Three Things Jesus Taught About Overcoming Temptation

Earlier this week, we discussed how every one of us struggles with a repetitive cycle of sin, why that is, and the three categories of temptation we all face. We also discussed how to overcome those temptations in our lives by learning to speak like Jesus.

Now, dive in a little deeper to see exactly how Jesus overcame the SAME temptations and desires we face today.

In Luke, Chapter 4, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit, and yet He is led into the wilderness by the Spirit. Typically that’s not the place we want to be led, but this is also why most of us will never lead a meaningful life. We want the promise before the wilderness. However, sometimes it’s important to work things out in private before we are visible in the public’s eye. This approach is what Jesus walks out in His life. Before launching into public ministry, He goes into the wilderness to pray and fast. It is in this setting that the enemy shows up to tempt Him. The devil wants Jesus to sin. He wants Jesus to break the law of God. How does Satan tempt Jesus? In the same three ways, he tempts us!

• Being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” - Luke 4:4 (NKJV)

He tempts Jesus to turn a rock into bread, trying to provoke Jesus to flaunt his spiritual prowess. But Jesus resists this temptation by saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Jesus tells the enemy that spiritual food, the Word of God, is of greater value than any natural food. The enemy tried to appeal to the desire of Jesus’s flesh…His hunger. He tempted him through the LUST OF THE FLESH.

• Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” -Luke 4:5-8 (NKJV)

Next, the enemy tried to show Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the world and everything they had to offer. He offers to give all of this to Jesus, but in return, Jesus has to worship him. The enemy tries to appeal to the LUST OF THE EYES. But Jesus resisted this temptation and declared the truth of God’s Word… ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” He also commanded Satan to get behind Him! This example is powerful because you can do this in your own life. You can speak to the enemy, crushing the bondage of discontentment, comparison, and temptation.

• Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands, they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ” Now, when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. -Luke 9-13 (NKJV)

The next temptation Jesus faced was the enemy challenging His Father’s love for Him. Satan tried to convince Jesus to attempt suicide so that His Heavenly Father would have to intervene... And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” The enemy tempted Jesus with the PRIDE OF LIFE.

We see every category of sin appear in Luke, Chapter 4. We learned earlier this week that sin is lawlessness, and we break the law of God because we fight against our desires. Our desires always fall within one of these three categories: lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or pride of life.

But Jesus overcame every category! And Heaven wants you to know that because Jesus overcame every category of temptation, so can you! You do not have to settle for being a law-breaker in the eyes of God. Of course, you may slip up or make mistakes, but that is not your final story. You are made new in Jesus Christ!

How did Jesus have the strength to overcome the enemy’s temptations? Through three things: prayer, fasting, and speaking the Word of God.

1. REALIGN YOUR PRIORITIES through PRAYER. Seasons of PRAYER can help you realign your PRIORITIES. You value whatever the temptation is offering less and begin prioritizing the meaningful things that God has already made or is making available.

2. CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVES through FASTING. Seasons of FASTING can help you become more hungry for God than your next meal, and this changes your PERSPECTIVE. There is no greater appetite than our desire for food. Seeking God through fasting is a great way to modify your perspective regarding what is most meaningful in your life.

3. DECLARE GOD’S PURPOSE for your life through HIS WORD. When you are in a season of prayer and fasting, you should also be in a direct relationship with the WORD OF GOD, which leads you into a place where you can start declaring God’s PURPOSE over your life. If you are going to pray, you must involve God’s Word because the most potent form of prayer is praying the promises of God. As well, if you are going to fast, not only should you pray in place of regular meals, but you should read the Word of God as a supplement to the plate that would typically sit on your table during meals. This intensified relationship with God’s word sets you up to better declare His purpose for your life as you are in seasons of realigning priorities and changing perspectives.

Your purpose is not to bow down to the enemy so that you can have more of this world. Instead, your objective is to bow down to God so you can have more of the Kingdom of Heaven made manifest on Earth. This mission is your purpose!

My challenge to us, going into the first 100 days of the new year, is to intensify your pursuit of God through prayer, fasting, and studying God’s Word. It may sound elementary, but it is life-changing. God has called you to live a meaningful life…to be more than a weak, powerless Christian. He has called you to be a Spirit-empowered, life-giving, need-meeting, Jesus-connected, devil-stomping Christian!

Let’s put the devil in his place! Let’s live a meaningful life. Let’s start walking out the purpose God has for us, and as we come into the first 100 days of 2022, may you set things in motion that will not only change this year but generations to come.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/HvAtVLLroEM

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

How You Can Live a Meaningful Life and Overcome Self-Hate in 2022

So many people long to be a part of something that has meaning. Thankfully, Scripture aligns with this longing, setting us up perfectly to live a meaningful life.

So much has transpired in the past two years. A global pandemic, social justice issues, cultural unrest, and governmental discord, to name a few. Tension has filled all of us. But, I believe many are ready to set some things in order and put the enemy in his place! It’s time to step into meaning and purpose in 2022.

As we come into the first 100 days of 2022, let’s maximize our relationship with God, setting things in motion that will not only change this year but generations to come.

Do you have a sin that you struggle with over and over again?

Offense?

Anger?

Maybe it’s the lack of discipline to control your mouth, and gossip flows freely?

You are not alone if you answered “Yes,” to any of those questions. We all have sins we struggle with repeatedly. Even Paul, a pillar of faith, credited with penning two-thirds of the New Testament, struggled, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15 NLT)

Does that describe you sometimes? “I do what I hate.”

Of course, it does. It describes all of us, some of us more often than others. And, the more often it describes us, the more we struggle with shame, condemnation, and guilt. Why? Because of what sin is:

…sin is lawlessness.

- 1 John 3:4 (NKJV)

We sin when we break the law of God. Simply put, that law is found in the Old Testament and prioritized through the Ten Commandments. But, Jesus helps us understand which commandments are the greatest,

1. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy mind, and all thy soul.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Simply put, we sin when we do not love God or love people.

We feel shame because as soon as we break the Law of God, the enemy becomes the voice in our head, shaming and condemning us.

What a twisted creature. The enemy wants us to fail God’s law and does everything he can to get us to do so. Then he is there to celebrate our sins and make us feel awful the moment we become a law-breaker. He isolates us from God and then accuses us of distancing ourselves. This cycle repeatedly continues because we continue to do what we hate, sinning against God and His people and allowing the enemy to keep us buried in the conscience of guilt.

How do we break free? How do we overcome self-hate associated with sinfulness? How do we overcome our hurts, habits, and hangups? Why do we keep doing what we do?

First, look at what James said:

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

-James 1:14 (NKJV)

The reason we sin, breaking the law of God, is because every single one of us fights against temptation. Our temptations arise due to our fleshly desires. We want something outside of God’s law and will. These desires that the enemy uses as bait to draw us away from God through acts of temptation always fit into one of three categories:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. - 1 John 2:16 (NKJV)

1. LUST of the FLESH- I want a feeling that I don’t currently have.

We become sinful with our appetite in all areas of life, from gluttony to adultery. This is why we struggle with addiction. It’s a feeling – the lust of the flesh, the desire of the flesh – that pulls us away from God.

2. LUST of the EYES - I see something more that I want.

This is how we wind up in debt to the point we declare bankruptcy or with more than we can manage. We want everything we see and more too. The enemy keeps pointing out what we don’t have to blind us to the contentment available in what we do have.

3. PRIDE OF LIFE - I deserve something more, and I desire it because I am entitled to it.

We count ourselves worthy and deserving, and we take what we want when we want it. It’s why people cheat, steal, bend the rules and tell white lies. We struggle with a worldly mindset of entitlement that tells us we “deserve something more” than what we are presently getting.

But, there is good news!

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. -1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

You are not the only one facing these three categories of temptation – everyone faces them! But here’s the good news, there is a way of escape. We just need to learn how to talk like Jesus! To break free of sin and lawlessness and free yourself from temptation and ungodly desires… you are going to have to tell the enemy to get behind you! Learn to talk back to the devil:

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” - Luke 4:8 (NKJV)

You don’t have to live in a perpetual cycle of defeat.

It's time to live a meaningful life, putting Hell in its place. It's time to start walking out the purpose God has for us, and as we come into the first 100 days of 2022, set things in motion that will not only change this year but generations to come. Start telling the enemy to get behind us! Inform the enemy, he can no longer block God’s vision for your life. And, you are going to be hearing more about this in the days and posts to come, but my challenge to you, going into the first 100 days of this new year: Live a more meaningful life by intensifying your pursuit of God through prayer, fasting, and studying God’s Word.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/HvAtVLLroEM

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.
   

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.
   

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin
   

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES

The Deliverance Dilemma

Has God ever brought you out of something, but not fully delivered you to the next thing? Many of us consider this the waiting period, but Caleb Southern, our youth coordinator, refers to it as the deliverance dilemma- a time when you're waiting for God to bring you into something new. We’ve all been there.

The Israelites know all about the deliverance dilemma.

As a nation of people enslaved by the Egyptians, they were treated horrifically as slave laborers for many years. Moses, following the commandment of God, comes to their rescue, setting them free from the Egyptians, and delivers them to The Promised Land, otherwise known as The Land of Milk and Honey. God brought them out of bondage and into something new and wonderful!

Caleb, however, points out that 40 years elapsed from the moment the Israelites leave Egypt and when they arrive at The Promised Land. For 40 years they were wandering around in the wilderness tired and starving. In this period of waiting they start to reminisce about what they used to have, even though they were slaves- they were still well fed. Comfort and familiarity can keep us enslaved, even when we know we're choosing the wrong path.

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” - Exodus 16:2 (ESV)

The Israelites had been delivered out of Egypt but had not yet been delivered into The Promised Land. They were experiencing the deliverance dilemma.

They had followed God, but they were still experiencing issues. Can you relate? You gave your life to Jesus and you’re trying to be obedient, but you're still struggling in different areas of your life. Maybe with anger, temptation, depression, anxiety, and/or addiction? God is bringing you out of sin, but you're not fully delivered from it.

Here are four key takeaways from Caleb’s message, The Deliverance Dilemma, that I think will help you navigate your season of waiting.

1) Don’t choose to grumble over being grateful:

The Israelites only focused on what they did not have- meat and bread- and chose to grumble and complain. They should have been focused on the promises God had for them and all He had already done for them.

We must always focus on what we do have, choosing gratitude over grumbling and complaining.

2) Remember that God will provide:

Even though the Israelites chose to grumble and complain, God gave them grace and provided them food to eat. They didn’t deserve it, and they didn’t pray for it, but God gave it to them.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

-Exodus 16:4 (ESV)

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. - Exodus 16:13 (ESV)

God will provide all that we need too. His provision may not look exactly like you would think, but He will provide.

3) Keep coming back for what God has for you:

God only gave the Israelites enough bread for one day at a time. They were not to store it up, but they had to keep coming back for more. God only gave them exactly what they needed for that day. We have to keep coming back to God every day for His blessings. We have to keep showing up at church, keep giving our time, talents, and treasures, keep reading the Word and praying prayers and God will keep blessing us.

And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted. -Exodus 16:19-21 ESV

4) What you do today matters to the generations that come after you:

The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan. -Exodus 16:35

Two generations of Israelites continued to feast on the blessings that God gave.

Have you decided to follow Christ? Have you decided to put God in the center of the generations that come after you? Will your kids and your grandchildren inherit a generational blessing or a generational curse? You get to decide if Jesus is the center of your life and your home, and that decision directly affects more than just you!

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. - John 6:35

Just like the Israelites needed bread, we do too. Jesus is the bread of life. Step into a generational blessing.

I invite you to view this message in its entirety at this link:

We want to connect with you and help you take your next steps!

1. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? This decision is the first step in receiving peace in your life. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus, we would love to celebrate with you at 3trees.com.

2. Do you need to rededicate your life to Jesus? If yes, please connect with us at 3trees.com.

3. Do you feel God prompting you to take your next steps? If yes, BEGIN is waiting for you! You can walk through our ONLINE BEGIN class at 3trees.com/begin

4. Would you like to make a difference in our community? Join our captivate team! Visit 3trees.com to find out how you can participate in community outreach opportunities.

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE| MESSAGE NOTES