My Epic Journey

Here is the teaching outline for our final week in The Battle Within series:

THE BATTLE WITHIN session 4: Hook and Jab

Bottom Line: We are tempted to pursue the right thing the wrong way.

INTRODUCTION

There is a specific temptation for those who tend to be driven, ambitious and perfectionists.

TENSION

Our desire, our lust to achieve our goals tempts us to take shortcuts that are not a good idea.

At some point you are going to have an opportunity to take a giant step forward, but in order to take that giant step forward, you’re going to have to compromise something you value.

In that moment of decision you’re going to discover who you really are and whose you really are.

TRUTH

We are going to be tempted to pursue the right thing the wrong way.

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” (Matthew 4:8-9 NIV).

The issue is your peace. Can you say, “I am exactly where God wants me to be, I am doing exactly what God wants me to do”?

The issue is whether or not you trust God. Can God be trusted, or do you have to take matters into your own hands?

You’ll never accomplish the will of God by abandoning the principles of God.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NIV).

APPLICATION

“Get away from me Satan, for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:10 NIV).

What or whom do you want so much that you are ready to violate your conscience and God’s Word to get it?

Just because it seems like the best thing, just because it’s logical, just because it’s what I prayed for, dreamed of—that doesn’t make it God’s will.

Would you be willing to trust your heavenly Father in and through those details?

CONCLUSION

Don’t trade what’s important for what’s immediate. Because if you do, you’ll never know what God might have done on your behalf.

INTRODUCTION

There’s more to life than just getting our physical needs met. There’s a God factor. There’s a faith factor.

Every temptation is an issue of whether or not you think God can and will intervene and show up in your world.

TENSION

The second temptation is to assume that, despite how big and powerful God is, you think you know how He works and you know how to work Him.

TRUTH

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple (Matthew 4:5 NIV).

“If you are the Son of God . . . 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’” (Matthew 4:6 NIV).

It’s the temptation to presume and assume on God.

So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” (Exodus 17:2-3 NIV).

“Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah” (Deuteronomy 6:16 NIV).

Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7 NIV).

APPLICATION

As Christians, we’ve been called to cooperate with God, not manipulate God.

Four Signs You May be a God-Manipulator

1.  You talk more than you listen.  Your spiritual life consists of more praying than listening for an answer.

2.  Your conversations (prayers) are more about what God can do for you than praising God for who He is.

3.  You bargain with God.  “God, if you do this for me, than I will do that for you.”

4.  You are angry when God doesn’t come through.

CONCLUSION

Are you a cooperator or a manipulator?

Are your prayers centered around His will being done?

THE BATTLE WITHIN Session 2: In This Corner

Bottom Line: Every time you’re tempted, your confidence in God is at stake, not just your self-control.

INTRODUCTION

When it comes to temptation, there’s always more at stake than we think.

Every time you’re tempted, not only are your future and family at risk, but your faith is at risk as well.

If we could understand what hangs in the balance when we are tempted, then we could really gain some momentum when it comes to overcoming temptation.

TENSION

Your approach to life is, “If I don’t, it won’t.” Basically, it’s up to you to make life happen.

Do you trust God or rely on yourself?

When you and I decide to make things happen that we don’t think could happen without our help, we’re telling God that He can’t be trusted.

Here are the questions we should be asking ourselves: How big is my God? Can God be trusted? Does God care and will He drop into my life on that personal level?

God can and God will.

When you stop trusting, you stop obeying. And when you stop obeying, eventually you stop believing.

TRUTH

Then Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:1-3 NIV).

“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger, and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known. To teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:2,3 NIV).

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws, his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 NIV).

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17 NIV).

“It is written, ‘Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4 NIV).

APPLICATION

In what area of your life are you most tempted to meet a legitimate need in an irresponsible way, in a way that ultimately calls into question your confidence in God?

Temptation is always a test of faith—not just a test of self-control.

You have to decide if God cares and if He can do anything about it.