Jesus in the Wilderness- The Private War for Obedience (Lent Series)

 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 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.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “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.’

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’  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.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:1-11

The wilderness tests three things:

1. Appetite
2. Identity
3. Allegiance

Appetite — will you obey hunger? Identity — do you know who you are without proving it?  Allegiance — who do you bow to for relief? Lent is not about proving spiritual strength. You fast to remind your body: “You are not in charge.” 

Most Holy Father, thank You for the reminder of Your struggle in the wilderness. Thank You for the example You set. Give me the strength to live with the resurrection power Your word says I have. Help me to stay penetrated in the word, help me to live my life in constant prayer. Give me what I need Jesus. I ache to connect to You, to be more like You, to lay down my flesh and walk daily with You. Help me Jesus. I love You so much. Amen.

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Transcript

Well, fam, today we are sitting in the wilderness, not metaphorically skimming it, we are stepping into it because Lent mirrors one specific moment in scripture, the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, before his ministry, before the

miracles, before the crowds, there was wilderness. If we misunderstand the wilderness, we misunderstand Lent. So let's dig in. Are you sick of trying diet after diet and not losing weight?

Are you tired of doubting your ability to actually lose weight in a healthy way? Do you wish you could find a laid out for you plan that will help you stay accountable to your goals?

Hey, friends, I'm Lindy Slayballs, Christian Fitness & Nutrition Coach. I gained 100 pounds in my late 20s and struggled for years to get it off. So, grab your pre-workout and let's chat.

If you are ready to take a Holy Spirit-led approach to weight loss God's way, join the Biblical Weight Loss Framework.

This is a 90-day group coaching program that I spent days fasting and praying over, and the Lord has created this incredible program that will help you move through the emotional, physical, spiritual things that are holding you back from finally

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In Matthew chapter 4 verse 1 we read, Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Let that settle. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.

The wilderness was not accidental. The Holy Spirit led him there intentionally to be tempted by the devil. Some of you think hardship means that you stepped outside of God's will, but sometimes the Spirit leads us into a refining season.

And let is a beautiful reminder that God wants to prepare us, shape us, and cultivate us to who he created us to be.

And if we are willing to lay down our flesh and lean in to hear what he has to say, Lent prepares our hearts to hear from our Holy Father. In verse 2 it says, For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

Very hungry, not mildly uncomfortable, not slightly inconvenienced, hungry. Hungry reveals what controls us. And when our comfort is removed, when our usual coping is gone, when the distraction is quiet, what serves us?

That is what Lent exposes, not to shame you, but to help you recognize what is holding power over you. Satan says, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. Notice what he attacks, his identity.

If you are, the enemy always tempts us to prove who we already are, and he tempts us to the point of physical weakness. Jesus was hungry. Bread was not sinful, but he knew that he was called to fast.

Lent trains us to say, just because I feel it doesn't mean that I obey it. Jesus answers with scripture. People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

He chose Holy Spirit obedience over his appetite. That is wilderness strength, my friends. That is the strength that I hope for and I bet you do too.

Next, we read that Satan takes him to the highest point of the temple and says, Jump! Prove that God will catch you. This is the temptation to perform spiritually, to manufacture proof, to demand signs.

And Lent dismantles performance faith. It trains steady obedience instead of drastic and dramatic displays. We're not here for legalism, my friends.

Satan offers all the kingdoms. He says, You don't have to go to the cross. There's no suffering, no waiting.

Just bow once to me. But shortcut temptation is strong in the wilderness. You want relief, you want progress, you want breakthrough.

But shortcuts always cost us. And Jesus refused to bow. The wilderness tested three things.

Our appetite, our identity and our allegiance. It tests our appetite and will you obey the hunger? It tests our identity.

Do you know who you are without having to prove it? It tests our allegiance. Who do you bow to for relief?

Lent is not about proving spiritual strength. It is about aligning our appetite under our identity. You fast to remind your body, you are not in charge.

Let me say that again. Hey body, you are not in charge. So we read that after the temptation, scripture says that the angels came and cared for Jesus.

Provision followed obedience. Strength followed resistance. But notice, the comfort, it came after the testing, not before.

So if this lent feels hard, if cravings feel louder for you like they do for me, if resistance feels stronger, that does not mean you're failing. It means you're in training and that God will provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The wilderness is not where you are abandoned. It's where God reveals his sovereignty when we lay on our flesh and our feelings and lean into his strength. What we build in the wilderness will sustain what comes next.

Just hang on, my friends. Your Sunday is coming. We read in God's holy word that the resurrection power that brought Jesus back from the grave lives inside of us.

And in our wilderness this season, we can claim that resurrection power because of Jesus and what he does in us, not our striving and our trying. Most Holy Father, thank you for the reminder of your struggle in the wilderness.

Thank you for the example that you set. Give me strength to live with resurrection power that your word says I have. Help me to stay penetrated in the word.

Help me to live my life in constant prayer and connection to you, Lord. Give me what I need every day, Jesus. I ache to connect to you, to be more like you, and to lay down my flesh and walk daily with you.

Help me, Jesus. Lead me and show me. I love you so much.

Amen. Hey sis, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds and share it with a friend?

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No more standing in the kitchen waiting for motivation to appear. I will meet you back here for another episode. God bless.