Groups Discussion Guide
Read Scripture. Go Deeper. Ask Questions. Take Action.
How to Pass The Test
Scripture
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6“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.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Main Idea
The devil is always trying to tempt you to lean towards anything other than God. The temptation to think about yourself and lean to your ability and your actions is constant. It is a daily choice to lean on God's wisdom rather than your own strength and perspective. The problem is human wisdom and strength fails. When you fail, you start to think that is your identity. God wants you to know your identity is what He designed you to be and what He says about you. Don't look to yourself and others but look to God.
I know who I am and it's not about what I've done. It's based on what my Father said about me.
Discussion Questions
- When was the last time you felt like your strength or identity was being tempted? What did you do?
- In what areas of your life are you currently struggling to rely on God rather than your own strength, and what does true dependence look like in those practical areas?
- The sermon emphasized that our identity should be rooted in the Father's affirmation (as seen in Matthew 3:16-17) rather than our own accomplishments. How can we actively practice reminding ourselves of who we are in Christ when we face pressure to define ourselves by what we "do"?
- Can you share a time when you were tempted to sacrifice your integrity for the sake of an outcome, and how did understanding God's Word help (or could it have helped) you respond differently?
Summary
As Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He was tempted in four different ways. An important thing to note is the enemy waited until the end of the 40 days before really pressing Jesus. He will wait until we are at our weakest point to tempt us to not trust God. It is easier to trust God when we feel everything is going well but it is much more difficult to trust God when things seem like God isn't present.
There are 4 types of temptation we all can fall into and hopefully attempt to stay out of.
- The Temptation of Self-sufficiency
- The temptation is to carry alone the weight of provision instead of trusting in God. Humans will always lack in some way but God makes that up in strength.
- We can tend to trust God for our salvation but then think we can do it all on our own for relationships, work, provision, etc.
- The Temptation of Recklessness
- The temptation is to test the grace of God with foolishness. The enemy tried to get Jesus to jump from a building to see if God loved Him enough to prevent Him from being hurt. Don't let the enemy trick you into doing foolish things.
- This temptation sometimes is the result of trying to be self-sufficient instead of trusting in God. When we do it on our own without God's counsel, we can start to do foolish things we need God's rescue from.
- The Integrity Tempation
- The temptation is to bypass righteousness frot the sake of accomplishment.
- If you can be deceived into thinking your worth is about what you accomplish, then you may be willing to sacrifice your identity and integrity to win at all costs.
- The Identity Temptation
- The temptation is to create an identity based on my accomplishments and not the Father's affirmation.
- This is when the enemy is trying to get you to trust in your accomplishments, your money, your abilities rather than leaning on God's true identity of who you are in Christ.
When we lean on God's Word for our foundation we won't be overcome by these temptations. However, when we are squeezed we will act in a way that demonstrates what we have been focusing on daily. If you aren't grounded in the Word and daily commune with Jesus, it will be difficult to exude God's perspective and identity in the tough times. Remember the Word!
Take Action
- Meditate on your identity: Set aside 10 minutes each morning to read Matthew 3:16-17 and reflect on the fact that your worth is found in the Father's love, not your personal accomplishments.
- Surrender self-sufficiency: Identify one area of your life (e.g., finances, a difficult work project, or a relationship) where you are trying to "do it all alone." This week, pray daily asking for God’s guidance and help, intentionally letting go of the need to control the outcome.
- Anchor in the Word: When facing a decision where your integrity feels pressured, pause and look up one scripture related to righteousness or truth. Use the Word as your defense, just as Jesus did in the wilderness.
Announcements
- Angels and Demons series starts on 7/12
- Popcorn and Movies begins on 7/26 and will go until 8/16
