Acceleration Can Be Destruction

Connection

Have you ever felt like you’re in a rush? Like life’s timeline isn’t moving fast enough, and you just want to grab the wheel and hit the gas? Maybe it’s that promotion you thought you’d have by now, or the relationship you thought would be farther along. You see where you want to go, but it feels like God’s taking the scenic route.

Let me ask you this: have you ever thought about why we rush? Why we push for things before they’re ready? It’s not just impatience—it’s because we’re convinced that faster is better.

But here’s the catch: sometimes the fastest path is the most dangerous one.

Today, we’re stepping into the second temptation of Jesus—a moment where Satan didn’t try to stop Jesus but tried to speed him up. And here’s the thing: he'll try to accelerate what the enemy can’t stop. Because if he can get you to move faster than you’re ready for, he knows you’ll wreck your life.

This is one of the 3 temptations the enemy throws at you, he also threw it at Jesus.

— More on that in just a moment

Temptation — Resisting the lies of the enemy.

Temptation — is an invitation to fulfill a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. Enemy playbook — only 3 plays.

Get you to doubt God’s provision >>> Remember the Lords provision and trust Him to do it again.

Scripture

Recap

Jesus Baptized

Your greatest testing comes after your greatest calling.

Play 1 — Tempt you to doubt the provision of God.

Today we pick up right there. Fasting 40 days and 40 nights.

Matthew 4:5 NIV

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

As a new reader, I always had this as a spot on the temple that was high and like Jesus and Satan balancing on a steeple. That’s not the right picture. Here’s the area where this happened.

Here’s a picture of the city. You can see the temple mount on the right.

Here’s a zoomed-in picture of what it looks like today. Temple mount on the right side.

Matthew 4:5–7 NIV

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.’”

Preach thru it.

Do you know why he would want Jesus do this? To get jesus to declare himself messiah to the world before the God’s plans. Listen to me.

What the enemy cannot stop, he will accelerate.

If the enemy cannot stop your ministry he will accelerate it.

Why? B/c as something gains speed it’s harder to manage. You know this, the bigger something is the harder it is to manage and control.

Business — family — job — relationships.

The enemy will accelerate what he cannot stop b/c you’ll mess it up if things start to move faster than what you’re ready for. God knows when you’re ready. comes back to what we talked about last week. Trusting the Lord’s plan and his timing. All of these are about that.

The central goal of the enemy is to get you off your God given path. God has you on a path, He has things set out for you, the enemy comes in along the way and attempts to pull you off the path.

In this instance he wants Jesus to throw himself off the temple mount into the Kidron valley and get all the attention and be declared Messiah right now.

Satan’s temptation is clear.

Step off God’s path.

If you notice as well, he quotes scripture but does so dishonestly.

Matthew 4:6 NIV

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.’”

Satan is saying, go ahead. Force God’s hand. He will provide for you, it’s written that means he has to! But that’s not what that Scripture means. Read in it’s proper context, that scripture says that the Lord will provide and protect you when you’re running with HIS plans.

Satan wants Jesus to step off of God’s path and start forging his own way forward. But Jesus knows that’s what Israel did so many times and so many times they fell short.

B/c they wanted to do things like the other nations.

Faith is about your obedience, not your desires.

It’s about trusting God’s timeline and his path. Sometimes that means you have to be patient.

Matthew 4:7 NIV

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, Exodus 17:2,— God is reminding the Israelites to trust the Lord. God is referencing a time when the people of Israel grumbled with Moses, b/c they were thirsting and they came to Moses and they asked “Why did we leave Egypt? At least we had water there.” This is the moment when the Lord tells Moses to strike the rock and water will come from the rock.

There they tested the Lord and his plans. “Why did we leave Egypt?”

Two things…

1. Satan quoted scripture out of context — don’t do that b/c then you’re like the devil.

2. Jesus combats this temptation, to speed things along, by trusting God’s plans.

This is the temptation — do things outside of God’s plans. Take it into your own hands.

Application

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.

So stick with the plan.

Strike the balance between being lazy and trust.

Work hard and trust God’s plan.

That means…

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

… when 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

— Hodges and the idea of having a house that took him 50 years to build —

… when you’re not where you want to be in your career

… you thought you would be married by now

… though you would have kids by now

Work hard and trust God’s plan.

Remember it this way.

Hands and knees.

Work hard (hands) Trust God’s Plan (knees)

That means there are times when you need to wrestle with the Lord and his timelines — lucky for us God is a God that gives us the space to do that in prayer.

Intentional prayer times.

God what is your will in this situation?

Pray for closed doors.

Inspiration

Here’s the deal, your enemy wants to pull you off your path. He wants to get you off of God’s timeline. He wants to pull you away.

It’s disguised as the shortcut is better, but in truth the shortcut is dangerous.

Isn’t it true some of the times you’ve messed up the most are the times when you’ve stepped off God's path, you took a shortcut, and found yourself in a worse situation?

As Jesus' followers, as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, we want to be on God’s path. On his timeline.

Small Group Questions: Staying on God's Path and Trusting His Timing

Opening

Have you ever felt like life’s timeline isn’t moving fast enough? Share a time when you felt tempted to “rush ahead” of God’s plan.

Why do you think we often believe that faster is better? How has this mindset impacted your decisions in the past?

Scripture Discussion

Read Matthew 4:5-7. What stands out to you about the way Satan uses Scripture to tempt Jesus? How can we guard ourselves against similar misuse of Scripture? Jesus responds to Satan with Deuteronomy 6:16.

Why do you think trusting God’s timing and path is such a central theme in Jesus’ response? Discuss a time when you felt like God’s plan wasn’t aligning with your desires. How did you handle it? What did you learn from that experience?

Application

The outline mentions that "the enemy will accelerate what he cannot stop." How have you experienced this tactic in your own life? What does it look like to balance working hard (“hands”) and trusting God’s plan (“knees”)? Are there areas in your life where you lean too heavily on one over the other? How can we trust God’s timeline when things seem delayed or uncertain? What practical steps can you take to stay aligned with His plan?

Inspiration

The shortcut often feels like the best option, but it can lead to danger. Share an example of a time when you took a shortcut and later realized it pulled you off God’s path. What could you have done differently?

As a group, brainstorm ways to support one another in staying on God’s path and resisting the temptation to rush. What role does prayer play in this, and how can your group pray for each other?