Temptation

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Lesson Notes:

Do you want to drink from the same cup that Jesus drank (glory)? Drinking from it will require sacrifice. The problem is that our flesh does NOT want to sacrifice. But when we truly desire and seek after God, drinking from this cup is the natural progression.

Mat 4
Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted! While God does not temp man, he does lead us into a place where we can be tempted. When we overcome this temptation we are better for it on the other side. We also know that He always makes a way of escape in the midst of our temptation.

If we didn’t want ‘IT’, then it wouldn’t be temptation…. So when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, we can deduce that his fleshly man wanted glory, fame & power. Jesus knew all along that all these things were promised to him in the end but the temptation came when the Devil promised him these things NOW. His flesh struggled just like ours knowing that he could have instant gratification without having to bear a cross in the end.

Heb 2:17
He’s able to help those (we) who are tempted. If we make decisions made solely on our needs and our best interests then we’ll miss out on what God wants to do both in our lives and in the church.

Luke 4:13
When the Devil ended the temptations he departed until another time. We think that when we overcome temptation we’re done with that particular one? No! The Devil will return with that same temptation again in the future.

So often the push and hope for a future ‘revival’ it’s not about God’s kingdom being built but about ministries becoming successful. A true revival will be accompanied by sacrifice and turmoil. How many are truly willing to take up that Cross?

God puts us in these tempting situations so that if he decides to use us for his Glory, it won’t destroy us. For us to be truly be used by God, our inner intentions have to be inline with His.

Heb 11:8
Sometimes the promises of God can become our idol rather than the God of the promise. Don’t pursue the promise (vision), pursue God!

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