accepted. Affirmation, by definition, is much more about “the assertion that something exists or is true.”[3] By the way of definition, Affirmation, also means the “confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc.”[4] In this way, affirmation cannot mean to be liked or accepted, but rather than we are naming a truth that is already at play. If I name a skill I see in you, I am only affirming what is evident to all. It also doesn’t mean that I must like you or accept you. I do like you and accept you by the way, but it is possible to affirm something about someone without liking them or accepting them. That is another aspect of affirmation that has disappeared from our understanding.

         So, affirmation is naming something that is true, it can be one of the most encouraging forces in the life of an individual, or it can become the most destructive force if it is unhealthy out of balance in a person’s life. Affirmation can help us to find our true identity, but affirmation also and most unfortunately, can cause us to accept false identities in order to be liked and accepted. Our identity is never as challenged and attacked as it is in the wilderness and desert moments, those moments we feel as if life as, we know it, has become unmanageable, full of trial, tension, trouble, and temptations.

         I also think, our struggles with affirmation come when we fully don’t know our true identity. As a result, we live for the affirmations of others to avoid their critique or criticism. When we change who we are, to be what someone else will accept, we trade our birthright, our uniqueness instilled by God in us, for the reaction or benefit of someone else.

The need for the affirmations from others results from a confusion about who we are (so we try out anything that people affirm in us). The need for the affirmations of others can be a lack of confidence in who we are, and we then live into the reactions and expectations of others, rather than into the uniqueness that God created us with. The longer we detour from our calling and identity, the more lost we will become in who we are, and ultimately the more we will miss or lose ground with the places God longs to work in us, through us, and with us. That is danger of affirmation is what we are looking at this morning for our Lent series.

         The past few weeks, we have been in a Lent series that is called Appetite, Affirmation, and Ambition. For the past two weeks, we have focused our time together by looking at Matthew 4:1-11. This morning will be no different. I invite you to follow along as I read Matthew 4:1-11, from the New International Version.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry[5]. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

The Temptation of Appetite longing to shake the belief in God’s provision. In the church, this temptation is one of consumerism.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

The Temptation of Affirmation longing to shake the belief in God’s protection. In the church, this temptation is one of Celebritism.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 

The Temptation of Ambition longing to shake the belief in God’s promises. In the church, this temptation is one of competition or control.

         Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.       

As we pointed out two weeks ago, Jesus isn’t being set up to fail by the Holy Spirit leading him into the wilderness, but rather it is a place where Jesus must prove, or test out, that he can overcome the wilderness through his human side. Jesus does overcome the temptations of the wilderness, because he was full of the Holy Spirit, and was in step with the Holy Spirit.

We saw last week the wilderness is the place Adam and Eve failed, where Abraham and Lot struggled, and where the Israelites in the Wilderness and succumbed to the temptations of life and doubted God’s provision, God’s protection, and God’s promises. As a result, the Wilderness in the scriptures represents the struggles of human life, and in our struggles, we too are often tempted to doubt God’s provision, God’s protection, and God’s promises.

This morning we are focusing our time, on this part of the passage (mainly verses 8-9), and what it teaches us about the power of affirmations and the dangers of the affirmations of others. In the struggle of wilderness moments, we can too easily look for the affirmation of others as a way of feel safe and protected, and in doing so we doubt God’s protection. Let’s look again at this temptation.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” [6]

         In this passage, Jesus is taken, most likely, into another plane of existence – to a spiritual realm – to Jerusalem, also known as the Holy City. The passage says Jesus is not just taken to the temple, but to the highest point of the temple. Scholars debate if they were standing on the Temple, or not.[7]Through both Matthew and Luke tell this story, neither clarify if this was a spiritual or physical location.[8] Theologian William Barclay remarks, “We must not regard this experience of Jesus as an outward experience. It was a struggle that went on in his own heart and mind and soul. The proof is that there is no possible mountain from which all the kingdoms of the earth could be seen. This is an inner struggle.”[9] I’d agree with his take, because the same is true of you and I. Often when we are struggling with something, the real battle is what happens inside us – not what triggered us.

 It doesn’t matter which if it is truly the top of a temple or not, because the external situation is merely using an external reality, to trigger an inward temptation.[10] That internal temptation is around trying to get Jesus to doubt God’s protection. Again, William Barclay remarks, that “It is through our inmost thoughts and desires that the tempter comes to us. His attack is launched in our own minds. It is true that that attack can be so real that we almost see the devil.”[11]

         We find Jesus and Devil, standing on the highest part of the temple. The word for the highest part of the temple can also be translated as wing. The word implies the very peak or point of the roof.[12] Early readers would have pictured the Temple was built on the top of Mount Zion.[13] The top of Mount Zion flattened out into a plateau.[14] It was on that plateau the temple buildings stood.[15] One of the corners of the Temple, was Solomon’s porch and the Royal porch.[16] One scholar remarks that it would have been a straight down drop of about 450 feet from that peak, into the valley of the Kedron.[17] Solomon's Porch was a part of the temple that was first built by King Solomon, when he built the original temple.[18] It was 90 feet by 30 feet. 

Later on, King Herod modified the porch in the reconstructed Temple in which he was famous for overseeing.[19] The porch of the new temple featured a roof to provide protection from the threat of weather.[20] Josephus, an early Jewish historian, speaks to it as overlooking a deep valley.[21]Though it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, at this point it was a magnificent thing of beautiful stonework and strong.

         Again, the devil, tempts Jesus with the scriptures. This shows us that it does not matter how much or what scripture we know, the reality is it can be misread, weaponized and hijacked.

The devil is quoting from prophetic insights in the scriptures of Malachi 3, and Psalm 91. These Messianic and prophetic texts are weaponized to try and get Jesus to prove himself. They are scriptural promises and prophecies about how God will send a messenger, and protect him. The devil is trying to get Jesus to doubt that God really would protect him in that fashion. Would a loving God allow you to get hurt or even stub your toe? Aren’t you his son? We ask these same questions today. “How can a loving God?”; “How can God love me but also allow me to?” The truth is, Jesus models there is much to learn in the wilderness moments the Holy Spirit brings us in and if we live rightly, by the Holy Spirit, brings us through.

The temptation is meant to get Jesus to doubt God really has his best intentions at heart. If he doubts, taking action would cause him to act out of his divine side. If Jesus would do this, he truly would not have overcome the temptations of the wilderness. 

At this time, there were in the memory of the people, many deceptive individuals that had presented themselves as false messiahs. There are a few mentioned in scripture, and history remembers some of the other ones.[22] All of these Messianic pretenders had promised they would do sensational and exceptional acts which when push came to show, they could not perform.[23] Their inability to preform signs and wonders, and live up to the feats they promised, is what proved they were not the true Messiah. In this passage, the Devil is trying to get Jesus to prove himself, or by not proving himself, doubt his ability. Likewise, when you find yourself doubting your ability, it may be that the tempter is trying to undermine something God is asking you to do.

If Jesus acts out of his divine side, the devil proves to be the greater force and would have the upper hand because he was able to get God’s son to act out in a way outside of God’s desires. If Jesus fails in this test, a test of his affirmation, or the Father’s affirmation, he fails mankind has failed time and time again; and it leaves us little hope to overcome our wilderness moments. 

Generations before, when the Israelites were on journey through the wilderness, they began to doubt God was going to protect them.[24] They doubted that God had their best interests in mind. It was at Massah, in the story, that the Israelites began to fight with Moses about the lack of God's protection for them. [25] They went on to test God by asking him to prove his faithfulness again, they needed him to show his affirmation of them, his affirmation for their care and protection.[26]  This was quite upsetting to God, and though he showed his compassion for them, later on, as they were preparing to finally enter the promise Land, God gives Moses the responsibility to give instructions, of one which is "Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”[27] They were too trust in God’s faithfulness, and stop asking for a sign, or an affirmation of his compassion. We do that from time to time. We ask God to prove he loves us, and cares for us. This temptation shows up time and time again in the scriptures, and in our lives. There are times that we have seen the hand of God in one season, or witnessed the promises of the scripture, and we still echo the Pharisees and teachers of the law when they said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”[28] That is the same temptation. Prove to me you have my interest at heart. Prove to me God’s affirmation for you.

Where the Israelites failed to trust God’s protection in the wilderness, Jesus is now being tempted to do the same. Where they failed to recognize God’s presence with them in the wilderness, Jesus must now remember what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is able to do it, because he trusts, not doubts God’s affirmation on his life. Jesus is able to do it, because trusts, that God’s presence is still with him even in the wilderness. Jesus remains led and filled by the Holy Spirit, where all before had relied on their own will and might in the wilderness. Jesus is able to overcome the temptation because he knows the affirmation on his life, an affirmation that came from outside himself, and Jesus doesn’t need an affirmation from any other sources. This story inspires us to have such confidence in who God says we are.

At my line of work, we deal with a lot of mental health. There is an increasing number of experts that think the way out of some cases of trauma and mental issues like disassociation, needs to come through the affirmation of self, or believing something greater about yourself. The traumatized mind struggles to think long term, or greater, and is constantly living in survival mode, in the moment. Some of science believes making action plans of affirmation statements will lead into health. Though affirmations can be encouraging and confirming, and though our identity must be something that anchors us, self-defined affirmations merely lead us to narcissism, delusion, and the belief that only we can protect ourselves. Unconsciously, they are trying to fill in the void of spiritual formation, or a spiritual identity, in the person.

         Author Michael Breen remarks that, “Our identity has to come from somewhere outside of us.”[29] For Jesus, this affirmation came from God the Father, after his baptism. The test in the wilderness is one that says, is that affirmation enough, or do I need affirmed in another way? That is the same test for us. Thankfully, Jesus knew the Father’s affirmation was enough. You and I must also know that God the Father’s affirmation is enough – we must be anchored by God’s affirmation of us through the Spirit of God and through the scriptures. 

When we doubt God’s affirmation on our life, we will look for the affirmations of others anyway we can get it. Those affirmations will make us feel good, but they will not be sustainable. The wonder of a new affirmation is exhilarating, but if we are always chasing the praise and acceptance of others, we will never live into who we were created to be. 

Again, Author Michael Breen explains, “It can be easy to seek the approval of others in lots of ways and let what they say dictate how we see ourselves.”[30] Because affirmation has to come from outside of us, if we aren’t careful, we will allow the affirmations of others – or the lack of affirmations of others – to define ourselves. When we aren’t rested and confident in our unshakeable identity as the children of God, we live instead into a confusing, ever-changing reality, where Michael Breen says that “we look for quick hits of Affirmation.”[31] At that point, we have divorced ourselves from who we were created to be, and we have stepped outside of the place God longs for us to experience.

         Aa humans, affirmation is a big deal to us, and there are plenty of places that we look for the quick hits of affirmations from others. Michael Breen says we do this in simple ways, like “asking someone what they think of us when we already know the response, putting ourselves in places only so they praise us, doing something for the sole reason of someone saying we did a good job or to think we’re someone special. It creeps up everywhere in our lives.”[32] When we look or need the affirmations of others in this way, these are signs that the affirmations of others have already become more valuable in our lives than the confidence of God’s affirmation.

         Have you ever known, someone who is always needing the affirmation of others? I have had several friends in my life like this. They are insecure, and they only succeed when they have the affirmation of others, and in tense moments they bounce around looking for hits to their affirmation. They drain the life out of you, in their insecurity they can feel like narcissist, living to talk all about themselves. Perhaps you been that person in a wilderness season?

True confidence comes from knowing our identity. Jesus’ ministry was effective, with power and authority, because of how he was able to hold on to the identity God gave him and for him that God-given identity was enough. I am still figuring this out, and perhaps you are too.

There are three things we take away from this second temptation.

1.    We must take inventory of our need for the affirmations of others.

         This week, I saw a quote from actress Sally Fields, that fittingly said this, “It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.” That is the journey we must be on as followers of Jesus, we must take inventory of our need for the affirmations of others. Like Jesus, we need to make sure the affirmation we have from God is enough, so that we can survive those tough wilderness moments.

2.    We must live by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Spirit of God that made the difference. The Spirit of God is what gave power and authority to the scriptures. The devil recited scriptures, but the power behind Jesus’ quoting of the Holy Spirit is what made the devil move on. Years ago, Charles Stanley said, "The Holy Spirit living within us and speaking to us ought to be the natural, normal lifestyle of believers." In the wilderness moments, we must remember our reliance on the Holy Spirit. 

3.    We must know the affirmation of the Father.

The scriptures are full of hints of our new identity in God when we walk with the Spirit of God. Other ways we can know the affirmation of the Father is through ways that God uses signs, wonders, prophetic words, dreams, and visions to reveal his plan, his thoughts of us. Lastly, it is through the healthy affirmation of others that we can get hints of who God has created us to be. However, it is also essential we keep those affirmations in balance.

This morning I want to leave you with just three reminders of your identity as a follower of Jesus. An identity that you must hold on to, in the wilderness moments.

1.    We are uniquely made in the image of God.

a.    Genesis 1 reminds us, that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them.”[33]

2.    We, like Jesus, are called a child of God.

a.    John, a follower of Jesus, writes, “Yet to all who do receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gives the right to become Children of God.”[34] Later on he writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.”[35]

3.    We, despite our feelings of feeling like a misfit, are in fact accepted.

a.    Paul told his friends, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”[36] Even more encouraging, the Prophet Zephaniah says, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”[37]

4.    We, despite our struggles with questions, are seen and heard.

a.    Peter writes, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.”[38] John also writes, “…we know that he hears us.”[39]

         This second temptation of wilderness moments is one that longs to doubt God’s affirmation is enough for us, believing God really won’t protect us or have our best interests at heart, and then look to claim affirmation through the unhelpful input of others. It is essential that we understand wilderness moments will use the way affirmations of others can become addictive, to cripple us, and to stop us from trusting in God’s protection. There is never a point that we are beyond temptation on this side of the grave, but the more we are aware of how wilderness moments get in our heads, the more we can overcome their temptations.

         To live effectively in wilderness moments so that we can make it to the next stage of the journey that God has for us, it is essential we know our identity. We must be able to overlook the derailing affirmations, attention, and critiques of others. If not, the longer we detour from our calling and identity, the more lost we will become in who we are, and ultimately the more we will miss or lose ground with the places God longs to work in us, through us, and with us.


[1] Steve Agyei, “It’s the Repetition of Affirmations That Leads to Belief. ,” accessed March 3, 2022, https://medium.com/@steveagyeibeyondlifestyle/it-s-the-repetition-of-affirmations-that-leads-to-belief-40909bf3dc00.
[2] “Affirmation Without Discipline Is the Beginning of Delusion.,” accessed March 3, 2022, http://rfqk.com/affirmation-and-discipline.html.
[3] “Affirmation Without Discipline Is the Beginning of Delusion.” Accessed March 3, 2022. http://rfqk.com/affirmation-and-discipline.html.
[4] “Affirmation Without Discipline Is the Beginning of Delusion.” Accessed March 3, 2022. http://rfqk.com/affirmation-and-discipline.html.
[5] I feel like Matthew didn’t need to waste Ink on this. I’m struggling with no meal after one skipped meal, of course after 40-days, Jesus is “hungry.”
[6] Matthew 4:8-9 (International Version).
[7] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 76.
[8] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 76.
[9] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 74–75.
[10] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 76.
[11] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 75.
[12] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 76.
[13] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[14] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[15] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[16] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[17] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[18] “What Was Solomon.” Accessed March 4, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/Solomon-Porch.html.
[19] “What Was Solomon.” Accessed March 4, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/Solomon-Porch.html.
[20] “What Was Solomon.” Accessed March 4, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/Solomon-Porch.html.
[21] “What Was Solomon.” Accessed March 4, 2023. https://www.gotquestions.org/Solomon-Porch.html.
[22] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[23] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 79.
[24] Exodus 17
[25] Exodus 17
[26] Exodus 17
[27] Deuteronomy 6:16 (New International Version).
[28] Matthew 13:28 (New International Version).
[29] Breen, Michael. “Lent Begins.” Accessed March 4, 2022. https://mikebreen.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/lent-begins/.
[30] Breen, Michael. “Lent Begins.” Accessed March 4, 2022. https://mikebreen.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/lent-begins/.
[31] Breen, Michael. “Lent Begins.” Accessed March 4, 2022. https://mikebreen.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/lent-begins/.
[32] Breen, Michael. “Lent Begins.” Accessed March 4, 2022. https://mikebreen.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/lent-begins/.
[33] Genesis 1:27 (New International Version).
[34] John 1:12 (New International Version).
[35] 1 John 3:1-2 (New International Version).
[36] Romans 15:7 (New International Version).
[37] Zephaniah 3:7 (New International Version).
[38] 1 Peter 3:13 (New International Version).
[39] 1 John 5:15 (New International Version).

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