Facing Temptation with Confidence
“Facing Temptation With Confidence”
Spiritual Growth in the Season of Lent Series – Part 2
February 24, 2013 @ CLC
Doug Holmes
Luke 4:1 – Jesus… was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil…
Jesus returned to Galileein the power of the Spirit…
How Aware Am I of My Deepest Hungers & Longings?
Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger…”
Vital Connection to My Creator
Significance, Meaning & Purpose
Well-Being & Joy
Relational & Intimacy Fulfillment
Will I Deny, Repress, “Crucify,” Exorcise, Anesthetize OR
Take Them to God Honestly
2 Corinthians 12:8 – Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Do We Cave in to Temptation because We Are Inherently-
Wicked & Rebellious? OREmpty & “Thirsty?”
John 4:13 – “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”
3 Functions that Can Affect My Threshold of Temptation:
E F E F E F
Physical Spiritual Emotional
Is “Flesh” Good, Bad &/or Important to God?
John 1:14 – The Word became flesh…
Acts 2:17 – “…I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.”
Romans 8:5 – Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
God Is Not Content with a “Spirit Only” Cosmos
Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
2 Peter 3:13 – …we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
1 Corinthians 15:49 TLB – Just as each of us now has a body like Adam’s, so we shall some day have a body like Christ’s.
The “Gospel” (Good News) Heals the Rip between:
Sacred – Secular; Material – Immaterial
Matthew 6:11 – …On earth as it is in heaven…
Should I Value My “Flesh” (Physicality)?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? …Therefore honor God with your body.
Ephesians 5:28-29 – Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.
My Physical “Tank” Gauge Is Affected by:
Sleep & “Pace”
Nutrition & Moderation
Activity & Good Stress
General Care of Health & Wellness
“What About the Emotional ‘Tank’ & Its Gauge”?
Are Emotions Good, Bad &/or Important to God?
John 2:15TLB – Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out, and drove out the sheep and oxen, scattering the moneychangers… and turning over their tables!
Mark 3:5 – He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts…
John 11:35 – Jesus wept.
Should I Value My Emotions?
1 John 4:17 – As He is, so are we in this world.
Ephesians 4:26 – “In your anger do not sin.”
Romans 12:15TLB – When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.
How Do I Recharge My Emotional Battery?
Matthew 16:13 – [In] …the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Trickle Charge Is Healthier than Quick Charge
When My Emotions Need Recharging; Temptation Is Near
Life Is Not Always In Our Control – But Our Choices Are
- Purpose over Aimlessness
- Celebration over Legalistic Pessimism
- Gratitude over Groaning
- Hope over Resignation
Suggested Prayer: “Loving Lord God, help me to begin facing my temptations with confidence in You, growing in my relationship with You, serving You in our broken world. I pray this sincerely in the Name of my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ, Who lives & reigns with You & the Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen.”
Mark 9:23 – “Everything is possible for him who believes."
Next Week, March 3, 2013 with Ed Leber:
“Choices That Create Real Living”
Growing Spiritually in the Season of Lent