Appetite for Destruction

Me/We

What if I told you there’s a playbook the enemy has been using for thousands of years—and it still works.

He has 3 basic plays. Nothing crazy nothing special, and they’re pretty basic plays. But just like a football game, what happens when one team cannot stop the run? Strech play to the outside? What happens? They keep running it — why? B/c it’s working.

You enemy, has a playbook — evil has a playbook.

Same 3 basic plays that he’s been running for thousands of years.

INTRO TO THE SERIES

Temptation — Resisting the lies of the enemy.

Why do this at the beginning of the year - lots of new people - scare them off with this series.

If you give into them they will not only derail your life, they will destroy your relationship with the Lord.

Not a follower of Jesus and you struggle with the idea of a spiritual enemy — that’s ok, I did to for a while. If that’s you, we can all agree that we have times when you know what you should do and you’re tempted to do the opposite right? Today, we’re talking those and I am going to use the name Satan b/c we believe there is a spiritual enemy.

Temptation is a invitation to fulfill a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.

Have you ever noticed you’re not tempted to do anything good for you?

Stop the fight — eat less — workout more — eat healthier — stop yelling at the kids — be generous — serve others

You’re always tempted to do something that isn’t good for you.

At first the temptation seems harmless, or it might feel good in the moment but in truth you always pay for it later.

God

The story of the temptations start with not in chapter 4, where it says in your Bible, but honestly in chapter 3.

Prep the scene, get into the text.

Matthew 3:17 NIV

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Right after his approval from God, after the Lord declares his position, this happens.

Matthew 4:1 NIV

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

He was led straight into a wilderness. Not to rest. Not to celebrate. But to be tested.

Led by the Spirit?

peirazo — put to the test.

The image is one of a metal sword being tested after it’s formed. You don’t test it beforehand, the metal isn’t ready. The same is true for us.

Testing comes after your greatest calling.

Why test you before your called? You have nothing to lose then. The testing comes after your calling.

Matthew 4:2–3 NIV

2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Now, over the next few week we’re going to see the enemy playbook. He’s going to hit Jesus with 3 different testings or temptations and these are the same 3 he has been hitting the human race with for thousands of years.

This first one appeals to our physical condition. Jesus is hungry, Satan comes and says, you have the power Jesus, why not make it happen?

Jesus is hungry, Matt puts that detail in there b/c he wants us to know that he’s feeling the same thing that we feel. Satan is running the same play. He is appealing to our appetite, or our need for provision/satisfaction.

Let’s be honest, what’s the motivator behind this one?

FEAR

This testing is motivated by fear.

not enough

the Lord won’t provide

This is very powerful b/c we are creatures of physical needs, Satan comes right along and calls into question the goodness of God and his promise to provide for you. Notice he does that somewhere else…

Genesis 3:1 NIV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Did God really say? Is God really going to provide? Is God really going to come through?

Satan is try to get Jesus to stray away from his trust in his Fathers provision. He so good at it. Jesus is in the desert, dry, rocky wilderness. It’s hot, sandy and rocky. In the desert, the rock limestone could form and look like puffy pastries at a distance. It even resembled bread.

Satan appealing to the human needs, the fear of not having enough of not being provided for leans in and says…

Matthew 4:3 NIV

3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Come on Jesus, you can do it. Provide for yourself. You have the power. You don’t need to deal with this… Go ahead Jesus lean on your own ability.

If you notice he was trying to separate Jesus from the Father. He wanted Jesus to use his power, not trust in the Father. Jesus tired, hungry, exhausted I think looks up from the dirt and says…

Matthew 4:4 NIV

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus quotes scripture, not just any scripture or story of Isreal. Here’s the full verse.

Deuteronomy 8:2–5 NIV

2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

This verse is Moses reminding the Israelites that God had provided for them in a moment when they could not provide for themselves.

Jesus recognized the temptation, he knew the test. He knew that the enemy was appealing to his flesh and appetite for physical sustenance and there he remembered the lesson the Lord taught to Israel.

Israel had failed this one before. Jesus keeps his eyes and focus on his Fathers plan.

You

Idk for sure but I would bet that you have tempted or tested in the same way. The enemy has come along and caused you to question the Fathers provision. This is how he does it.

“If the Lord really loved you…”

… you’d have money to go out to eat with your friends the way others do.

… you would gotten that promotion.

… you could afford that house you need.

He is so good at lying and tempting us to doubt God and His goodness.

Notice the scripture that Jesus uses to resist the temptation away. “Remember the way the Lord provided.”

— This is our action step —

Remember.

Remember when the Lord has provided and trust him to do it again.

So here’s what I want you to do when the temptation comes b/c it’s going to. This is the same playbook evil uses to pull you away from God. When he begins to attack.

Remember when the Lord has provided and trust him to do it again.

We

Pause for a second. How much better would your life be if you simply lived by this principle?

If you simply trusted God’s plan when things where hard. Trusted his plan when things didn’t look the way you wanted?

How much anxiety could you remove if you were able to adopt this?

Now, wouldn’t your family look better if you can your husband could just trust the Lord’s plan? Not surrendering to the appetite or to the lie?

Extras

The Lord loved Jesus — he says it (V.3:17) — and Jesus was still tempted. God’s plan for Jesus wasn’t always what he wanted.

“If it’s your will let this cup pass from me.”

God’s plan doesn’t always look like your plan, but his plan is always better.

God’s plan is always better.

Jesus didn’t feel that way in his flesh, he was hungry. He could’ve relieved his own discomfort, but that wasn’t his Fathers plan. So he stuck with the plan.

Strike the balance between being lazy and trust.

Work hard and trust His plan.

That means…

…when the promotion goes elsewhere and you’ve worked hard and busted your tail — you’re happy for that person.

… when the you’re not driving the car you want

… when you’re not living in the house you want

… when you’re not getting what you want out of the business

Work hard and trust his plan.

Have you ever found yourself thinking,

“This isn’t how my life was supposed to go’? Maybe it’s your career, your finances, or a relationship—something that hasn’t worked out the way you thought it would. And when it doesn’t go your way, what’s your first instinct?

If you’re like me, it’s to fix it. To take control. To make it happen.

I remember a time when I thought I had the perfect plan. I worked hard, prayed harder, and just knew it was going to happen. And then—it didn’t. The opportunity slipped away, and I was left wondering…

“What now? Did I miss something? Did God forget me?”

If you’ve ever been there, you’re in good company. Jesus was too.

And what’s fascinating is the test He faced first is the same one you and I face all the time. The one that whispers, ‘Why wait on God? You have the power. Fix it yourself.’

Here’s the question we all have to wrestle with: Can you trust God’s plan when it doesn’t look like your plan? Because here’s what Jesus knew—and what we need to remember—God’s plan doesn’t always look like your plan, but His plan is always better.

So let’s look at how Jesus handled it, because I think it’s going to challenge us to see our situations—and our God—in a whole new way.