SPEAKER_00: Hello friends, this is Hoyt, welcoming you back to the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: Wherever you are listening from today, I'm glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: There are moments in the Christian life that don't feel dramatic or public.
SPEAKER_00: Moments that happen quietly in the mind, in the heart, in the spaces where no one else can see.
SPEAKER_00: Those moments often have a name temptation.
SPEAKER_00: Not the neat version we talk about lightly, but the real kind, when old habits knock, when old memories resurface, when the flesh tries to reclaim ground that grace has already touched.
SPEAKER_00: But today we're not talking about temptation with fear or shame.
SPEAKER_00: Today we're talking about worship.
SPEAKER_00: Because worship is not just something we do on Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is a weapon God gives us for the fight we face every day.
SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you this.
SPEAKER_00: What if gratitude is stronger than temptation?
SPEAKER_00: What if praise is one of God's chosen ways to make a way of escape?
SPEAKER_00: This is a song that God has used in my life during moments like that.
SPEAKER_00: It's titled Grateful for You.
SPEAKER_00: And it has become a lifeline.
SPEAKER_00: There's a line in the song that asks why God would keep someone like me on his mind.
SPEAKER_00: And that question doesn't come from theory, it comes from experience, because you cannot stay defeated while you are generally grateful.
SPEAKER_00: Gratitude shifts the atmosphere.
SPEAKER_00: It takes your eyes off the lie and places them back on the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Temptation speaks lies.
SPEAKER_00: It says you're still the same.
SPEAKER_00: You'll never change.
SPEAKER_00: God is disappointed in you.
SPEAKER_00: But worship answers back.
SPEAKER_00: Worship says He kept me all my life.
SPEAKER_00: He stayed when I wandered.
SPEAKER_00: He gave me chance after chance after chance.
SPEAKER_00: Worship doesn't deny the struggle, it recenters the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Let me be open with you.
SPEAKER_00: I am a recovering addict.
SPEAKER_00: I have battled pain pills.
SPEAKER_00: I have battled fleshly desires that came with memories attached.
SPEAKER_00: And there are still moments when temptation whispers again.
SPEAKER_00: But instead of trying to muscle through it, instead of pretending I'm stronger than I am, I sing, God, I'm just grateful for you.
SPEAKER_00: And something breaks, not me breaking, but the chains.
SPEAKER_00: Scripture reminds us of this truth in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13.
SPEAKER_00: No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man.
SPEAKER_00: But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you were able.
SPEAKER_00: But with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't wait for us to fall before helping us.
SPEAKER_00: He prepares the escape ahead of time.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that escape is scripture.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's leaving the room.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes that escape is worship.
SPEAKER_00: Because when truth fills your mouth, lies lose their grip.
SPEAKER_00: Gratitude starves temptation.
SPEAKER_00: It breaks isolation.
SPEAKER_00: It silences shame.
SPEAKER_00: It reminds us we are not alone.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is not weakness.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is warfare.
SPEAKER_00: So if temptation has been heavy lately, don't hide, don't withdraw, and surely don't give up.
SPEAKER_00: Lift your voice even if it shakes, even if your heart feels tired, because he is worthy.
SPEAKER_00: He is faithful, and he keeps you on his mind.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, you know our battles, you know our weaknesses.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the grace that meets us, mercy that carries us, and love that never lets us go.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to fight temptation with worship.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to run to you, not from you.
SPEAKER_00: And let our hearts always say, God, we're just grateful for you.
SPEAKER_00: In your holy name, Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me on the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we invite you to worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at eight oh three Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving family who loves God and loves people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: And as you go, may gratitude guard your heart, may worship strengthen your steps, and may you walk faithfully held by the God who keeps you on his mind.
SPEAKER_00: Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.