Test In The Wilderness Part 2 | Finding Our Way In The Wilderness | Week 5

Have you ever had a moment where your expectations didn't match reality? Maybe in your health, your finances, your family or even your faith? You followed Jesus, you had the breakthrough moment, and then life said, "Actually… wilderness." In this message from Matthew 4:1–11, Pastor Chad will show us something that may change the way you see hard seasons: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Through Jesus' three temptations of Provision, Protection, and Power, we'll unpack the real question underneath all of them: will you trust the Father, or will you take a shortcut? If you're in a wilderness season you didn't expect, this one's for you.

Discussion Questions:

1. Think of a time when life didn't go the way you expected in your family, your health, your career, or your faith. What did you expect, and what actually happened? 

2. Matthew 4:1 says Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. How does it change the way you see a hard season when you consider that God might have led you there not to punish you, but to form you? What's the difference between testing and temptation in your own experience?

3. The sermon identified three areas Jesus was tempted: Provision, Protection, and Power, but underneath each one is the same question: "Will you trust the Father, or will you take a shortcut?" Which of the three resonates most with where you are right now, and what does the "shortcut" look like in that area of your life?

4. Jesus overcame the wilderness through abiding prayer, fasting, Scripture, and Spirit-empowerment. Which of those four is most underdeveloped in your life right now, and what would it look like to take one practical step toward it this week not to earn anything, but to train your trust?