As you know, we have been studying this idea of temptation on Sunday nights. We have seen how every temptation we face can be traced back to a legitimate need that we have that we try to fill in a illegitimate may. When it comes down to it, do we trust God when He says He has a plan for our lives, or do we trust oursevles to meet our needs, and in dong so, cut some corners and take care of things oursevles.
So often we look at temptation as a battle of our wills with it having nothing to do with our relationship and trust in God. The reason many of us fall into temptation's traps is because of the apparent lack of God's presence in our lives. Our thinking goes this way..."If I could just get to know God better, I won't struggle with giving into temptation." However, as we saw on Sunday night, God was very much a part of Jesus' second temptation. In fact, Jesus was tempted to take the knowledge He had of God the Father and twist its meaning. He was tempted to manipulate God to fit into His plans rather than cooperate and trust that God had a much bigger plan for His life.
"Do not put the Lord your God to the test." This was the response Jesus gave to Satan's second temptation as the two of them stood hovering over the temple courts. He recognized that God had a plan for His life, and that He was in no place to ask God to do things He never promised to do. In a way, He was tempted to take God and the plan He had for is life, and make them smaller by fitting God into His own, comfort-focused plan. Do not put the Lord your God to the test...
Use these questions during this next week to help further your understanding of this topic and how it relates to your trust in and relationship with God.
1. Read Matthew 4:5-7...And think about this idea of "Putting the Lord Your God to the Test"...do you get it? Does it make sense? What does this type of temptation look like in your day to day life?
2. Make a list of all character traits you know about God. How do you know these things to be true? How does your understanding of these character traits affect the way you live day to day?
3. How do you twist these characteritics and truths about God to seek your own desires?
4. Read Exodus 17:1-7...How did the Israelites test God?
5. Think about your prayer life...when you pray are you seeking His will or asking God to get on board with your will?
6. When we manipulate God and try to get Him to do things that we want Him to do, how are we making God out to be smaller than He is?
7. What does this specific tempation have to do with trusting God?
As you think through, prayer over, and apply these thoughts and passages to your life, make sure you plan to come to Matt and Amanda's on Thursday night at 7pm to be encouraged by others in what they are learning about this second temptation of Christ.
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